Good morning, it’s Monday again, but this time there’s a sportsball game happening over the other side of the world which probably means the news cycle will be dominated by wonderful, bizarre and expensive ads, half-time show gossip and, of course, the Super Bowl itself. Before that, however, we’ve got some tech news to catch up on.
1. Microsoft is planning on shoving Bing AI into Word, PowerPoint, and more
Microsoft has AI fever, and apparently the only treatment is sticking its large language model, ChatGPT-like chatbot into practically every end-user program it has going. It’s apparently getting close to sharing more about its plans to integrate its OpenAI tech into Office apps, which would include Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, just to name a few. We may even see a demo of this AI in action, though with how quickly the tech giant has been in bringing its AI-powered search to the public, it might not be long now. Reports are also noting Opera is planning on integrating generative AI capabilities into its web browser.
2. The world’s ‘fastest charging phone’
The GT Neo 5, a new Android phone released by Chinese company Realme, claims it has the fastest charging capability of any phone yet released. According to GSM Arena, the advertised speed is 0 to 50 per cent in four minutes and 0 to 100 per cent in less than 10 minutes. That’s thanks to a 240W fast charging capability. The GT Neo 5 is using a Li-Po 4600 mAh battery. Still, you can’t remove and swap out that battery, so time will tell how long its charging capability will last. Read more about it here.
3. Concern over surveillance cameras continues
After an audit last week uncovered more than 900 units of surveillance equipment built by companies linked to the Chinese government were within Commonwealth government buildings, there are calls for the Tasmanian government to rip out security cameras in parliamentary offices. The plan is now for all cameras made by China’s Hikvision and Dahua to be ripped out, as it is feared data collected by the cameras may end up going to China, despite the companies saying it won’t. Per the ABC, Tasmanian Greens leader Cassy O’Connor said she had been raising concerns about Hikvision surveillance systems in Tasmania’s Parliament since 2020. Never thought we’d share a tweet from Sky News but here we are.
It’s good to see the Foreign Minister confirm DFAT will also remove the Hikvision and Dahua cameras installed at their sites. All remaining departments and agencies must do the same. https://t.co/tNZ1s2eTba
— James Paterson (@SenPaterson) February 10, 2023
4. Disney announces new stuff and the cutting of 7,000 jobs
Disney turns 100 years old this October, and the Walt Disney Company is slowly but surely building up to the big birthday. But also, it’s undermined in part by the fact that Disney laid off 7,000 people just a handful of days ago. The news broke the same day that returning CEO Bob Iger announced that sequels for Toy Story, Frozen, and Zootopia were in the works. For as much touching footage as there is in the Super Bowl spot, it’s not wrong to call this a grimly timed flex, and that’s without getting into the mess Disney stepped into last year with Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill and how it affected its many employees.
Disney announces Toy Story 5, Frozen 3, Zootopia 2, and 7,000 layoffs https://t.co/NkwqFuwSWv pic.twitter.com/ROj1eVt7Ml
— The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) February 9, 2023
5. More suburbs to get NBN upgrades
The company responsible for rolling out the National Broadband Network and the Australian government have released the latest suburbs and towns where additional premises will become eligible to get fibre connected to their house or business by ordering an eligible wholesale speed tier – with up to 58 per cent located in regional areas and the rest in metro areas. Here’s our explainer on the project and which suburbs are now eligible.
BONUS ITEM: They gave Mario the Ghostbusters treatment.
See you tomorrow!