Microsoft gets seat on OpenAI board with Sam Altman back as chief executive
Microsoft has been given a non-voting observer seat on OpenAI’s board, following the official return of Sam Altman as the ChatGPT company’s chief. OpenAI reached a deal to have Mr Altman back as the company’s chief executive, just days after it abruptly fired him. Mr Altman said he was looking forward to returning to OpenAI with the support of Microsoft chief Satya Nadella. “Sam Altman is back as CEO, Mira Murati as CTO and Greg Brockman as President. OpenAI has a new initial board,” OpenAI posted on Thursday on X. “I have never been more excited about the future. I am extremely grateful for everyone’s hard work in an unclear and unprecedented situation, and I believe our resilience and spirit set us apart in the industry,” Mr Altman said in a memo to employees. The addition of Microsoft, which has heavily invested in OpenAI, to its board as a non-voting observer means the software giant will get more access to view the company’s progress. It will, however, not have an official vote on its decisions. Mr Altman’s return also resolves some of the uncertainties around the non-profit company and its leadership. “The best interests of the company and the mission always come first. It is clear that there were real misunderstandings between me and members of the board,” the returning chief said in his memo. “For my part, it is incredibly important to learn from this experience and apply those learnings as we move forward as a company,” he said. “I welcome the board’s independent review of all recent events.” With three of the board members who ousted Mr Altman now gone, the company said its new board will consist of former Salesforce co-chief Bret Taylor, who will be OpenAI chairman, former treasury secretary Larry Summers and Quora boss Adam D’Angelo. OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who voted to remove Mr Altman and later changed position to push for his return, will also exit the board, the company said. Greg Brockman, who quit the company amid the chaos last week, is returning to his previous role as the company’s president, OpenAI said. “Our research roadmap is clear; this was a wonderfully focusing time. I share the excitement you all feel; we will turn this crisis into an opportunity,” Mr Altman told employees. Read More Inside OpenAI’s bizarre boardroom battle with the man ‘who can see the future’ Microsoft stock just hit an all-time high amid OpenAI chaos Microsoft chief hints Sam Altman may return as OpenAI staff demand board resignation OpenAI staff ‘threaten to quit over ousting of Sam Altman’ Microsoft’s new AI tool cleans up messy backgrounds in video calls Nasa has received a signal from 10 million miles away
2023-11-30 14:47
When and where to watch Tesla’s highly anticipated Cybertruck delivery event
Tesla’s first deliveries to customers of its highly-anticipated Cybertruck will take place at the company’s Austin, Texas headquarters later on Thursday. The event is expected to see the first 10 customers taking their Cybertruck deliveries, and the Elon Musk-owned company will also announce more details about the electric pickup truck. The event will be livestreamed on the electric carmaker’s website on Thursday. “Cybertruck deliveries start on Thursday,” Tesla chief Elon Musk said in a post on X the day before. The company first unveiled the vehicle, which it dubbed “an armoured personal carrier from the future”, at a much-publicised but chaotic event in 2019 that offered people the chance to reserve a Cybertruck with a $100 deposit. While Tesla received over 200,000 reservations for the vehicle within the first three days, production for the vehicle was delayed for years. The carmaker had initially promised the vehicle would come towards the end of 2021 along with full production for 2022, but this schedule was pushed back by another year due to supply chain issues. The company later said deliveries for the long-delayed vehicle would commence in the third quarter of 2023. In August, it said it had received 1.9 million $100 reservations to date. Speaking to podcaster Joe Rogan last month, Mr Musk said the Cybertruck will be bulletproof. He said the pickup truck will have bulletproof steel panels and an option for people to purchase bulletproof glass. Mr Musk also said more features of the vehicle will be unveiled during Thursday’s event. The upcoming demonstration of the Cybertruck will have the vehicle being shot at with a Tommy gun, a 45mm shotgun and a 9mm gun, according to the Tesla titan. The bulletproof nature of the truck has been the subject of intense hype. During the first demonstration of the Cybertruck’s toughness in 2019, the vehicle’s window immediately smashed after Mr Musk invited an audience member to throw a small metal ball at it. “Well, maybe that was a little too hard,” the Tesla chief had said. “It didn’t go through, so that’s a plus... room for improvement.” Mr Musk claimed prior testing of the vehicle may have compromised the window. “Sledgehammer impact on door cracked base of glass, which is why steel ball didn’t bounce off. Should have done steel ball on window, *then* sledgehammer the door,” he said. The multibillionaire also played down hopes that the Cybertruck will revive profits for the carmaker in the near future, announcing in an earnings call last month that it could take at least 18 months for the pickup truck to become profitable for Tesla. “There will be enormous challenges in reaching volume production with Cybertruck and making the Cybertruck cash flow positive,” he told investors and analysts. Read More Microsoft gets seat on OpenAI board with Sam Altman back as chief executive Nasa has received a signal from 10 million miles away Apple names its App Store apps of the year Microsoft gets seat on OpenAI board with Sam Altman back as chief executive Nasa has received a signal from 10 million miles away Apple names its App Store apps of the year
2023-11-30 14:45
These Companies Are Pushing Back on Science Showing Methane Leaks
COP28 Daily Reports: Sign up for the Green Daily newsletter for comprehensive coverage of the climate summit right
2023-11-30 13:51
Renewables Are Likely to Be COP28 Bright Spot as 1.5C Hopes Fade
Sign up for the Green Daily newsletter for comprehensive coverage of the climate summit right in your inbox.
