AI used to shed light on under-mapped parts of world, Mr Beast faces lawsuit
A new map made with AI has been launched to help shed light on life in under-mapped parts of the world. This week, the UN and Google launched the first map to show high-resolution building footprints and heights in Africa and across the global South, covering every year from 2016 to 2023. Those parts of the world were often only mapped with low-quality images that made it hard to see how settlements changed over time or how people lived. However, the team used AI to extract building footprints and heights from low-resolution satellite images that were already being taken every five days. Sky News
When it comes to the age-old iOS versus Android debate, messaging has long been a point of contention. Apple’s recent adoption of the RCS messaging standard – allowing more seamless and feature-rich interactions between iOS and Android users – has helped settle things a little now that iOS 18 has launched, but it looks like there are still plenty of problems with how RCS works on Apple’s iPhones. According to the Washington Post, the biggest problem right now is that of security. Tech Radar
Half a billion fans, a multi-million dollar personal fortune and a global business empire. It would take a lot to dethrone YouTube’s biggest influencer Jimmy Donaldson, aka MrBeast. But a 54-page court document could be his toughest test yet. Five female contestants on upcoming Prime Video show Beast Games are launching legal action against his production company MrB2024 and Amazon in Los Angeles. Billed as the largest ever reality competition series, 1,000 contestants are set to compete for a $5m (£3.7m) prize when the show airs – or if it airs. The lawsuit has plunged the show into crisis. BBC
Nothing has been able to stop smartphones taking over our lives and those of our children. But the inevitable backlash is in full flow. It’s not only about family arguments over screen-time restrictions, or the often futile efforts of parents to minimise exposure to adult, radicalising or consumerist content. With the rising perception that phones are addictive and interfere with children’s learning, creativity and concentration, and with more than 97% of 12-year-olds owning a smartphone, schools have been taking action. In February, the UK government issued guidance on smartphones and some schools have since banned them. The Guardian
SpaceX plans to launch about five uncrewed Starship missions to Mars in two years, CEO Elon Musk said on Sunday in a post on social media platform X. Earlier this month, Musk had said that the first Starships to Mars would launch in two years “when the next Earth-Mars transfer window opens.” The CEO on Sunday said that the first crewed mission timeline will depend upon the success of the uncrewed flights. If the uncrewed missions land safely, crewed missions will be launched in four years. Arab News
Battery life can make or break a phone, and the iPhone 16 is absolutely no exception to that. But thankfully you don’t need to worry about it, because the entire iPhone 16 series has managed to exceed the battery life of their predecessors in our battery test — No doubt thanks to the larger batteries and the boosted power efficiency of the A18 and A18 Pro chips. We put the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and the iPhone 16 Pro Max through the Tom’s Guide battery test. The iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Plus have risen to the top with some incredibly impressive results. Tom’s Guide
