It's Thursday, which means it’s time again for This Week in Tech!!!
Mojo Lang - A fast futuristic Python alternative
Mojo is a new programming language designed for artificial intelligence (AI) development. It is a superset of Python, which means that it can run any Python code, but it also adds new features that make it faster and more efficient for AI applications. One of the key features of Mojo is its use of MLIR, a multi-level intermediate representation. MLIR is a compiler infrastructure that can be used to generate code for a variety of different hardware platforms, including CPUs, GPUs, and TPUs. This makes Mojo very portable and allows it to be used to develop AI applications for a wide range of devices.
DEF CON to set thousands of hackers loose on LLMs
This year's DEF CON AI Village has invited hackers to show up, dive in, and find bugs and biases in large language models (LLMs) built by OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, and others. Village organizers describe as "the largest red teaming exercise ever for any group of AI models," will host "thousands" of people, including "hundreds of students from overlooked institutions and communities," all of whom will be tasked with finding flaws in LLMs that power today's chat bots and generative AI. DEF CON is set to run from August 10 to 13 this year in Las Vegas.
Using an Ad Blocker? YouTube May Refuse to Play Videos
YouTube is experimenting with a pop-up message that stops video playback until either your ad blocker is disabled or users sign up for a Premium subscription. Reddit users posted an image of the pop-up that appeared when trying to watch a video on YouTube while also running an ad blocker in their browser. The pop-up states that "ad blockers are not allowed on YouTube," before going on to explain that ads allow YouTube to stay free "for billions of users worldwide."
IBM advances its quantum roadmap as competition heats up
IBM is in a strong position as the first quantum computers reach customers, but there is a slew of competitors working to commercialize emerging quantum technologies. IBM reached a quantum-computing milestone in March with the first U.S. deployment of an on-site, private-sector, IBM-managed quantum computer. The IBM Quantum System One, installed at the Cleveland Clinic, is the world's first quantum computer to be specifically dedicated to healthcare research, with the goal of helping the Cleveland Clinic accelerate biomedical discoveries, according to IBM.
Google officially reveals its first foldable phone: The Pixel Fold
Google has confirmed the Pixel Fold, its first foldable smartphone, with video teasers on both YouTube and Twitter. The company was expected to reveal the Pixel Fold at Google I/O next week, but leaks ruined that surprise. The device has a vertical hinge that unfolds into a tablet-like 7.6-inch display. There’s also an exterior screen, measuring 5.8 inches.
Samsung has banned employees from using ChatGPT in the workplace
This comes after Samsung engineers accidentally leaked internal source code to ChatGPT in April. Other companies including Amazon, JPMorgan, and Goldman Sachs have restricted AI use.
Two More Major Streaming Services Are Merging Into One
Hulu and Disney+ are joining forces, while those who stick with the standalone ad-based Disney+ tier will pay even more going forward. Disney is combining Hulu and Disney+ into a single streaming app later this year. And those who stick with the standalone ad-based Disney+ tier will pay even more going forward.
