Category: 4. Technology

One AI company cares little about being your digital best friend.

On an episode of the “20 VC” podcast published on Monday, Cohere cofounder Nick Frosst said that he’s not aiming to make the company’s large language model chatty and interesting.

“When we train our model, we’re not training it to be an amazing conversationalist with you,” Frosst said. “We’re not training it to keep you interested and keep you engaged and occupied. We don’t have like engagement metrics or things like that.”

The Canadian AI startup was founded in 2019 and focuses on building for other businesses, not for consumers. It competes with other foundational model providers such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and Mistral and counts Dell, SAP, and Salesforce among customers.

“One of the reasons why we’re focused on the enterprise is because that’s really where I think large language models are useful,” the cofounder said. “If I look at my personal life, there’s not a ton that I want to automate. I actually don’t want to respond to text messages from my mom faster. I want to do it more often, but I want to be writing those.”

Given its business focus, Frosst said that Cohere trains its model on very different data sets than other model providers.

“We generate a whole bunch of data to create like fake companies and fake emails between people at these fake companies and fake APIs within those fake companies,” he said, referring to synthetic training data.

The company was valued at $6.8 billion in a fundraise last month led by Radical Ventures and Inovia Capital. Cohere did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Other LLM companies, such as Meta, Google, xAI, and OpenAI, have been pouring resources into making their models smarter, funnier, and more human-like as they race to monetize their chatbots.

In July, Business Insider reported that Meta is training chatbots that can be built in its AI studio to be more proactive and message users unprompted to follow up on past conversations. The idea is to interact with users a number of times, store conversations in memory, and reach out with an engaging prompt to restart a chat.

AI companies are also avoiding making their bots sound arrogant, which could drive users to a competitor or raise questions about bias.

Google and Meta have a list of internal guidelines for training their chatbots to avoid sounding annoying or “preachy,” Business Insider reported in July. Freelancers for Alignerr and Scale AI’s Outlier have been instructed to spot and remove any hint of a lecturing or nudging tone from chatbot answers, including in conversations about sensitive or controversial topics.

Chapter 7 of Fortnite cannot swing here soon enough. New leaks suggest Epic Games is set to introduce a permanent swinging mechanic in Fortnite’s upcoming Chapter.

Unlike previous item-based versions like Spider-Man’s Web Shooters or the Grapple Glove, this new feature will be built directly into the game’s map. Think of it as utilizing fixed ropes, chandeliers, and other environmental elements for players to hold on to and swing.

New Leaks Swing In New Moves

Discovered by dataminers in the recent 37.10 update files, references point to a robust, non-inventory-dependent swinging ability. While the exact locations for these new swing points remain unknown, the potential impact on gameplay is drawing significant discussion among the player base.

A New Layer of Tactical Combat

The most impactful revelation from the leaks is the ability for players to fire their weapon while swinging. Things were vastly different in the past mobility items, which required an equipped inventory slot and prevented simultaneous weapon usage.

Here’s how swing will help players:

• Aggressive entries: Players can swing into enemy builds or over fortified positions while unleashing a volley of shots, creating opportunities for high-ground displacement.
• Creative escapes: A well-timed swing could provide a unique mid-air escape route, allowing players to disengage from losing fights in a way previously impossible.
• Reimagined battles: The mechanic adds a layer of verticality to combat, demanding quicker reflexes and more adaptive strategy from both attacking and defending players.

Evolving Fortnite With A Swing On

Fortnite’s longevity is largely attributed to Epic Games’ constant reinvention of its gameplay. From the initial introduction of sprinting and sliding to more recent mechanics like wall jumping, the game’s movement meta has been in a state of constant evolution.

The swinging mechanic is the next logical step. It pushes the boundaries of what players can accomplish in a seamless chain of movement and combat.

For dedicated players, mastering this new form of mobility will be crucial to staying ahead of the competition. The ability to seamlessly combine movement and assault will likely raise the skill ceiling. We can see this maneuver rewarding those who can fluidly execute complex maneuvers.

While Epic Games has yet to officially comment on the leaks, the evidence from dataminers is substantial. With Chapter 7 reportedly kicking off in early December, players won’t have to wait long to see this game-changing feature in action.

2025 smartphone shipments are forecast to grow 1.0% YoY to 1.24 billion units, says IDC, followed by a CAGR of 1.5% from 2024-29.

“Strong growth in U.S. and Middle East and Africa of 3.6% and 6.5%, as well as 0.8% growth in Asia Pacific excluding China in 2025 will help offset the 1% decline in China expected this year,” says IDC’s Nabila Popal.

Although unit growth is only 1% for 2025, the market is expected to see  5% YoY growth in ASP and 6.0% growth in value this year as vendors focus on value growth rather than chasing volume share.

