AI ethicists have called for urgent safeguards against an emerging “digital afterlife” industry. The concerns centre on chatbots that mimic the appearances, speech, and personalities of dead people. Known as “deadbots” or “griefbots,” these AI clones are trained on data about the deceased. They then provide simulated interactions with virtual recreations of the departed. This “postmortem …
Most of us are familiar with chatbots on customer service portals, government departments, and through services like Google Bard and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. They are convenient, easy to use, and always available, leading to their growing use for a diverse range of applications across the web. Unfortunately, most current chatbots are limited due to their reliance …
No-code startup Innoloft has raised €2mn in a new funding round led by Dutch VC firm Capital Mills. This marks the firm’s first investment into a German company. Innoloft’s no-code platform enables businesses to build web applications without any programming knowledge. Founded in 2019, the startup now counts over 70,000 end-users and includes customers such …
Dutch VC Capital Mills invests in German no-code startup InnoloftLire plus »
France’s budding AI scene has received another boost from a big investment in the startup Holistic. Amid the celebrations, however, the sale of medtech firm Sonio has added a warning about the dangers of success. The Holistic funding was revealed by Bloomberg on Tuesday. The Paris-based firm has reportedly raised $200mn (€186mn) in a round …
French AI scene toasts $200M for Holistic as Sonio sale shows risks of successLire plus »
A team of researchers have built a vision implant with tiny electrodes the size of a neuron, seeking to help blind people see again. The development of vision implants first emerged in the 1990s. The technology targets patients suffering from damage to the eye, but whose visual cortex— the brain’s visual centre — is active and …
Neuron-sized brain implant could help blind people see againLire plus »
France’s budding AI scene has received another boost from a big investment in the startup Holistic. Amid the celebrations, however, the sale of medtech firm Sonio has added a warning about the dangers of success. The Holistic funding was revealed by Bloomberg on Tuesday. The Paris-based firm has reportedly raised $200mn (€186mn) in a round …
French AI toasts $200M for Holistic as Sonio sale shows risks of successLire plus »
Terra Quantum has today revealed its TQ42 Cryptography library — an open-source suite of quantum-resistant algorithms designed to help developers and businesses protect data from current and future cybersecurity threats. The new cryptography library provides developers with post-quantum algorithms and security and key management functions. They can be used across a range of applications, including …
Swiss startup unveils post-quantum cryptography library for devsLire plus »
An AI scanning your bank transaction data entails a level of invasiveness that I find difficult to accept — let alone embrace for my own transaction information. But the technology could bring merits, at least in the lending world. Enter Abound. The London-based startup has just raised £800mn for its lending platform that uses AI …
UK fintech raises £800M for AI that determines how much money you can borrowLire plus »
Infineon, one of the biggest chip makers in Europe, has lowered its revenue outlook for the year, citing “weak” demand from its major target markets. The German company is now expecting a revenue of €15.1bn, plus or minus €400mn. That’s down from the previous forecast of €16bn, plus or minus €500mn. In the second quarter …
German chip giant lowers 2024 forecast as electronics slowdown bitesLire plus »
Reuse Brew is a classic German lager with a twist — it’s made from recycled wastewater. The beer is the result of a tie-up between the south German city of Weissenburg, American water tech company Xylem, and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). Specifically, TUM’s Brewery and Beverage Technology department (why didn’t I study there?!). …
Bottoms up: This German beer is made from recycled wastewaterLire plus »
