Figure, a developer of autonomous humanoid robots, has signed a major deal with BMW to bring its robots to the car maker’s US factory.

Under the commercial pact, Figure announced on Thursday it will initially identify potential applications for its robots on the German multinational’s auto assembly lines. Then will follow a gradual deployment phase where it’s hoped the robots will take over dangerous, tedious, and repetitive tasks from human workers at the Spartanburg, South Carolina plant.

The Californian artificial intelligence (AI) company has been developing autonomous general-purpose humanoid robots since 2022 and picked up $70 million in Series A funding last year. The goal of this new partnership is to increase productivity and safety by enabling BMW employees to focus on higher-value assignments that require human skills and oversight, according to the companies.

“The potential of general purpose robotics is completely untapped,” said Brett Adcock, Figure’s CEO. “Our robots will enable companies like BMW to increase productivity, reduce costs and create a safer and more consistent environment.”

In addition to deploying robots, BMW and Figure will collaborate on exploring advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, virtual manufacturing and robot integration.

“The automotive industry is evolving rapidly and BMW aims to be an innovator,” said Dr. Robert Engelhorn, BMW Manufacturing’s President and CEO. “The use of robotics solutions has the potential to drive greater efficiency and support the transformation ahead.”

Excited to announce that Figure has signed a commercial agreement with BMW

We will deploy our general purpose robots into automotive manufacturing environments.

More below: pic.twitter.com/LPisMeZZbi

— Figure (@Figure_robot) January 18, 2024

What does Figure’s deal with BMW mean for jobs?

It all sounds great on paper but what does this mean for human jobs? BMW’s massive plant in Spartanburg employs 11,000 people and generates around $27 billion for the state each year.

Figure says their humanoid robot is designed to address “jobs that are undesirable or unsafe, and to support supply chain and manufacturing on a global scale.” The robots may be used to supplement the work of existing workers or to take on entirely new production methods.

It’s not yet clear how the implementation will affect workers.

Earlier this month Readwrite reported Figure’s significant progress in achieving its mission to “expand human capabilities through advanced AI” by demonstrating how its artificial intelligence (AI) performs simple human tasks like making a coffee.

Robotic workers utilized on a large scale are still a while off. This is very much the early stage of this technology, but the partnership with BMW is a significant step and one to pay attention to.

BMW was approached for comment.

Featured Image: Figure AI

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The Australian government will pursue stronger regulation for artificial intelligence (AI) systems in response to public concern over emerging technologies like ChatGPT.

The country’s Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic released the government’s interim response to a consultation on AI safety and responsibility on Wednesday (Jan.17).

Adopting AI could boost Australia’s GDP by up to $600 billion annually analysts have predicted, but surveys show only one-third of Aussies believe adequate safeguards currently exist.

The prosperous nation is one of the most nervous in the world about the rollout of artificial intelligence. Results of the 2023 ‘Global Advisor’ survey from pollsters Ipsos found Australians more wary of the technology than any other populace. Sixty-nine percent of them reported being concerned about AI.

Husic said: “Australians understand the value of artificial intelligence, but they want to see the risks identified and tackled.

“We have heard loud and clear that Australians want stronger guardrails to manage higher-risk AI.”

The paper defines “high-risk” AI as systems used to assess recidivism risk, job applicants or enable self-driving vehicles. Rapidly evolving “frontier AI” like ChatGPT is also singled out over its ability to generate content at scale.

What will Australia do to tackle AI growth?

While consultations on the topic continue, the Labor government has pledged to take three steps immediately:

1. Working with industry to develop a voluntary AI Safety Standard;
2. Work with industry to develop options for voluntary labeling and watermarking of AI-generated materials;
3. Establish an expert advisory group to support the development of options for mandatory guardrails.

Boosting transparency is another key focus of the proposals. Public reporting on what data trains AI models is one idea aimed at increasing public understanding of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. The government will also work with industry around voluntarily watermarking or labeling AI-generated content. This adds to existing government work on harmful AI material and AI use in schools.

Submissions raised legal concerns about using AI for deepfakes or healthcare privacy breaches. Reviews are underway on whether training generative AI constitutes copyright infringement. Citing disquiet from content creators, the paper highlights how models like Dall-E 2 are powered by scraping images and text without permission.

“We want safe and responsible thinking baked in early as AI is designed, developed and deployed,” said Minister Husic.

Featured Image: DALL-E

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With pivotal elections approaching in 2024 across major democracies, OpenAI has outlined its strategy for safeguarding its powerful large language and image models from being weaponized.

The artificial intelligence (AI) lab behind hugely popular generative AI products ChatGPT and DALL-E has over 180 million users and it continues to grow rapidly. The tools available on OpenAI’s GPT Store include software with the potential to be used nefariously to influence election campaigns. Synthetic media like AI-generated images, videos and audio can erode public trust and go viral via social platforms.

So with great power comes great responsibility and on Monday (Jan.15) the company outlined in a blog post how it would tackle the multitude of elections happening this year across the world.

Preventing abuse of OpenAI’s systems

A core focus is preemptively hardening AI systems against exploitation by bad actors through extensive testing, gathering user feedback during development, and encoding guardrails right into the foundation of models. Specifically for DALL-E, the image generator, rigid policies decline any image generation requests involving real people – including political candidates.

“We work to anticipate and prevent relevant abuse—such as misleading ‘deepfakes’, scaled influence operations, or chatbots impersonating candidates,” wrote OpenAI.

Strict usage rules also prohibit ChatGPT applications for propaganda, voter suppression tactics, or political impersonation bots.

Snapshot of how we’re preparing for 2024’s worldwide elections:

• Working to prevent abuse, including misleading deepfakes
• Providing transparency on AI-generated content
• Improving access to authoritative voting informationhttps://t.co/qsysYy5l0L

— OpenAI (@OpenAI) January 15, 2024

Humans brought into the fold

Here’s something you don’t read every day: humans are going to replace AI. Well, specifically, they will be used by OpenAI as fact-checkers through new transparency features that trace an AI creation back to its origins.  Digital watermarking and fingerprinting will verify DALL-E images, while news links and citations will appear more visibly within ChatGPT search responses. This expands on their previous partnership with Axel Springer, enabling ChatGPT to summarize select news content from the media publisher’s outlets.

The world’s flagship AI company hopes voters will benefit directly from OpenAI’s collaboration with nonpartisan voting agencies like the USA’s National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS). Furthermore, in the US, chatbot querying about any practical aspects of the nation’s voting process will surface official registration and polling details from CanIVote.org to cut through misinformation clutter.

Few would argue against any of these measures. The reality, however, is that as these tools exist there will always be some attempts by bad actors to abuse them for electoral purposes.

