Good morning. I hope you had a lovely weekend. It’s a new week, and it’s time to get into the tech news.
1. Hundreds of community batteries to be rolled out
The Federal Government is rolling out 420 community batteries across Australia, spurred by its Community Batteries Fund, with 370 communities set to get the benefits.
The program is designed so that up to 100,000 households will be able to share renewable energy in community allotments thanks to stationary batteries hooked into the grid.
The Australian Renewage Energy Agency has conditionally approved $143 million in funding for the batteries, which is expected to unlock $359 million in renewables investment.
“With one in three homes having rooftop solar, community batteries are the next stage in ensuring all communities get the benefit of the energy transformation,” Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said.
2. Meta threatens to toss news (again)
The AFR reports that Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, is threatening to once again block news on its platforms in Australia, if it is forced to pay news organisations for the links shared and posted on the platforms.
This follows Meta’s announcement in March that it would not renew agreements with organisations to pay for content.
“Every other law – tax laws, safety laws, privacy laws – we work to comply with,” Meta’s regional director of policy Mia Garlick said.
“It’s just compliance would look slightly different in relation to this law if it’s fully enacted.”
3. AI killing voice actor jobs
Another banger from The Guardian: AI voice clones are taking the jobs of up to 5,000 Australian voice actors. That is according to the Australian Association of Voice Actors (AAVA), which told a Parliamentary committee looking into AI that one radio network could even be looking into replacing real voiceovers on its airwaves. “Audiobooks is frontline because of the volume of material and the perceived cost-saving that the companies that create them think that they’ll make.” AAVA president Simon Kennedy said.
4. EU looking at AI handshakes
Microsoft’s partnership with OpenAI, along with Google’s AI deal with Samsung, has raised eyebrows among European Union regulators, according to Reuters. The EU is seeking third-party views on the agreements that could threaten competition. Regulators sent questions to companies engaging in high profile AI deals. “We have reviewed the replies, and are now sending a follow-up request for information on the agreement between Microsoft and OpenAI. To understand whether certain exclusivity clauses could have a negative effect on competitors,” EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager said.
5. NASA: everything is fine
Over the next five weeks, NASA and Boeing will be hashing out tests to understand what went wrong with Starliner, with the space association yet to give the green light for its crew to return to Earth, per Engadget. That being said, NASA’s not saying the astronauts are stranded up there, while docked at the ISS. “We’re not in a rush to come home,” manager of NASA’s commercial crew program Steve Stitch said. “Our plan is to continue to return [the crew] on Starliner and return them home at the right time.”
BONUS ITEM: That sucks, but I’ll be honest with you, I have been a Windows user my entire life and I have never opened this app.
Microsoft has begun rolling out a major update to the Weather app. Don’t worry, your favorite ads are still there! Better yet, you’ll now get even more! pic.twitter.com/lJtsFyDLSm
— ChangeWindows (@ChangeWindows) June 29, 2024
Have a lovely day.