Google rolls out Gemini AI model, Honor to unveil Porsche design phone at MWC
Google has started rolling out its ‘most capable’ AI model yet, Gemini. As a replacement for Google’s pre-existing Bard chatbot, the new AI assistant has been off to a slow start as it’s already had to have some major updates to its voice commands and app. Late last year, Google announced its plans to expand and invest in AI technology, and the company has done so with its release of Gemini in early 2024. As quoted in the Google Blog, Gemini is Google’s most flexible model yet that “was built from the ground up to be multimodal, which means it can generalise and seamlessly understand, operate across and combine different types of information including text, code, audio, image and video.” T3
WhatsApp is making a series of changes to its terms and conditions. The new changes are WhatsApp’s response to new European regulations, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, which require companies to be more clear about how they moderate and deliver content. The new terms will include extra information about what is or is not allowed on the app, give more information about an EU requirement that will force companies such as WhatsApp to allow users to send messages to users on other third-party apps, and will include more information about how content is moderated on the Channels feature. Independent
A charity that helps people worried about their own thoughts or behaviour says an increasing number of callers are feeling confused about the ethics of viewing AI child abuse imagery. The Lucy Faithfull Foundation (LFF) says AI images are acting as a gateway. The charity is warning that creating or viewing such images is still illegal even if the children are not real. Neil, not his real name, contacted the helpline after being arrested for creating AI images. The 43-year-old denied that he had any sexual attraction to children. BBC
Three years ago, a man in Florida named JL decided, on a whim, to send a tube of his spit to the genetic testing site 23andMe in exchange for an ancestry report. He said he was surprised by the diversity of his test results, which showed he had some Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. JL said he didn’t think much about the results until he learned of a massive breach at the company that exposed the data of nearly 7 million people, about half of the company’s customers. Worse, he later learned of a hacker going by the pseudonym “Golem” who had offered to sell the names, addresses and genetic heritage with similar Ashkenazi Jewish heritage on a shadowy dark web forum. The Guardian
Honor will launch Magic6 RSR Porsche Design at MWC 2024, the company revealed in a press release. Technically, there wasn’t a model mentioned in the full message, but it said the new phone will join the the Magic V2 RSR foldable. Given Honor’s scheduled keynote for the Magic6 global release in Barcelona on February 25, it is safe to assume the mighty cameraphone is getting a Porsche Design variant.
The Magic V2 RSR Porsche Design is already with us, and the phone truly looks stunning. We can only hope the Magic6 Pro version will also be as cool as its foldable sibling – it’s certainly a capable flagship with its Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset, 50 MP 1/1.3” main camera, and a 180 MP telephoto shooter with a periscope lens. GSM Arena