OpenAI is at least positioning itself to dynamically respond to the challenges it faces during election cycles.  Collaboration across Big Tech and with governments may be one of the only sustainable paths forward to tackle AI fakes and propaganda.

Featured Image: Unsplash

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Apple News is aiming to be the go-to source for following the upcoming 2024 U.S. presidential election by enhancing its app with several new features.

New Apple News Live features

Most notably, the news app has added support for Live Activities on iPhones running iOS 16. Live Activities allow Apple News to display constantly updating information directly on the lock screen or in the Dynamic Island on iPhone 14 Pro models. During the recent Republican Iowa caucuses (Jan.15), the app’s editors utilized Live Activities to show real-time delegate count percentages as results were coming in, reports Apple Insider. Users can now choose to follow specific election-related stories to enable these updates.

The world’s most popular news app has had a dedicated Election 2024 section for some time now, but new personalization options have been added. Readers can now select their preferred news sources, topics, candidates, and even region-specific coverage that will then populate the “For You” section with relevant stories.

For users wanting election coverage in audio form, Apple News+ subscribers and Apple One Premier members can access audio versions of articles in the app. There is also a daily Apple News Today podcast that summarizes top stories in a 10-minute format, as well as Apple News Narrated – a dedicated feed of selected articles read aloud.

With still months to go, more election-centric features may continue being added to the app. But for now, installing the latest iOS 16 update and exploring Apple News’ special election section looks to be a strong starting point to track caucus developments.

What other news apps are out there?

The news app market is a competitive space and Apple has several rivals who will also want a bigger slice of the election traffic pie.

Google News, Flipboard, SmartNews, Feedly, and Pulse Reader are some of the most popular alternatives to Apple News for iOS users.

Google News offers personalized news with cross-platform availability, Flipboard has a magazine-style interface for custom feeds, SmartNews uses AI for intelligent curation while Feedly focuses specifically on RSS feeds rather than general news sources and Pulse Reader is known for readability and topic customization. While no competitor matches Apple News’ iOS integration, each provides something for users wanting alternatives for news aggregation,

Featured Image: Dalle-E

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One of the world’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) research companies, OpenAI, has removed language from its usage policies that expressly prohibited using their powerful language technologies, such as ChatGPT, for military purposes.

As reported by The Intercept, the previous version of the firm’s policies included a clear ban on “weapons development” and “military and warfare” about how its AI tools and services could be used. That blanket prohibition, which experts say would rule out any direct applications by defense departments or militaries, was quietly removed in a revised usage policy published earlier this month.

The new policy retains a general ban on harmful activities, but no longer singles out military applications as expressly prohibited usage. When asked about the change, an OpenAI spokesperson stated the goal was to simplify the policy into “universal principles” like “Don’t harm others,” though the potential implications concerning military use remain unclear.

In a statement to The Intercept, OpenAI’s Niko Felix wrote: “We aimed to create a set of universal principles that are both easy to remember and apply, especially as our tools are now globally used by everyday users who can now also build GPTs.

“A principle like ‘Don’t harm others’ is broad yet easily grasped and relevant in numerous contexts. Additionally, we specifically cited weapons and injury to others as clear examples.”

How could the military use generative AI?

The language change represents a weakening of OpenAI’s previous hard line against military use. Some experts speculate it could leave open a path for the company’s AI technology to be indirectly used in combat scenarios by aiding operational infrastructure, as long as not directly involved in weapons systems themselves. There are also questions about the Silicon Valley company’s close partnership with Microsoft, a major defense contractor that has invested billions in the startup.

While current OpenAI technologies may have limited practical uses for militaries in their present form, the policy shift occurs at a time when defense departments globally have growing interest in leveraging advanced AI for intelligence and operational purposes. It remains unknown how OpenAI will interpret or enforce these revised guidelines as military demand continues increasing in the future.

Featured Image: Dall-E

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India data center providers are purchasing tens of thousands of advanced Nvidia GPUs (graphics processing unit) in a bid to turbocharge growth in the country’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector.

The Indian GPU sales come after the trillion-dollar chipmaker lost a significant chunk of its business in China due to recent US export controls on leading-edge semiconductors to its rival superpower. Nvidia expected over $5 billion in high-end data center GPU sales to China in 2023-2024 before the restrictions bit. Although it developed export-compliant chips, Chinese companies were reportedly unhappy with the downgraded offerings. 

The Silicon Valley giant is confident worldwide demand for its products will offset any losses in the Far East. Investors and analysts will be watching Nvidia’s fiscal fourth-quarter earnings report next month to see how true this is.

Nvidia hopeful India GPU sales can plug China shortfall

In an interview with Reuters,  Mumbai-based Yotta announced one of its largest procurement deals, saying it plans to deploy 32,000 Nvidia H100 and H200 GPUs by 2025 worth about $1 billion. Roughly 16,000 of those GPUs will come online this July at Yotta’s new AI-focused data center in Gujarat opening in March.

Yotta CEO Sunil Gupta said India’s machine learning market could reach $14 billion annually by 2030, but only by leveraging advanced infrastructure like Nvidia’s accelerators.

“India’s AI ambition is just not possible unless this infra[structure] comes to India”, Gupta sai.d

Other Indian firms striking GPU deals with Nvidia include massive conglomerate Reliance Industries and Tata Group. Reliance will utilize Nvidia’s newest GH200 “superchips” to train AI models on India’s many local languages and dialects. Tata is constructing an AI supercomputer centered on the GH200 for pioneering cloud services.

Nvidia’s dominance is being challenged

Nvidia has a dominant position when it comes GPUs used for AI systems. They are the big player all others must beat.

The company is estimated to control anywhere from 70-90% market share currently, far ahead of rivals AMD and Intel. Nvidia’s specialized Tensor Core GPUs are so far unmatched at accelerating the intense mathematical workloads required to train and run deep-learning AI models. Top cloud providers like AWS and Microsoft Azure as well as server manufacturers rely extensively on Nvidia chips to power their AI offerings.

However, the industry wants supply chain diversity and if AMD produces a chip close to the performance of Nvidia’s cutting-edge H100, it may capture a significant market share.

With the sector growing rapidly, AMD’s push into AI semiconductors pits it to disrupt Nvidia’s dominance. Top cloud providers and server manufacturers will be keen for an alternative GPU supplier.

India, the world’s most populous nation, with a surging tech industry, presents immense opportunities as AI expands across finance, healthcare, agriculture, infrastructure and other economic sectors.

Featured Image: Canva free 

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YouTube TV has hit another growth milestone, crossing 6.5 million paying subscribers in the third quarter of 2023 according to new estimates.

The live TV streaming service owned by Google offers cable channels and cloud and digital video recording (DVR) functionality over the internet. It has now become the company’s fastest-growing product, reports CordCuttersNews.

