Category: Technology

Helen Toner, one of OpenAI’s former board members who was responsible for firing CEO Sam Altman last year, revealed that the company’s board didn’t know about the launch of ChatGPT until it was released in November 2022. “[The] board was not informed in advance of that,” Toner said on Tuesday on a podcast called The Ted AI Show. “We learned about ChatGPT on Twitter.”

Toner’s comments came just two days after criticized the way OpenAI was governed in an Economist piece published on Sunday that she co-wrote with Tasha McCauley, another former OpenAI board member. This is the first time that Toner has spoken openly about the circumstances that led to Altman’s dramatic ouster from the company he co-founded in 2015, and his quick reinstatement following protests from employees.

In the podcast, Toner, who is current a director of strategy at the Centre for Security and Emerging Technology at Georgetown, said that Altman had made it hard for OpenAI’s board to do its job by withholding information, misrepresenting things, and, “in some cases outright lying to the board.” She added that Altman also hid the company’s ownership structure from the board. “Sam didn’t inform the board that he owned the OpenAI startup fund, even though he constantly was claiming to be an independent board member with no financial interest in the company,” Toner said. Altman’s actions “really damaged our ability to trust him,” she said, and by October 2023, the board was “already talking pretty seriously about whether we needed to fire him.”

She criticized Altman’s leadership on safety concerns around AI, saying that he often gave the board inaccurate information on the company’s safety processes, “meaning that it was basically impossible for the board to know how well those safety processes were working or what might need to change.”

When asked for comment, an OpenAI spokesperson referred Engadget to the statement the company provided to The TED AI Show. “We are disappointed that Ms. Toner continues to revisit these issues,” Bret Taylor, OpenAI’s current board chief and co-CEO of Salesforce told the podcast. An independent review of Altman’s firing, he added, “concluded that the prior board’s decision was not based on concerns regarding product safety or security, the pace of development, OpenAI’s finances, or its statements to investors, customers, or business partners.”

The exact reasons for Altman’s abrupt ouster last year were still unclear and have been a source of intense speculation in Silicon Valley. In March, Altman was reinstated to the board by a group of temporary board members which included Taylor, economist Larry Summers, OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, Instacart CEO and former Meta executive Fiji Simo, former Sony executive Nicole Seligman, and former CEO of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Dr. Sue Desmond-Hellmann. In an independent investigation, law firm WilmerHale found that Toner’s decision to fire Altman along with the rest of OpenAI’s previous Board “was a consequence of a breakdown in the relationship and loss of trust between the prior Board and Mr. Altman.” WilmerHale also found that OpenAI’s previous board had fired Altman “abruptly” and without giving him a chance to respond to its concerns.

Toner’s revelations are the latest controversy that OpenAI, company that sparked off the modern AI revolution, has been involved in. Over the last few days, multiple safety researchers left the company, publicly criticizing its leadership on their way out. OpenAI also backtracked on non-disparagement agreements it had required departing employees to sign after a Vox investigation, and forced to explain itself after actor Scarlet Johansson accused the company of copying her voice for ChatGPT despite denying permission.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/openais-board-allegedly-learned-about-chatgpt-launch-on-twitter-235643014.html?src=rss 

TikTok will face off with the Justice Department this fall in its bid to stop a law that could lead to a ban of the app in the United States. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia set a September date for oral arguments in two cases challenging a law that requires ByteDance to sell the app or face a ban.

TikTok filed a lawsuit claiming that the law was unconstitutional earlier this month. The company has said that divesting from ByteDance is “simply not possible” and that it had already negotiated with the US government to address national security concerns. Separately, a group of TikTok creators are also challenging the law. They claim that the law violates their First Amendment rights because they would lose their ability to communicate on the platform. TikTok is reportedly paying the creators’ legal fees in the case.

In September, the appeals court will hear challenges in both cases, which have been consolidated. As Reuters notes, the September date lines up with TikTok’s desire for a “fast-track” schedule in the case, which could eventually end up before the Supreme Court.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-tiktok-ban-law-will-be-argued-in-court-this-september-185025724.html?src=rss 

The Apple Vision Pro was marketed primarily as a productivity machine, but as any active VR user can tell you, it’s the games that sell these devices. Apple’s headset offers access to hundreds of games, but mostly as quick and dirty iPad ports that show up as a virtual screen in your field of vision. This, however, is starting to change.

Developer Owlchemy Labs just announced that two of its marquee titles, Job Simulator and Vacation Simulator, are now available for the Apple Vision Pro. These aren’t iPad ports. Both games are fully immersive VR experiences that have been optimized for Apple’s headset. This means that controls have been mapped to hand-and-eye tracking. The AVP’s lack of a dedicated controller would absolutely hamper some pre-existing VR games, but these two should work perfectly.

