Elon Musk's answer to ChatGPT is getting an update to make it better at math, coding and more. Musk's xAI has launched Grok-1.5 to early testers with "improved capabilities and reasoning" and the ability to process longer contexts. The company claims it now stacks up against GPT-4, Gemini Pro 1.5 and Claude 3 Opus in several areas. 

Going by xAI's numbers, Grok-1.5 appears to be a large improvement over Grok-1. It shot up to 50.6 percent in the MATH benchmark, over double the previous score. It also climbed to 90 percent and 74.1 percent in GSM8K (math word problems) and HumanEval (coding), respectively, compared to 62.9 percent and 63.2 percent before. Those numbers are within shouting distance of Gemini Pro 1.5, GPT-4 and Claude 3 Opus — in fact, the HumanEval coding score beats all rivals except Claude 3 Opus.

xAI

It can also process long contexts of up to 128K tokens within its context window, meaning it can amalgamate data from more sources to understand a situation. "This allows Grok to have an increased memory capacity of up to 16 times the previous context length, enabling it to utilize information from substantially longer documents," the company said.

xAI didn't detail Grok's progress in other areas, though, where it still may be lagging (academic scores, multimodal and others). And Grok-1.5 may not keep its position for long. ChatGPT 5 is set to arrive sometime this summer, promising a feature set that "makes it feel like you are communicating with a person rather than a machine," according to OpenAI. 

Currently, Grok is only available for users of the Premium+ tier on X (formerly Twitter), though Elon Musk recently promised to open it up to X's regular Premium users. The company also recently open sourced its Grok chatbot, after Musk sued OpenAI and Sam Altman for allegedly abandoning its non-profit mission. 

Microsoft's Copilot AI service is set to run locally on PCs, Intel told Tom's Hardware. The company also said that next-gen AI PCs would require built-in neural processing units (NPUs) with over 40 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of power — beyond the capabilities of any consumer processor on the market. 

Intel said that the AI PCs would be able to run "more elements of Copilot" locally. Currently, Copilot runs nearly everything in the cloud, even small requests. That creates a fair amount of lag that's fine for larger jobs, but not ideal for smaller jobs. Adding local compute capability would decrease that lag, while potentially improving performance and privacy as well. 

Microsoft was previously rumored to require 40 TOPS on next-gen AI PCs (along with a modest 16GB of RAM). Right now, Windows doesn't make much use of NPUs, apart from running video effects like background blurring for Surface Studio webcams. ChromeOS and macOS both use NPU power for more video and audio processing features, though, along with OCR, translation, live transcription and more, Ars Technica noted.

So far, the processor with the fastest NPU speed is Apple M3, which offers 18 TOPS across the lineup (M3, M3 Pro and M3 Ultra). AMD's Ryzen 8040 and 7040 laptop chips are next with 16 and 10 TOPS respectively, while Intel's Meteor Lake laptop hits 10 TOPS as well. Qualcomm may offer the first processor with enough power for Copilot via the Snapdragon X Elite, which will offer 45 TOPS of AI compute speed. 

Intel's Lunar Lake chips, set to arrive in 2025, will ship with triple its current NPU speeds. Yesterday, the company introduced 300 new AI features optimized specifically for its own OpenVino platform. The chip giant also announced an AI PC development kit based on the the ASUS NUC Pro that uses its current Meteor Lake silicon. 

"From a desktop standpoint, we have plans on the desktop side, what we would say [is an] AI PC. And then there's also the next-gen AI PC, the 40 TOPS requirements; we have all of our different steps in our roadmap on how we cover all the different segments," the company told Tom's Hardware.

Microsoft may be working on a white version of its current all-digital Xbox Series X console, according to leaked images reported by Exputer and documents seen by The Verge. The design appears to be identical to the current black disc version (sans the disc slot) and has the same "robot white" finish as the white Xbox Series S. If accurate, the news may mean delays to a rumored Xbox Series X refresh that carriesas a different design. 

It's not the first time rumors of a white all-digital Xbox Series X have leaked out. Last month, Exputer also reported that Microsoft planned to release a white, all-digital Xbox Series X sometime between June and July 2024, with a retail price $50 to $100 lower than the current Xbox Series X. 

Last year, a large leak indicated that Microsoft would launch an all-digital Xbox Series X with a new cylindrical design, arriving in November of 2024 for $500. The device, code-named Brooklin, was tipped to come with Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, USB-C front port, an all-new southbridge and a 6-nanometer die shrink. That would allow for a reduced (15 percent) power draw, a new low-power standby mode and increased use of recycled plastic. 

Much of the news around Brooklin was effectively refuted by Xbox boss Phil Spencer shortly after the leak, though. He implied that it was based on early planning and no longer accurate. "It's hard to see our team's work shared in this way because so much has changed and there's so much to be excited about right now and in the future," he stated in an X post. "We will share the real plans when we are ready." 