The data from Leichtman Research Group shows YouTube TV gained around 600,000 new subscribers in the last quarter alone, making it the fastest-growing “over-the-top” TV streaming platform. The service now controls over 40% market share among major competitors like Hulu Live TV, Sling TV, and FuboTV.

YouTubeTV is on the rise while traditional cable suffers

While streaming TV services are rapidly expanding – adding over 1.3 million subscribers last quarter – traditional cable providers continue to leak customers. Cable lost close to 1 million subscribers while other legacy pay TV services dropped nearly 780,000. The total subscriber loss across the market still amounted to over 450,000 as cord-cutting accelerates.

YouTube TV has found strong demand with its combination of cable-like channel bundles and access on many devices. Features that differentiate it like multi-view for watching up to three live channels also appeal to sports fans. However, the service did face criticism last year for raising prices as content licensing costs climbed. It now costs $72.99 a month with $10 off the first three months of service.

The continued growth of YouTube TV comes as parent company Google looks to integrate streaming video more directly into its products. Google TV platform improvements and new partnerships are expanding to more smart TVs and streaming devices in 2023.

Google’s AI chatbot, Bard, is rapidly evolving also and now boasts an improved ability to analyze YouTube video content. The update marks a significant enhancement in Bard’s capabilities, allowing it to interpret and respond to detailed queries about YouTube videos.

Featured image: freestocks.org

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As the 2024 Consumer Electronics Show – or CES, as it is known – prepares to open in Las Vegas tomorrow (Jan 9), Samsung has revealed a groundbreaking transparent MicroLED screen.

The electronics giant yesterday teased not just one but three different versions of seamless see-through screens, each with slightly distinct designs the company vows will make “the line between content and reality virtually indistinguishable.”

Two of the demo units incorporated tinted glass which in theory makes it easier to ignore any visual clutter behind the screens. But the real showstopper was a frameless transparent MicroLED that was as optically clear as an ordinary window, yet capable of projecting vibrant hologram-like visuals that appeared to float magically in midair. Samsung has released a promotional video of its transparent MicroLED displays:

However, some attendees have noted that seeing the technology in person provides a distinctively more dynamic visual experience. The displays measure one centimeter thick, with transparency and dimensions intended to contribute to a floating, multidimensional effect for onscreen imagery.

Mainstream adoption of the technology faces substantial cost barriers for the foreseeable future. Samsung’s current 110-inch non-transparent MicroLED TV has launched with a $150,000 price point so it’s unlikely to reach mass market affordability in the near term.

Samsung Transparent MicroLED displays at CES2024#CES2024 #Samsung pic.twitter.com/I4P1K4X80a

— Technizo Concept (@technizoconcept) January 8, 2024

When is Samsung’s CES 2024 press conference and how to watch it?

CES 2024 returns to Las Vegas on Monday, January 8, transforming the city into a premiere venue for tech product debuts. Samsung will hold its press conference on Monday at 2PM PT, with a livestream available through Samsung’s Global Newsroom website.

Samsung’s event is titled “AI for All: Connectivity in the Age of AI,” and (surprise, surprise) will focus on artificial intelligence (AI) innovations. As one of the largest electronics companies in the world, Samsung is expected to showcase AI advancements relevant to its various product lines.

CES 2024 runs January 8-11, with over 1,000 exhibitors convening to unveil the next generation of technology products and services.

Picture: Samsung

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Nvidia is gearing up for a major announcement at CES 2024 today (Jan 8).

The graphics card behemoth recently sent out mysterious invites for a “special address” ahead of the mega tech expo in Las Vegas which runs from Jan 9 – Jan 12. Details are scarce, but there has been speculation Nvidia is preparing to take the wraps off it’s brand new GeForce RTX 40 Super GPUs (graphics processing units), reports The Verge.

Monday (Jan 8) will be the second of two media days before the public conference begins. All Nvidia is saying about their speaking slot is: “Tune into the NVIDIA Special Address at CES 2024 to see how our latest breakthroughs supercharge gaming, creating, and AI performance with GeForce RTX.”

While the invite avoids any mention of graphics cards or gaming, the timing has set tongues wagging throughout hardware circles. Nvidia is could be ready to unveil Super variants of its existing RTX 4070 and RTX 4080 graphics cards, delivering upgraded performance for PC gaming and creation tasks.

Renowned leakers have been sharing details on these unannounced RTX 40 Super GPUs for weeks now. The flagship RTX 4080 Super will allegedly increase memory capacity to 20GB, up from 16GB on the standard RTX 4080. A wider 320-bit memory bus could also be in the cards, promising major gains in memory bandwidth.

Why is all this noteworthy?

Well, if the world’s biggest chipmaker unveils new GeForce RTX 40 Super GPUs, it could shake up the graphics card market in 2024 by offering upgraded performance and better value compared to existing RTX 40-series models. PC gamers, streamers, and content creators seeking more graphical horsepower stand to benefit if Nvidia releases competitively-priced RTX 4070 Super and RTX 4080 Super cards that move the needle over non-Super variants.

The graphics card space remains highly competitive, with the trillion-dollar company constantly facing pressure from rival AMD, which released its impressive RDNA 3 GPUs last year and its forthcoming Ryzen 5000 processors are coming soon.  

What can we expect from Nvidia’s RTX 40 Super GPUs?

If the leaks are true, Nvidia is gearing up to juice more performance out of its current Ampere architecture before next-gen Ada Lovelace GPUs arrive later this year. The RTX 4080 and 4070 Super graphics cards aim to deliver better value than current models.

For example, the specs on RTX 4070 Super are believed to point to 12GB or 16GB of VRAM, a boost over the vanilla 10GB RTX 4070. This additional video memory and faster bus should equate to tangible improvements in today’s cutting-edge games and creative applications at reasonable prices.

Nvidia’s CES 2024 keynote is on January 8 at 8AM PT. While other tech giants like Samsung and Sony also have press conferences scheduled that day, all eyes will be on what surprises Nvidia’s CEO has in store. An RTX 40 Super launch would give Nvidia a leg up over AMD in 2023 and tide enthusiasts over until the Ada Lovelace generation sees light.

Featured image: Jose G. Ortega Castro on Unsplash 

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Tech giant Intel announced on Wednesday (Jan 3) the launch of Articul8, a new generative artificial intelligence (AI) software company focused on enterprise customers.

Spun out from Intel’s own research and development efforts, Articul8 received backing from investment firm DigitalBridge and other investors in a bid to commercialize AI technology tailored for business settings, the company announced.

What does Articul8 AI do?

Intel worked with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) to create an AI system prototype that can read text and images. The system uses Intel hardware and open-source and proprietary AI models. It runs securely inside business data centers. After customizing the system for BCG over the past year, developers adapted it for other enterprise customers across industries like finance, aerospace, and telecom.

