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From Powered Armor to Tactical AI The US military has pivoted away from its decades-long pursuit of powered armour, epitomized by the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit (TALOS), in favour of a more sophisticated approach. Dubbed the "hyper-enabled operator" (HEO), this concept integrates advanced AI systems to enhance situational awareness and decision-making capabilities among special operations forces.

Victims Struggle as Google Fails to Act Swiftly Reports of intimate images and videos posted online without consent are rising, with deepfakes adding a new dimension to the problem. In early 2022, two Google policy staffers met with women victimized by the GirlsDoPorn scam, where explicit videos of them were circulating online, including via Google search results.

Apple’s Unique AI Architecture At the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10, the tech giant Apple unveiled "Apple Intelligence," a major move into AI, integrating OpenAI's ChatGPT into iPhones. Despite Elon Musk's criticism, calling it "creepy spyware," Apple claims its AI strategy prioritizes user privacy. Apple Intelligence leverages a combination of on-device processing and Private Cloud Compute (PCC), which runs on Apple's silicon servers.

Introduction to Hebbia's Milestone Hebbia, a promising startup specializing in AI-powered document search, has successfully raised nearly $100 million in a Series B funding round. This significant investment, led by Andreessen Horowitz, underscores the growing demand and potential of AI technologies in streamlining complex information retrieval processes.

Retool Introduces "Retool for External Apps" Retool, renowned for its low-code tools in building browser-based internal applications since 2017, has now launched "Retool for External Apps." This expansion marks a significant shift towards enabling businesses to create secure, efficient apps not just for internal use but also for external audiences. The service is already in use by prominent companies like Orangetheory and various startups during its preview phase.

Enhanced Messaging Capabilities Apple has added support for Rich Communication Services (RCS) in the second developer beta of iOS 18, enhancing its Messages app. RCS allows users to send high-quality images, see typing indicators, get read receipts, and start group chats. This update enables iPhone users to text and share files with any device that supports RCS, including most Android phones. Initially, RCS support is limited to U.S. carriers such as T-Mobile, AT&T, and Verizon.

EU Charges Apple with App Store Violations Apple is facing significant challenges in Europe after being charged with violating the EU’s new digital markets rules. On Monday, the European Commission accused Apple’s App Store of engaging in anti-steering practices, preventing developers from directly communicating and promoting offers to users.

General Availability of Meta AI In the recent technews, Meta has expanded the availability of its Llama-3-powered AI chatbot, Meta AI, to all users in India. This rollout comes after a period of testing during India's general elections. Previously, Meta AI was accessible to select users across WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, and Facebook since April. While the chatbot was officially released in over a dozen countries shortly after, its launch in India was delayed due to the elections.

Enhancing AI Infrastructure In a significant move to bolster its enterprise AI capabilities, OpenAI has acquired Rockset, a company renowned for its real-time search and data analytics tools. This strategic acquisition is set to empower OpenAI’s infrastructure across its diverse product range, promising to deliver more robust and intelligent AI applications to its customers.