Tech Digest daily roundup: Google to launch ChatGPT rival called Bard
Google is launching an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered chatbot called Bard to rival ChatGPT. Bard will be used by a group of testers before being rolled out to the public in the coming weeks, the firm said. Bard is built on Google’s existing large language model Lamda, which one engineer described as being so human-like in its responses that he believed it was sentient. The tech giant also announced new AI tools for its current search engine. BBC
A decision on whether to introduce a so-called ‘Britcoin’ digital pound is due to be made by 2025, the Treasury has announced, as a consultation paper has found one is “likely to be needed in the future”. The creation of a digital form of the currency had been the subject of a consultation paper, published on Monday by the Treasury and the Bank of England with a decision on whether to implement a digital pound to be taken around the middle of the decade. Sky News
The most highly-anticipated game of 2023 (so far) is almost upon us. Hogwarts Legacy, despite being enmeshed in a near-constant state of controversy, is already breaking sales records on PS5 and Xbox Series X, and unless the game is a massive disappointment, it’s looking like one of the biggest games of 2023 by a long mile. The open-world Harry Potter game allows players to explore the magical school Hogwarts as a young witch or wizard as they attend school, fight monsters, fly on broomsticks and cast spells—all in a fantastical open-world. Forbes
Fitbit’s blood pressure technology could be closer than we thought after it filed a patent for a special wearable sensor. The patent outlines a pressure sensor in the display, which mimics a blood pressure cuff. A traditional blood pressure cuff works by restricting the blood flow through an artery and measuring the strength of the heart rate against that pressure. Fitbit’s idea works the same way, but with a force-sensitive panel, possibly on the display. Wareable
The four ‘major’ recorded music companies – which in this instance means Universal Music, annual investor report, which reveals that 75% of plays of music tracks on its platform last year were distributed by the ‘big three’ majors or a Merlin member. Obviously, that means that a quarter of music streams on Spotify last year (25%) were distributed by companies who were unaffiliated with the majors or Merlin. Music Business Worldwide
The tipster @TheGalox_has seemingly been teasing the successor to the Sony Xperia PRO-I. The source uses the thrilling introductory phrase of “a phone unlike anything we’ve seen before” followed by a tentative launch date timeframe of “coming later this year”. There are some expectations that the Xperia PRO-I II (or whatever name Sony gives it) could see the light of day at some point in the third quarter of 2023. The leaker also includes “II” followed by an image of the 1-inch image sensor that was used in the promotional material for the Sony Xperia PRO-I. NotebookCheck
