OpenAI's cofounder and former chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, tells the NeurIPS conference that the way AI models will be trained will have to change. In a 10-month span between 2020 and 2021, southwest Louisiana saw five climate-related disasters, including two destructive hurricanes. As if that wasn't bad enough, more storms are coming, and many areas are not prepared. But some government officials and state engineers are hoping there is an alternative: elevation. The 6.8 billion Southwest Coastal Louisiana Project is betting that raising residences by a few feet, coupled with extensive work to restore coastal boundary lands, will keep Louisianans in their communities.

But I have frankly grown a little inured by language-model performance updates to the point of apathy. I want to see them do something. So for me, the cooler update was second on the list: Project Astra, which comes across like an AI from a futuristic movie set. Google first showed a demo of Astra back in May at its developer conference, and it was the talk of the show. But, since demos offer companies chances to show off products at their most polished, it can be hard to tell what's real and what's just staged for the audience.

On Monday, Apple hosts a virtual event where it is widely expected to reveal a new generation of MacBooks, and possibly a new set of AirPods. Then on Tuesday, Google hosts its own virtual stream focused on its Pixel smartphone. On Wednesday, Samsung will host an event called Unpacked Part 2, where the company said it will show how it is "opening up new experiences for self-expression through technology." Last month, we saw Apple roll out new iPhones, a fresh Apple Watch and new iPads. Microsoft unveiled its latest Surface laptops and tablets ahead of the Oct. 5 release of Windows 11. Then Amazon showed off several new devices including a personal robot.

Video games provided a diversion during the coronavirus pandemic. With life opening up, do games retain the same commitment of time and money or could their importance wane? Some answers could come over the next few days during the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). The annual video game industry event, which was cancelled last year, will be a four-day online event beginning Saturday. Fans can sign up and see the schedule at E3Expo.com.

But it can step in when companies misrepresent the capabilities of a product they are selling, which means firms that claim their facial recognition systems, predictive policing algorithms or healthcare tools are not biased may now be in the line of fire. "Where they do have power, they have enormous power," says Calo. In the blog post, the FTC warns vendors that claims about AI must be "truthful, non-deceptive, and backed up by evidence." The result may be deception, discrimination--and an FTC law enforcement action." The FTC action has bipartisan support in the Senate, where commissioners were asked yesterday what more they could be doing and what they needed to do it. But it can step in when companies misrepresent the capabilities of a product they are selling, which means firms that claim their facial recognition systems, predictive policing algorithms or healthcare tools are not biased may now be in the line of fire. "Where they do have power, they have enormous power," says Calo. In the blog post, the FTC warns vendors that claims about AI must be "truthful, non-deceptive, and backed up by evidence." The result may be deception, discrimination--and an FTC law enforcement action."

The EU is known for its hard line against Big Tech, but the FTC has taken a softer approach, at least in recent years. The agency is meant to police unfair and dishonest trade practices. Its remit is narrow--it does not have jurisdiction over government agencies, banks, or nonprofits. But it can step in when companies misrepresent the capabilities of a product they are selling, which means firms that claim their facial recognition systems, predictive policing algorithms or healthcare tools are not biased may now be in the line of fire. "Where they do have power, they have enormous power," says Calo.

The autonomous vehicle division of Google's parent company will start hauling cargo using self-driving trucks, capping a busy week for next-generation shipping technology. Waymo, the driverless vehicle unit of Alphabet, announced a pilot programme that will have self-driving big rigs transport cargo to the company's data centres in Georgia. Several companies are vying to dominate the nascent self-driving vehicle industry, believing the technology will reshape how humans and goods travel. Waymo has already extensively tested autonomous cars intended to ferry people around. "Now we're turning our attention to things as well", the company said in a blog post, noting that driverless trucks pose unique tech challenges.