Education on technology

BlackRock , the world's biggest asset manager, on Thursday filed for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund ( ETF ) that would allow investors to get exposure to the cryptocurrency, as the asset class comes under intense regulatory scrutiny. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust will use Coinbase Custody as its custodian, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ). The U.S. regulator has yet to approve any applications for spot bitcoin ETFs. Last year, BlackRock launched a spot bitcoin private trust for institutional clients in the United States. The move comes at a time when the global cryptocurrency industry has been caught in the crosshairs of the US securities regulator on alleged violations of securities laws. Earlier this month, the regulator sued major exchanges Coinbase and Binance in high-profile lawsuits that reverberated through the digital assets industry. "The fact that BlackRock, a well-respected and established asset management ...

Microsoft -owned LinkedIn said on Thursday it was working on a video advertising product that would allow marketers to target users of the professional networking site while they watch content on streaming services. This comes after LinkedIn introduced AI features to help advertisers write ad content, part of a strategy to expand its ads business at a time when economic uncertainties have hit advertising budgets. "In-stream video ads can change the way brands and buyers reach and engage their audiences," Penry Price, vice president of marketing solutions at LinkedIn, told Reuters. LinkedIn's trailing 12-month revenue is north of $14 billion (roughly Rs. 1,14,700 crore), and as of the third quarter of fiscal year 2023, revenue increased 8 percent year-over-year. The company generates revenue from ad sales and subscriptions for recruiters, job seekers and sales professionals. The Information reported the news earlier on Thursday. Meanwhile, LinkedIn announced Tuesd...

US memory chipmaker Micron said on Friday it was committed to China and would invest $603 million (roughly Rs. 4,900 crore) over the next few years in its chip packaging facility in the Chinese city of Xian. The company has been targeted by China's cyberspace regulator, which last month said the firm, the United States' biggest memory chipmaker, had failed a network security review and that the regulator would block operators of key infrastructure from buying from the company. Micron made no mention of the review's decision in its Friday statement, posted on WeChat . "This investment projects demonstrates Micron's unwavering commitment to its China business and team," it quoted CEO Sanjay Mehrotra as saying. The investment will include buying packaging equipment from a Xian-based subsidiary of Taiwan's Powertech Technology , which Micron has been using in the factory since 2016, the company said. It will also open a new production line at the site to...

ChatGPT will soon hit the road. Mercedes-Benz on Thursday said US drivers could power some of their luxury vehicles with ChatGPT in a test program starting June 16. Compatible with some 900,000 vehicles that have the automaker's "MBUX" systems, ChatGPT will download over the air after drivers opt in via a Mercedes app or by voice command, the company said. The test will last three months during which Mercedes will see how drivers use the technology. Mercedes said ChatGPT would make its car system's answers sound more natural and would let drivers ask for destination information or address other queries, like what to cook for dinner. The automaker had previously let drivers and passengers issue a range of requests by voice, such as turning on seat heaters. The ChatGPT deal spells business for Microsoft , which is providing a version of the popular chatbot through its cloud. Rival Amazon.com has long worked to install its voice aide Alexa in more cars, and now...

The government's relationship with any social media platform is simply through the prism of compliance of law and rules, and therefore there is nothing personal or adversarial against one platform or the other, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar has said. The platforms have to respect the Indian laws, the Minister of State for IT and Electronics asserted. Chandrasekhar, who was speaking at the inaugural edition of FinancialExpress.com's Digital Bharat Economy Conclave 2023 on Wednesday, made it clear that the government's relationship with any social media platform is simply through the prism of compliance of law and rules, and thus there is nothing personal or adversarial against one platform or the other. "But we certainly and consistently ask from these platforms to respect the Indian laws," he said. The minister also rebuffed claims of an alleged data breach of the CoWin platform (the COVID vaccination portal). "I would like to emphasise that ther...

Alphabet  is cautioning employees about how they use chatbots, including its own Bard , at the same time as it markets the program around the world, four people familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Google parent has advised employees not to enter its confidential materials into AI chatbots, the people said and the company confirmed, citing long-standing policy on safeguarding information. The chatbots, among them Bard and ChatGPT , are human-sounding programs that use so-called generative artificial intelligence to hold conversations with users and answer myriad prompts. Human reviewers may read the chats, and researchers found that similar AI could reproduce the data it absorbed during training, creating a leak risk. Alphabet also alerted its engineers to avoid direct use of computer code that chatbots can generate, some of the people said.  Asked for comment, the company said Bard can make undesired code suggestions, but it helps programmers nonetheless. Google a...

Google Lens — the company's image recognition app for iOS and Android smartphones — has been updated with a new feature that could help you identify certain medical conditions. Pointing your phone's camera at your skin with a rash or some sort of irritation will now let Google Lens attempt to identify a specific condition that might be affecting your skin. Just like the regular image-recognition feature on Google Lens that finds similar looking images, you can also select an image from your gallery while using the new skin condition detection feature. According to a recent Keyword blog post , the new skin condition detection feature will let you identify a mole or rash on your skin, without entering any text to describe the condition. The feature works when you click an image in Google Lens, or select an image from your gallery. Swiping up will show a horizontal row of results with names of skin conditions. Under these results, you will also see a scrollable section for visua...

ChatGPT quickly found a home in the sophisticated echelons of investment banks and drug design firms. Now, the advanced artificial intelligence is coming to a huge workforce that's largely tech-illiterate and non-English speaking: India's domestic workers, waste recyclers and struggling farmers. In the crowded neighbourhoods of Bangalore, ragpickers, cooks and cleaners are taking part in an AI trial aimed at helping some of the nation's poorest people access money from government anti-poverty programs without getting snarled in red tape and corruption. It's an opportunity for people such as Vijayalakshmi, who earns just $100 (roughly 8,000) a month cooking for households in Jayanagar. She only uses her smartphone for basic purposes and speaks no English. Yet, that sweltering afternoon in April, she joined a gaggle of domestic workers to experiment with AI technology. Vijayalakshmi, who goes by a single name as is common in southern India, voiced a question to a bot...