Kalakshar US

The ongoing race to expand generative AI technology is reaching digital assistants — one of many people’s first introductions to an AI companion. Such is the case with Google, which is working on a revamp for its Assistant that will include generative AI-powered technology, according in an internal email obtained by Axios. 

Google Assistant’s vice president Peeyush Ranjan and product director, Duke Dukellis, explained their rationale to staffers, stating: “As a team, we need to focus on delivering high-quality, critical product experiences for our users. We’ve also seen the profound potential of generative AI to transform people’s lives and see a huge opportunity to explore what a supercharged Assistant, powered by the latest LLM technology, would look like.”

Notably, the email revealed that Google is already working on doing this for mobile devices. There’s no timeline set for when Google will integrate this technology into its smart home devices or, for that matter, exactly what these new updates will look like. The company might utilize Bard, its AI chatbot, to converse with Assistant users or try something completely original.

Whatever Google employees are working on, it’s causing some internal reconfiguration, such as combining the Surfaces and Services teams into one. The company is also letting go of a “small” number of employees but didn’t disclose the exact amount.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/google-is-looking-to-supercharge-assistant-with-ai-113516175.html?src=rss 

After threatening to do so, X Corp (aka Twitter) has filed a lawsuit against The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), Bloomberg has reported. It claimed that the anti-hate group is illegally “scraping” its servers and cherry picking hateful posts as part of “a scare campaign to drive away advertisers,” according to documents filed in San Francisco federal court. X Corp. is asking for unspecified monetary damages and an injunction barring the CCDH from accessing its data.

The Center published a research article in June asserting that X allowed explicitly racist and homophobic posts despite policies to the contrary, even after they’d been reported. However, X responded that the CCDH used poor methodology, and failed to study all 500 million posts on the service each day. It also maintained that the Center was taking funding from competitors or foreign governments as part of an “ulterior agenda,” according to The New York Times. 

In a new blog post called “Protecting the public’s right to free expression,” Twitter/X explained its reasoning for filing a legal claim against CCDH. “X is a free public service funded largely by advertisers. Through the CCDH’s scare campaign and its ongoing pressure on brands to prevent the public’s access to free expression, the CCDH is actively working to prevent public dialogue,” the post states.

It went on to note that the CCDH scraped its data, accessing it without authorization from Brandwatch, a Twitter partner that provides “consumer & market insights,” “brand monitoring” and more. It added that CCDH’s “‘research’ cited in aBloomberg article ‘contained metrics used out of context to make unsubstantiated assertions about X (formerly Twitter).'”

“That’s why X has filed a legal claim against the CCDH and its backers,” it stated. It also accused the CCDH of “targeting people on all platforms who speak about issues the CCDH doesn’t agree with,” “attempting to coerce the deplatforming of users whose views do not conform to the CCDH’s ideological agenda” and more. 

In a letter published earlier today, the CCDH countered Twitter’s earlier allegations. It noted that it never claimed to be conducting a comprehensive study, and documented the methodology it did use. It wrote that X didn’t provide any specific examples, and said it doesn’t accept funding from companies or governments. It further stated that it “will not be bullied,” will continue publishing its research and that a lawsuit with “frivolous” claims could prove risky.

“The public has the right to know if and how @ElonMusk’s leadership has led to more hate speech on Twitter,” the nonprofit tweeted earlier. “By threatening us, Musk is trying to hide the truth about his own failures. Platforms must be held accountable for spreading hate & lies.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/elon-musks-x-corp-sues-anti-hate-group-over-its-research-060156126.html?src=rss 

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, the upcoming game from Team Reptile with major Jet Set Radio vibes, is also heading to PlayStation and Xbox. It was initially announced for Switch and PC with a release date of August 18th. Now, the developer has revealed that PlayStation and Xbox gamers only have to wait a couple of weeks more, because the title will be released for their consoles two weeks later, on September 1st. 

Team Reptile describes Bomb Rush Cyberfunk as a world wherein “self-styled graffiti crews equipped with personal boostpacks are battling each other for control of the streets.” Its theme, gameplay and art style are all reminiscent of the Dreamcast classic Jet Set Radio, which was released back in 2000. In the upcoming funkstyle game, players can explore the five main boroughs of New Amsterdam to spray graffiti, do dance battles and face off rival crews.

They can also expand their crew by finding new members around the city as they go around on inline skates, skateboards or bikes. (And yes, they can use the environment to do tricks.) Another layer of gameplay is that players have to evade militarized police as they move, which gets harder to do the longer they play because law enforcement scales up the more they vandalize the streets. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/bomb-rush-cyberfunk-arrives-on-the-playstation-and-xbox-in-september-045525170.html?src=rss