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| Here's a look at today's tech briefing: - AT&T is working to fix a widespread U.S. outage.
- Google pauses AI's people-image generation abilities after historical inaccuracies.
- Rivian will cut 10% of salaried staff after another quarterly loss.
- Google will produce some Pixel 8 phones in India.
Beth
p/beth-duckett | |
| 1 | | AT&T said it is working to fix today's widespread outage that disrupted calls, texts, and emergency services for thousands of U.S. customers. By late morning Eastern Time, AT&T said it had restored 75% of its network, though interruptions were still ongoing for some customers. More: - According to Downdetector, customer reports of AT&T outages surged from over 32,000 at 4 a.m. ET to around 72,000 by 10 a.m.
- The outage disrupted cell service and data connections, as well as the ability for people to call emergency services via 911.
- According to Downdetector, the most outages were reported in Houston, San Antonio, Austin, Chicago, New York, Miami, Dallas, Atlanta, and Indianapolis.
- AT&T has yet to explain why the disruption occurred but suggested customers use Wi-Fi calling until it's fixed.
Zoom out: - Verizon and T-Mobile also experienced network outages, but on a much smaller scale, according to Downdetector.
- Both companies said their networks had been "operating normally." Verizon noted that its customers might have faced issues contacting users on another carrier.
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| 2 | | Google is pausing Gemini's people-generation feature after the AI model produced historically inaccurate images. Gemini has faced criticism for portraying historical figures, including the U.S. Founding Fathers and Nazi soldiers, as people of color, in what seemed to be an effort to counteract AI's racial biases. More: - Google announced today that it will pause Gemini's image generation of people and re-launch an upgraded version soon.
- The company acknowledged that Gemini has produced "inaccuracies in some historical image generation depictions."
- The AI model does create images of many different people, which is "generally a good thing because people around the world use it."
- However, "it's missing the mark here," the company said.
Zoom out: - Gemini gained the ability to generate images earlier this month.
- Google launched the advanced AI model in late 2023 and recently renamed its ChatGPT chatbot competitor, Bard, to Gemini.
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| 3 | | Rivian announced Wednesday it's laying off 10% of its salaried employees, following another quarterly loss as it seeks to cut costs in a challenging EV market. The electric car maker said it expects to produce 57,000 vehicles in 2024, about the same as last year, falling well below the 81,700 expected by analysts. 
What the numbers show: Rivian reported a Q4 net loss of $1.5B, slightly improving from the previous year's $1.7B loss. The Amazon-backed EV maker reported a 10% drop in quarterly deliveries, partly because it failed to deliver as many electric delivery vans to Amazon. However, Rivian's revenue for the quarter reached $1.32B, higher than the $1.26B estimated by analysts. Despite currently losing money on every vehicle sold, the automaker expects to turn a "modest gross profit" by the end of this year. What it means: Rivian's CEO, RJ Scaringe, told employees in an email that tough economic times, high interest rates, and geopolitical issues are forcing the company to cut costs and adapt to focus on key projects like the R2. Rivian is set to reveal the smaller, more affordable R2S SUV and possibly an R2T pickup in March, though deliveries won't begin until 2026. The bigger picture: EV sales haven't grown as expected, partly due to high interest rates. Meanwhile, Tesla's price cuts are challenging competitors like Rivian, with Ford notably cutting its Mustang Mach-E prices to compete with Tesla's Model Y. | | | |
| 4 | | Google will start manufacturing its Pixel smartphones in India as it works to diversify its supply chain away from China, Nikkei Asia reports. Companies like Apple, Samsung, Oppo, and Xiaomi have also been moving their suppliers to India amid growing tensions between Beijing and Washington. More: - Google plans to start manufacturing its Pixel 8 Pro in India in the April-June quarter, followed by the standard Pixel 8 by mid-2024.
- Google's shift to small-scale production in India marks a major change in its supply chain strategy, shifting away from its reliance on China and Vietnam, according to Nikkei.
- The report didn't specify how many Google phones will be made in India, or whether they'll be sold locally.
Zoom out: - The move will help Google reach its goal of shipping over 10 million Pixel phones in 2024. The company sold about 10 million of the phones in 2023.
- Google unveiled the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro in October. Both models support a 120Hz max refresh rate and better performance through the Google Tensor G3 chip.
- The new chip has improved AI and machine learning capabilities, allowing the phones to do tasks like summarize web pages, block out spam calls, and edit photos and videos.
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| 5 | | Intel will produce a custom chip for Microsoft under Intel Foundry, its contract chip-making business. Intel is focusing heavily on its foundry business to take on leader TSMC, fueled by booming demand from generative AI. More: Zoom out: - On Wednesday, Intel revealed its chip-making division's new name, Intel Foundry, branding it as the "world's first systems foundry for the AI era."
- Under CEO Pat Gelsinger, the company has been shifting toward making the custom chips for clients, though it still has to prove it will treat these outsourced chips like its own
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| 6 | | Nvidia reported Q4 revenue of $22.1B, up 22% from the last quarter and a 265% rise from the previous year. The company's Q4 earnings surpassed Wall Street's expectations for earnings and sales. Nvidia also forecasts higher-than-expected revenue for the current quarter. More: - Nvidia's data center business, which includes its in-demand AI chips, hit a record $18.4B in quarterly revenue, up 27% from the prior quarter and a 409% jump from last year's $3.6B.
- Looking ahead, Nvidia expects around $24B in revenue for the current quarter, outpacing analyst predictions of $22.2B.
- Notably, Nvidia has added over $1.2T to its market cap in the last year.
Zoom out: - Generative AI and accelerated computing have reached a "tipping point," with demand skyrocketing across companies, industries, and countries, CEO Jensen Huang said.
- However, Insider Intelligence analyst Jacob Bourne points out that after another huge quarter for Nvidia, it raises the question of how long the chipmaker can keep up this pace.
- Nvidia "has a massive lead in the growing global AI chip sector but can't rest on its laurels," Bourne said.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a contributing editor and writer of Inside's AI and Tech newsletters. She has written for publications including USA Today, the Arizona Business Gazette, and The Arizona Republic, where she received recognition with a Pulitzer Prize nomination and a First Amendment Award for collaborative reporting on state pension cost increases. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@yahoo.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Eduardo Garcia | |
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