Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan State University scrambled to relocate some final exams after police said they discovered a man inside the school’s largest academic building with household substances that could be used to run a methamphetamine lab.The 31-year-old man was charged Wednesday with malicious destruction of property and possessing substances to operate a meth lab. Wells Hall has been closed since Monday.Campus Police Chief Mike Yankowski did not explicitly say investigators discovered an active drug lab inside the building. But he noted that flooring, doors and carpet would need to be cleaned or replaced.Citing federal privacy law, Yankowski…
There’s no official leaderboard for AI spending in Big Tech, but companies are competing like there is one. Loading audio narration… Tech giants’ intent to pour billions of dollars into their AI bets remains unwavering. Microsoft jumped ahead this time, announcing plans to spend $190 billion in capital expenditures this year.With four companies and more than $12 trillion in market cap reporting in one day, there’s a lot to unpack.Amazon: AWS enjoyed its best growth since 2022, with sales jumping 28% last quarter. And there are more opportunities ahead. Amazon hinted it could start selling its Trainium AI chips to…
Tech companies are slashing jobs left and right, leaving many workers wondering if their role is next. Loading audio narration… In an episode of Steve Huynh’s, “A Life Engineered” podcast released Monday, Kun Chen, a former engineer at Microsoft, Meta, and Atlassian, said that only about 2% of engineers are getting outsized results from AI — and that gap could make a difference in terms of who gets left behind.”Mastering agentic engineering has proven to lead to a massive boost in productivity, but this is only achieved by a small number of developers,” Chen told Business Insider.Based on conversations with…
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Alex Cohen, a 42-year-old CEO and founder of Xander Marketing, based in Kent, UK. This story has been edited for length and clarity. Loading audio narration… I started using ChatGPT in December 2022. When I tried Claude about 10 months later, it was mostly out of curiosity.Even early on, there was a clear difference. Claude has always been a better writer, in my opinion. I run a small marketing firm, and we write a lot of content for brands. When I gave both systems the same prompt with context, Claude got…
Amazon has launched a new feature that uses AI to generate a short, podcast-like audio segment where two “hosts” discuss the merits and reviews of a specific product. Loading audio narration… I think it could be one of the funniest, closest endpoints to human civilization we’ve seen yet in our new AI-enabled world.If this sounds a little confusing, here’s an example. I tried it out for diaper rash cream, and, voila! A podcast! (Sound on.)Finally, the AI feature we all wanted and needed: Amazon now creates an AI “podcast” about products where two AI “hosts” discuss the product and take…
OpenAI and Oracle are building a massive data center in Michigan — and residents’ power bills are hinging on it. Loading audio narration… The data center is part of OpenAI’s Stargate project, originally a joint venture between Oracle, SoftBank, and OpenAI. If it performs as expected, the Michigan electric utility DTE Energy says it will freeze rates for its entire customer base.Driven largely by Big Tech’s sweeping AI data center buildout, electricity bills are rising nationwide. DTE is one of many local utilities that have sought to raise customer rates across the board as it builds new power plants and transmission…
Tech companies are racing to build out infrastructure that can further drive the automation boom. Now, Japanese multinational SoftBank reportedly plans to create a new company designed to automate the creation of that infrastructure. SoftBank is putting together a new business called Roze AI, the Financial Times originally reported. Roze would seek to make data center construction in the U.S. more “efficient,” the Wall Street Journal reports. It would do that by — among other things — deploying autonomous robots to help build server farms. In an interesting twist, the conglomerate is already prepping Roze for an IPO, and some…
Big Four firm KPMG laid off about 400 consultants in its US advisory division on Wednesday. Loading audio narration… The cuts focused on consultants in regulatory risk advisory, customer operations, and financial services, a person familiar told Business Insider. These divisions have seen slowing demand in recent months, the person said.Employees were informed of the layoffs during a call at noon on Wednesday. On Reddit, posters who said they were employees reported that they received calendar invites for the call as early as Tuesday.Russ Grote, a spokesperson for KPMG, said in a statement to Business Insider that the firm’s actions…
Elon Musk was grilled for nearly three hours by OpenAI’s lawyer on his second day of testimony in a high-stakes civil trial — and he will face more cross-examination on Thursday. Loading audio narration… Here are the biggest takeaways from his time on the stand on Wednesday as he was questioned about how much control he wanted over OpenAI; his lawsuit against the company and cofounders Sam Altman and Greg Brockman; and communications with his now-partner Shivon Zilis.Musk explained why he waited years to sueOne of the biggest questions about Musk’s 2024 lawsuit is why he waited so long to…
Amazon was one of several tech giants that on Wednesday beat Wall Street’s first-quarter earnings expectations, offering more financial evidence that the AI boom continues to reward companies that supply the picks and shovels. Amazon’s cloud business is the latest example. Amazon Web Services, buoyed by its role in fueling the AI boom, saw its net sales increase 28% year-over-year, climbing to $37.6 billion, the company said Wednesday. It was the fastest growth rate for AWS in 15 quarters, Amazon president and CEO Andy Jassy said during the company’s earnings call. Jassy attributed AWS’ success to its role in providing…