China has introduced guidelines that bar the the use of US processors from AMD and Intel in government computers and servers, The Financial Times has reported. The new rules also block Microsoft Windows and foreign database products in favor of domestic solutions, marking the latest move in a long-running tech trade war between the two countries.

Government agencies must now use "safe and reliable" domestic replacements for AMD and Intel chips. The list includes 18 approved processors, including chips from Huawei and the state-backed company Phytium — both of which are banned in the US. 

The new rules — introduced in December and quietly implemented recently — could have a significant impact on Intel and AMD. China accounted for 27 percent of Intel's $54 billion in sales last year and 15 percent of AMD's revenue of $23 billion, according to the FT. It's not clear how many chips are used in government versus the private sector, however. 

The moves are China's most aggressive yet to restrict the use of US-built technology. Last year, Beijing prohibited domestic firms from using Micron chips in critical infrastructure. Meanwhile, the US has banned a wide range of Chinese companies ranging from chip manufacturers to aerospace firms. The Biden administration has also blocked US companies like NVIDIA from selling AI and other chips to China. 

The US, Japan and the Netherlands have dominated the manufacturing of cutting-edge processors, and those nations recently agreed to tighten export controls on lithography machines from ASL, Nikon and Tokyo Electron. However, Chinese companies, including Baidu, Huawei, Xiaomi and Oppo have already started designing their own semiconductors to prepare for a future wherein they could longer import chips from the US and other countries.

If you're not interested in a midrange smartphone but don't want to pay flagship prices either, Qualcomm has a possible solution. The company just unveiled the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor that offers flagship features, but performance just below the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. 

It's built using a 4-nanometer (nm) process with a 1+4+3 core setup (one prime ARM Cortex X4 at 3.0GHz, four performance cores at 2.8Ghz and three 2.0GHz efficiency cores. That compares with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3's 1+5+2 setup, so the "s" model swaps a performance core for an efficiency core. The prime core on the flagship chip also runs a bit faster at 3.4Ghz. 

The chip uses a previous-gen X70 5G modem, though it still offers Wi-Fi 7 support. You also get hardware-accelerated ray tracing for more realistic gameplay. 

There's on-device multimodal generative AI that can run large language models (LLMs) with up to 10 billion parameters, meaning it'll support model's like Gemini Nano, along with AI assistants. However, it lacks some AI features found on the 8 Gen 3 chip. It also comes with the always-sensing ISP introduced with the last-gen Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. 

The new chip adds another sub-category to Qualcomm's lineup, particularly if you count the last-gen chips still used in devices like the OnePlus 12R. The chip will appear in Honor, iQOO, Realme, Redmi and Xiaomi smartphones announced later this month — so it'll be interesting to see how they're priced compared to the flagship models. 

Following Hertz's disastrous misadventure with EVs, CEO Stephen Scherr is stepping down, Bloomberg reported. He'll be replaced by the former COO of GM's robotaxi Cruise division, Gil West, who will also join the board of directors. 

A year after emerging from bankruptcy in 2020, Hertz said it would transform its car rental business by purchasing 100,000 Tesla EVs. "The new Hertz is going to lead the way as a mobility company, starting with the largest EV rental fleet in North America," the company said at the time. The announcement helped send Tesla's value soaring to a $1 trillion valuation. 

Scherr joined Hertz after that decision was made, but increased Hertz's bet on EVs by placing orders with Polestar and GM as well. The company didn't purchase many EVs from those automakers, but by the end, it had around 60,000 from the three automakers. 

Things went sideways after that, though. Tesla drastically cut prices of its Model 3 and Model Y EVs, scorching resale values. In addition, Hertz said that Tesla's vehicles were expensive to repair and unpopular with renters. 

As a result, the company started unloading 20,000 EVs, about a third of its electrified fleet. That resulted in a $245 million charge for Hertz and its largest quarterly loss since the pandemic. Other rental car firms have also recently ditched EVs, with Germany's Sixt doing away with its entire fleet. 

West, meanwhile, was one of nine Cruise executives dismissed following an incident that saw a pedestrian dragged by a Cruise vehicle after being struck by another car. Authorities accused the company of withholding a video that allegedly showed the victim underneath its vehicle.

Black Mirror, the series that eerily foreshadowed our current tech dystopia, is set to return in 2025 for a seventh season, Netflix revealed at its UK Next event. The six-episode run will include a sequel to one of the best-loved episodes, the darkly funny Star Trek spoof USS Callister. 

It's light on details, with a Netflix teaser only teasing the 2025 date and sequel episode. "Robert Daly is dead, but for the crew of the USS Callister, their problems are just beginning," the description reads. The original episode from season 4 (2017) starred Jesse Plemons and Cristin Milioti, along with the voice of Aaron Paul and an uncredited cameo by Kristen Dunst. That episode won multiple Emmys, including one for Outstanding Television Movie.

Black Mirror debuted in the UK in 2011 with the occasional hiatus, including this year. It was created by Charlie Brooker and executive produced by Annabel Jones. 

