Digital insights
may 2024
Every month, our Human Digital colleagues keep you informed about the latest digital developments and news. This month, OpenAI gets a new competitor, and is there a TikTok ban coming?
The new competitor for OpenAI: Meta AI
Meta AI, launched on platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook, integrates up-to-date knowledge from Google and Bing to answer questions and perform searches. Users can ask questions directly in chats, such as finding a restaurant with specific features or generating interior design inspiration. Meta AI is compared to ChatGPT and offers features like writing emails and solving math problems. A new "Imagine" feature on WhatsApp generates real-time images as you type, with the ability to animate them or convert them into GIFs. Mark Zuckerberg considers Meta AI the most intelligent AI assistant available worldwide, which could pose serious competition to models like OpenAI's GPT-5. The integration of Meta AI into everyday platforms such as WhatsApp and Facebook can facilitate its adoption, as users do not need to actively seek out the AI tool.
Source: Frankwatching.nl
Will TikTok finally be banned? Biden agrees
The U.S. Senate has voted in favor of a forced sale of TikTok, with President Biden's approval pending. If Biden signs the bill, ByteDance will have 270 days to find a non-Chinese buyer; otherwise, TikTok will be banned in the U.S. Politicians fear Chinese interference in the app, despite TikTok being based in Singapore. The American political sphere is alarmed by confidential briefings about the threat of foreign control over the app. TikTok plans to challenge the law, claiming it is not Chinese. Experts believe that the U.S. can invoke national security regulations, making the ban highly likely to succeed.
Source: Bright.nl
Will ASML stay in the Netherlands?
Minister Van Weyenberg believes that chipmaker ASML will remain in the Netherlands, despite considerations of leaving due to policy changes regarding tax benefits for highly skilled migrants and the reduction of foreign students at Dutch universities. ASML, crucial for employment and technological advancement in the Netherlands, has expressed criticism over these plans. Despite one department already being relocated, the minister remains optimistic about ASML's future in the country. Operation Beethoven, initiated by the Dutch government, aims to persuade ASML to stay. However, ASML remains dissatisfied with the growth opportunities in the Netherlands if the government’s plans proceed.
Source: Bright.nl
Thousands of SpaceX Starships annually: Musk aims to make it possible
Elon Musk has unveiled ambitious plans for SpaceX to send humans to Mars, with the ultimate goal of having a million people living on the red planet. While this seems unrealistic to many, spaceflight expert Eric Berger believes it is achievable for SpaceX. He points to the success of SpaceX's iterative development approach, which has already led to the successful Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceX conducts more launches each year, and Berger believes they will do the same with the Starship program. If Starship becomes as reliable as the Falcon 9, the costs of space travel could drop significantly. Musk claims that a Starship launch will be 400 times cheaper than a Falcon 1 launch due to full reusability. Berger believes that SpaceX could eventually conduct up to ten Starship launches per day, which would be sufficient to support a Mars colony.
Source: Bright.nl