Good morning. It’s a new week, and it’s time to get into the tech news.
1. USYD to lead quantum research
The University of Sydney has obtained a federal grant of $18.3 million under the National Quantum Strategy to establish the Australian Centre for Quantum Growth, InnovationAus reports. USYD will establish the centre with ‘Quantum Australia’ branding, with hopes to further flesh out the country’s quantum computing development. “Quantum commercialisation will deliver billions of dollars in economic value and thousands of jobs by 2030 globally and in Australia, while supporting our strategic and national security objectives,” Australian Tech Council acting chief executive Ryan Black said.
2. 13 deadly crashes tied to Tesla ‘autopilot’
Tesla’s Autopilot feature has been tied to 14 fatal crashes in the U.S. by the country’s road authority, per The Guardian. The National Highway Safety Administration has revealed that its three-year investigation into autopilot involved more than a dozen deadly crashes, and many more crashes that resulted in injuries, where “foreseeable driver misuse of the system played an apparent role” in the incidents. “Tesla’s weak driver engagement system was not appropriate for Autopilot’s permissive operating capabilities,” the Administration said. The company also slammed the Autopilot name, alleging that it implies greater ability than it actually has.
3. FTC says Amazon destroyed evidence
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has slammed Amazon, claiming that the company’s top brass deleted evidence relating to an antitrust lawsuit being undertaken against the company, The Verge reports. The Commission alleges that Amazon executives used Signal’s disappearing messages feature to cover their tracks on communications relating to the suit. “Are you feeling encrypted?” one exec said to another in a Signal chat, before the two turned on disappearing messages.
4. Apple x OpenAI back on the cards
Bloomberg reports that Apple is back in discussion with OpenAI to bring AI-powered features to its devices, in particular to the iPhone. Unlike pretty much every other big tech company, Apple hasn’t really dipped its toe into AI just yet, though that’s expected to change with its next wave of product launches (the next tipped to be the new iPad Pro next month). OpenAI and Apple are now supposedly discussing how AI features could be integrated into iOS 18, and what kind of agreement could be made, though there’s no guarantee a deal will be worked out in the end.
5. Drake AI song removed
Drake’s AI-generated Kendrick Lamar diss track, which featured AI-generated voices of Tupac and Snoop Dogg, has been deleted, Engadget reports. Drake deleted the track, Taylor Made Freestyle, following threats of legal action from Tupac’s estate. “The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorised use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” estate attorney Howard King wrote last week. “Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use.”
BONUS ITEM: Tech brain comes for real estate agent brain.
we’ve found the final boss pic.twitter.com/sR0XOf8v44
— Mark Di Stefano (@MarkDiStef) April 28, 2024
Have a lovely week.
Image: iStock