Apple has unveiled an augmented reality headset which it claims to be “the most advanced personal electronic device ever”. Called Vision Pro, it is labelled as “mixed reality” as it combines “virtual reality” – in which the wearer is fully immersed in the digital world – with “augmented reality” – where digital images are overlaid onto the real world. Apple CEO Tim Cook said: “Blending digital content with the real world can unlock experiences like nothing we’ve ever seen.” The device, which resembles a pair of ski goggles, features a glass 23-million-pixel screen which covers the upper face and is controlled using the wearer’s eyes, hands and voice. It enables what Apple calls “spatial computing” – where the wearer can interact with digital content “just like it’s in your physical space”. The headset features built-in speakers and attaches using an adjustable headband, while a wire leads from the device to a battery pack which sits in the user’s pocket. Vents draw in air to cool the device down, rendering it “virtually silent”, Apple claimed. Vision Pro will cost 3,499 US dollars (£2,800) – roughly 10 times the price of the Meta Quest 2, the leading VR headset from Facebook’s parent company, which retails for £299.99. It will be available online and in Apple stores in the US from early next year and will come to more countries “later next year”. After years of speculation, the product was unveiled at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference at its California headquarters on Monday. This is the first augmented reality headset released by Apple, and the first new product it has launched since announcing the Apple Watch in 2015. Mr Cook, who succeeded Steve Jobs as Apple CEO in 2011, said: “I believe that augmented reality is a profound technology. Blending digital content with the real world can unlock experiences like nothing we’ve ever seen. “Vision Pro is a new kind of computer that augments reality by seamlessly blending the real world with the digital world. “With Vision Pro, you’re no longer limited by a display. Your surroundings become an infinite canvas. “There are certain products that shift the way we look at technology and the role it plays in our lives. “Apple’s Vision Pro, together with Vision OS, introduces an entirely new spatial computing platform, a platform that presents incredible possibilities for our users and exciting new opportunities for our developers.”

A lawsuit filed yesterday by New Jersey threatens to delay a first-of-its-kind plan to charge motorists to drive

By Stephen Nellis CUPERTINO, California (Reuters) -Apple on Tuesday said that three of its Apple Watch models will come in

Iraqi authorities have switched off electronic advertising boards in Baghdad after pornographic footage was broadcast on one of the screens.

The ongoing cyberattack exploiting MOVEit file-transfer software has taken a toll on US colleges and universities. At least