Its last season, in 2023, featured five episodes and included a few bangers like Loch Henry and Joan is Awful. The latter takes streaming services to their logical, dark conclusion (think The Truman Show meets OpenAI meets Netflix) — and we expect similar themes in the upcoming season. 

Epic Games has already accused Apple of "malicious compliance" with the EU's new competition laws, and now it's making the same allegation stateside. In a new legal filing, it accused Apple of non-compliance with a 2021 ruling that allowed developers to bypass Apple's 30 percent cut of in-app payments and is asking the court to enforce the original injunction.

Once the Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the ruling, Apple released revised guidelines, forcing developers to apply for an "entitlement," while still offering the option to purchase through Apple's own billing system. Moreover, Apple still charged a 27 percent commission on any sales made through links to external payment systems (or 12 percent for participants in the iOS Small Business Program).

Epic argued that those fees are “essentially the same” as what it charges using its own in-app payment (IAP) system. ‌To that end, it accused the company of failing to comply with the order, with the fees making the links "commercially unusable." 

It also said that Apple requires a "plain button style" for external links that's "not a button at all" and violates the injunction forcing Apple to remove restrictions on "steering" users to alternative payment "buttons, external links or other calls to action." It added that Apple violated the injunction in a third way by prohibiting multi-platform apps like Minecraft from showing external payment links. Epic included statements from other developers including Paddle and Down Dog.

"Apple’s goal is clear: to prevent purchasing alternatives from constraining the supracompetitive fees it collects on purchases of digital goods and services," the document reads. "Apple’s so-called compliance is a sham. Epic therefore seeks an order (i) finding Apple in civil contempt, (ii) requiring Apple to promptly bring its policies into compliance with the Injunction and (iii) requiring Apple to remove all anti-steering provisions in Guideline 3.1.3."

Apple previously said that it has complied with the injunction with new rules that allow alternative payment buttons or links in apps, and by letting developers "communicate with customers through points of contact obtained voluntarily from customers through account registration within the app." 

Neil Young is back on Spotify after boycotting the platform over two years ago, he said in a new blog post. The Canadian singer ditched the platform over vaccine misinformation on the Joe Rogan podcast, later saying he was fed up with Spotify’s "shitty" sound quality anyway. 

Young returned because Rogan's podcast is no longer exclusive on Spotify. "My decision comes as music services Apple and Amazon have started serving the same disinformation podcast features I had opposed at Spotify," he said, without specifically mentioning the Joe Rogan Experience.

There's no way he could also pull his catalog from Apple Music and Amazon as well, he added, "because my music would have very little streaming outlet to music lovers at all" if he did. Young also expressed hope that Spotify would improve its sound quality, while shouting out Quobuz and Tidal for presenting his songs in high-res. 

"Spotify, you can do it! Really be #1 in all ways. You have the music and listeners!!!! Start with a limited Hi res tier and build from there!" he wrote. (Spotify did announce that it would launch a HiFi tier way back in early 2021, but it has yet to actually do so.) 

Fellow Canadian Joni Mitchell joined Young in the boycott, and her music is still missing from the platform. Both had reason to be incensed about the vaccine misinformation on Rogan's show as both were victims of polio — a disease that was wiped out in North America thanks to vaccines.

It's hard to say how Young's boycott affected Spotify, but it certainly impacted his finances. Last year, Billboard estimated that pulling his songs from Spotify cost him roughly $300,000 in lost recorded music and publishing royalties.

It's getting hard to keep up with copyright lawsuits against generative AI, with a new proposed class action hitting the courts last week. This time, authors are suing NVIDIA over its AI platform NeMo, a language model that allows businesses to create and train their own chatbots, Ars Technica reported. They claim the company trained it on a controversial dataset that illegally used their books without consent.

Authors Abdi Nazemian, Brian Keene and Stewart O’Nan demanded a jury trial and asked Nvidia to pay damages and destroy all copies of the Books3 dataset used to power NeMo large language models (LLMs). They claim that dataset copied a shadow library called Bibliotek consisting of 196,640 pirated books. 

"In sum, NVIDIA has admitted training its NeMo Megatron models on a copy of The Pile dataset," the claim states. "Therefore, NVIDIA necessarily also trained its NeMo Megatron models on a copy of Books3, because Books3 is part of The Pile. Certain books written by Plaintiffs are part of Books3— including the Infringed Works—and thus NVIDIA necessarily trained its NeMo Megatron models on one or more copies of the Infringed Works, thereby directly infringing the copyrights of the Plaintiffs. 

In response, NVIDIA told The Wall Street Journal that "we respect the rights of all content creators and believe we created NeMo in full compliance with copyright law."

Last year, OpenAI and Microsoft were hit with a copyright lawsuit from nonfiction authors, claiming the companies made money off their works but refused to pay them. A similar lawsuit was launched earlier this year. That's on top of a lawsuit from news organizations like The Intercept and Raw Story, and of course, the legal action that kicked all of this off from The New York Times.