For the uninitiated, Job Simulator was one of the first “must have” titles in the VR space. It’s a hilarious riff on corporate culture that tasks players with designing a cubicle, making coffee and participating in all kinds of shenanigans. Vacation Simulator extends the tomfoolery to leisure, with a colorful beachside location, the ability to take picturesque hikes and, well, knitting. Players can also relax in a fake hot tub, splash in a fake sea and even get in some fake yoga.

Job Simulator costs $20 and Vacation Simulator costs $30, which are the same prices as rival platforms like the Meta Quest Store and Steam. It’s good to know there isn’t an Apple Vision Pro tax, beyond the initial $3,500.

Interestingly, developer Owlchemy Labs is actually owned by Google, which doesn’t really have a horse in the VR race. As for the Apple Vision Pro, the games and unique experiences are starting to appear. There’s an interactive story based on Marvel’s What If…? that releases on May 30 and the tabletop RPG Demeo hit the platform earlier this week. The sales numbers for the headset haven’t exactly been rosy, so we’ll see if that discourages companies from developing software for the platform.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/vr-classics-job-simulator-and-vacation-simulator-come-to-apple-vision-pro-190545280.html?src=rss 

In April, Ooni revealed its largest pizza oven yet, but the company was clear that you wouldn’t be able to order one until May. Well, the time has come. Starting today, you can pre-order the Koda 2 Max pizza oven for $999. The outdoor beast is scheduled to start shipping in July, which means you’ll still have to wait a few weeks to take advantage of this unit’s upgrades. In addition to a larger cooking area, the new features include dual-zone temperature controls, improved heat distribution, a new digital display and Bluetooth connectivity to your phone. 

None of these items are a surprise as they were part of the initial reveal, but Ooni’s full spec sheet for the Koda 2 Max does offer more info on how the Bluetooth feature will work. The company explains that the Digital Temperature Hub takes readings from “various spots” inside the oven and shows them on both the color display and the Ooni app. There are also two meat probes, similar to what you’d see on the best smart grills, that allow you to monitor internal temps during the cooking process. Via Ooni Connect, which is the name the company is using for the wireless setup and the app, you can see an average ambient temperature, individual zone temps and the status of the two food probes on your phone. What’s more, the app can send you alerts along the way, just in case you venture away from the onboard display.

Aside from the new smart connectivity, the main appeal of the Koda 2 Max is its size. The 24-inch cooking area is enough for larger, 20-inch pizzas. Of course, you can also bake two smaller ones at the same time to increase your efficiency during a pizza party. And thanks to the dual-zone temperature controls, you can roast meats and veggies side-by-side at different temps to help complete your meal in a timely fashion. This is an Ooni oven after all, which means it can hit temperatures of 950 degrees Fahrenheit and cook certain pizza styles in as little as 60 seconds. As always, there’s no final judgement on this making the list of best pizza ovens until several pies are stretched, baked and consumed, which will hopefully happen before the Koda 2 Max starts shipping to backyard pizzaiolos this summer. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/oonis-larger-dual-zone-koda-2-max-pizza-oven-is-now-available-for-pre-order-183424519.html?src=rss 

The M3-powered MacBook Air laptops have only been out a few weeks and there’s already a fairly substantial discount. Amazon is selling both versions of the laptop for up to $150 off. This brings the price of the 15-inch model down to $1,150, thanks to a discount of $100 and a clippable coupon worth $50. If that’s too much screen real estate for you, the 13-inch model is $100 off and currently an even $1,000.

The M3 MacBook Air isn’t a huge change from its predecessor, but the additional horsepower makes it the best Apple laptop for most people. We loved the sturdy form factor, ultra-fast performance and the excellent speakers. The trackpad and keyboard are also top-tier.

In our review, we mentioned the excellent display and the lightweight design. We actually called the M3 MacBook Air “impossibly thin for a notebook” and praised its unibody aluminum case. There are some tradeoffs when compared to the M3 MacBook Pro, including no option for a Pro version of the chip, but the line between the two models is getting blurrier and blurrier. The Air will get the job done, even when making music or editing videos. The Pro line will do this stuff faster, but Apple’s ultraportable laptop is not just for browsing the web anymore.

There are some minor nitpicks worth going over. First of all, there’s no USB-C port on the right side, which could make it difficult to integrate the computer into a pre-existing home office setup. The display’s also limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, which could be an issue with some AAA games.

It’s worth noting that both of these deals are for the standard version of each laptop with 8GB of RAM and 256GB of solid-state storage. However, you can up both the RAM and storage and still get a discount. The 16GB/512GB 15-inch model costs $1,500 as part of this sale, a discount of $200, and the specced out 13-inch version costs $1,350, which is a savings of $150.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-m3-powered-macbook-air-laptops-are-up-to-150-off-right-now-172834917.html?src=rss 

Apple’s latest iPad Air models have only been out for a couple of weeks, but you can already score decent deals on the new tablets. Most variants are on sale at Amazon at the minute, including the base 11-inch model with 128GB of storage. Thanks to a $30 discount, you can snap one up for $569. It’s early days for the new iPad Air, but that still marks a record-low price.

