Elon Musk, the enigmatic CEO of Tesla, has always been a polarizing figure. His ambitious projects, from electric vehicles to space exploration, have garnered both admiration and skepticism. However, recent events have cast a dark shadow over Tesla's once-meteoritic rise. The company's stock has plummeted more than 40% since January, erasing the substantial gains it made following the 2020 election. Musk's personal wealth, heavily tied to Tesla, has taken a massive hit, with a staggering $121 billion loss in just three months. This downturn is not just a market fluctuation; it is a symptom of deeper, more systemic issues that have been exacerbated by Musk's recent forays into the political arena.

In a groundbreaking decision, the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights has ruled that Facebook's algorithm perpetuates gender bias when promoting job advertisements. This ruling marks a significant step in holding big tech companies accountable for the design and impact of their platforms. The decision follows extensive reporting and advocacy efforts that have exposed how Facebook's algorithms reinforce gender stereotypes, limiting job opportunities for users based on their gender.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence (AI), the United States has emerged as a global leader, driven by both technological advancements and strategic policy decisions. One of the most significant shifts in this domain came shortly after Donald Trump's inauguration, when he revoked a sweeping executive order from the Biden era that sought to implement safeguards on AI. This move signaled Trump's intention to put his own stamp on how the United States should adopt and develop this fast-moving, critical technology. It also hinted at the potential for AI to become a defining theme of Trump's second term.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, OpenAI's flagship AI chatbot, ChatGPT, has once again demonstrated its resilience and adaptability. According to a recent report published by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), ChatGPT experienced a significant resurgence in growth during the latter half of 2024. This marks a notable shift from its initial growth trajectory, which was largely driven by novelty, to a more sustainable expansion fueled by new functionalities and models.

In the ever-evolving landscape of technology, the race to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into everyday devices has become a defining competition among tech giants. Amazon's recent debut of a more sophisticated version of Alexa marks a significant step forward in this race, showcasing a digital assistant that is more conversational and capable of handling tasks autonomously. However, in a surprising departure from its usual playbook, Amazon did not announce new Echo devices to accompany this revamped digital helper. This omission has left many wondering what the future holds for Amazon's hardware lineup, especially as competitors like Apple and Microsoft continue to unveil their own AI-driven innovations.

Throughout history, technological advancements have reshaped human civilization, driving progress and transforming societies. Here is a list of ten groundbreaking technologies that have had a profound impact on the world:

A significant milestone has been reached in the technology sector, as the European Union (EU) has granted approval for the acquisition of Run:ai by Nvidia, a leading chip manufacturer. This development, reported by Bloomberg, highlights the EU's stance on the consolidation within the artificial intelligence (AI) market, indicating that such mergers are currently viewed favorably.

Google's recent announcement of expanding Gemini's advanced research mode to an additional 40 languages marks a significant stride in the company's ongoing efforts to enhance the accessibility and utility of its AI-driven tools for a global audience. This move underscores Google's commitment to breaking down language barriers and providing users with a more personalized and efficient research experience, regardless of their linguistic background.

ChatGPT, the text-generating AI developed by OpenAI, has revolutionized the digital landscape since its debut in November 2022. Initially designed to enhance productivity through essay and code writing with brief text prompts, it has grown into a colossal platform with an impressive 300 million weekly active users. The year 2024 has been particularly momentous for OpenAI, marked by collaborations, technological advancements, and new product launches. Among the highlights are the partnership with Apple for the generative AI service, Apple Intelligence, the unveiling of GPT-4o with voice capabilities, and the much-anticipated text-to-video model, Sora. OpenAI concluded the year with a "12 Days of OpenAI" event, showcasing a series of new product reveals and features, including the Sora model, real-time vision capabilities in Advanced Voice Mode, and a preview of the new "reasoning" model family: o3 and o3-mini. For a comprehensive review of the announcements, visitors can refer to the live blog. Despite these achievements, OpenAI faced internal challenges, including the departure of key executives such as co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever and CTO Mira Murati. The company also faced legal battles, with lawsuits from Alden Global Capital-owned newspapers over copyright infringement and an injunction from Elon Musk to halt OpenAI's shift to a for-profit entity. Below is a detailed timeline of ChatGPT product updates and releases, starting with the most recent, which has been continuously updated throughout the year. For further inquiries, the ChatGPT FAQ section provides additional information.

At the onset of Y Combinator's winter 2024 session, following the initial orientation and a group photo with the iconic YC sign, the founders of PearAI, Nang Ang and Duke Pan, faced an unexpected backlash online, which Ang later described to TechCrunch as being "canceled." Despite the initial turmoil, they managed to persevere and successfully completed YC's winter 2024 program with a revamped concept and a new initial product. In addition to this, they have reached their seed funding goal, raising a total of $1.25 million, including Y Combinator's standard investment of $375,000, as Ang informed TechCrunch.

