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Time Is Money

Jul 16, 2023 • 6 min read

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Google Bard Updates
India's Moon Mission

Week Recap:

The United States has officially destroyed the last of its declared chemical weapons stockpile, according to a statement from President Joe Biden. This occurred at a military installation in Kentucky, specifically the Blue Grass Chemical Agent Destruction Pilot Plant. The final item to be destroyed was an M55 rocket filled with a sarin nerve agent. Over 51,000 such rockets had been stored at the facility since the 1940s.
OpenAI has released Code Interpreter, an internal plug-in, to all ChatGPT Plus users. This tool allows users to run code, handle files, create graphs, and conduct data analysis. It supports Python code and manages files up to 100MB. With the implementation of Code Interpreter, ChatGPT can generate various visualizations, clean datasets, and extract color palettes from images.
Turkey (a member of NATO) has decided to back Sweden's bid to join NATO. Turkey's endorsement comes after obtaining assurances from Sweden about their stance on Kurdish separatists and a promise to lift certain defense-related sanctions.
Foxconn, a major supplier for Apple, has withdrawn from a $19.5 billion partnership with Indian firm Vedanta, which would have established semiconductor and display manufacturing in Gujarat, India.
The NATO summit in Lithuania saw discussions on the geopolitical future of Europe, especially concerning the ongoing conflict with Ukraine and Russia. Leaders confirmed that Ukraine's future lies within the alliance, yet they refrained from providing an immediate invitation or timetable for the country's accession, essentially indicating a "not now, but later" stance.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has levied a fine of $250 million on the Bank of America for a series of infringements, including the application of unauthorized fees and the opening of credit card accounts without customer consent.
In a recent development, Microsoft has secured approval from a US court to acquire video game developer Activision Blizzard. Despite the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) earlier efforts to stop the acquisition, California Judge Jacqueline Scott Croley has turned down the preliminary injunction.
The US inflation rate has dipped to 3%, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This indicates a consistent drop from the previous months, with 4% inflation in May, 4.9% in April, and 9% in June 2022.
Elon Musk, has launched a new AI company named xAI. The company's mission is to "understand the true nature of the universe," according to its website. The team consists of experts who have previously been part of notable organizations like DeepMind, OpenAI, Google Research, Microsoft Research, Tesla, and the University of Toronto.
iOS 17, the latest public beta for iPhone XR or newer, introduces several innovative features. Significant ones include real-time voicemail transcriptions, video messages for missed FaceTime calls, and StandBy Mode, which transforms idle iPhones into functional smart displays.
The Biden administration has opposed the creation of an inspector general’s office by Congress to monitor weapons transfers to Ukraine. The proposal was part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and intended to prevent corruption similar to that observed during the Afghan war.
Twitter has introduced a new program that shares advertising revenue with content creators. High-profile individuals have publicly disclosed substantial earnings through this initiative.
The U.S. Appeals Court has temporarily halted a ban, thus allowing the Biden administration to influence content on social media platforms. This pause permits the government to direct social media companies to censor certain information, a move some critics argue violates constitutional free speech protections.
In a recent press conference where Hollywood actors announced their strike, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, chief negotiator for the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), disclosed a proposal from Hollywood studios involving the digital use of actors' likenesses using artificial intelligence.

Google Bard Updates:

Google's Bard (AI), a Large Language Model (LLM), now has an expanded global reach, supporting over 40 languages. The update includes customization options for the tone and style of Bard's responses.
You can now listen to Bard's responses, an advantageous feature for understanding pronunciation or for auditory learning. Bard's conversations can be renamed and pinned for easier navigation.
Coding tasks have been enhanced, allowing Python code exportation to Replit alongside Google Colab. The new feature of shareable links makes sharing your Bard chat simpler.
Lastly, Bard has integrated with Google Lens, offering the ability to upload images with prompts for Bard to analyze, aiding in providing more information or generating captions. This feature is currently only available in English but will extend to other languages in the future.

India's Moon Mission:

India has launched a new moon mission, Chandrayaan-3, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The aim is to put an orbiter, lander, and rover on the moon. This is a second attempt after the 2019 mission ended in a crash due to software issues.
The failed mission in 2019, which cost $140 million, was designed to examine moon craters believed to hold water. Only three other countries have ever reached the moon: USSR, the US, and China.
In 2008, India had a successful landing which confirmed water presence on the moon, marking the first hard landing on the moon's south pole. The Chandrayaan-3 aims to be the first to land near the moon's less-explored south pole. The first part of this mission has been successful, but it remains to be seen whether India can successfully land on the moon's south side by August 23.

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