The annual cadence of Apple's money-printing press conferences is a big date on the tech journalism calendar. It might not be exciting any more (as we discussed last year), with a steady stream of leaks removing the chance of big surprises and an increasingly incremental approach to product design ensuring that each year's release is mostly the same as the previous year's. I joined the Guardian when the iPhone 5S was announced, and I've covered technology here for ten years since then. The iPhones have changed over that time, obviously. From the slender iPhone 5S, which introduced Touch ID to the line-up, through the death, rebirth and death again of "small" phones, to the introduction of the iPhone X and the £1,000 smartphone, all the way to the present, with the iPhone 15 Pro's titanium body, hardware-accelerated ray tracing, and built-in espresso machine.

The Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence's Inaugural Summer Symposium Series was held held at Singapore EXPO in Singapore, July 17-19, 2023. There were five symposia in the summer program: Second Symposium on Human Partnership with Medical AI: Design, Operationalization, and Ethics, AI x Metaverse, Building Connections: From Human-Human to Human-AI Collaboration, Artificial Intelligence for FinTech (AI4FinTech), and Embodied Intelligence. Building on the success of the inaugural symposium held in 2021, the second symposium on Human Partnership with Medical AI delved deeper into the critical components of Trust, Ethics, and Security in the design and operationalization of Clinical AI. This year, the event aimed to continue the discussions and collaborations that started in the previous symposium and explore new avenues of clinical utility, trustworthiness, robustness, and responsible AI. The symposium brought together researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and stakeholders from various domains to discuss the challenges and opportunities of AI-human partnership, share their latest research and insights, and develop actionable strategies to create trustworthy, ethical, and secure AI systems.

Almost three years into the pilot, though, it seems the government is still struggling to find compelling applications for it, and adoption has been minimal. Now the goal may be shifting. China appears to be charging ahead with plans to use the e-CNY outside its borders, for international trade. If it's successful, it could challenge the US dollar's position as the world's dominant reserve currency--and in the process shake up the global geopolitical order. This story is from MIT Technology Review's What's Next series, which looks across industries, trends, and technologies to give you a first look at the future.

Over the past few months, shiny metallic orbs have materialized cities around the world, from New York to Berlin to Tokyo. Its detractors slam them as invasive, dystopian and exploitative. Welcome to the rollout of Worldcoin, an AI-meets-crypto project from OpenAI founder Sam Altman that has stirred endless controversy. The startup uses orbs to scan people's eyes in exchange for a digital ID and possibly some cryptocurrency, depending on what country they live in. Altman and his co-founder Alex Blania hope that Worldcoin will provide a new solution to online identity in a digital landscape rife with scams, bots and even AI imposters.

Countries looking to fully utilize artificial intelligence (AI)'s potential and capabilities will need to look for upgrades to data storage and processing, turning to either blockchains or quantum computing for the way forward, experts told Fox News Digital. "You're going to have massive data storage issues and issues for computation when you get into pattern recognition," Christopher Alexander, chief analytics officer of Pioneer Development Group, told Fox News Digital. The race to develop and implement AI systems cannot occur without proper infrastructure, according to TS2 Space, a Polish internet service provider for the U.S. Army in areas like Iraq and Afghanistan. In a blog post on the company website, TS2 Space highlighted the challenges AI infrastructure faces, including "the sheer volume of data" and "the complexity of AI algorithms and models." "Developing and deploying AI applications require a deep understanding of the underlying algorithms and models, as well as the ability to fine-tune them for specific use cases," the company wrote.

Technology never exists in a vacuum, and the rise of cryptocurrency in the last two or three years shows that. While plenty of people were making extraordinary amounts of money from investing in bitcoin and its competitors, there was consternation about the impact those get-rich-quick speculators had on the environment. Mining cryptocurrency was environmentally taxing. The core principle behind it was that you had to expend effort to get rich. To mint a bitcoin or another cryptocurrency, you had to first "mine" it.

It's been a busy year. Over the past 12 months, we've witnessed the explosion of generative AI, the collapse of crypto, and a whole lot of promises from lawmakers pledging to slow the march of climate change. While it's easy to feel overwhelmed by all this rapid change, we're here to help. Our MIT Technology Review Explains section is dedicated to untangling the complex, sometimes messy, world of science and technology to help you understand what's happening. Our series of explainers cut through the noise and get to the heart of the issues that really matter, covering everything from biotechnology and cryptocurrency to quantum computing and what's going on in China's tech industry.

CyberGuy weighs the pros and cons of the Apple Watch and the Fitbit and tells you which is best. Apple recently sent out an alert via iOS to the primary account holders of Apple Family Purchase Sharing. I have an Apple One plan that I share with my family and received a concerning alert that says, "Family Purchase Sharing Update" with a red notification symbol. CLICK TO GET KURT'S FREE CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH QUICK TIPS, TECH REVIEWS, SECURITY ALERTS AND EASY HOW-TO'S TO MAKE YOU SMARTER Mind you, I've never opted to share my credit card with the rest of the family in the Apple One family sharing. When you click the notification, it does not allow you to opt out until you apparently opt in to this function that enables others in the family to use your payment card.

In early 2021, long before ChatGPT became a household name, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman self-published a manifesto of sorts, titled "Moore's Law for Everything." The original Moore's Law, formulated in 1965, describes the development of microchips, the tiny silicon wafers that power your computer. More specifically, it predicted that the number of transistors that engineers could cram onto a chip would roughly double every year. As Altman sees it, something like that astonishing rate of progress will soon apply to housing, food, medicine, education--everything. The vision is nothing short of utopian.

Learning tech via YouTube channels can be a great way to supplement traditional learning methods, as it provides a more interactive and engaging experience. Many YouTube channels dedicated to tech provide in-depth tutorials and explanations of complex concepts in a way that is easy to understand, making it accessible to learners of all skill levels. Additionally, YouTube channels often provide access to industry experts, giving learners the opportunity to learn from individuals with real-world experience and knowledge. For instance, Cointelegraph's YouTube channel provides news, interviews and analysis on the latest developments in the cryptocurrency and blockchain industries. The channel's content is well-produced and features engaging visuals, making it an accessible and entertaining way to learn about these topics.