The new firm promises an AI product “built from the ground up” for enterprise, optimized for fast deployment, scalability, security, and cost-effectiveness. The system keeps customer data, model training, and inferences within existing security perimeters. Articul8 supports cloud, on-premises, or hybrid AI deployments.

The microprocessor maker and Articul8 will continue working closely together under a strategic partnership, with plans to utilize Articul8’s platform internally and also sell it jointly to customers. The spinout represents Intel’s latest move to seek outside investment and partnerships for tech initiatives as it pushes into software and services to boost the appeal of its hardware.

Former Intel VP and GM Arun Subramaniyan will lead Articul8 as its inaugural CEO. The launch aligns with CEO Pat Gelsinger’s plans to deliver advanced AI offerings that can compete with rivals like Nvidia, making Intel silicon more enticing across verticals.

“Articul8 is well positioned to deliver tangible business outcomes for Intel and our broader ecosystem of customers and partners. As Intel accelerates AI everywhere, we look forward to our continued collaboration with Articul8,” said Gelsinger.

Intel is one of many Silicon Valley companies making inroads in the AI space. They have already developed specialized AI hardware like its Neural Network Processor (NNP) chips and its Habana labs division focuses specifically on machine learning chips.

Featured Image: Pexels

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Microsoft is making the biggest change to Windows PC keyboards in nearly three decades by introducing a new Copilot key.

Announced on Thursday (Jan 4), this key provides instant access to Microsoft’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered digital assistant, Copilot. It can perform tasks like adjusting settings, organizing screen elements, summarizing text passages, and generating images when prompted by the user.

Pressing this key opens the Copilot experience in Windows, allowing users to use the AI with ease. According to the software giant, the addition of the Copilot key represents the beginning of what they are calling “the year of the AI PC.” Essentially, this refers to AI becoming deeply and seamlessly integrated into the Windows experience, from the core system to the silicon to the hardware itself.

Microsoft continues to make strides in AI with Copilot

Writing on Thursday (Jan 4) on a company blog, Yusuf Mehdi, Consumer Chief Marketing Officer wrote: “Nearly 30 years ago, we introduced the Windows key to the PC keyboard that enabled people all over the world to interact with Windows. We see this as another transformative moment in our journey with Windows where Copilot will be the entry point into the world of AI on the PC.”

The Copilot key will start showing up on new Windows 11 devices from both Microsoft’s partners and its Surface lineup. Its addition comes shortly after the trillion-dollar company established itself as a leader in AI in 2023, thanks to developments like its GPT-powered Copilot chatbot assistant.

Integrating the Copilot key and assistant is only the initial step toward realizing the tech giant’s ambition of ushering in the era of the AI PC. As  Mehdi states: “In this new year, we will be ushering in a significant shift toward a more personal and intelligent computing future where AI will be seamlessly woven into Windows from the system to the silicon, to the hardware.”

Picture: Pexels

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There are six companies on the planet valued at over a trillion dollars, five of which are in America’s Silicon Valley, the mecca for technology innovation.

The wealth of the world’s most valuable companies is immense but what about those who run these titans of technology, what is the net worth of Big Tech’s Chief Executive Officers (CEO)?

We looked at the seven most valuable technology companies on Earth and the net worth of their leaders according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire list.

Tim Cook, Apple CEO, net worth: $1.9 billion

Apple market cap: $2.86 trillion

As the CEO of Apple since 2011, Tim Cook oversees the world’s most valuable company. While much of his wealth comes from his Apple salary and stock grants, his estimated net worth is around $1.9 billion. This makes him one of the wealthiest CEOs in tech but he comes in at a mere 1,597 on the world’s billionaire list.

Cook took a 40% pay cut in 2023, which lowered his compensation to $49 million, down from $84 million the previous year. Don’t worry about the 63-year-old though, he’ll be fine, he owns 3,280,052 shares of Apple common stock, about 0.02% of all outstanding shares, a stake worth about $604 million today.

Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, net worth: $900 million

Microsoft market cap: $2.75 trillion

After taking over the reins at Microsoft in 2014, Satya Nadella has led a highly successful transition towards cloud and artificial intelligence (AI). His revival of Microsoft stock has added to his estimated $900 million net worth.

Thanks, in part, to the software company’s shrewd moves into AI through their investment in ChatGPT owner OpenAI, Nadella saw his stock quite literally rise in 2023. MSFT shares have grown by over 60% in the last year.

Sundar Pichai, Alphabet CEO, net worth: $600 million – $1.3 billion

Alphabet market cap: $1.74 trillion

Sundar Pichai became the CEO of Google’s parent company Alphabet in 2019. With Alphabet stock continuing to perform well, Pichai’s net worth is hard to pin down and estimated to be anywhere from $600 million to $1.3 billion. Under Sundar Pichai’s leadership, Alphabet has seen impressive revenue growth, especially in its cloud computing business, as the 51-year-old integrated machine learning across the tech giant’s diverse product offerings.

As of 20 December, the Indian-born leader held 2.4 million shares in Alphabet which is around $335 million at today’s price.

Andy Jassy, Amazon CEO, net worth: $320 million

Amazon market cap: $1.53 trillion

If you were expecting to see Jeff Bezos here, think again. The founder of e-commerce behemoth Amazon stepped down as CEO in 2021 to focus on his space company Blue Origin. Andy Jassy stepped up to the top job after serving as the head of Amazon’s highly successful cloud platform business Amazon Web Services (AWS).

While his salary and stock awards are generous, Jassy’s estimated net worth according to The Street is around $320 million – far lower than his predecessor Jeff Bezos, who remains Executive Chair, the company’s biggest shareholder, and the third richest person in the world with his $170 billion fortune.

Jensen Huang, NVIDIA CEO, net worth: $42 billion

NVIDIA market cap: $1.17 trillion

Under Jensen Huang’s innovative leadership, Nvidia has transformed from a GPU company into an AI powerhouse, with products like its Drive platform enabling major advances in autonomous driving while its graphics cards remain top choices for gaming, crypto mining, and data centers.

The Taiwan-born businessman has also focused on Nvidia’s professional visualization offerings to support strides in fields like architecture and scientific computing.

Huang founded the semiconductor maker in 1993 and with the company’s stock rocketing up 226% last year, the 60-year-old’s 1.3 million shares have soared in value and helped triple his net worth.

Mark Zuckerberg, Meta CEO, net worth: $122 billion

Meta Platforms market cap: $885 billion

The youngest CEO on this list but the second richest, 37-year-old Mark Zuckerberg has amassed a fortune of $122 billion thanks to his 14% stake in Meta, the parent company of social networks Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.

After a tough 2022, Meta bounced back, and its stock nearly tripled in 2023. Its rise was driven by a sharp rebound in advertising revenues and healthy profit margins.

