Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced a broad, open-ended plan for regulating artificial intelligence on Wednesday, describing AI as an unprecedented challenge for Congress that effectively has policymakers "starting from scratch."

TL;DR: As of September 19, you can get a grade-A refurbished Linksys Velop Whole Home

Union Square Park descended into chaos and soon turned violent as fans gathered to catch a glimpse of Kai Cenat

By Joey Roulette (Reuters) -The chief executive officer of Jeff Bezos's space company Blue Origin, Bob Smith, will step down

TOKYO (Reuters) -Sony Group Corp said on Thursday its chip business would buy land in the western Japanese prefecture of

Researchers have made a breakthrough with a so-called miracle material to break the efficiency record for solar panel electricity generation. A team from the Chinese solar technology firm Longi set a new world record of 33.9 per cent for a silicon-perovskite tandem solar cell, breaking the previous record set in May this year by King Abdullah University of Science & Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. The new efficiency record also broke the theoretical limit of 33.7 per cent for the first time of standard single junction cells, which are found in commercial solar panels. “This provides meaningful empirical data to demonstrate the advantage of crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells over crystalline silicon single junction solar cells in terms of efficiency,” the company noted in a statement. “The emergence of crystalline silicon-perovskite tandem technology has opened up a new track for the development of next-generation high-efficiency solar cell technology. This means that the same area, absorbing the same light, can emit more electricity.” The theoretical efficiency limit of silicon-perovskite tandem solar cells is 43 per cent, however this level is unlikely to ever be realised on a commercial scale. The first production of ultra-efficient perovskite solar panels could begin in China, with researchers from Nanjing University saying earlier this year that a design breakthrough has made mass production possible. According to the researchers, the next-generation panels will be 50 per cent cheaper and 50 per cent more efficient than traditional silicon cells, however the efficiency rates will still be a long way off the levels achieved in the lab. UK startup Oxford PV, which is a spin-out from the University of Oxford, is already in the process of commercialising the technology, with hopes of beginning full-scale production at a German facility later this year. “Current silicon solar panels have reached their physical limits. We’ve got a way to transform the efficiency of these solar cells with perovskite,” Chris Case, Oxford PV’s chief technology officer, told The Independent in August. “The biggest challenge by far is durability and reliability. We already have great efficiency – much greater than current silicon cells – so most of our research and development is spent enhancing reliability, not efficiency.” Perovskite has been hailed as a “miracle material” for its potential to revolutionise everything from high-speed telecommunications to renewable energy technologies. Its potential for solar panels is not limited to the efficiency gains compared to traditional silicon cells, but also new ways of using them. Recent breakthroughs include self-healing solar panels that can maintain their efficiency for tens to hundreds of years, as well as double-sided solar panels capable of generating electricity from the Sun’s energy on both sides. The material could also be used in applications ranging from building-integrated solar panels to space-based electricity generation. Read More How tech could turn our homes into renewable energy power stations Hundreds of years after it was discovered, one material is about to change the world Millions could abandon electrical grid with new solar panel advance Millions of Australians left without mobile and internet network after Optus outage Guidance urges parents not to buy smartphones for primary school children

India’s Vikram lunar lander has recorded movement below the surface of the Moon – but it’s probably not aliens. Experts think the movement is seismic activity – the lunar equivalent of earthquakes. It is the first time humans have detected the so-called moonquakes since the 1970s. The new activity was recorded by the Vikram lander’s onboard instrument for lunar seismic activity, a piece of kit designed “to measure ground vibrations generated by natural quakes, impacts, and artificial events,” the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) said. India’s Chandrayaan-3 mission saw it land the Vikram and its sister craft, the Pragyan rover, last month, becoming the first nation to land near the Moon’s little-explored South Pole. It also makes India just the fourth nation to land on the Moon, alongside the US, the former USSR and China. The seismic activity is the first recorded since the US Apollo programme, which ended in 1977. Those recordings yielded valuable data about the Moon’s makeup. Scientists have been able to theorise that the Moon has an inner core which is much less dense than the Earth’s and which is about 500km across. On Earth, seismic activity is caused by the shifting of the planet’s tectonic plates. But on the Moon, things are a bit different. The quake could be caused by thermal activity from the Sun, or by tidal stresses caused by Earth’s gravity, cracking the planet and causing the pieces to rub together. The team noted that the event is currently under investigation. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

Major improvements are coming to Modern Warfare 3, including slide cancelling, reload cancelling, the Ninja Perk, red dots, and more.

WhatsApp has introduced a new feature that will bring generative artificial intelligence tools to the platform for the first time. The world’s most popular messaging app, which counts close to 3 billion monthly active users around the world, will allow a limited number of people to create custom stickers using a new AI-powered ‘Create’ button. The latest feature follows similar generative AI tools from other messaging platforms, with Snapchat introducing a ‘My AI’ chatbot in February powered by OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology. Instagram, which is also owned by Meta, is reportedly planning its own AI chatbot that will come with up to 30 different personalities for users to choose from. Meta did not respond to a request from The Independent for more details about Instagram’s AI plans, though leaked images reveal options for asking questions, seeking advice and offering writing assistance. “Bring AI to your chats for a more fun and engaging experience,” stated text on the leaked images. “Chat with 30 AI personalities and find which one you like the best.” The new WhatsApp update, first spotted by WaBetaInfo, means WhatsApp users do not require external tools or specific design skills in order to create stickers. They will simply need to enter a text-based command in order for the stickers to be generated, similar to image generator tools like Midjourney and OpenAI’s Dall-E. “AI stickers are generated using a secure technology offered by Meta,” the WhatsApp news site noted. “It’s important to note that this feature is optional and those AI stickers are easily recognisable. This means that the recipient may understand when a sticker has been generated by the AI technology from Meta.” The Independent has reached out to Meta for more information about WhatsApp’s latest AI tool, though the company typically does not comment on features before they are released publicly. Currently only Android users signed up to WhatsApp’s Google Play Beta Program have access to the custom sticker creator tool. Read More WhatsApp update: App finally launches new way to transfer chat history, fixing major security issue

Five men in the UK who illegally streamed English Premier League football matches to tens of thousands of people were jailed on...

There’s one big reason EVs are getting slightly cheaper: More of them are rolling off production lines. North

TL;DR: As of June 30, get a two pack of Colorful True Wireless Earbuds and