Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Nvidia announced new infrastructure and AI models on Monday as it works to build the backbone technology for physical AI, including robots and autonomous vehicles that can perceive and interact with the real world. The semiconductor giant announced Alpamayo-R1, an open reasoning vision language model for autonomous driving research at the NeurIPS AI conference in San Diego, California. The company claims this is the first vision language action model focused on autonomous driving. Visual language models can process both text and images together, allowing vehicles to “see” their surroundings and make decisions based on what they perceive. This new model…

Amazon Web Services’ big annual event, re:Invent 2025, is getting into full swing in Las Vegas this week. Last year’s event was largely focused on their AI efforts, including new foundation models, services tackling AI hallucinations, and new security measures. And this year is likely to follow suit, based on what Amazon has announced so far and the lineup of speakers and programming that you can explore in more detail below. The event formally kicks off tomorrow, December 2, at 9 a.m. PT. You can expect editorial coverage of the keynotes, interviews with AWS execs, and a roundup of news…

SEATTLE (AP) — An anonymous donation expected to exceed $50 million is helping cover tuition costs for medical laboratory science students at the University of Washington for the next half-century.The dean of the university’s School of Medicine, Dr. Tim Dellit, made the surprise announcement Monday to about 30 grateful undergrads, who will each see two quarters’ worth of tuition covered for their senior-year clinical rotations, The Seattle Times reported.“I’m really shocked,” said Jasmine Wertz, eyes filling with tears. “Overwhelmed. Extremely grateful.”Students in the program are trained to perform clinical lab tests on patient samples, which are used to help diagnose,…

Instagram chief Adam Mosseri ordered most US staff in his organization back to the office five days a week starting February 2, according to an internal memo obtained by Business Insider and first reported by Alex Heath’s Sources newsletter.The memo, titled “Building a Winning Culture in 2026,” says the change applies to employees in US offices with assigned desks and is part of a broader push to make Instagram “more nimble and creative” as competition intensifies.”I believe that we are more creative and collaborative whenwe are together in-person,” Mosseri wrote. “I felt this pre-COVID and I feel it any time…

The AI boom is proving to be a windfall for construction workers building the massive data centers that power it all. According to The Wall Street Journal, workers moving into data-center construction are seeing pay jumps of 25% to 30% compared to their previous jobs — and in some cases, much more. Among them is DeMond Chambliss, who traded his small drywall business in Columbus, Ohio, for a supervisor role overseeing 200 workers at a data center site. He now makes over $100,000 annually. “I pinch myself going to work every day,” the 51-year-old tells the Journal. In Oregon, electrical…

Planned data center construction shows no signs of fading, with new additions to require 2.7x — nearly triple — the sector’s current demand for electricity over the next decade, according to a new report from BloombergNEF. By 2035, data centers will draw 106 gigawatts, up sharply from the 40 gigawatts they use today. Much of that growth will occur in more rural areas as facilities grow in size and as sites near urban areas become scarce, BloombergNEF said. Driving part of the growth is the sheer scale of planned data centers. Today, only 10% of data centers draw more than…

Madison Avenue’s center of gravity is shifting.Omnicom is now officially the world’s largest ad agency holding company, thanks to its $9 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group, which closed Friday.The combination brings together creative and media agencies, health marketing specialists, and production studios. They are all set to be underpinned by data from its Acxiom data-management company and Omni, which the company describes as its advanced intelligence platform.The agency mega-merger is also set to bring about more than $750 million in cost savings, including 4,000 job cuts related to the transaction, the company said Monday.Omnicom chairman and CEO John Wren told…

Madison Avenue’s center of gravity is shifting.Omnicom is now officially the world’s largest ad agency holding company, thanks to its $9 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group, which closed Friday.The combination brings together creative and media agencies, health marketing specialists, and production studios. They are all set to be underpinned by data from its Acxiom data-management company and Omni, which the company describes as its advanced intelligence platform.The agency mega-merger is also set to bring about more than $750 million in cost savings, including 4,000 job cuts related to the transaction, the company said Monday.Omnicom chairman and CEO John Wren told…

The World Health Organization issued new guidelines Monday recommending the use of GLP-1 drugs for treating obesity.In the new guidelines, the United Nations health agency made two key recommendations — first, that GLP-1 therapies may be used by adults for long-term treatment of obesity, except for pregnant women. It also recommended intensive behavioral therapy, including changes related to diet and exercise, alongside the use of the medications.”Obesity is a major global health challenge that WHO is committed to addressing by supporting countries and people worldwide to control it, effectively and equitably. Our new guidance recognizes that obesity is a chronic…

OpenAI is taking an ownership stake in Thrive Holdings, whose parent company is one of the AI giant’s major investors, Thrive Capital.  Thrive Holdings operates like a private equity firm for AI, rolling up companies that it believes could benefit from the tech in sectors like accounting and IT services.  Neither company disclosed the terms of the deal, but it will involve OpenAI embedding engineering, research, and product teams within Thrive’s companies to accelerate AI adoption and boost efficiency, the company says. If those companies succeed, OpenAI’s stake will grow, and it will get compensated for its services, according to…