A London-based company has unveiled a new voice-cloning technology capable of accurately replicating a broad spectrum of British regional accents, aiming to improve diversity in synthetic speech. The tool, developed by Synthesia, addresses long-standing limitations in artificial voice training, particularly the overrepresentation of North American and southern English pronunciations.
Modern life is intertwined with smartphones and social media, bringing immense convenience and connectivity. However, these technologies also raise serious questions about privacy and personal data as well as how they affect our brains and relationships. Our smartphones quietly harvest vast amounts of information about us, and our social media feeds are engineered to keep us scrolling. This article delves into two critical aspects of our digital lives: (1) Smartphones and Privacy: How Much Do Our Apps Know About Us? and (2) How Social Media Changes Our Brains and Social Relationships. We will explore location tracking, data mining by apps, privacy rights, the neuroscience of endless scrolling, and the impacts of social media on mental health, attention span, and human connections.
Technology is rapidly changing the landscape of care in the United Kingdom. Tools such as robots used to train carers, monitoring sensors, and smartphone applications that detect pain are transforming how elderly and vulnerable individuals receive support. As the number of people aged 67 or over is projected to reach 13.7 million by 2032, the demand for efficient and scalable care solutions has never been greater.
Read more: AI and robots reshape British care homes as elderly population rises
Microsoft has embarked on developing its own artificial intelligence (AI) reasoning models, aiming to rival those of OpenAI. This initiative reflects the company's strategy to diversify its AI capabilities and reduce reliance on external partners.
Read more: Microsoft Develops In-House AI Models to Compete with OpenAI