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, net worth: $244 billion

Tesla market cap: $758 billion

Does anyone not know who Elon Musk is these days? The richest person alive, very possibly the most famous man on the planet and certainly one of the most influential thanks to his control of X (formerly Twitter). Elon Musk is everywhere at the moment.

We’re talking about his stewardship of electric car pioneer Tesla here, but the 52-year-old also owns X, he’s the founder and CEO of SpaceX, founder of tunnel construction firm Boring Company, co-founder of Neuralink the brain chip maker and even co-founder of OpenAI the company behind ChatGPT. His life must be exhausting!

Back to Tesla, the seventh most valuable tech company in the world, and it too had a barnstorming 2023. Why are we classing it as a tech company? Because it sees itself as a software company as well as an automobile maker. The firm is at the forefront of autonomous driving technology.

In 2023 Tesla produced their five millionth vehicle and doubled their stock value in 2023. Musk, who has a 13% stake in the company, saw his net worth soar as a result.

Tesla 2023 recap

Made possible by the hard work of our amazing teams around the world, and each of our owners & supporters.

Thank you for helping us continue to accelerate the transition to sustainable energy! pic.twitter.com/dD5O35CFbV

— Tesla (@Tesla) January 3, 2024

Picture: Created in Canva from Creative Commons images

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Machines able to read our thoughts sounds like something straight out of the pages of a science fiction novel, but that is what a new artificial intelligence (AI) system called DeWave can do.

Australian researchers have developed the technology to translate silent thoughts from brain waves into text, using an electroencephalogram (EEG) cap to record neural activity. Scientists at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) achieved over 40% accuracy in early experiments and their hope is DeWave’s AI could enable communication for those unable to speak or type.

The non-invasive system requires no implants or surgery, unlike Elon Musk’s planned Neuralink chips. It was tested on datasets from subjects reading the text while both brain activity and eye movements were monitored. By matching EEG patterns to eye fixations indicating recognized words, DeWave learned to decode thoughts.

Lead researcher Chin-Teng Lin from UTS stated that DeWave introduces “an innovative approach to neural decoding”. He said in a statement: “This research represents a pioneering effort in translating raw EEG waves directly into language, marking a significant breakthrough in the field.”

Professor Lin continued: “It is the first to incorporate discrete encoding techniques in the brain-to-text translation process, introducing an innovative approach to neural decoding. The integration with large language models is also opening new frontiers in neuroscience and AI.”

DeWave’s AI could one day help paralysis patients

Verbs proved easiest for the AI to identify from neural signals, while concrete nouns were sometimes translated as synonymous word pairs. Researchers suggest that semantically related concepts can produce similar EEG patterns, posing challenges.

With only a snug EEG cap needed to capture input, the technology could one day enable fluid communication for paralyzed patients or direct control over assistive devices. However, work remains to improve the system’s accuracy to around 90% on par with speech recognition.

Combined with rapidly advancing language models, similar brain-computer interfaces could someday enable people to simply think effortlessly to communicate or interact with technology.

Featured Image: UTS

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People in the United Kingdom (UK) who make money from ‘side hustles‘ will be subject to firmer tax regulations this year from the nation’s taxation authority HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC)

The new tax on additional income streams is set to come into effect from January 1st and will require large online platforms like eBay, Airbnb, and Etsy to share seller information with tax authorities. The policy change allows HMRC to more easily detect potential tax evasion from individuals making money through online side jobs and side hustles.

Under the new rules, online platforms must directly report seller data – including tax ID numbers, bank details and total sales – to HMRC by January 2025. This comprehensive reporting only applies to sellers making over £1,000 annually. Those surpassing this threshold are obligated to register as self-employed and file the proper tax paperwork.

In addition to second-hand auctions and home shares, the tax crackdown covers food delivery, freelance work, rental of parking spots or storage space, and more. The information sharing allows HMRC to cross-reference seller activity on UK and international sites to ensure proper tax compliance.

An HMRC spokesperson told the BBC, “These new rules will support our work to help online sellers get their tax right first time. They will also help us detect any deliberate non-compliance, ensuring a level playing field for all taxpayers.”

Do people in the UK have to pay tax on a side hustle?

Whether selling clothing on Vinted, selling old books on eBay or selling handmade bracelets on Etsy – if the person making the sale earns more than £1000 from their side gig in a tax year then they need to pay tax if in the UK.

To do this Brits have to register as self-employed via HMRC and submit a self-assessment tax return.

Picture: Pixabay

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The Dutch government has partially revoked an export license for semiconductor equipment giant ASML (Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography) to ship some of its most advanced lithography machines to China, report Reuters.

The canceled export license affects ASML’s NXT:2050i and NXT:2100i systems. It comes after the European tech giant received “further clarification of the scope and impact” of expanded US export rules aimed at limiting China’s domestic chipmaking capabilities.

ASML stock price dips

ASML’s stock dipped 1.54% to 671.20 euros on the news, kicking off 2024 on a sour note on the first trading day of the new year.

While the license cancelation won’t have a “material impact” on ASML’s 2023 earnings, the company did not disclose the specific financial implications. It also remains unclear exactly how many lithography machines will be affected.

ASML’s most advanced extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems have required a Dutch export license since September 2023 due to US government pressure. These advanced machines are crucial for producing leading-edge chips below 10 nanometers.

China claims discrimination

China was quick to criticize the Netherlands’ decision, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin stating Beijing hopes the Dutch government will “protect the common interests of both countries and their companies and maintain the stability of international supply chains”.

The official X account for The Chinese Communist Party’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged the Netherlands to “uphold fairness & market principles.”

We urge the Netherlands to uphold fairness & market principles, respect the spirit of contract and take concrete actions to protect the common interests of our two countries and of Chinese & Dutch companies and keep international industrial & supply chains stable. #ASML pic.twitter.com/wI3ai8I5Cr

— Spokesperson发言人办公室 (@MFA_China) January 2, 2024

Asia’s biggest economy was ASML’s third-largest market after Taiwan and South Korea in 2022. However, during Q3 2023, China accounted for a whopping 46% of ASML’s total revenue – making it the company’s largest market. Broader tensions have been rising due to US-spearheaded efforts to constrain China’s semiconductor industry through export controls and Beijing has been investing billions to foster its domestic chip capabilities but still lags years behind cutting-edge manufacturing.

Countries have been reluctant to export their most advanced semiconductor technology to China due to rising national security concerns, fears of enabling its military capabilities, and a brewing technology cold war with the US.  With chips becoming critical infrastructure for military systems and emerging technologies like AI, Western nations are increasingly wary of strengthening Beijing’s capabilities and economic competitiveness in strategic fields.

Picture: Pixabay

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A 2023 report has revealed the staggering salaries for highly sought-after AI researchers who can command over $750,000 per year at top artificial intelligence (AI) companies right after completing their studies.