“IDC forecasts the foldable market to accelerate to 6% YoY growth in 2025 (from 4% in 2024), followed by another 6% in 2026 and 11% in 2027,” says IDC vp Francisco Jeronimo, “nevertheless, we expect foldables to remain somewhat niche and continue representing less than 3% of total smartphone shipments by 2029.”

Adam Birch

Adam Birch

@timbirkbeckphotos

Council ‘understands issues’

Researchers from Ruijin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) School of Medicine, et al. have conducted a study entitled “Host protection against Omicron BA.2.2 sublineages by prior vaccination in spring 2022 COVID-19 outbreak in Shanghai”. This study was published in Frontiers of Medicine, Volume 17, Issue 3.

The Omicron family of SARS-CoV-2 variants are currently driving the COVID-19 pandemic. Here this study analyzed the clinical laboratory test results of 9911 Omicron BA.2.2 sublineages-infected symptomatic patients without earlier infection histories during a SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Shanghai in spring 2022. Compared to an earlier patient cohort infected by SARS-CoV-2 prototype strains in 2020, BA.2.2 infection led to distinct fluctuations of pathophysiological markers in the peripheral blood. In particular, severe/critical cases of COVID-19 post BA.2.2 infection were associated with less pro-inflammatory macrophage activation and stronger interferon alpha response in the bronchoalveolar microenvironment. Importantly, the abnormal biomarkers were significantly subdued in individuals who had been immunized by 2 or 3 doses of SARS-CoV-2 prototype-inactivated vaccines, supporting the estimation of an overall 96.02% of protection rate against severe/critical disease in the 4854 cases in BA.2.2 patient cohort with traceable vaccination records. Furthermore, even though age was a critical risk factor of the severity of COVID-19 post BA.2.2 infection, vaccination-elicited protection against severe/critical COVID-19 reached 90.15% in patients aged ≥ 60 years old. Together, this study delineates the pathophysiological features of Omicron BA.2.2 sublineages and demonstrates significant protection conferred by prior prototype-based inactivated vaccines.

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai, Shanghai Clinical Research Center for Hematologic Disease, Shanghai Major Project for Clinical Medicine, Shanghai Shenkang Hospital Development Center, Innovative Research Team of High-level Local Universities in Shanghai, and Shanghai Collaborative Innovation Program on Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. For more detailed information, the full paper is available at: https://journal.hep.com.cn/fmd/EN/10.1007/s11684-022-0977-3.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the top tech stocks to buy now according to Goldman Sachs. On August 27, the company integrated its Copilot AI assistant into select 2025 Samsung TVs and monitors. The service is free to use and will be available on models including Micro RGB, Neo QLED, OLED, The Frame Pro, The Frame, as well as the M7, M8, and M9 Smart Monitors. Microsoft plans to expand the availability to more models and regions in the future.

Ken Wolter / Shutterstock.com

The AI assistant is a voice-powered tool featuring a friendly on-screen character with expressive features that match the tone of the conversation. It responds with both voice and “rich, glanceable cards” that display information like movie ratings and photos. Copilot is designed to be a “personal and helpful companion” in the living room. It can assist with a variety of tasks, including finding content to watch, answering everyday help questions, and performing post-watch deep dives.

This Copilot integration is part of a continuing partnership between Microsoft and Samsung, which has previously included bringing features like Windows and Office to Galaxy devices.

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) develops software, hardware, and cloud services used by businesses and consumers worldwide. Its core products include the Windows operating system, the Microsoft Office suite, and the Azure cloud platform, alongside LinkedIn, Xbox, and various enterprise solutions.

While we acknowledge the potential of MSFT as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

READ NEXT: 10 Must-Buy Penny Stocks to Invest In and 6 Best Railroad Stocks to Buy Right Now.

Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.

Sarah Bacon

‘Life or death’

The bright planet Mercury passes the star Regulus in Leo just before sunrise — if you’re quick, you can spot them.

Mercury passes 1.2° north of Regulus at 6 A.M. EDT; the pair is visible in the east just before sunrise, but it might be a challenging observation. You’ll want to get to a location above the surrounding terrain if possible, with an eastern horizon free of tall trees or buildings. 

Rising around 5:30 A.M. local daylight time, Mercury reaches an altitude of 4° roughly half an hour before sunrise. It’s now magnitude –1.3, which should help it stand out against the brightening sky, although binoculars can also help you locate it to the far lower left of blazing Venus, which stands some 20° high at this time. Magnitude 1.4 Regulus will be more challenging and may only be visible with binoculars or a telescope, just over a degree to the lower right of Mercury in the sky as they are rising. The star should be just within the same field of view as the planet with a telescope, and definitely within a single binocular field. 

