Governor of California blocks AI safety bill, Yale smart video doorbell reviewed
The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has blocked a landmark artificial intelligence (AI) safety bill, which had faced strong opposition from major technology companies. The proposed legislation would have imposed some of the first regulations on AI in the US. Mr Newsom said the bill could stifle innovation and prompt AI developers to move out of the state. Senator Scott Wiener, who authored the bill, said the veto allows companies to continue developing an “extremely powerful technology” without any government oversight. The bill would have required the most advanced AI models to undergo safety testing. BBC
Interest in electric cars has slumped to its lowest level for four years as an increasing number of drivers say they will stick with petrol-powered vehicles. Figures from the Department for Transport show that just 13pc of all drivers plan to buy a fully electric car as their next vehicle. By contrast, interest in combustion-engine cars has risen, with 37pc of motorists saying they will buy a petrol-powered vehicle, up from 31pc a year earlier. The figures represent a new setback to Labour’s plans to ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by the end of the decade. Telegraph
The Yale Smart Video Doorbell and Doorbell Chime set lets you see and speak to visitors no matter where you are in the world, providing you have a mobile phone connection. Although the concept isn’t new (Ring pioneered the video doorbell concept a few years back), this is a very good alternative solution – and one that works out cheaper too. There are two options: either use your existing doorbell wiring, or charge the doorbell via its built-in rechargeable battery using the provided USB-A to USB-C cable. Tech Radar
The SpaceX capsule which will retrieve the two stranded astronauts has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS). Pilot Sunita “Suni” Williams and Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore were onboard a test flight to the ISS on Boeing’s newest spacecraft on 5 June. They were meant to stay in orbit for eight days – however, issues with Starliner’s propulsion system meant they were left stranded in space for months. NASA confirmed in August that the two will not return to Earth until 2025, with SpaceX now in charge of rescuing the astronauts on a Crew Dragon flight. Sky News
All around Meta’s Menlo Park campus, cameras stared at me. I’m not talking about security cameras or my fellow reporters’ DSLRs. I’m not even talking about smartphones. I mean Ray-Ban and Meta’s smart glasses, which Meta hopes we’ll all — one day, in some form — wear. I visited Meta for this year’s Connect conference, where just about every hardware product involved cameras. They’re on the Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses that got a software update, the new Quest 3S virtual reality headset, and Meta’s prototype Orion AR glasses. Orion is what Meta calls a “time machine”: a functioning example of what full-fledged AR could look like, years before it will be consumer-ready. The Verge
A man falsely accused of murder by Tommy Robinson on X has called for legislation to control Elon Musk’s social media website, arguing it has become a “platform for racism, bigotry, bias, prejudice and disinformation”. Abdul Hai, who was acquitted of murdering the teenager Richard Everitt in 1994, told the Guardian that he is considering legal action against the social media site formerly known as Twitter, after Robinson, a far-right agitator, posted that he had been convicted of the crime. The Guardian