The figures compiled by, Rora, a salary negotiation service, reveal the sky-high compensations offered to AI Researchers as demand for talent in this rapidly growing sector accelerates.

What was the salary for AI Researchers in 2023?

The report analyzes over 600 industry job offers secured by new Ph.D. graduates. It finds that OpenAI (owners of Chatgpt) and Anthropic, two of the biggest AI labs, provide the highest starting salaries, with new researchers earning up to $865,000 and $855,000 respectively. Other leaders include Inflection ($825,000), Tesla ($780,000), and Amazon ($719,000).

It’s worth noting the total compensation included in the research comprises base salary, bonus, and equity. Signing or other cash bonuses were not included in this table.

What’s striking is how much room there is to negotiate. Candidates could increase initial offers by as much as 77%, even at prestigious companies like Google and Microsoft Research. One researcher turned a $216,000 offer from Google into $526,000 after negotiation – a 243% increase.

The stakes are far higher than just first-year salary. The report stresses how early negotiation impacts long-term earnings thanks to compounding effects over decades of work. Just a 5% increase on a $100k starting salary equates to an extra 14 years of pay throughout a career.

Beyond compensation, negotiating strong relationships is key to a successful career.

Brian Liou, founder of Rora, writes: “Understanding how to influence others leads to better projects; more visibility; and ultimately promotions, career growth, and pay raises over time. When you’re ineffective at negotiating inside the company, you’re at risk of conflict with your manager; being stuck with projects with low visibility or low impact; failure to achieve raises or promotions; or even potentially losing your job. ”

Why AI jobs are in such high demand

To put it simply: demand far outstrips supply.

Currently, the voracious need for AI researchers far outstrips the limited pipeline of talent. In 2021, Taulbee Surveys found only 1,691 PhDs were awarded in computing research fields like machine learning. Yet in the US alone, over 30,000 open positions exist for computer and information research scientists. And that need grows by 21% every year – meaning 5,000 new jobs appear every year.

Despite economic turbulence, the AI industry continues to accelerate. Emerging industry research labs flush with venture capital funding, like Anthropic, Inflection, and Altos Labs are on major hiring sprees, and while hiring has slowed at Google and Meta labs, their AI teams keep getting larger.

Another sector in high demand is cybersecurity. We previously explored the highest-salary cybersecurity roles in the US.

Picture: AI-generated image from DALL-E

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Oh, the weather outside is frightful..but perhaps not as frightful as some of the artificial intelligence (AI) developments we’ve seen in 2023.

From creepy artistic robots to shockingly realistic news anchors, AI is here to stay and it’s developing at breakneck speed. But what about next year? What AI trends will 2024 have in store for us?

1. Generative AI and LLMs will start to noticeably change our lives

Think how much Generative AI and large language models (LLM) dominated the conversation surrounding AI in 2023. It all started when ChatGPT launched in November 2022 and has since snowballed. Now Google, Meta, Microsoft (through the OpenAI partnership), Amazon, and many more of Silicon Valley’s biggest companies are involved in gen AI.

It is likely to remain a dominant tech trend in 2024.

What the experts say

Christian Kleinerman, SVP of Product at Snowflake, a multi-billion dollar provider of cloud-based data storage, believes we have a lot of turmoil in store.

Writing in the company’s Data And AI Predictions 2024 Kleinerman says: “Lots of true disruption is coming. Mostly around end-user experience and how people interact with technology,” he says.

No one is arguing generative AI is a bubble that’s going to pop. There will be plenty of ‘.ai’ start-ups that can’t cut it in the long-term but the underlying technology is predicted to dramatically increase productivity in the workplace and enhance insights.

Kleinerman adds: “There’s a lot of opportunity to improve things in the business world, whether it’s around making individuals more productive or creating innovative end-user experiences and interactions. It will change roles, responsibilities, and skill sets.”

2. There will be growing pains as we adapt to AI proliferation

The internet has no shortage of those catastrophizing around what damage AI could do to humanity. The most extreme views predict it will wipe us out in some sort of Skynet-led Terminator-esque apocalypse. It’s right we consider the risks artificial intelligence poses, but a more grounded, realistic analysis finds the threats much less existential and more professional.

We cannot gloss over the fact there will be winners and losers from the development of this technology, particularly in the job market. If AI can help you do the work of multiple people, it doesn’t take long before a finance manager is going to ask themselves how necessary their current human staffing level is.

Customer service agents could be replaced by more advanced chatbots, financial services may see AI take on much of the predictive analysis and data crunching required, automated transportation will increase diminishing needs for human drivers, marketing will be bolstered by AI-generated messaging and many other industries will feel the pinch.

What the experts say

The world’s richest man, Elon Musk has spoken out frequently about the risks posed by AI.

“There will come a point where no job is needed,” the 52-year-old billionaire told the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at a conference in November

“You can have a job if you want to have a job for personal satisfaction but no job is needed, the AI will able to do everything,” Musk said.

But the Tesla and Space X CEO said AI could be a great equalizer in society if we can meet the challenges it presents. While a time of universal income or “universal high income” as Musk calls it, is likely not going to be next year, expect to see some significant turbulence in the job market.

3. Advances in vision intelligence

Next year we will see significant strides in the ability of artificial intelligence systems to accurately perceive, interpret, and understand visual information such as digital images and videos. Essentially, AI will get better at ‘seeing’ images and multimedia.

Today, AI can tag people or objects in images, but it makes mistakes. Soon, it’ll name things correctly almost every time. Not only that – AI won’t just label stand-alone things. It’ll start noticing how objects fit together in a full scene and make sense of everything in one image. Like understanding a busy store with shelves, carts, and people is a grocery store. We will see systems able to identify peoples’ faces despite changes over time or blocked parts like glasses, and masks, which will assist law enforcement.

The applications of visual AI are extensive (and a tad dystopian). If AI gets better at seeing and understanding photos and videos it could help us catch broken equipment in factories automatically, guide self-driving cars efficiently, and identify from a scan if someone has a health condition.

Making “deepfake” photos and videos will keep getting easier. This is bad news but presumably, the tech to spot deepfakes will level up too. It’ll need to.

What the experts say

“AI could help inform decisions and better inform patients and providers about their individualized risks and benefits of certain surgeries,” said Christopher J. Tignanelli, MD  a general surgeon and scientific director of the Program for Clinical AI at the University of Minnesota when discussing the application of AI to medicine.

4. Cybersecurity is going to become extra challenging

To put it mildly. Anyone who watched the recent Netflix film Leave The World Behind will have seen the terrifying effects of a massive, concerted nationwide cyberattack on the US. Granted, it’s fiction, but genuine cyberattacks at scale have the potential to cause serious damage.

