BURLINGAME, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 22, 2023--

If you've been eyeing a Surface device, Black Friday is a great time to save

Instagram is experiencing global outages with more than 50,000 users reporting issues from just before 11pm on Sunday night. Down Detector, a website that tracks outages, has had 56,628 reports at around 11pm. The Down Detector location map shows the outages are spread right across the UK with reports of the outages coming from the US and Australia as well. Instagram’s owners Meta have yet to publicly address the outage or say when the Instagram may come back online. According to Down Detector, 92% of the outages were on the app, 6% via the website and 2% on the login. Users cannot refresh their Instagram feed. Instagram had an outage on March 9 where thousands of users reported similar issues. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

The introduction of robots into businesses actually slows – at least at first, according to a new study. Researchers found that the introduction of robots bring down profit margins. But as they technology becomes better integrated, it will start to rise again, the study found. Researchers believe that U-shaped curve comes about because of reduced costs, new processes and innovative products. When companies first adopt robots with the aim of reducing costs, competitors are able to do the same, and so profit margins do not initially grow. The real profits come, however, when the robots are properly adopted and integrated into the company’s processes, and they can use that new innovation to develop new products, the researchers suggest. Those are the findings from a new study from the University of Cambridge and published in IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management. While robots are known to increase productivity when looking at a whole industry or country, it is less clear whether it helps with profit margins. The researchers set out to answer that question and see whether companies were using robots to improve processes within companies. And they were also looking to understand whether it had followed the same perhaps unexpected trajectory as when computers were first introduced into businesses. “If you look at how the introduction of computers affected productivity, you actually see a slowdown in productivity growth in the 1970s and early 1980s, before productivity starts to rise again, which it did until the financial crisis of 2008,” said co-author Professor Chander Velu from Cambridge’s Institute for Manufacturing. “It’s interesting that a tool meant to increase productivity had the opposite effect, at least at first. We wanted to know whether there is a similar pattern with robotics.” To find out, researchers gathered data for 25 European countries that showed industry-level trends between 1995 and 2017. That data did not include specific companies but did allow them to see whole sectors. They then gathered robotics data from the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). By setting the two against each other, they were able to see how the adoption of robotics changed profit margins. There they found that U-shaped curve: that the adoption of robotics drove down profits, initially, even if it came back eventually. “Initially, firms are adopting robots to create a competitive advantage by lowering costs,” said Velu. “But process innovation is cheap to copy, and competitors will also adopt robots if it helps them make their products more cheaply. This then starts to squeeze margins and reduce profit margin.” Read More Apple planning new version of AirTags – but not for some time Algorithm finds 600-foot, ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid near Earth Reddit closes Place after obscene protests Apple planning new version of AirTags – but not for some time Algorithm finds 600-foot, ‘potentially hazardous’ asteroid near Earth Reddit closes Place after obscene protests

Google has reached a $93 million settlement with the state of California to resolve allegations that it was collecting consumers' data without their consent, the state's attorney general said in a statement Thursday.

After a school stabbing, a BBC investigation into Evolv’s AI weapons scanner reveals doubts about its effectiveness.

(Reuters) -Gaming platform Roblox missed estimates for second-quarter bookings on Wednesday as waning demand for its online games and intensifying

New ick unlocked: People are paying for blue ticks on Instagram. Avid Instagrammers will have noticed the surge of blue ticks taking over the platform, leaving people confused as to how their friend become an overnight internet sensation. As exciting as that would be, it's sadly not the case. Instead, people are using their hard-earned money for a blue badge. For the blissfully unaware, Instagram followed in the footsteps of Twitter recently by offering a monthly subscription service from £9.99 a month. Let's break this down: Public figures Instagram offer free blue tick verification to public figures including professionals, journalists, influencers, celebrities and brands who meet the platform's account and eligibility requirements. Their accounts must be authentic, unique, complete and notable, meaning they "must represent a well-known, highly searched for person, brand or entity". "We review accounts that are featured in multiple news sources, and we don't consider paid or sponsored media content as sources for review," Instagram said. Once verified, public figures, celebrities and brands that meet certain account and eligibility requirements may not change their username on their account – nor can it be transferred to a different account. On the flip side, there's 'Meta Verified', the new subscription model that allows any Instagram user to pay monthly for a tick. As it stands, Instagram has used the same colour and design for both paying users and notable figures, making it difficult for users to set the two apart. Whether or not they will make the two more identifiable in the future is unclear. Meta Verified / paying subscribers Now, anyone can apply to be verified using their ID and a spare £10 a month. Meta suggests it's to help people have more protection from impersonation and give them access to a "real person" if they encounter any issues. Indy100 reached out to Instagram for comment. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Well, we’re not sure how we ended up here, but Piers Morgan has responded to a strange AI image of himself in the bath which has been circulating online. The presenter commented on the odd picture which shows a generated version of Morgan sitting in the tub, holding a book with a rubber duck by his side. Only, this version of Morgan looks like he spends all his free time in the gym and he’s holding a book with dimensions that defy the laws of physics. Morgan responded to the bizarre image by writing: “I never have baths. fyi.” Unsurprisingly, the picture sparked a lot of reaction on social media, with one Twitter user responding to the pic: “I still can't unsee it - the horror!!!!” Another said: “My brain will never erase this image.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Others pointed out the strange nature of the book in the image, with one saying: “The way the book looks in the picture seems to give it away that it is AI generated.” Another joked: "Give me nuclear annihilation by AI over this any day.” It has to be one of the most unusual uses of AI we’ve seen so far, and if this is the future of artificial intelligence, count us out… AI, meanwhile, continues to make headlines – and a group of individuals including Grimes, who described herself as an "AI popstar" recently on social media, signed a statement warning of its risks to humanity. The singer signed the message from Center For AI Safety (CAIS) delving into the potential dangers of AI. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

DALLAS & TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 1, 2023--

BURLINGTON, Mass. & REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 26, 2023--

A clip of a bird seemingly floating motionless in mid-air has gone viral again after resurfacing online. The original video was shared online by TikToker @bluefrenchhorn26 who revealed that it had been filmed by her daughter's boyfriend near Vancouver, Canada. She captioned the video, “WHAT IS IT” and said: “Somebody tell me what in the living bejesus my daughter’s boyfriend recorded tonight on his way to his lifeguard training?” She continued, explaining: “It’s a dead bird and it’s floating in the sky.” Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The clip then showed someone filming through their car windshield an object that looked like a dead bird suspended in the sky. Other passersby could be seen filming from outside their vehicles as they were all left baffled by the sight. Since it was posted on TikTok in February, the clip has been viewed 4 million times and has gone viral again with 27.5 million views after being shared on Twitter. @bluefrenchhorn26 WHAT IS IT #greenscreen #weird #jumanji #nothanks #fypシ #foryou #unexplained #mystery #westcoastcrew🇨🇦 #fyp #foryoupage #foryoupageofficiall Someone replied: “Matrix is glitching…….” On Twitter Another person asked: “Why nobody did the logical thing to do and threw a rock or some s**t at it to find out wtf is going on?” “Did anyone have dead floating bird on their 2023 bingo?” asked another TikToker. Meanwhile, another person joked: “Ran out of battery!” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.