Artificial intelligence

Artificial Intelligence assistants like Amazon's Alexa may be the talk of the tech world right now, but one plucky little robot is striking out on its own. A new video shows a boggle-eyed, voice-activated robot that bears a striking resemblance to a Minion and responds to questions solely with GIFs. The tiny animations, have increased in popularity in recent months, as firms such as Twitter and Apple 's iMessage have added them to their platforms. "Personal desktop robotic assistant" Peeqo springs into action when it hears its name, just like Amazon 's Alexa. A soft-exoskeleton enables the robot to move and perk up when it hears 'Peeqo'. Peequo springs into action when it hears its name, just like Amazon's Alexa ( Image: YouTube / Abhishek Singh) A notification light on top of the robot lets the user know that it's ready for a voice command. When resting, Peeqo's screen displays a pair of eyes. Voice commands are met with appropriate GIFs and … [Read more...] about Adorable ‘Peeqo’ desk robot looks like a Minion and communicates ENTIRELY through GIFs

Dogs seem to have an awful lot to say, but have you ever wondered what they're actually on about? Soon, you might not have to, as a range of companies are working on Dr Doolittle tech that could let you chat with your favourite hound. One South Korean company, Petpuls, began shipping an AI -powered dog collar last year that analyses their barks to measure their emotional state. READ NEXT: WhatsApp users could be fined for sending 'banned' types of message if caught out However, that's just the beginning, as some organisations are going even further by building full human-animal translation tools. Another firm, Zoolingua , was founded in 2018. It's been working for some time on a mobile app that can translate dog body language and sounds to English using machine learning. The only obstacle in the way is that training an AI to understand dogs at this stage requires humans to interpret what a dog's behaviour might mean before feeding this data to the AI. According … [Read more...] about Real-life Dr Dolittle AI could soon ‘let dogs talk to us’ like one-year-old babies

A “summer sale” for Channel migrants is fuelling a rise in crossings with people smugglers slashing prices by as much as £1,500 per person, it has emerged. Social media adverts, discovered on Monday by The Telegraph, saw the traffickers offering “bargain” prices and crossings on small boats that have “never been cheaper,” down from £5,000 to as little as £3,500 per migrant. The promotions were primarily targeted at Albanians who accounted for four in 10 of the nearly 3,000 migrants who crossed the Channel during a six-week period this summer. Border Force experts suggested the smugglers may be cutting prices to open up new markets like the Albanians previously unable to afford the charges. MPs on the home affairs committee have also claimed that gangs may be exploiting the court-enforced delay in deportations of illegal migrants to Rwanda to persuade them to make the crossing now before the flights start. The disclosures come as another estimated 300 Channel … [Read more...] about ‘Summer sale’ for Channel migrants fuels record crossings

Washington — House Republicans and allies of former President Donald Trump erupted in anger late Monday after he revealed the FBI conducted a search of his South Florida home of Mar-a-Lago, with the GOP leader in the House vowing to open investigations into the Justice Department if Republicans win control of the House in the November midterm elections. After Trump revealed FBI agents "raided" his club, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy tweeted that Attorney General Merrick Garland should "preserve your documents and clear your calendar." "The Department of Justice has reached an intolerable state of weaponized politicization," McCarthy wrote. "When Republicans take back the House, we will conduct immediate oversight of this department, follow the facts, and leave no stone unturned." Sources told CBS News the search by the FBI is connected to a Justice Department investigation of claims by the National Archives and Records Administration that it retrieved 15 boxes of … [Read more...] about Republicans rail against DOJ over FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, vowing investigations

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough died August 8, 2022 at age 89 . In this "Sunday Morning" interview, originally broadcast on July 1, 2001, he discusses his biography of an overlooked Founding Father: In the cool grandeur of the National Archives in Washington, where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are enshrined, historian David McCullough is anything but cool about how history has treated one of the major forces behind those two documents: John Adams. "There's no statue to him in Washington," McCullough told correspondent Rita Braver. "There's no face on Mount Rushmore. There's no monument. There's no picture of John Adams on our money. There isn't a postage stamp in circulation with John Adams' picture on it. This is a disgrace!" But now McCullough, one of the most influential historians of our time, has become an Adams advocate, using his skills and his celebrity to introduce Americans to this forgotten patriot, with a massive new … [Read more...] about From the archive: David McCullough on the life of patriot John Adams