While the iPad Pro might be significantly more powerful and have a nicer display, we reckon the latest Air is the best iPad for most people. We feel it strikes the right balance of price, features and performance for the majority of folks.

Sure, it’s more expensive than the base iPad, the most wallet-friendly model with a sticker price of $349. But opting for an Air will help futureproof you, as older devices don’t support many of the latest apps and features.

The 11-inch model is certainly easier to hold, but there’s also a 13-inch iPad Air for the first time. That is Apple’s most affordable large-screen iPad, and the base model is also on sale, having dropped by $45 to $754.

We gave the 13-inch model a score of 91 in our review. It’s brighter (and obviously larger) than the 11-inch Air with a 600-nit screen versus a 500-nit one, but otherwise the two models are effectively identical.

Doubling the base storage, shifting the front-facing camera to the landscape edge and including support for the new Apple Pencil Pro are all plus points. Switching to the M2 chipset means that the latest iPad Air offers modest performance gains over the M1 tablet, but if you’ve been clinging onto an older iPad you should notice that this one is much faster than what you’re used to.

Follow @EngadgetDeals on Twitter and subscribe to the Engadget Deals newsletter for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/apples-new-m2-ipad-air-tablets-drop-to-record-low-prices-161743014.html?src=rss 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/lego-just-announced-the-first-ever-zelda-playset-and-its-glorious-163426681.html?src=rss 

T-Mobile will acquire the majority of US Cellular in a deal worth approximately $4.4 billion. This means that T-Mobile will own all of US Cellular’s stores, some of its spectrum assets and some of its customers. The deal includes a combination of cash and up to $2 billion of assumed debt, according to a press release by US Cellular. The companies expect to finalize the purchase by mid-2025, though the deal must attain regulatory approval.

All told, T-Mobile will walk away with around 30 percent of US Cellular’s wireless spectrum, which it hopes to use to improve coverage in rural areas and offer better connectivity to current US Cellular customers throughout the country. Current customers will be able to keep their plans or switch to a similar T-Mobile contract.

US Cellular will retain 70 percent of its wireless spectrum and towers. Additionally, it will lease space on around 2,100 additional towers to T-Mobile. “The decisions we announced today are in the best interests of our customers and our shareholders. T-Mobile is the right partner for our wireless operations,” said Laurent Therivel, CEO of US Cellular.

This is just the latest consolidation move by T-Mobile. The company recently acquired the Ryan Reynolds-backed Mint Mobile, via the purchase of parent company Ka’ena Corporation for around $1.35 billion. T-Mobile also merged with Sprint back in 2020. It’s basically Pac-Man, but instead of dots it hoovers up smaller cellular carriers.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that T-Mobile had teamed up with frenemy Verizon to “carve up” US Cellular’s wireless spectrum, but it looks like that deal has either fallen through or will be significantly delayed.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/t-mobile-to-acquire-majority-of-us-cellular-further-consolidating-carrier-market-152212548.html?src=rss 

Sony has revealed the lineup of games PlayStation Plus members can add to their library in June. For the first time, players will have access to PS VR2 titles through the Premium plan.

First up, subscribers on all tiers will be able to claim SpongeBob Squarepants: The Cosmic Shake, Streets of Rage 4 and the solid wrestling game AEW Fight Forever starting on June 4 and retain access as long as their PS Plus membership stays active. Those with a Premium plan and a PS VR2 headset will be able to play Ghostbusters: Rise of the Ghost Lord, Walkabout Mini Golf, Synth Riders, Before Your Eyes and The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapters 1 & 2 at no extra cost starting on June 6. Premium members can also dive into PS2 games Tomb Raider Legend, Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus starting on June 11.

In addition, Sony will gradually bring more offerings to the PS Plus Catalog for Extra and Premium members over the coming weeks. Dredge, one of last year’s standout indies, will join the lineup on May 29. Lego Marvel Super Heroes 2 (May 31), Cricket 24 (June 5) and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – The Definitive Edition (June 7) will also be available. More Game Catalog additions will be revealed soon.

Meanwhile, Sony’s Days of Play sale will start on May 29 and run for two weeks. It will include discounts on the PlayStation 5 and PS VR2 (with a year of Netflix Premium bundled in for PS Plus members who buy either), savings on PS Plus plans for newcomers and deals galore on digital games, including 24-hour flash sales.

One interesting thing to note is that Sony announced all of this on a Tuesday morning. It normally reveals PS Plus additions on Wednesdays. That could mean Sony has more PlayStation announcements up its sleeve for this week, such as details about a long-rumored showcase.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/junes-playstation-plus-offerings-include-ps-vr2-games-for-the-first-time-140040334.html?src=rss