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What’s to come from AI in 2024? Dec 29, 2023

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Writer of the weekly AI newsletter Inside My Head, Linus Ekenstam, discusses the evolution of artificial intelligence in 2023, the dangers it poses in 2024, and how the technology will get even better over the next 12 months. In this episode:

How AI is skewing the definition of a photograph
How people are using AI day-to-day to boost productivity
The risks posed by deep fakes and misinformation in the 2024 elections
Can humanity survive an AI takeover?
How AI will become more integrated into smartphones
The best thing we can do to get ahead of the game on AI

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2023's best games, and what's to come in 2024 Dec 28, 2023

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Was Baldur's Gate 3 the best game of 2023? What Rockstar's 'locomotive technology' patent means for GTA VI. The 2024 game that promises an open world as big as the earth. Will we see AI-powered NPCs next year? Our Culture Writer and gaming reporter Vicky Jessop talks through the gaming highlights of 2023, which titles to look out for next year, and how tech could boost gaming over the next 12 months. In this episode:

Vicky's pick of 2023's best games
The games tipped to win big at the Bafta Games awards
Why 2023 was the year of the remakes
Microsoft's Activision Blizzard takeover: why more acquisitions are likely
The top games coming in 2024

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Water-powered hybrid moon rockets...from London Dec 27, 2023

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In this special episode of The Standard’s Tech & Science Daily podcast, we’ll learn how a start-up has built a tiny bit of outer space, here on terra firma inside - but why?

The high-pressure vacuum chamber lets London space engineering expert Ashley Johnson, CEO of Applied Atomics, and his team develop what’s believed to be the world’s first chemical/electric-powered, water-fuelled hybrid rocket engine.

Now they’re building a spacecraft prototype in the hope of cutting costs for moon missions - and in future scaling the system to nuclear propulsion.

Mark Blunden reports from the Applied Atomics test facility.

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British teen sentenced for Grand Theft Auto VI hack Dec 22, 2023

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18-year-old Arion Kurtaj from Oxford was a "key player" in the international gang Lapsus$ - and carried out a hacking spree against major tech firms including Rockstar Games. He’s been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.

How to watch the International Space Station fly over London on Christmas Day.

The most sought-after gadgets for Christmas 2023 revealed

Also in this episode:

SpaceX readies for next Starship launch with huge test of Mars-bound rocket
Discovery of new material is ‘giant leap’ towards clean energy production and colonisation of Mars
New polar bear-inspired jumper keeps wearer warm in extreme cold at fraction of thickness
Airbnb using AI to block New Year’s Eve party bookings
Five new soft-furred hedgehog species discovered
Santa gets all-clear to enter UK airspace for Christmas

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Bill Gates’s AI predictions for 2024 Dec 21, 2023

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Gates: Artificial intelligence to support new vaccines, tackle antimicrobial resistance and give every pupil their own personal tutor. The simulator testing nuclear asteroid deterrent. Toyota recalls more than 1 million vehicles over potential airbag fault. Also in this episode:

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Iceland volcano eruption ‘could last for months’ Dec 20, 2023

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Experts warn the Iceland volcano eruption could last 'for months'. It comes as the Icelandic Met Office issues an air pollution warning for the country’s capital, Reykjavik.

Authorities say they are nearing the end of Gansu earthquake rescues. We hear from the British Geological Survey about how AI is helping monitor quakes.

The busiest day online ever? Why Boxing Day 2023 is expected to break records

Also in this episode:

Death bot: New AI can ‘predict people’s time of death with high degree of accuracy’
Former Apple worker issues warning over ‘simple mistake that’s killing our batteries’
Humans have ‘wiped out twice as many bird species as previously thought’
Taters, the cat famous throughout the galaxy

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Iceland volcano: Lava sent 100m into the air Dec 19, 2023

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Volcanic eruption on the Reykjanes peninsula “does not present a threat to life”. Google’s UK Bard AI update: What Gemini can do. Boots expected to launch 'AI personal shopper'. The Christmas veggies that may cut your cancer risk. Also in this episode:

6.2 magnitude earthquake hits northern China
TomTom joins forces with Microsoft to bring Generative AI into cars
Reanalysis of human fossils has changed our history of human evolution
Scottish climate changing faster than expected

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Spaceport gets green light for UK’s first vertical rocket launch Dec 18, 2023

Show notes

Shetlands-based SaxaVord preparing for 30 launches in 2024. Meat alternatives: Could algae burgers soon be on our menus? The bricks that can absorb traffic noise. Reindeer’s vision superpower revealed. Also in this episode:

Blue Origin to livestream its first launch in over a year
MrBeast’s analytics platform ViewStats is out in beta
Scottish pupils: wellbeing has improved since school mobile classroom ban
How Reindeer use night vision during the winter

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Baldur's Gate 3 tops Bafta Game Awards nominations Dec 15, 2023

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Baldur’s Gate 3, Hogwarts Legacy and Legend of Zelda up for prizes - but Starfield falls short of expectations. Next iPhone update to include 'Stolen Device Protection’. Naughty Dog cancels its The Last of Us multiplayer game. The best Christmas songs to fall asleep to…according to science. Also in this episode:

Voyager 1 stops communicating with Earth
Ofcom launches investigation into TikTok
Study finds cats like to play fetch too
Seagrass seeds trial in Kent to restore the Thames’ underwater meadows

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Is a treatment for pregnancy sickness on its way? Dec 14, 2023

Show notes

Researchers pinpoint the hormone responsible for nausea and vomiting in pregnant women. Are we one step closer to a male contraceptive pill? Tesla recalls more than two million cars in the US over autopilot concerns. In this episode:

Professor Sir Stephen O’Rahilly explains potential treatment for morning sickness
How to watch the Geminids meteor shower on Thursday night
Threads will let you push fact-checked posts further down your feed
Researchers discover ultra-hard material that could rival diamond
Revealed: the cost of replacing the Tesla Cybertruck’s infamous windscreen wiper

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