Japan's government-backed semiconductor research group partners with US startup Tenstorrent to design its first advanced AI chip. Tenstorrent will license its design and collaborate on chip development, aiming to provide an alternative to Nvidia and Arm. The Japanese government is investing $67 billion to reclaim a role in the semiconductor industry. The jointly designed AI chips will be produced by government-backed startup Rapidus Corp. Tenstorrent aims to begin chip production in 2027 and is in close collaboration with the Japanese government and corporations. The partnership also involves international collaboration on AI technology.

Bitcoin reached a two-year high, hitting $57,036, as big players entered the market. This surge was fueled by MicroStrategy's disclosure of buying 3,000 bitcoins worth $155 million. Additionally, the approval of bitcoin ETFs in the US boosted demand and trading volumes, leading to a spike in crypto-linked firms' stocks. Ether also saw gains, surpassing $3,200 for the first time since 2022, reaching $3,275. The market's bullish sentiment is driven by limited supply and strong demand, particularly from US ETFs.

Biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy slammed Big Tech AI creators, pointing fingers at the incentive structures set by employers, following his criticism of Google's AI tool, Gemini. Ramaswamy labeled Gemini a "global embarrassment" for generating historically inaccurate images. The debate surrounds the tool's depiction of genders and races, with accusations of over-correction. Responding to tech guru Marc Lowell Andreessen, Ramaswamy emphasized that Big Tech AI reflects the ideologies of its creators. Google's Jack Krawczyk acknowledged issues with Gemini's historical depictions, pledging immediate improvements. This incident echoes past AI failures, including Google's decade-old photo app mislabeling.

Meta, owner of Facebook, to form a team targeting disinformation and misuse of AI ahead of European Parliament elections in June. Concerns arise over AI's potential to disrupt elections globally. An Elections Operations Center will monitor and mitigate threats in real-time. The team comprises experts from various fields. Meta expands partnerships with fact-checkers across the EU. Collaboration between Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, and other tech giants aims to prevent deceptive AI content from influencing elections worldwide.

Cyber fraudsters have exploited deepfake technology to create a misleading video featuring Indian cricketer Virat Kohli endorsing a betting app. The video, shared widely on social media, fabricates Kohli's support for the app in Hindi, incorporating a fake live news segment with journalist Anjana Om Kashyap. The perpetrators also manipulated an interview clip, altering Kohli's voice synthetically. This incident follows a similar fake video involving Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar has urged social media vigilance, emphasizing the importance of swift action to curb the spread of misinformation and deepfakes.

BharatGPT, supported by Reliance Industries and IITs, aims to unveil 'Hanooman,' its ChatGPT-style service next month. The AI model, developed in collaboration with eight IITs, Reliance Jio, and the government, showcased its capabilities at a Mumbai tech conference. 'Hanooman' will operate in 11 local languages across healthcare, governance, finance, and education. Notably, it includes speech-to-text features for enhanced user-friendliness. This initiative marks a unique private-public partnership in India, with other startups also exploring localized AI models. Reliance Jio concurrently works on 'Jio Brain,' integrating AI for its massive subscriber network.

WhatsApp is testing a new feature that prevents users from taking screenshots of other users' profile pictures. The messaging platform aims to enhance privacy by stopping the downloading and sharing of personal photos without consent. In the latest WhatsApp beta for Android, which is available on the Google Play Store, when trying to screenshot someone's profile pic, a notification pops up saying "Can't take a screenshot due to app restrictions." By limiting screenshot ability, WhatsApp seeks to reduce impersonation and harassment risks. The screenshot block feature is currently limited to some beta testers but looks to roll out more widely in the coming weeks. It enhances privacy by controlling the usage of personal profile pics.

Elon Musk announced that the first human implanted with Neuralink's brain chip can control a computer mouse simply by thinking. Musk expressed optimism, revealing the patient's full recovery with no reported adverse effects. The brain-computer interface (BCI) implant was successfully placed last month, marking progress in the company's human trials. Musk aims for the technology to enhance communication for individuals with disabilities and potentially treat conditions like obesity and autism. Despite recent safety scrutiny, Neuralink continues its research, emphasizing the positive outcome of the initial human trial.

Google extended a 300% salary hike to an employee set to depart for Perplexity AI, revealed CEO Aravind Srinivas on the Big Technology Podcast. The employee, part of Google's 'search team,' had no direct involvement with the AI division. This development follows Google CEO Sundar Pichai's internal memo warning of more job cuts, citing the necessity for "tough choices" to make room for strategic investments. Google has reportedly laid off over a thousand employees since January 10, aiming to cut approximately 12,000 jobs globally, 6% of its workforce.

OpenAI reveals Sora, a new text-to-video software designed to generate one-minute videos from text prompts or still images. Sora is capable of creating scenes with various characters and motions, maintaining visual quality. OpenAI, led by Sam Altman, highlights Sora's language understanding, translating prompts into expressive characters. While acknowledging some challenges, including physics simulation, OpenAI focuses on safety measures, working on content detection tools. Collaborating with experts, the company aims to enhance Sora's resilience against misinformation and bias. Sora represents a practical step forward in AI capabilities, building on the success of ChatGPT in 2022.