President Joe Biden is addressing concerns about artificial intelligence as the administration attempts to guide the development of the rapidly evolving technology. The White House said on Monday (30 October) that a sweeping executive order will address concerns about safety and security, privacy, equity and civil rights, the rights of consumers, patients, and students, and supporting workers. The order will also hand a list of tasks to federal agencies to oversee the development of the technology. ‘We have to move as fast, if not faster than the technology itself’ “We can’t move at a normal government pace,” White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients quoted Mr Biden as telling his staff, according to the AP. “We have to move as fast, if not faster than the technology itself.” Mr Biden believes that the US government was late to the game to take into account the risks of social media, leading to the related mental health issues now seen among US youth. While AI may help drastically develop cancer research, foresee the impacts of the climate crisis, and improve the economy and public services, it may also spread fake images, audio and videos, with possibly widespread political consequences. Other harmful effects include the worsening of racial and social inequality and the possibility that it can be used to commit crimes, such as fraud. The president of the Center for Democracy & Technology, Alexandra Reeve Givens, told the AP that the Biden administration is using the tools at their disposal to issue “guidance and standards to shape private sector behaviour and leading by example in the federal government’s own use of AI”. Mr Biden’s executive order comes after technology companies have already made voluntary commitments, and the aim is that congressional legislation and international action will follow. The White House got commitments earlier this year from Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI to put in place safety standards when building new AI tools and models. Monday’s executive order employs the Defense Production Act to require AI developers to share safety test results and other data with the government. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is also set to establish standards governing the development and use of AI. Similarly, the Department of Commerce will publish guidance outlining the labelling and watermarking of content created using AI. An administration official told the press on Sunday that the order is intended to be implemented within between 90 days and a year. Safety and security issues have the tightest deadlines. Mr Biden met with staff last Thursday for a half-hour meeting that grew into an hour and 10 minutes to put the finishing touches on the order. Biden ‘impressed and alarmed’ by AI The president was engaged in meetings about the technology in the months that preceded Monday’s order signing, meeting twice with the Science Advisory Council to discuss AI and bringing up the technology during two cabinet meetings. At several gatherings, Mr Biden also pushed tech industry leaders and advocates regarding what the technology is capable of. Deputy White House Chief of Staff Bruce Reed told the AP that Mr Biden “was as impressed and alarmed as anyone”. “He saw fake AI images of himself, of his dog,” he added. “He saw how it can make bad poetry. And he’s seen and heard the incredible and terrifying technology of voice cloning, which can take three seconds of your voice and turn it into an entire fake conversation.” The AI-created images and audio prompted Mr Biden to push for the labelling of AI-created content. He was also concerned about older people getting a phone call from an AI tool using a fake voice sounding like a family member or other loved one for the purpose of committing a scam. Meetings on AI often went long, with the president once telling advocates: “This is important. Take as long as you need.” Mr Biden also spoke to scientists about the possible positive impacts of the technology, such as explaining the beginning of the universe, and the modelling of extreme weather events such as floods, where old data has become inaccurate because of the changes caused by the climate crisis. ‘When the hell did I say that?’ On Monday at the White House, Mr Biden addressed the concerns about “deepfakes” during a speech in connection with the signing of the order. “With AI, fraudsters can take a three-second recording of your voice, I have watched one of me on a couple of occasions. I said, ‘When the hell did I say that?’” Mr Biden said to laughter from the audience. Mr Reed added that he watched Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One with Mr Biden one weekend at Camp David. At the beginning of the film, the antagonist, an AI called “the Entity”, sinks a submarine, killing its crew. “If he hadn’t already been concerned about what could go wrong with AI before that movie, he saw plenty more to worry about,” Mr Reed told the news agency. The White House has faced pressure from a number of allied groups to address possible harmful effects of AI. The director of the racial justice programme at The American Civil Liberties Union, ReNika Moore, told the AP that the union met with the administration to make sure “we’re holding the tech industry and tech billionaires accountable” so that the new tools will “work for all of us and not just a few”. Ex-Biden official Suresh Venkatasubramanian told the news agency that law enforcement’s use of AI, such as at border checkpoints, is one of the top challenges. “These are all places where we know that the use of automation is very problematic, with facial recognition, drone technology,” the computer scientist said. Read More Biden reacts to watching deepfakes of himself: ‘When the hell did I say that?’ Rishi Sunak to hold live chat with Elon Musk during AI summit Liz Truss ‘deeply disturbed’ by Sunak’s invitation to China to attend AI summit Extinction risk from AI on same scale as nuclear war, Sunak warns Revealed: Government using AI to decide on benefits and driving licences Brexit means UK can be global leader on AI, says Facebook co-founder

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The hacker won't be standing trial just yet, due to his mental instability.

DULUTH, Ga.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 22, 2023--

iPhone users have been urged to download a new update immediately. The update was pushed out by Apple to iPhones and iPads after a major security vulnerability was found in the devices. Patching up that hole with the new software update should keep those devices safe. But without it, attackers could break into an iPhone and spy on its user. The security issue was found by researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. They said the problem was being “actively exploited” by hackers, and that all users should update immediately. They were doing so by delivering commercial software called Pegasus, which is made and sold by Israeli company the NSO Group. That software is expensive and targeted, and has primarily been used on specific activists, journalists and politcians, who are likely to know if they are at particular risk of an attack. The latest attack was used on the iPhone of a member of staff at a US civil society organisation with international offices, Citizen Lab said. It named the new exploit BLASTPASS and said that it did not even require users to click anything on their device. The NSO Group and Apple have in recent years been engaged in a long-running fight to find and fix security flaws that could allow for the delivery of that software. Recent iPhone updates brought a new “Lockdown Mode” that places extra restrictions on the device in an attempt to close up potential security flaws. That includes not downloading images that could include spyware, for instance – which is how attackers deliver the hack in this most recent scare. Downloading the new update is simple. It is done through the Settings app on iPhones and iPads, by clicking the “general” and then “software update” options – that will check for any new updates, and offer the option to download it. Phones may eventually automatically install the new operating system, which could mean that no download shows up in that screen. Users can check if they have already updated to the new, patched operating system by clicking the “about” option in the general settings, and looking whether they have the newest iOS 16.6.1. Similar updates are available for Macs and Apple Watches, and are installed in much the same way. Citizen Lab also advised that anyone “who may face increased risk because of who they are or what they do” should switch on Lockdown Mode. Apple confirmed that would block the new attack, researchers said. Read More Apple is dropping leather from iPhone cases and Watch bands, report claims Apple is about to make a huge change to the iPhone that it never wanted to do Here’s when you will actually be able to get the new iPhone

BELLEVUE, Wash--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 31, 2023--

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