Apple gives up on Apple Car, moves team to generetive AI

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1. Apple gives up on Apple Car, moves team to generetive AI

Apple has officially given up on the development of an electric car, causing the cancellation of the project Titan, affecting almost 2,000 employees. The project will begin winding down, with many shifted to the company's AI division. It is unclear how many engineers or designers will be laid off.

Despite the unexpected move, investors, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, have responded positively, with Apple shares climbing. The project has faced several challenges, including leadership changes, downscaling from steering wheel-less cars to Tesla-style Level 2 autonomy vehicles, and a decline in interest in the EV space.

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2. Google Genie lets users generate AI outputs resembling video games

Google DeepMind has introduced "Genie," an AI system that can create playable worlds resembling video games from images and text prompts. Trained on over 200,000 hours of publicly available 2D platformers, Genie can generate virtual worlds from scratch and generate pixels based on player actions.

Its impressive understanding of physics through unsupervised training allows it to understand game mechanics like player control, actions, and movement.

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3. Amazon’s Road House reboot is accused of copyright infringement — and AI voice cloning

Amazon Studios is facing a lawsuit from the screenwriter of the 1989 action film Road House, accusing them of copyright infringement and AI voice cloning. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon Studios used generative AI to replicate actor's voices during last year's Hollywood strikes, which halted film production.

The lawsuit seeks a court order to block the release of the film, which is scheduled to premiere at SXSW and stream on Prime Video. Amazon denies using AI in the movie.

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4. A Beverly Hills middle school is investigating students sharing AI-made nude photos of classmates

A Beverly Hills middle school is investigating students who shared AI-generated nude photos of their classmates. The school officials were made aware of the incident last week and a noncriminal investigation is underway. The incident follows a series of similar incidents involving students creating and sharing AI-generated nude photos of their female classmates at high schools around the world.

The district will punish student perpetrators in accordance with the district's policies, with punishments ranging from suspension to expulsion depending on their involvement.

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5. Former AMD GPU head accuses Nvidia of being a 'GPU cartel' in response to reports of retaliatory shipment delays

Former AMD GPU head Scott Herkelman has accused Nvidia of being a 'GPU cartel' due to retaliatory shipment delays. Herkelman claims that Nvidia delays AI GPU orders for companies working with other suppliers of data center processors for AI applications.

The company has countered concerns about preferential shipping in the past, stating that it aims to allocate supplies fairly and provide alternative solutions. Tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft continue to ingest Nvidia silicon, but do not intend to directly compete with Nvidia.

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