AI developments are moving at such whirlwind speeds in their capabilities that it will be a battle for security specialists to keep up.  Unfortunately, cybercriminals will initially benefit more from generative AI than defenders, making existing attacks like phishing and social engineering more effective.

There are also risks around misinformation. The effects of a bad actor undertaking a significant propaganda operation in which political content is planted that clouds the truth about a nation-state conflict, election integrity, or a political candidate are not hard to imagine. For years social media bots have been used to influence mainstream opinion and talking points, with AI advancements these techniques will become more sophisticated.

What the experts say

“Legitimate businesses are careful about adopting and using new technologies—there’s cost, regulatory requirements, and reputational risk if it’s done poorly,” says Mario Duarte, Snowflake’s VP of Security.

“Bad guys won’t wait. So at first, they’ll have the full firepower of LLMs and gen AI, and defenders will be playing catch-up.”

Eventually, he says, the playing field will even out. But expect a lot of pain in the meantime.

5. Governments move to legislate

The remarkable journey of artificial intelligence has now become a subject of paramount concern for policymakers worldwide. As we approach 2024, prominent nations like China, the European Union, the United States, and India are painstakingly crafting extensive AI policies.

These initiatives have a threefold purpose: to stimulate groundbreaking technological advancements, attract global investments, and simultaneously protect their citizens from any unintended consequences of AI. Discussions within the industry are hinting at the possibility of international cooperation in establishing AI standards and guidelines, suggesting that collaborative efforts on a global scale in this realm may soon become a reality.

What the experts say

The founder of Microsoft Bill Gates is a proponent of regulation in the AI space.

In September, Gates said: “The potential of AI is limitless — but we will only realize that potential if government, the private sector, and civil society work together to maximize the technology’s benefits and minimize its risks.”

Featured image: AI-generated image from DALL-E

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This year has undoubtedly been the year of generative artificial intelligence (AI) for the tech sector.

It’s a topic continuing to dominate technology news headlines and has thoroughly penetrated the cultural zeitgeist of the planet. Even the United Kingdom’s (UK) King Charles III has voiced concerns about AI. It’s hard to get more mainstream than that.

Generative AI is a type of technology which produces various types of content, including text, imagery, audio and code from the input data it receives. The most widely used of these is ChatGPT which exploded onto the scene in November 2022.

There are clear leaders in the field of generative AI and these titans of the tech industry are battling it out for supremacy in this rapidly expanding field.

Which companies are leading the pack in this $13 billion industry? Here are the 10 biggest generative AI companies in the world as ranked by market capitalization on Dec.11. To qualify for this list the companies must be creating generative AI software or providing components pivotal to its construction.

10 most valuable generative AI companies in the world (and what they do)

10. International Business Machines (IBM), $148.51 billion, USA

IBM, the venerable grandfather of the tech industry, has been around since 1911. They endured some rough years in the 90s but have since recovered and are positioned well to take advantage of the rising demand for AI. Currently, Meta and IBM are headlining a collaboration of more than 50 companies and groups to create an industry body working together on open-source AI. Big Blue, as it is affectionately known, has also announced plans to invest $500 million in generative AI startups catering to business customers.

9. Intuit, $164.01 billion, USA

Fintech innovator Intuit has been making use of machine learning and AI systems to boost services across its popular products like QuickBooks, TurboTax, and MailChimp. On the generative AI front, the Californian firm launched Intuit Assist a chatbot for customers earlier this year and GenOS, an operating system that helps Intuit’s technologists “design, build, and deploy breakthrough generative AI experiences through Intuit Assist.”

8. Alibaba Group, $181.91 billion, China

One of the biggest companies in China, Alibaba is the only organization from outside the US to make the list. The Chinese are aware of America’s early dominance in the field and are taking action. The nation recorded a surge in AI-related patent filings in October and over 40% of global AI patent applications are within its borders.

The Amazon and eBay of China, Alibaba is heavily invested in AI through its cloud computing services, e-commerce activity and financial services affiliate Ant Group.

7. Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), $215.1 billion, USA

AMD is a major player in the semiconductor industry. They provide central processing units (CPUs) and graphics processing units (GPUs) that pit them against their larger rival, Nvidia. They are the sellers of pickaxes in a gold rush. They provide advanced AI chips which are used in generative AI applications. The company recently announced its new MI300X chip which Microsoft and Meta have already committed to.

6. Adobe, $282.86 billion, USA

Primarily known for its software products like Photoshop, InDesign and Premiere Pro, Adobe is another Silicon Valley firm working for dominance in the generative AI space. In October Adobe unveiled Firefly Image 2, a significant upgrade to their existing AI-powered image generation tool. The improved model delivers higher-quality outputs through enhancements to model architecture, training algorithms, and image generation capabilities. Adobe has been introducing many more generative AI features on its Adobe Sensei platform.

5. Meta Platforms, $823.94 billion, USA

Now we get to the first of the big beasts. Meta’s products serve billions around the world thanks to the prolific uptake of its core platforms Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, like the other tech giants, is now looking at new horizons and taking steps into generative AI. From a chatbot named Llama, AI image generators, and most recently, Audiobox, the world’s leading social media company is investing heavily in the sector.

4. NVIDIA, $1.13 trillion, USA

Like AMD further up this list, Nvidia is a critical supplier of components needed for generative AI software. So important is Nvidia to the industry, the sale of its high-end AI chips to China has been scrutinized heavily by the US Government. Nevertheless, the chipmaker has had a stellar year, tripling its worth and outperforming every other company in the S&P 500. 

3. Amazon, $1.50 trillion, USA

Jeff Bezos wants more. Not content with his e-commerce empire, leading cloud computing service through AWS (Amazon Web Services) and digital media arm, the Amazon Inc CEO has set his sights on AI. The company has two large language models (LLM) on AWS and has recently announced a chatbot for businesses called ‘Q’.

The company has also bet big on OpenAI (more on them soon) competitor Anthropic. It has poured $4 billion of funding into the American start-up founded by former execs from OpenAI, the team behind ChatGPT.

2. Alphabet, 1.66 trillion, USA

Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has one of the best-known chatbots in the generative AI space. Bard is arguably second only to ChatGPT in notoriety and recently got a major upgrade with the Gemini model. Alphabet doesn’t stop there. Most generative AI startups are using Google Cloud to develop generative AI applications so the company is well placed to challenge for the number one spot.

1. Microsoft, $2.74 trillion, USA

Wait. Where is OpenAI on this list, they’ve got the most successful chatbot on the planet in ChatGPT?

They’re here. On its own OpenAI’s market cap doesn’t make this list yet, but their backers Microsoft most certainly do with a nearly $3 trillion valuation. OpenAI is known for developing powerful AI models and it continues to improve its GPT products which reportedly have 180.5 million users and get nearly two billion visits a month. Microsoft and OpenAI have the lead for now, but you can be certain competition in the generative AI sector will only intensify.

