Amazon's Alexa has had an AI upgrade. Now she's got more to say Amazon's Echo smart speaker - more commonly known as Alexa - is getting an AI-powered upgrade which will roll out across the UK. Alexa+ turns the digital assistant into a more chatty device which Amazon says will be able to follow threads and be more proactive in its responses. There has been criticism the Echo has stagnated since its launch in 2016, while AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude have become much easier to communicate with. It will be interesting to see how users react to this - we expect this could be polarising, with some enjoying the more relaxed, familiar interactions while others may find it disconcerting, said Jessica Miller, head of data insights at FDM/CCS Insight. UK consumers will notice an immediate difference, she added.

'Phase-free' design builds disaster preparedness into everyday life Tadayuki Sato, representative director of the Phase Free Association, has introduced the phase-free concept in a bid to seamlessly integrate disaster preparedness with everyday life and business operations. A ball-point pen that can write on a wet piece of paper is an example of everyday goods that fit the phase-free concept. Fifteen years after the devastating March 2011 earthquake and tsunami, Japan is seeing growing momentum behind phase-free design, a new approach to disaster preparedness that integrates emergency functionality into everyday items. As major quakes have continued to strike various parts of Japan, Tadayuki Sato, representative director of the Phase Free Association, recognized the limitations of traditional disaster preparedness. Conventional approaches, led primarily by government bodies and focused on stockpiling specialized emergency supplies, were falling short. Around 2014, he introduced the phase-free concept in a bid to seamlessly integrate disaster preparedness with everyday life and business operations.

A powerful artificial intelligence model that appeared anonymously on a developer platform last week was revealed to be from Chinese smartphone and electric vehicle giant Xiaomi, and not DeepSeek as initially thought. BEIJING - A powerful artificial intelligence model that appeared anonymously on a developer platform last week was revealed on Wednesday to be from Chinese smartphone and electric vehicle giant Xiaomi, after it fueled speculation that startup DeepSeek was quietly testing its next-generation system ahead of a launch. The release of DeepSeek's low-cost models DeepSeek-V3 and R1 triggered a global tech stock selloff last year, causing investors to question whether U.S. AI firms needed to spend billions of dollars on AI computing power. Since then, there has been a great deal of interest in DeepSeek-V4, a next-generation model that has yet to be released. The mysterious free model, called Hunter Alpha, surfaced on the AI gateway platform OpenRouter on March 11 without any developer attribution and was later described by the platform as a "stealth model." In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government is developing a Generative AI Platform, which will allow government employees to create AI applications to assist with their work. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and municipal governments throughout the Japanese capital are increasingly using generative artificial intelligence in their administrative operations. To support this trend, the metropolitan government is working with GovTech Tokyo, an affiliated organization that promotes digitalization in local governments, to develop a Generative AI Platform. The system will allow government employees to create generative AI applications tailored to their specific duties. By encouraging active use of the platform, Tokyo authorities aim to boost efficiency in public services and address growing concerns over labor shortages. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. Teachers, union members, attend a rally at Molina Grand Park in Los Angeles on Wednesday. United Teachers Los Angeles and Local 99 service workers announced members would strike on April 14, if no deal is reached before then. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here .

Humour and science fiction may not seem obvious bedfellows but a history of cinema will tell you different. Think Spaceballs, Mars Attacks! and Everything Everwhere All At Once to name but a few. And now Ryan Gosling is hopping on board. The 45-year-old is both the lead actor and producer of Project Hail Mary, a space adventure film based on the 2021 Andy Weir novel of the same name. While Gosling has showcased his comedy chops in films such as Barbie and Nice Guys, he tells the BBC he's always struggled as an actor because I would want to bring humour to something but has found opportunities to be funny limited with some projects.

THE LOST WEDDING PHOTOS: See JFK Jr and Carolyn Bessette at their secret nuptials... and read every intimate detail of ultra-private ceremony Tulsi Gabbard lets Iran nuke bombshell slip as Senate hearing spirals for Trump's embattled spy chief Candace Owens's sickening low-blow at Karoline Leavitt as Iran war sparks wild attacks Lunatic Megyn Kelly is FINALLY ruined! Her appalling X-rated smear of my friend proves it... but now I know her truly disturbing plan: JOSH HAMMER Inside the epidemic of midlife women who are repulsed by their husbands, the age and'vital statistics' that make men most at risk - and the telltale signs YOUR marriage is about to die: Special report by SADIE NICHOLAS Meghan gives glimpse of'mama's little helpers' Archie and Lilibet in'behind the scenes' video of her latest As Ever launch Shameful hypocrisy of NASCAR star Daniel Suarez's nepo-baby wife: 'Victim' mask slips as she ignites new Las Vegas drama... and dark family past rears its ugly head Princess Kate dons her favourite tiara and the late Queen's earrings as she arrives at King's banquet for the Nigerian President in country's first state visit in almost 40 years Everything JFK Jr told friends about his love affair with'sexual dynamo' Madonna... her unprintable pillow talk... and his perverse incest request that she couldn't go through with Site of'Jesus' crucifixion' forced to shut for Holy Week in unprecedented move tied to biblical prophecies of the Antichrist Ugly new Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban divorce fight ERUPTS: Her friends share humiliating details of'midlife crisis'... and reveal brutal REAL reason daughter Sunday Rose'snubbed' him Outrage after Seattle museum vandal destroys $250,000 of famous Dale Chihuly glass at city's museum dedicated to him Amanda Bynes, 39, 'is now a size 4 after losing 35lb' thanks to weight-loss medication... after hitting 180lb Chilling unclassified threat report reveals the'most likely' terror attack scenario on US soil Three's Company bombshell Jenilee Harrison who was also on Dallas and The Love Boat still looks great at 67, see her now The discovery of a Roman artifact in the Americas has sparked a debate about who truly discovered the New World. While Christopher Columbus is hailed as the first in 1492, archaeologists uncovered a small terracotta head of a bearded man carved with distinctive European features tucked inside a Mexican tomb. The artifact, known as the Tecaxic-Calixtlahuaca Head, was discovered in 1933 inside a sealed pre-Hispanic burial beneath multiple intact layers, indicating it had not been disturbed after its placement. Experts say its facial features, beard style and craftsmanship bear a striking resemblance to objects from the ancient Mediterranean rather than indigenous Mesoamerican traditions.

Sir Paul McCartney was among the artists who spoke out on the issue. After significant backlash, the UK backed off from that position. We have listened, Technology Secretary Liz Kendall said on Wednesday. However, the government's new stance is, well, not a stance at all. It currently no longer has a preferred option about how to handle the issue.

Sony removes 135,000 'deepfakes' of its artists' music Music giant Sony Music says it has requested the removal of more than 135,000 songs by fraudsters impersonating its artists on streaming services. The so-called deepfakes were created using generative AI, and targeted some of the company's biggest acts, who include Beyoncé, Queen and Harry Styles In the worst cases, [the deepfakes] potentially damage a release campaign or tarnish the reputation of an artist, said Dennis Kooker, president of Sony's global digital business. The company says the number of songs generated in this fashion is only increasing as artificial intelligence technology becomes cheaper and easier to access. It believes the 135,000 tracks it has discovered to date represents just a percentage of the total uploaded to streaming services. Since last March alone, it has identified some 60,000 songs falsely purporting to feature artists from their roster.

A Colorado woman who spoke with Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson was wrongly accused of theft after police relied on surveillance technology that misidentified her vehicle.