Recently, several users on social media platform X have claimed to earn 'thousands of dollars' by posting fake information related to the US elections, AI-generated images, and various unfounded conspiracy theories. These users often share each other's content online, retweeting multiple times a day to increase their exposure and revenue. A BBC investigation found that these users have formed networks consisting of dozens of accounts that interact with each other, sharing a mix of true and false information with the aim of boosting their presence on the platform.

Xiaomi's upcoming Xiaomi 15 series smartphones will no longer offer an 8GB RAM version, instead, the base model's RAM configuration will start at 12GB, with a projected price increase. Xiaomi representative Wang Teng noted that future flagship models are likely to eliminate the 8GB RAM option due to the higher memory demands of on-device AI models. He suggested that as AI technology becomes more widespread in smartphones, users should opt for higher RAM versions whenever financial conditions permit. He also advised consumers to be aware of the pricing differences of RAM across different brands.

Zhipu AI announced today that since being showcased at KDD 2024, its flagship language model GLM-4-Plus and the first dynamic video understanding model GLM-4V-Plus have received widespread recognition, achieving outstanding results on authoritative evaluation lists, breaking the monopoly of foreign models in the top three and positioning themselves at the international elite level.

Recently, a study from the Swiss École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) made its debut at the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation in Rotterdam. This research aims to explore how robotic hands can break existing limitations to grasp more objects. The research team noted that deep learning models significantly enhanced the dexterous manipulation capabilities of multi-fingered hands, but the grasping guided by contact information in cluttered environments has not yet been fully explored. To address this issue, the researchers designed an inspired hand that can bend backward to pick up various objects and detach itself to climb.

On Monday, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman outlined his vision for the future of AI-driven technological advancements and global prosperity in a new personal blog post titled 'The Era of Intelligence.' The article paints a picture of artificial intelligence accelerating human progress, with Altman believing that superintelligent AI could emerge within the next decade. Altman stated, 'We may see the emergence of superintelligence in thousands of days; while it may take longer, I am optimistic about achieving this goal.'

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into our lives and work, providing convenience while also posing risks. Gartner analyst Mesaglio points out that companies may encounter cost discrepancies of up to 500% to 1000% when applying AI, primarily due to rising vendor prices and companies' neglect of cloud resource usage. While AI processes unstructured data to obtain more information, the costs are high. Additionally, AI applications may lead to 'productivity leakage', where employees may use saved time for leisure rather than work.

In discussions about AI's electricity consumption, Bill Gates presented a different viewpoint, emphasizing that concerns about AI's power demands are exaggerated, and that AI's contributions to scientific discovery and production processes far exceed its energy consumption. He cited examples of AI's role in improving steel production, optimizing meat processing, and weather forecasting. Gates also pointed out the potential of nuclear energy in addressing the climate crisis, noting that while current nuclear energy costs are high, advancements in technology, such as TerraPower's work on developing safer, more economical nuclear fission technology, hold promise for the future of affordable nuclear energy.

In modern relational databases, Cardinality Estimation (CE) techniques are crucial for optimizing query execution plans, directly affecting query efficiency and database performance. Traditional cardinality estimation methods are based on simplified assumptions and often perform poorly on complex query predictions, whereas learning-based CE models can provide more accurate predictions but face challenges such as long training times, requirement of large amounts of data, and lack of systematic evaluation. To address this challenge, the Google research team has launched the CardBench benchmarking framework, integrating over 20 real-world databases and thousands of queries.

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, the power consumption of data centers has received widespread attention, but their water consumption has also surged dramatically, posing a challenge to the sustainability goals of tech companies. Taking Virginia as an example, since 2019, water usage in data centers has skyrocketed by nearly 64%, with consumption exceeding 7 billion liters in 2023, handling approximately 70% of global internet traffic. High water consumption mainly stems from cooling systems and equipment maintenance needs. The expansion of AI technology has intensified pressure on water resources, prompting tech companies to optimize water usage strategies for sustainable development.

Indian fintech giant Paytm has announced layoffs of 1,000 employees, affecting its operations, sales, and engineering teams. The primary reason for this decision is the integration of artificial intelligence technologies to enhance operational efficiency by using AI-driven automation to eliminate repetitive tasks, thus reducing costs and improving efficiency. This is not the first time layoffs have occurred; back in 2021, Paytm had previously laid off some employees due to performance issues. The layoffs mainly affect the lending team, which, despite the strong performance of the loan business, accounts for more than 30% of the total workforce. In response to cost pressures, the company has decided to downsize.

The domestic open source video generation model CogVideoX-5B has been officially released in the Mota ModelScope community, significantly improving the quality and visual effects of video generation. Based on the large-scale DiT model, this model utilizes a 3D causal variational autoencoder and expert Transformer technology, achieving spatio-temporal joint modeling through 3D-RoPE positional encoding and a 3D full attention mechanism. The use of progressive training techniques allows the model to generate long videos with distinct motion features, coherence, and high quality.

A recent national survey shows that a majority of Australian adults (65%) frequently use multiple forms of digital media daily, yet lack confidence in their digital media skills. Approximately 40% of respondents have tried text-based generative AI services but have a negative view of such technologies and wish for related regulations to mitigate potential risks. The survey also revealed that 80% of adults believe action should be taken to combat the spread of misinformation and express a desire to learn how to identify false information. Groups with lower education levels, older age, and lower household income are particularly affected.

During the themed event on 'The Deep Empowerment of AI Technology in Primary and Secondary Education', Li Ying, CEO of Baidu Xiao Du Technology, shared the latest developments in Xiao Du's education business. As of July 2024, the Xiao Du Learning Machine has surpassed 2 million cumulative users, with more than 50% being daily active users, indicating its popularity. The usage rate of AI teachers has increased by 3.5 times compared to traditional methods, with users spending an additional 25% time on the learning machine, totaling 114 minutes per day. Notably, during the immersive interactive preview section for Chinese language, the average usage time reached 22 minutes.

New Era has partnered with the China Will Library to launch an innovative AI will service, using artificial intelligence technology to assist users in writing personalized wills. This service engages users in interactive dialogues with AI, guiding them to deeply reflect on and examine their lives, ensuring the will content aligns with their personal wishes. Users respond to relevant questions posed by the AI, which generates a draft will based on their answers, allowing further modifications and enhancements. Since its launch, this initiative has attracted numerous users, providing a novel experience in will writing.