180494639
submission
yuvcifjt writes:
Cardiff-based company Space Forge has launched a microwave-sized "factory", ForgeStar-1, into orbit and successfully powered its onboard furnace to about 1,000C (1,273F). Their goal is to manufacture higher-purity semiconductors in microgravity and vacuum conditions, which allow atoms to align more perfectly and reduce contamination compared with Earth-based production. The plasma demonstration confirms that the extreme conditions needed for gas-phase crystal growth can now be created and controlled on an autonomous platform in low Earth orbit, enabling production of ultra-pure seed material. CEO Josh Western says space-made semiconductors could be up to 4,000 times purer and used in a range of electronics. The company plans to build a larger factory (ForgeStar-2) capable of producing material for about 10,000 chips and to test re-entry recovery using a heat shield to return materials to Earth.
180243403
submission
yuvcifjt writes:
On Tuesday during Google's Q3 2024 earnings call, CEO Sundar Pichai revealed that AI systems now generate more than a quarter of new code for its products, with human programmers overseeing the computer-generated contributions, showing how AI tools are already having a sizeable impact on software development.
"We're also using AI internally to improve our coding processes, which is boosting productivity and efficiency," Pichai said during the call. "Today, more than a quarter of all new code at Google is generated by AI, then reviewed and accepted by engineers. This helps our engineers do more and move faster."
ArsTechnica goes on to state:
Google developers aren't the only programmers using AI to assist with coding tasks. It's difficult to get hard numbers, but according to Stack Overflow's 2024 Developer Survey, over 76 percent of all respondents "are using or are planning to use AI tools in their development process this year," with 62 percent actively using them. A 2023 GitHub survey found that 92 percent of US-based software developers are "already using AI coding tools both in and outside of work."
"Whether you think coding with AI works today or not doesn't really matter," posted former Microsoft VP Steven Sinofsky in September. Sinofsky has a personal history of coding going back to the 1970s. "But if you think functional AI helping to code will make humans dumber or isn't real programming just consider that's been the argument against every generation of programming tools going back to Fortran."
140727126
submission
yuvcifjt writes:
As of Friday 6pm EST (11pm GMT), the Verge reported that Apple and Google are under pressure and receiving complaints to deplatform Parler — the social media platform favoured by the right-wing and extremists — from their app stores.
BuzzFeed has since broken news that Apple has served notice to Parler's executives to implement a full moderation plan within 24 hours or risk being taken off the App Store."We have received numerous complaints regarding objectionable content in your Parler service, accusations that the Parler app was used to plan, coordinate, and facilitate the illegal activities in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021 that led (among other things) to loss of life, numerous injuries, and the destruction of property,” Apple wrote to Parler. “The app also appears to continue to be used to plan and facilitate yet further illegal and dangerous activities.”
