(This article is part of Today’s Cache, The Hindu’s newsletter on emerging themes at the intersection of technology, innovation and policy. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here.)
Apple Intelligence comes to iPhone
Apple released a free software update that will inject its first dose of artificial intelligence into its iPhone 16 lineup as the trendsetting company tries to catch up with technology’s latest craze. The update to the iOS 18 operating system arrives more than a month after the iPhone-maker launched four devices equipped with chips that the company says were specially designed to power the AI features.
The AI infusion is supposed to transform Apple’s often bumbling virtual assistant Siri into a more conversational, versatile and colorful companion whose presence will be denoted by a glowing light that circles the iPhone’s screen as requests are being handled. Other AI features included in this software update will handle a variety of writing and proofreading tasks, summarise the content of emails and other documents.
Meta working on AI search engine
Facebook-parent Meta is working on an artificial intelligence-based search engine as it looks to reduce dependence on Alphabet’s Google and Microsoft’s Bing.
Meta’s web crawlers will reportedly provide conversational answers to users about current events on Meta AI, the company’s chatbot on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. Scraping web data to train AI models and search engines, however, has raised concerns about copyright infringement and fair compensation for content creators.
How to protect against ‘digital arrest scams’
A recent scam has emerged, resulting in significant financial losses for individuals and businesses, amounting to crores of rupees, under the guise of “digital arrest.” In this scam, fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials to deceive their victims. The prevalent use of the scam has prompted even the Prime Minister to issue a warning to the public regarding this.
Users are advised to tread with caution when receiving suspicious calls from fake officials claiming that you are in trouble. Users are also advised to not share their payment or banking details on call, as law enforcement officials will never request such information over a phone call. Users are further advised to approach the relevant authorities directly and verify their identity in case of any suspicious calls.
Published – October 29, 2024 01:08 pm IST
