Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA
Watching SpongeBob cook meth is a very different experience from viewing the countless other memes of the beloved cartoon.SpongeBob, Pikachu, and other well-known characters have been starring in very new (and very unauthorized) types of content in recent days, thanks to OpenAI’s Sora video generation app, a TikTok-esque AI app. Tech analyst Ben Thompson asked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman about these types of videos.While Altman did not address specific examples, he said the intellectual property rights holders are responding differently to AI video.”Video hits people, particularly rights owners, very differently than still images, it turns out,” Altman told Thompson during…
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — The number of children displaced by violence in Haiti has nearly doubled to 680,000, according to a new UNICEF report released Wednesday that warns minors are increasingly facing hunger, violence and recruitment by armed groups in the Caribbean nation.Overall, around 6 million Haitians — half the country’s population — need humanitarian assistance, including more than 3.3 million children, UNICEF said.“Without decisive action, the future of an entire generation is at stake,” the report stated.Gang violence has displaced a record 1.3 million Haitians in recent years, with many cramming into makeshift shelters after their communities were razed.The…
NEW YORK (AP) — Dolly Parton “ain’t dead yet,” the country superstar said on social media Wednesday following public speculation about her health.“There are just a lot of rumors flying around. But I figured if you heard it from me, you’d know that I was okay,” the 79-year-old singer said in a new two-minute video posted on Instagram. “I’m not ready to die yet. I don’t think God is through with me. And I ain’t done working.”Her post, which appeared on numerous of Parton’s social media accounts and her website, was captioned, “I ain’t dead yet.”Late last month Parton postponed…
DETROIT (AP) — Riley Greene and Javier Báez homered in a four-run sixth inning and the Detroit Tigers kept their season alive with a 9-3 win over the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday in Game 4 of the American League Division Series.The Tigers forced a Game 5 by winning at Comerica Park for the first time in more than a month. They went 0-8 after Tarik Skubal’s 6-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sept. 6, including Seattle’s 8-4 win on Tuesday.The decisive game of the series will be Friday in Seattle, with Skubal facing George Kirby.“One of the easiest…
After OpenAI’s video-generating app Sora surged to the No. 1 position on the U.S. App Store, it has now, technically, experienced a bigger first week than ChatGPT on iOS, according to new data from app intelligence provider Appfigures. Its estimates show that Sora saw 627,000 iOS downloads in its first seven days of availability, compared with ChatGPT’s 606,000 iOS downloads during its first week. This isn’t the fairest comparison, however, because ChatGPT was available only in the U.S. during its first week, while Sora is currently offered in the U.S. and Canada at launch. Still, Appfigures says that Canada contributed…
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals over the next decade under a first-in-the-nation law signed Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.The law seeks to define ultraprocessed foods, the often super-tasty products typically full of sugar, salt and unhealthy fats. The legislation requires the state’s Department of Public Health to adopt rules by mid-2028 defining “ultraprocessed foods of concern” and “restricted school foods.” Schools have to start phasing out those foods by July 2029, and districts will be barred from selling them for breakfast or lunch by July 2035. Vendors will be banned from…
Dolly Parton is speaking out after her sister prompted widespread concern for the legendary singer’s health amid the postponement of a string of live shows — insisting she “aint dead yet!”In a video posted on Instagram on Wednesday, Parton explained that she was working on commercials for the Grand Ole Opry and wanted to put people’s minds at ease, providing an update to fans on her health.”Everyone thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you?I’m working hard here! ” the 79-year-old singer added in the video captioned “I ain’t dead yet!”The public concern surged…
Dolly Parton posted a video to Instagram on Wednesday reassuring fans she is doing “okay” amid concern for her health.”I ain’t dead yet!” she captioned the video, where she spoke to fans directly.The message comes after Parton’s sister on Tuesday asked for prayers for the country music star, before clarifying she was simply “a little under the weather” and not seriously ill.In her video, Parton spoke to the camera, explaining she was working on commercials for the Grand Ole Opry, joking, “I know lately everybody thinks that I am sicker than I am. Do I look sick to you?”Terry Wyatt/WireImage…
Zendesk announced Wednesday at its AI summit a string of LLM-driven products meant to reshape the company’s reliance on human technicians. The center of the new features is an autonomous support agent that Zendesk believes will solve 80% of support issues without human intervention. That system will be supplemented by a co-pilot agent, which will assist human technicians with the remaining 20% of issues, as well as an admin-layer agent, a voice-based agent, and an analytics agent. According to Shashi Upadhyay, Zendesk’s president of Product, Engineering and AI, the new agents are part of a broader change in the support…
The last time the NBA went to China, there was silence. They were two of the most awkward games probably ever played, a pair of preseason matchups between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Lakers with some fans barely reacting to anything and no press conferences held afterward.This time, it’s going to be very different. Back to normal, it would seem.The Nets and Phoenix Suns have made their way to the Chinese gambling hub of Macao for two preseason games — one Friday, the other on Sunday, and marking the NBA’s first games played in China since 2019. There are…