If you’re using a telescope, take a moment to focus on Mercury as well. The tiny planet appears 5” wide — nearly 2.5 times smaller than Venus’ disk, currently — and is 90 percent lit, slightly more than Venus’ 85 percent. The latter, brighter planet hangs  2° directly below M44 this morning, so if you’d like to catch a binocular view of the two, you can look for them a little earlier, while the sky is still dark — try some 60 to 90 minutes before sunrise. 

Note that you should always put away any binoculars or telescope at least a few minutes before sunrise occurs from your location, which may differ slightly from the times listed below. 

Sunrise: 6:29 A.M.
Sunset: 7:30 P.M.
Moonrise: 4:44 P.M.
Moonset: 12:33 A.M. 
Moon Phase: Waxing gibbous (73%)
*Times for sunrise, sunset, moonrise, and moonset are given in local time from 40° N 90° W. The Moon’s illumination is given at 12 P.M. local time from the same location.

For a look ahead at more upcoming sky events, check out our full Sky This Week column. 

While you can still find tape being used for backup storage, it’s pretty safe to say that the humble audio cassette is about as out of date as a media format can be. Still, it has a certain retro charm we’re suckers for, particularly in the shape of a Commodore Datasette. We’re also suckers for miniaturization, so how could we not fall for [bitluni] ‘s tiny datasette replica?

Aesthetically, he’s copying the Commodore original to get those sweet nostalgia juices flowing, but to make things more interesting he’s not using compact cassette tapes. Instead, [bitluni] started with a mini cassette dictaphone, which he tore down to its essentials and rebuilt into the Commodore-shaped case.

The prototyping of this project was full of hacks — like building a resistor ladder DAC in an unpopulated part of a spare PCB from an unrelated project. The DAC is of course key to getting data onto the mini-casettes. After some playing around [bitluni] decided that encoding data with FSK (frequency-shift keying), as was done back on the C-64, was the way to go. (Almost like those old engineers knew what they were doing!) The dictaphone tape transport is inferior to the old Datasette, though, so as a cheap error-correction hack, [bitluni] needed to duplicate each byte to make sure it gets read correctly.

The mini cassettes only fit a laughable amount of data by modern standards this way (about 1 MB) but, of course that’s not the point. If you jump to 11:33 in the video embedded below, you can see the point: the shout of triumph when loading PacMan (all 8 kB of it) from tape via USB. That transfer was via serial console; eventually [bitluni] intends to turn this into the world’s least-practical mass storage device, but that wasn’t necessary for proof-of-concept. The code for what’s shown is available on GitHub.

If you have an old Datasette you want to use with a modern PC, you’d better believe that we’ve got you covered. We’ve seen other cassette-mass-storage interfaces over the years, too. It might be a dead medium, but there’s just something about “sticky tape and rust” that lives on in our imaginations.

Thanks to [Stephen Walters] for the tip.

When I got both a Samsung tablet and phone, I was really surprised when I copied text on one device and it automatically beamed over to the other. It made me wish that Windows had a feature like that, where I could copy text either on my PC or my Android device and have it appear on the other. I couldn’t find anything that did it automatically, so I had to settle for mirroring apps that could handle it for me.

Well, it turns out that Microsoft is working on a feature that does just that. And while it’s not quite ready for release just yet, it’s already looking very promising.

Microsoft is working on a shared clipboard between Windows and Android

Windows Latest spotted this cool feature within the new Windows 11 Dev build. Apparently, Microsoft attempted to launch the feature last month, but an issue arose, and it was subsequently removed until the problem was resolved. Now, the shared clipboard feature has made its glorious return, and if Windows Latest’s tests are anything to go by, it’s already shaping up to be a killer new feature.

To get the feature running, Windows Latest had to have both devices connected via the Link to Windows app. Once done, it then downloaded the new Windows 11 Dev build and enabled a new feature in the mobile devices section called “Access PC’s clipboard.” Windows Latest noted that it didn’t have to enable anything on the Android side.

Once the feature was all set up, the tests began. According to Windows Latest, the feature appears to be already implemented and performs surprisingly well. As quoted in their article:

Next, I copied a chunk of text from a webpage, and the text immediately appeared in my Gboard keyboard on my Android phone. I tried it a bunch of times, and the sync was instantaneous. In our tests, Windows Latest noticed that the clipboard sync is not limited to any specific keyboard app. It works with the Samsung keyboard too.

That last bit is especially important to me. I think if it only worked on Microsoft’s own keyboard, SwiftKey, it wouldn’t have been nearly as exciting. Making the feature keyboard-agnostic was an excellent move, and now I can see a ton of people using the tool to share complex passwords, move contact details, or just send a website from one device to another.

Unfortunately, although the feature appears to be largely complete, it’s still in the Dev testing branch and will take some time to reach the Release channel. After all, there’s always the chance that some bugs will emerge and will need squishing before it’s ready to go. Until then, you can always take the manual route.