Technology category, Page 2
ChatGPT’s free ride is ending: Here’s what OpenAI plans for advertising on the chatbot
OpenAI says it will soon start showing advertisements to ChatGPT users who aren’t paying for a premium version of the chatbot. The artificial intelligence company said Friday it hasn’t yet rolled out ads but will start testing them in the coming weeks. It’s the latest effort by the San Francisco-based...
Grok blocked from undressing images in places where it’s illegal, X says
BANGKOK — Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok won’t be able to edit photos to portray real people in revealing clothing in places where that is illegal, according to a statement posted on X. The announcement late Wednesday followed a global backlash over sexualized images of women and children, including bans...
Taiwan computer chipmaker TSMC’s to expand investment as profit jumps 35%
HONG KONG — Taiwan-based TSMC, the world’s largest computer chipmaker, plans to increase its capital spending by as much as nearly 40% this year after it reported a 35% jump in its net profit for the latest quarter thanks to the boom in artificial intelligence, the company said Thursday. Taiwan...
Verizon outage disrupts calling and data services for phone customers across the country
NEW YORK — Many Verizon customers encountered a widespread outage on Wednesday, disrupting calling and other cellular services across the U.S. The New York-based carrier acknowledged that there was an “issue impacting wireless voice and data services.” Verizon didn’t specify what was causing the disruptions, but said in an update...
Microsoft’s Brad Smith pushes Big Tech to ‘pay our way’ for AI data centers amid rising opposition
It won’t be easy for Big Tech companies to win the hearts and minds of Americans who are angered about massive artificial intelligence data centers sprouting up in their neighborhoods, straining electricity grids and drawing on local reservoirs. Microsoft is trying anyway. The software giant’s president, Brad Smith, is meeting...
Pentagon is embracing Musk’s Grok AI chatbot as it draws global outcry
WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok will join Google’s generative AI engine in operating inside the Pentagon network, as part of a broader push to feed as much of the military’s data as possible into the developing technology. “Very soon we...
Apple calls on Google to help smarten up Siri and bring other AI features to iPhone
Apple will rely on Google to help finish its efforts to smarten up its virtual assistant Siri and bring other artificial intelligence features to the iPhone as the trendsetting company plays catch up in technology’s latest craze. The deal allowing Apple to tap into Google’s AI technology was disclosed Monday...
Dina Powell McCormick, wife of U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, named Meta president
Dina Powell McCormick, a close ally of the Trump administration and the wife of U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, is Meta’s new president and vice chairman. The Facebook parent company announced her appointment Monday, making a figure with Southwestern Pennsylvania ties a central decision-maker for one of the world’s largest tech...
Google teams up with Walmart and other retailers to enable shopping within Gemini AI chatbot
NEW YORK — Google said Sunday that it is expanding the shopping features in its AI chatbot by teaming up with Walmart, Shopify, Wayfair and other big retailers to turn the Gemini app into a virtual merchant as well as an assistant. An instant checkout function will allow customers to...
Meta funds expansion of Beaver Valley nuclear plant to help power AI
Meta announced Friday it’s funding an expansion of the Beaver Valley Nuclear Power Station as the tech giant hoovers up energy for its “superintelligence” initiative. The deal caps a dramatic reversal of fortunes for the Vistra-owned plant in Shippingport, Beaver County, which was at one point scheduled to shutter in...
Musk’s AI chatbot faces global backlash over sexualized images of women and children
LONDON — Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok is facing a backlash from governments around the world after a recent surge in sexualized images of women and children generated without consent by the artificial intelligence-powered tool. On Tuesday, Britain’s top technology official demanded that Musk’s social media platform X take urgent...
Trump Mobile’s golden phone remains nowhere to be found
A golden phone that President Donald Trump’s family business promised to release last year remains mysteriously under wraps as the technology industry serves up a glut of new gadgets at CES in Las Vegas this week. When the Trump Organization launched a mobile phone service last June, it was supposed...
Tesla loses title as world’s biggest electric vehicle maker as sales fall for 2nd year in a row
NEW YORK — Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker on Friday as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics, expiring U.S. tax breaks for buyers and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row. Tesla said that it delivered...