Featured image: Pixabay

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Christmas is fast approaching, but that means so is January. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere it brings more bleak, long, cold nights of winter without the buzz and sparkle of the holiday season to get us through it.

But fear not. It’s also the perfect time to snuggle up on the sofa with loved ones, friends or pets and binge-watch new movies or shows on popular streaming services.

Here are our recommendations of what to watch in January 2024 across Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV.

New movies or films on Disney+ in January (US)

1. Echo (January 10)

The latest Marvel show will hit screens on January 9 and is sure to be action-packed. Following the end of Hawkeye (2021) in New York City, Maya Lopez is being pursued by crime lord Kingpin’s organization, leading her to return to her hometown in Oklahoma, where she must come to terms with her past, reconnect with her Native American roots, and embrace her family and community.

2. Bluey, season 3, (January 12)

If you’ve never heard of Bluey that’s okay, it’s a kids’ show, but one even parents love. The third season of the animated series which centers on a family of four Australian dogs (Bluey, her little sister Bingo and her parents) will be available to stream on January 12. Bluey may not be as blockbuster as the above Marvel entry but it is more popular. The cartoon has had over 1.4 billion minutes of viewtime by Americans on Disney+ alone. Crickey!

3. Percy Jackson and the Olympians, episodes 4 – 8, (January 3)

The show about a young boy who learns he is the son of an ancient Greek god will release the second half of its premiere season every Wednesday throughout January. Episode four will be available on January 3 and the finale on January 31. There are rumours the production company plans to make five seasons of the series but that will depend on ratings for the first season. So if you’re a fan, go watch it.

4. A Real Bug’s Life (January 24)

Inspired by Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, the new series from National Geographic, A Real Bug’s Life, vows to be “an incredible adventure into nine different micro bug worlds around the globe, where the forces of nature play out on a miniature scale and where tiny creatures rely on amazing powers and extraordinary alliances to make it through each day.” If you like wildlife shows this is one for you. All episodes are available to stream on January 24.

5. Choir (January 31)

“Choir” is a 6-part documentary series following America’s Got Talent finalists Detroit Youth Choir as they prepare for the performance of a lifetime. Filmed alongside the choir and its father-figure leader, it promises to be a motivational and uplifting look at how children from Detroit took their talents to one of the world’s biggest stages.

New movies or films on Apple TV in January (US)

1. Criminal Record (January 12)

Do you like a gritty, procedural crime drama? Then this British series released on January 10 will be right up your street. A veteran detective played by Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who) is paired with rookie Cush Jumbo (The Good Wife) to solve a murder. Familiar sounding plot so far but things get more complex as the case ties to an older one Capaldi’s character believed he had solved years ago. The first two episodes air on Apple TV on January 12 followed by new episodes every Friday until February 23.

2. Masters Of The Air (January 26)

Not one to be missed, this big-budget WW2 drama from Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks follows the eleven-man crew of a Flying Fortress bomber behind enemy lines. Based on the book of the same name by Donald L. Miller this period epic will tell the story of the US Army’s Eighth Air Force who engaged the Luftwaffe and bombed several German cities during the conflict.

New movies or films on Netflix in January (US)

1. The Brothers Sun (January 4)

Netflix and Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh team up for a new black comedy series out on January 4. Bruce Sun’s (Sam Song Li) estranged older brother Charles (Justin Chien) suddenly reappears in LA after years apart and reveals their family runs a notorious Taiwanese triad, with Charles as one of its deadliest enforcers. Their mother Eileen (Yeoh) had fled Taiwan long ago, taking only Bruce with her to escape the triad life while leaving Charles behind. Now reunited, the very different brothers find their relationship tested even as they come to terms with the dark family secrets.

2. Good Grief (January 5)

Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek) stars and directs Good Grief, a comedy-drama about a man whose life is turned upside down after the sudden death of his husband. After the tragedy, his two best friends take him to Paris to help him come to terms with his grief.

3. Griselda (January 25)

Sofia Vergara executive produces and stars as Griselda Blanco in the limited series Griselda. Inspired by true events, it follows the Colombian businesswoman’s rise to become “the Godmother” of a massively profitable drug cartel. Set amidst the vivid backdrop of 1970s-80s Miami underworld, the tale promises high fashion and higher stakes.

Picture: Disney Plus

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Open-source blockchain platform, Solana’s native cryptocurrency, SOL, neared the $100 mark on Friday morning, extending a powerful rally into its third consecutive week.

The price surge has coincided with a frenzy of meme coin activity and rising usage metrics on the Solana platform.

Meme coin rally driven by dog-themed token

A meme coin is a cryptocurrency that gains popularity and value more from viral online hype, jokes, and speculation rather than having any real-world utility. The most famous example is Dogecoin (DOGE), which features the popular Shiba Inu “Doge” internet meme as its mascot and was created in 2013 as a joke mocking the flood of altcoins entering the crypto market.

The catalyst to the current rally appears to be a viral dog-themed token called BONK, which posted parabolic gains of over 1000% in late November. This captured the attention of retail crypto traders and inspired a wave of animal-inspired “bonk” meme coins rushing to replicate BONK’s success.

The biggest breakout hit has been dogwifhat (WIF), which rewarded early buyers with returns of more than 10,000% within days.

In the past month, thousands of these speculative meme coins have launched on the Solana blockchain, the preferred platform due to its cheap, fast transaction throughput. Most projects fizzle out quickly after a short-term pump and dump, but the hype has directed a spotlight back on Solana’s capabilities and revived broad-based retail interest in holding SOL.

On-chain activity on Solana has exploded as a result. Trading volumes and network fees over the past week have surpassed Ethereum for the first time. Impressive for a blockchain that is still less than two years old. Total value locked in Solana’s booming decentralized finance ecosystem has similarly catapulted from $400 million as recently as November to $1.3 billion today.

Solana price soars

SOL’s price gains this year now stand at over 800%, with an enormous surge occurring within the past two months alone. And that’s despite massive SOL selling pressure from the ongoing bankruptcy process of crypto exchange FTX, formerly one of the largest holders of the token.

With developers and investors alike flocking to Solana once more, the blockchain’s thriving ecosystem and status as an outlet for speculative mania should drive SOL rapidly toward the vaunted $100 mark in short order. The million-dollar question will be whether the network can sustain this breakneck growth beyond the meme coin hysteria.

“Solana is recovering more steadily than most major competitors and shows more interest in it in the community, which promises to keep its performance above the market in the coming months,” Alex Kuptsikevich, FxPro senior market analyst told Coindesk on Friday.

He added: “Google searches on Solana have soared 250% in the past two months. User interest has coincided with the explosive growth of the asset and rising prices of related meme coins.”

Featured image: AI-generated depiction of meme coins from DALL-E

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