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The Federal Communication Commission is moving forward with its plan to ban AI robocalls. Commissioners voted unanimously on Wednesday in favor of a Declaratory Ruling that was proposed in late January. Under the measure, the FCC deems robocalls made using AI-generated voices to be “artificial” voices per the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). That makes the practice illegal. The ruling takes effect immediately.

“Bad actors are using AI-generated voices in unsolicited robocalls to extort vulnerable family members, imitate celebrities and misinform voters. We’re putting the fraudsters behind these robocalls on notice,” FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. “State Attorneys General will now have new tools to crack down on these scams and ensure the public is protected from fraud and misinformation.”

The TCPA is a 1991 law that bans artificial or recorded voices being used to call residences without the receivers’ consent. It’s up to the FCC to create rules to enforce that legislation, as Ars Technica notes. As the FCC pointed out last month, under the TCPA, telemarketers need “to obtain prior express written consent from consumers before robocalling them. If successfully enacted, this Declaratory Ruling would ensure AI-generated voice calls are also held to those same standards.”

The FCC vote in favor of the ban comes at somewhat of an inflection point for AI. Not only have such technologies become vastly more widespread over the last year or so, an AI-generated version of President Joe Biden’s voice was used in a recent robocall that urged Democrats not to vote in New Hampshire’s Presidential primary. A criminal investigation into that incident is underway.

Given that we’re in an election year and the volume of misinformation and disinformation is already likely to rise, clamping down on AI robocalls now seems like a wise move. While stage AGs can take action against robocallers, the FCC also has the ability to fine them under the TCPA. Last year, the agency issued its largest ever fine of $300 million last year against a company that made more than 5 billion robocalls in a three-month period.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-fcc-says-robocalls-that-use-ai-generated-voices-are-illegal-162132319.html?src=rss 

Most people do not need to pay the premium for a foldable smartphone. But if you’ve got some cash to burn and have been looking to take the plunge, the Google Pixel Fold is one of our favorites, and a recent deal has dropped it down to $1,399. That’s still far from “affordable,” but it ties the largest discount we’ve seen for the unlocked 256GB model, taking $400 off Google’s list price. The offer is available at several retailers, including Amazon, Target, Best Buy and Google’s online store. If you need more storage space, Google has the 512GB model for $1,519, another $400 discount. The company says this deal will run through February 24.

The Pixel Fold is the runner-up pick in our guide to the best foldable phones, and Engadget Senior Writer Sam Rutherford gave it a score of 85 in his review last June. Similar to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 5, our top pick, it’s a “book-style” foldable, one that works like a traditional 5.8-inch smartphone when folded in half but offers a larger 7.6-inch display when unfurled. Next to Samsung’s phone (and the OnePlus Open), though, the Pixel’s displays are shorter and wider, which generally makes the device easier to use like a traditional phone. Your fingers have more room to breathe while texting when the phone is folded, while apps and videos will look more natural on the cover display. Samsung’s screens are brighter and more vibrant overall, but the 120Hz OLED panels here are still far from poor. You can see a crease in the middle of the internal display, however.

Beyond that, we’ve found the Pixel Fold’s cameras and image processing to deliver more accurate and dynamic photos than either the Galaxy Z Fold 5 or the OnePlus Open, especially in low-light conditions. It’s thinner than Samsung’s phone as well, though it’s slightly thicker than the Open. Like other Pixel phones, the Fold runs on a relatively clean and streamlined version of Android. A decent number of Google’s own apps are tweaked to better fit the larger screen, and you can run two phone apps side-by-side. Google says it’ll provide OS updates through June 2026, with two additional years of security updates. That said, the Z Fold 5’s UI has more powerful tools for multitasking. And as with most Android tablets, it won’t take too long to find apps that aren’t optimized for large displays.

There are other caveats. The Pixel Fold is by no means slow, but its Tensor G2 chip is now a bit dated, so the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Open provide better raw performance. Battery life is worse by a few hours, too, plus it has larger bezels around the display. Then there’s the elephant in the room: All foldable phones carry a higher durability risk. The Fold has more ways to break despite costing more than the best “normal” phones, so you’ll have to be particularly careful with it. It’s also worth noting that Google is likely working on a Pixel Fold 2, though that isn’t expected anytime soon. All that said, the current Fold has plenty to like if you dead set on a foldable phone today, and this deal makes it at least a little more accessible.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-google-pixel-fold-is-400-off-right-now-163809557.html?src=rss 

Just as Microsoft renamed Bing Chat to Copilot to unify its generative AI branding, Google is doing the same thing with Bard and Duet AI. The services now bear the name Gemini, after Google’s multimodal AI model. The name change leaked earlier this month. Google has also debuted a dedicated Gemini Android app alongside a paid version of the chatbot that has more enhanced capabilities.

“Bard has been the best way for people to directly experience our most capable models,” Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a blog post. “To reflect the advanced tech at its core, Bard will now simply be called Gemini. It’s available in 40 languages on the web and is coming to a new Gemini app on Android and on the Google app on iOS.”

Those who download the Gemini Android app can actually replace Google Assistant as the default assistant on their device. So, when you long press the home button or utter “Hey Google,” your phone or tablet can fire up Gemini instead of Assistant. You can also make this switch by opting in through Assistant.

Doing so will enable a new conversational overlay on your display. Along with swift access to Gemini, the overlay will offer contextual suggestions, such as the ability to generate a description for a photo you just took or ask for more information about an article that’s on your screen.

You’ll also be able to access commonly used Assistant features through the Gemini app, from making calls and setting timers to controlling smart home devices. Google said it will bring more Assistant functions to Gemini in the future. That certainly makes it sound as though Google is phasing out Assistant in favor of Gemini. The app also includes access to Gemini Advanced (more on that in a moment).

As for iOS, there won’t be a separate Gemini app for now. Instead, you can access it through the Google app by tapping the Gemini toggle.

Gemini is available on Android and iOS in English in the US starting today. Next week, Google will start offering access to the chatbot in more locales in English, as well as in Japanese and Korean. As you might expect, Gemini is coming to more countries and languages down the line.

In addition, Google is opening up access to what it says is its largest and most capable AI model, Ultra 1.0, through Gemini Advanced. The company claims this is able to have longer and more in-depth conversations with the ability to recall context from previous chats. It says Gemini Advanced “is far more capable at highly complex tasks like coding, logical reasoning, following nuanced instructions and collaborating on creative projects.”

Gemini Advanced is available now in English in 150 countries and territories. To access it, you’ll need to sign up for the new Google One AI Premium Plan. This costs $20 per month — the same price as Copilot Pro — after a two-month free trial. Along with Gemini Advanced, this subscription includes everything from the Google One Premium Plan, including 2TB of storage and a VPN. Subscribers will also be able to use Gemini in apps such as Gmail, Docs, Slides and Sheets in the near future (this is replacing Duet AI).

Of note, Google says it sought to mitigate concerns such as bias and unsafe content while building Gemini Advanced and other AI products. The company says it carried out “extensive trust and safety checks, including external red-teaming” (i.e. testing by third-party ethical hackers) on Gemini Advanced before refining the model with reinforcement learning and fine tuning.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-rebrands-its-bard-ai-chatbot-as-gemini-which-now-has-its-own-android-app-151303210.html?src=rss