Elon Musk heading to Mars; while Google and Apple hit by billions in fines

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EU Slaps Google and Apple with Billion-Dollar Penalities

• The EU's top court upheld a €2.4 billion fine against Google for favoring its own shopping service in search results. Separately, Apple must pay Ireland €13 billion in back taxes.

• These rulings mark a victory for EU regulators in their efforts to scrutinize big tech companies. Many consumers and key activists believe that this shall encourage more competition and fairer practices in the tech industry.

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Robo-Soldiers Get Rulebook: 61 Nations Agree on AI Military Ethics

• A framework establishing guidelines for the ethical use of AI in military operations was adopted at the REAIM summit in Seoul. Endorsed by 61 countries, including the US, UK, and Japan, the blueprint emphasizes human control over nuclear weapons decisions and preventing AI from contributing to WMD proliferation.

• While practically vital, this agreement might inadvertently give an advantage to nations not bound by these ethical constraints.

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SpaceX Sets Sights on Mars by 2026

• SpaceX has announced plans to begin uncrewed Mars missions in 2026, followed by crewed missions in 2028. The company aims to establish a self-sustaining city on Mars within 20 years, with a significant reduction in payload delivery costs from $1 billion to $100,000 per ton.

• This decision comes on the heels of China’s space agency moving its timeline up by 2 years to 2028 for their Mars Program.

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AI Search Startup Bags $260M, Eyes Global Domination

• Glean Technologies Inc. raised over $260 million, more than doubling its valuation to $4.6 billion. The company, specializing in AI-powered enterprise search and knowledge management, plans to use the funds to build up its enterprise AI platform and expand globally.

• The firm is taking on giants - such as Microsoft’s Copilot and Perplexity herd of well-financed generative AI startups. This new round includes heavyweight investors such as Softbank, DST Global, and Sequoia Capital.

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OpenAI's 'Strawberry' Leaves Sour Taste

• OpenAI plans to release a text-only version of "Strawberry" within two weeks, according to testers. Though early impressions suggest it's somewhat underwhelming, using chain-of-thought prompting and slower response times.

• Strawberry is intended to help solve more complex problems and conduct autonomous research; essentially getting closer to how humans solve problems.

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Researchers (Kind Of) Crack the Qubit Conundrum

• A team at the University of Rhode Island has proposed a groundbreaking modular system to overcome challenges in quantum computing. The system aims to control and connect qubits (basic units of information) more efficiently.

• The suggested approach involves using oscillating voltages to generate extra frequencies for each qubit. This development may lead to a step change in quantum computing, and accelerate the timeline for commercially viable applications.

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