Questions and Answers about
Technology
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in TechnologyWhich feature of Huawei’s new Mate 60 Pro phone has the US worried?
Answer: The Mate 60 Pro’s advanced 7-nanometer processor is a tiny marvel causing big waves. This chip. a collaboration between Huawei and China’s top chipmaker SMIC, is an unexpected technological leap. Launched on Aug. 29, 2023, this smartphone showcases China’s prowess in dodging the Western 5G chip embargo. It also has the US rethinking trade…
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in TechnologyWhy did the judge send FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried to jail before his trial?
Answer: Sam Bankman-Fried, the once-billionaire founder of FTX, couldn’t resist the urge to give a couple of witnesses in his upcoming trial a friendly ‘nudge’ (or. as the court calls it, “witness tampering”). The judge revoked his bail, leading to his imprisonment, in a hearing on August 11, 2023. He is suspected of sharing his…
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in TechnologyIn the crypto world, what are stablecoins?
Answer: Stablecoins are a type of digital currency gaining prominence in recent years, with companies like PayPal diving into the mix as of August 7, 2023. Stablecoins are designed to minimize volatility associated with cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. They achieve this stability by anchoring themselves to a “stable” reserve asset, such as the US dollar or…
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in TechnologyWhat random event from Elon Musk’s past delayed the Musk vs. Zuckerberg cage showdown, according to Musk?
Answer: Elon Musk, the SpaceX/Tesla maestro, sustained an injury he said might delay his proposed cage fight several years ago at an exhibition sumo match. It was brought up when his cage fight proposal with Zuckerberg heated up with a suggested date of August 26. Musk revealed he might need an MRI and surgery before…
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in TechnologyWhat are Worldcoin orbs?
Answer: Sam Altman, OpenAI chief executive and co-founder of Tools for Humanity, is behind the Worldcoin project, which aims to scan the irises of every human being on Earth. The latest buzz was on Aug. 7, 2023, during a glitzy event at an art gallery in downtown Manhattan. where shiny orbs greeted attendees. These orbs…
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in TechnologyWhich organization hosted the world’s first news conference with humanoid robots?
Answer: The ITU held the world’s first-ever news conference with humanoid robots in Geneva, Switzerland, on July 7th, 2023. Nine robots and their creators were available for reporters’ questions at this “unprecedented media event.” This was part of the UN’s AI for Good Global Summit. The humanoid robots reassured human reporters at the event that…
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in TechnologyWhat is this ‘Threads’ app Meta launched in July 2023?
Answer: Meta (formerly known as Facebook) tossed another social media player into the ring on July 6, 2023. This contender, named ‘Threads,’ is a text-based conversation app. It’s like Twitter but with a Zuck instead of a Musk. Users can conveniently use their existing Instagram login details to sign up. Threads became an overnight sensation.…
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in TechnologyWhat did Twitter, under Elon Musk’s watchful eye, decide to limit starting July 1, 2023?
Answer: On July 1, 2023. Twitter implemented this revised policy to discourage “extreme levels” of data scraping and system manipulation. Verified accounts were limited to reading 6,000 posts daily, while unverified accounts were restricted to 600 posts daily. This decision led to a digital uproar, with the hashtag #TwitterDown trending in some parts of the…
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in TechnologyHow are Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk planning to work out their differences?
Answer: Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta (formerly Facebook), and Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter, have agreed to fight each other in a cage match after exchanging challenges on social media. The feud started when Musk tweeted he was “up for a cage fight” with Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg responded with “Send me…
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in TechnologyWhat does the first lab-grown meat approved for sale in the US taste like?
Answer: The US Department of Agriculture approved the first-ever lab-grown chicken in the US on June 21, 2023. Two California companies, Upside Foods, and Good Meat. have the go-ahead to offer chicken derived from animal cells in restaurants and later in supermarkets. The process involves taking a small sample of cells from a live chicken…
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in TechnologyWhy were images of John Oliver the only pictures uploaded to Reddit’s most popular picture channels in mid-June 2023?
Answer: Unpaid Reddit moderators on strike, blocking users and advertisers, chose to post only images of comedian John Oliver as a symbol of protest. The strike started on June 14, 2023, and affected over 9,000 subreddits. This is after Reddit announced that it would start charging fees to some third-party developers from July 1, 2023,…
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in TechnologyWhat did AI do for the Beatles in 2023?
Answer: Paul McCartney told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on June 12, 2023, that AI technology was used to separate Lennon’s voice and a piano from a 1978 demo recorded two years before his death. “Now And Then” was given to McCartney by Yoko Ono in 1994. Two other songs from the same cassette, “Free…
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in TechnologyWhat is the first flying car approved for testing by the US government?
Answer: The Alef model A is the first flying car approved for testing by the US government. It was certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on June 12, 2023. Alef Automotive, a California startup. can now exhibit, research, and develop its flying car. The Model A can carry one or two people, fly up…
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in TechnologyWho is the billionaire tycoon behind Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume?
Answer: Changpeng Zhao is the co-founder and CEO of Binance, which he launched in 2017 after raising $15 million through an initial coin offering. Binance offers various services to crypto enthusiasts, such as trading, stakes, lending, mining, and launching new tokens. In March 2023. the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed a lawsuit against Binance…
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in TechnologyWhat does Apple call “the world’s first spatial computer”?
Answer: Apple announced its first mixed reality headset, Vision Pro, at its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) on June 5, 2023. The device can seamlessly blend digital content with the physical space around the user, using advanced cameras, sensors, displays, and audio. Apple calls this technology spatial computing and claims it is the first of…
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in TechnologyWhich statement is true about YouTube’s policy change on election misinformation?
Answer: On June 2, 2023, YouTube announced that it was reversing its election integrity policy established in December 2020. The company said that leaving the policy in place may have the effect of “curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm.” The updated policy doesn’t change YouTube’s other misinformation…
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in TechnologyWhich company became the first chipmaker to reach a $1tn valuation?
Answer: Nvidia is the leading producer of graphics processing units (GPUs), essential for running complex AI models that generate human-like content. The company’s shares have soared by more than 200% since October 2023 as investors were impressed by its revenue forecast and generative AI innovation. On May 30, 2023. Nvidia briefly joined the exclusive club…
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in TechnologyWhat was Elizabeth Holmes’ famous scam?
Answer: Holmes was the founder and CEO of Theranos, a startup that raised nearly $1 billion from investors and became a Silicon Valley sensation. However, The Wall Street Journal exposed her technology as flawed and dangerous in 2015. She was convicted of fraud and conspiracy in January 2022 and sentenced to 11 years in prison…
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in TechnologyWhich US state became the first to pass a bill banning TikTok from app stores?
Answer: Montana passed a bill that makes it illegal for app stores to offer TikTok in the state. The bill was motivated by concerns about potential Chinese spying through the app. It specifies that the ban would be lifted if TikTok is sold to a non-Chinese company or Congress passes a law banning TikTok nationwide.…
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in TechnologyWhat is Sam Altman’s claim to fame?
Answer: Sam Altman is a tech entrepreneur and the CEO of OpenAI, a San Francisco-based research lab that creates artificial intelligence. OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been praised for its versatility and flexibility but criticized for its potential to spread misinformation. Altman testified before a Senate subcommittee on privacy, technology, and the law on May 16, 2023.…