Renowned investor Marc Andreessen recently shared insights from his interactions with officials within the Biden administration, suggesting that they appeared to favor a strategy of controlling artificial intelligence by collaborating closely with a select few major AI corporations. This approach, he implied, would effectively marginalize other players in the industry by imposing onerous regulatory burdens. Although Andreessen did not explicitly mention OpenAI, it was inferred that the organization could be among those favored by such a potential policy. However, in a recent podcast conversation with Bari Weiss, OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman refuted Andreessen's allegations, labeling them as a "conspiracy theory." Altman clarified, "We were in meetings with them, along with other companies and the administration, but there was never any indication of a plot to limit AI development to a handful of companies and then dictate their actions. Nothing of the sort was ever discussed." Despite these claims, Altman and other prominent figures in the tech industry have been quick to distance themselves from the Biden administration, contributing substantial sums to Trump's inaugural fund.

On November 15th, Peter Wang initiated a discussion seeking input for the establishment of a novel incubator and fund designed to bolster experimental initiatives within the burgeoning Bluesky/AT Protocol ecosystem. In a swift response, within a mere four weeks, Skyseed was born, boasting an initial commitment of $1 million. This rapid development, highlighted by the fact that the fund is yet to launch a website (though it does possess a Bluesky profile), is a testament to several phenomena: the surging interest in Bluesky, which is being viewed as a sanctuary for millions who have forsaken X (formerly known as Twitter). Additionally, there is a palpable optimism that by embarking on a new social platform founded on an open, decentralized network like the AT Protocol, we might sidestep the ad-driven, enclosed gardens that are prevalent in today's social networking landscape. "The lion's share of Facebook's revenue streams from advertising. All major centralized social media entities are, at their core, advertising companies, which implies they deal in traffic and user attention," Wang explained in a conversation with TechCrunch this week. "The primary distinction between an open protocol and a closed one is that closed systems will never condone applications that divert the content of the graph and user attention from their domains."

There's an inherent human inclination to assign names to things, yet our proficiency in this endeavor is not always up to par. Consider the realm of climate technology: it encompasses a spectrum of companies and innovations that, in essence, aim to mitigate or reverse our environmental impact while also facilitating our adaptation to its escalating changes. In terms of nomenclature, "climate tech" is a fairly apt choice, succinctly encapsulating the sector's dual focus within a pair of words. It surpasses its predecessor, "clean tech," which startups in this domain might have identified with a decade ago. However, "clean tech" was a rather ambiguous term, potentially conjuring images of robotic vacuums or innovative household items for those unfamiliar with the concept. "Climate tech" is far more straightforward. Despite its clarity, the term "climate tech" has been in circulation for about a decade, and humans have a penchant for feeling at the forefront of novelty.

Recently, Google has put forth a counterproposal amidst an antitrust lawsuit where the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) contended that Google should be compelled to divest its Chrome browser. In August, US District Court Judge Amit Mehta determined that Google had unlawfully preserved its dominance in online search, leading the DOJ to suggest several corrective measures. These included the potential sale of Chrome, the separation of its Android operating system, and a ban on inking exclusive search agreements with browser and smartphone enterprises.

The landscape of online dating is poised for a seismic shift as artificial intelligence (AI) begins to play an increasingly prominent role in the quest for love and connection. From personalized chatbots that engage in flirtatious banter on your behalf to sophisticated algorithms that predict compatibility with unprecedented precision, the integration of AI into dating apps promises to revolutionize the way we navigate the complex world of romance.

According to a recent report from The Wall Street Journal, OpenAI's development of its forthcoming model, GPT-5, is experiencing delays, with the outcomes not yet warranting the significant investment required. This aligns with an earlier piece in The Information, which indicated that OpenAI might be exploring alternative approaches as GPT-5 may not offer the same substantial advancements as its predecessors. The WSJ's coverage provides additional insights into the 18-month journey of GPT-5, internally referred to as Orion. It appears that OpenAI has conducted at least two extensive training sessions, which are designed to enhance a model's capabilities by exposing it to vast datasets. The initial training phase proceeded more slowly than anticipated, suggesting that a more extensive training would be both a lengthy and costly endeavor. Although GPT-5 is said to outperform its predecessors, the improvements have not been significant enough to justify the ongoing expenses associated with maintaining the model. The WSJ also reveals that OpenAI has gone beyond relying on publicly accessible data and licensing agreements, employing individuals to generate new data through activities such as coding and solving mathematical problems. Additionally, the company is utilizing synthetic data generated by another of its models, designated as o1. OpenAI has not yet responded to a request for comment. It had previously announced that it would not be releasing a model under the codename Orion within this year.