2023-11-30 13:23
Climate Change Fuels Global Political Volatility, Australia Says
Climate change threatens to exacerbate political instability, particularly in the Pacific region where rising temperatures pose an “existential
2023-11-30 12:49
Vitol Funds to Help Restart Australia Coal Mine Shut Since 2007
Australian Pacific Coal Ltd. and its joint venture partner have agreed terms for $60 million funding from Vitol
2023-11-30 12:46
Apple names its App Store apps of the year
Outdoor exploration app AllTrails has been named the iPhone app of the year in Apple’s annual App Store awards. Make-up sketchpad app Pret-a-Makeup was named the iPad app of the year, with image editor Photomator awarded the Mac app of the year, indie film streaming app Mubi picked up the Apple TV app award, and fitness app SmartGym was named the top Apple Watch App. Each of the 14 winners named in the awards was chosen by the App Store’s editorial team and alongside the best apps and games, five cultural impact winners were also highlighted. These included Too Good To Go, a food waste minimising app which alerts users when shops and restaurants have surplus unsold food available at lower prices. Accessibility app Proloquo was also named among the cultural impact winners – the app offers communication tools for non-verbal people. In gaming, Honkai: Star Rail was named iPhone game of the year, with Lost in Play chosen as the best iPad game, Lies of P was named Mac game of the year and Hello Kitty Island Adventure was the Apple Arcade game of the year. “It’s inspiring to see the ways developers continue to build incredible apps and games that are redefining the world around us,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said. “This year’s winners represent the limitless potential of developers to bring their visions to life, creating apps and games with remarkable ingenuity, exceptional quality, and purpose-driven missions.” Read More Young people the biggest users of generative AI, Ofcom study shows Software firm Cloudsmith announces £8.8m investment UK and South Korea issue warning over North Korea-linked cyber attacks
2023-11-30 12:20
Lithium Slump Has Room to Run as Bearish Bets Mount in Guangzhou
The swift and brutal decline in lithium prices may still have room to run as bearish bets mount
2023-11-30 11:24
Microsoft to take non-voting, observer position on OpenAI's board
Microsoft will take a non-voting, observer position on OpenAI's board, OpenAI said on Wednesday, adding that Sam Altman
2023-11-30 09:22
Origin Rejects Brookfield’s Revised $12 Billion Takeover Plan
Origin Energy Ltd. rejected a backup plan from Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. to acquire the majority of its
2023-11-30 08:28
Google tells users not to press button as files disappear from Drive
Google users say their files have been disappearing as one engineer urged them not to press a button that could make the problem even worse. In recent days, users of Google Drive – which allows people to store their files in the cloud – say that those files appear to have gone missing. Some report that months of files have disappeared, with no obvious way of getting them back. The files appear to have vanished without a trace, without any sign of why they disappeared or even if they are recoverable. The problem appears to be with a recent update to Google Drive for desktop, an app that can be installed on Mac or Windows to get access to files stored on Drive. Hundreds of people are complaining about the problem in recent days, using a Google forum that allows users to request help. The number is likely to be much higher. Google says that it is not clear what the issue is, with an employee saying that the company is “investigating reports of an issue impacting a limited subset of Drive for desktop users “. The statement indicated that the company would “follow up with more updates”, but it is yet to give any information. That representative of the Google Drive team did however urge users not to click the “Disconnect account” button on the Drive for Desktop app. That could cause further problems with lost files, the Google employee going by the name Saitej suggested. Some said however that they had heard that pressing that button could reset the app, and help find the lost files. As such, users voiced fears they had inadvertently contributed to the problem. Users were also told not to delete the app data folder, and advised to back up that folder onto their hard drive if they had space. Read More Bizarre bumps are appearing on Google’s latest smartphone Google issues one-week deadline to Gmail account holders Gmail users receive urgent warning before account purge
2023-11-30 08:24
Elon Musk curses out advertisers who left X over antisemitic content
(Please note strong language in paragraphs 1 and 5) By Sheila Dang Billionaire Elon Musk told advertisers that
2023-11-30 07:59