Bookmarks | Elon Musk's secret talks with Vladimir Putin

Elon Musk. Image adapted from a photo by Debbie Rowe

These are the articles, videos and more that caught the attention of TechCentral’s editorial team in the past 24 hours.

OpenAI plans to release its next big AI model by December: OpenAI plans to launch its next major AI model, code-named Orion, by December. Access will initially be limited to close partners like Microsoft before a broader release. Orion is said to be up to 100 times more powerful than GPT-4, with ambitions to push towards artificial general intelligence. This release follows a US$6.6-billion funding round and staff changes at OpenAI. Read more on The Verge. DM
Bluesky teases creator payments while new sign-ups explode after Elon Musk’s destruction of Twitter: Bluesky, the rapidly growing social media platform, raised US$15-million in funding and teased upcoming features like creator payments and subscriptions. The platform has surged to 13 million users, partially due to discontent with Elon Musk’s X. Read more on Gizmodo. DM
Removal of Russian coders spurs debate about Linux kernel’s politics: A recent Linux kernel patch removed Russian developers from its Maintainers platform due to compliance with sanctions over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The vague language in the patch, submitted by Greg Kroah-Hartman, sparked debate. Linux founder Linus Torvalds defended the decision, citing concerns over “Russian troll factories”. Reinstatement requires proof of non-affiliation with sanctioned entities. Read more on Ars Technica. DM
Apple teases new Macs in a ‘week of announcements’ that starts on Monday: Apple announced a “week of announcements” starting on 28 October, likely unveiling new Macs featuring M4 chips. Expected updates include iMacs, MacBook Pros and Mac minis ahead of holiday season. Alongside hardware, Apple plans to release software updates for iPhone, iPad and Mac, introducing its Apple Intelligence features. Read more on Engadget. DM
Elon Musk’s secret conversations with Vladimir Putin: Elon Musk has reportedly been in frequent contact with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, discussing business, politics and sensitive issues, raising security concerns in the US. Musk’s close ties with US military agencies complicate matters as his relationship with Russia has influenced views on Starlink usage, Ukraine and Taiwan. He’s also backing Donald Trump’s campaign and may lead a proposed government efficiency commission under a future Trump administration. Read more in The Wall Street Journal (hard paywall). DM
Meet ZachXBT, the masked vigilante tracking down billions in crypto scams and thefts: ZachXBT is the dark night of the crypto world. Recently, the masked vigilante untangled a $243-million bitcoin theft, possibly the largest crypto heist to target a single victim, and he (or she) is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon. Scamsters beware! Read more on Wired. NN
Radio station in Poland fired its journalists and replaced them with AI ‘presenters’: A radio station in Poland has triggered controversy after dismissing its journalists and relaunching this week with artificial intelligence “presenters”. Weeks after letting its journalists go, OFF Radio Krakow relaunched this week, with what it said was “the first experiment in Poland in which journalists … are virtual characters created by AI”. Eish. More on Euro News. TS
The green software that could make big carbon savings: Smartphone manufacturers sometimes stop software support for devices that users have kept in good condition and for which there is no other good reason to upgrade from. E/OS is an Android operating system that gives extended support – for up to five years – for more than 200 devices, some of them 10 years old. Read more on BBC News. NN
CEO Steve Huffman on how Reddit fits into the AI world: Reddit stock went public in March and demand for the platform’s data for training AI models is surging. CEO Steve Huffman says this is because Reddit is “the most human place on the internet”. Read more on his reasoning in The Wall Street Journal. NN