‘The past gives comfort’: Finding refuge on analog islands amid deepening digital seas
As technology distracts, polarizes and automates, people are still finding refuge on analog islands in the digital sea. The holdouts span the generation gaps, uniting elderly and middle-aged enclaves born in the pre-internet times with the digital natives raised in the era of online ubiquity. They are setting down their...
AI prompts increased human interaction at this cyber security company
In an age of artificial intelligence, Dennis Underwood is working it “old school.” He is prioritizing face time. Underwood is CEO of Cyber Crucible, a cybersecurity software company in Fox Chapel that focuses on preventing data theft, identity theft and ransomware. He said the introduction of mainstream AI in the...
Majority of job hunters turn to AI to help land next gig
Mallory Helbling turned to her own professional advice when she found herself laid off in December 2024. Among them: using artificial intelligence tools to assist in her job search as a career coach. “I was able to get my first contract role in February 2025,” said Helbling, 37, of Sharpsburg,...
Virtual reality opens doors for older people to build closer connections in real life
LOS GATOS, Calif. — Like many retirement communities, The Terraces serves as a tranquil refuge for a nucleus of older people who no longer can travel to faraway places or engaging in bold adventures. But they can still be thrust back to their days of wanderlust and thrill-seeking whenever caretakers...
Hempfield Area joins Chartiers Valley in piloting AI weapon detector created with Carnegie Mellon research
Hempfield Area will join a group of 15 school districts nationwide expected to pilot an AI-driven weapon detection system designed with the help of a Carnegie Mellon University scientist. CurvePoint, based in Pittsburgh’s North Shore, was launched about a year ago by CEO Skip Smith and Chief Scientist Dong Huang,...
Expanding broadband in rural Pa. was complicated by rule changes and uncertainty in 2025
Spotlight PA is an independent, nonpartisan, and nonprofit newsroom producing investigative and public-service journalism that holds power to account and drives positive change in Pennsylvania. Sign up for our free newsletters. HARRISBURG — It’s been a year of sweeping and controversial changes for a huge federal broadband initiative. The $42.45...
U.S. tech enabled China’s surveillance empire. Now Tibetan refugees in Nepal are paying the price
KATHMANDU, Nepal — The white dome of Boudhanath rises like a silent guardian over the chaotic sprawl of Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, crowned by a golden spire that pierces the sky. Painted on each of the spire’s four sides are the benevolent eyes of the Buddha — wide, calm, and unblinking...
TikTok signs deal to form new U.S. unit with investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake
SAN FRANCISCO — TikTok has signed agreements with three major investors — Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX — to form a new TikTok U.S. joint venture, ensuring the popular social video platform can continue operating in the United States. The deal is expected to close on Jan. 22, according to...
One Tech Tip: Spend quality time with loved ones, not a screen, over the holidays
The Christmas holiday season is a time to step back from the busy pace of modern life and connect with our nearest and dearest instead of screens, apps and chatbots. Here are some suggestions on how to unplug from the online world for the next few weeks as you sit...
Chinese whistleblower now living in U.S. is being hunted by Beijing with help from U.S. tech
MIDLAND, Texas — Retired Chinese official Li Chuanliang was recuperating from cancer on a Korean resort island when he got an urgent call: Don’t return to China, a friend warned. You’re now a fugitive. Days later, a stranger snapped a photo of Li in a cafe. Terrified South Korea would...
Trump signs executive order to block state AI regulations
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday aimed at blocking states from crafting their own regulations for artificial intelligence, saying the burgeoning industry is at risk of being stifled by a patchwork of onerous rules while in a battle with Chinese competitors for supremacy. Members of Congress from both...
Disney invests $1B in OpenAI in deal to bring characters like Mickey Mouse to Sora AI video tool
Disney is investing $1 billion in OpenAI and will bring characters such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella and Luke Skywalker to the AI company’s Sora video generation tool, in a licensing deal that the two companies announced on Thursday. The agreement makes the Walt Disney Co. the first major content licensing...