Russia’s space agency launched an Iranian satellite into orbit on Monday, which will soon offer Tehran access to increased satellite imagery. The satellite, called Khayyam after the medieval philosopher Omar Khayyam, left aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket from Russia’s Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan early Monday morning. Russia’s space agency provided a video of the launch, though media were prohibited from covering the event live. Iran has claimed the satellite will be used for scientific research that includes radiation and environmental monitoring for agricultural purposes, according to Reuters. However, some are concerned that Russia could use the satellite to obtain more detailed information to help with its invasion of Ukraine, a claim Iran’s leaders have denied. Iran said it would be in charge of the satellite “from day one,” and that it would not be used for Russian intelligence, according to an Iranian state-run official IRNA news agency. The launch marks … [Read more...] about WATCH: Russia Launches Iranian Satellite Into Orbit | The Daily Wire

06.06.2022 06:32 Key points to know for Monday: Ukrainian forces are "holding on" in Sievierodonetsk, President Zelenskyy said on Monday. Earlier the regional governor said the local situation had 'worsened' for Ukrainian forces under intense Russian bombardment. Russian forces continue to push towards Sloviansk in the Donbas, says UK military intelligence. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov cancelled a Monday visit to Serbia after neighbouring countries closed their airspace to his plane. Moscow has criticised the move . Lavrov followed Putin in warning the West on Monday against providing Ukraine with long-range rockets. Earlier the UK said it would supply new rocket launcher systems to Ukraine, with a range of 80km. Russian car sales fell by 52% in April, a year-on-year drop of 83%, industry figures show, largely due to Western sanctions. The head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has said Ukrainians are facing the "same horrors" as the French did in World … [Read more...] about Ukraine war: Ukrainian forces ‘holding on’ in Sievierodonetsk, says Zelenskyy

As "intense street to street fighting" is reported in Sievierodonetsk, Ukraine says Russian forces are planning an assault on Sloviansk as the battle for the Donbas continues. See a summary of the latest developments in our blog below. 06.11.2022 11:41 Saturday's key points: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told an Asian summit the future international order will be determined on Ukraine's battlefields, predicting that his country "will prevail" in the war Russia started. The Ukrainian army says Russian forces are planning an assault on Sloviansk in Donetsk province, while UK intelligence reports "intense street to street fighting" in Sievierodonetsk. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, visiting Kyiv, told President Zelenskyy that Brussels would finalise its assessment on Ukraine's eligibility for EU membership "by the end of next week" . Ukrainian and British officials warned that Russian forces are relying on Soviet-era missiles … [Read more...] about Ukraine war: Future global order will be decided on Ukraine battlefields, says Zelenskyy

A small town in southern Brazil has an unusually high proportion of twins living in it - a phenomenon that could be explained by sinister events during World War II. Candido Godoi lies near the border with Argentina and has a population of around 6,000. The town is famous for having a 10% twin birth rate, which is just over five times more than the average rate for the state of Rio Grande do Sul it is located in. One reason given for this mysterious occurrence has its roots in the horrific experiments of Dr Josef Mengele. The sadistic Nazi, known as the 'Angel of Death', carried out many tests on prisoners in Auschwitz in an attempt to prove the supposed genetic superiority of the Aryan race. The 'Angel of Death' evaded capture and drowned in 1979 in Brazil after suffering a stroke while swimming ( Image: Hulton Archive/Getty Images) He had a particular interest in performing his experiments on identical twins, including amputations and infecting one twin with … [Read more...] about The Brazilian town with staggering amount of German twins after evil Nazi experiments

By Reality Check & BBC Turkish Published 3 July Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Russia-Ukraine war A cargo ship carrying grain from a Russian-occupied region of Ukraine has been detained by Turkish customs authorities, according to Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey. Vasyl Bodnar says "We have full co-operation. The ship is currently standing at the entrance to the port, it has been detained by the customs authorities of Turkey". We've tracked the Russian-flagged ship, the Zhibek Zholy, on its route from the Ukrainian port of Berdyansk, to Karasu on the Turkish Black Sea coast. It is not clear where its cargo came from or how it was obtained, but Russia has been accused of stealing grain from areas of Ukraine it controls - allegations Russia denies. Tracking where Russia is taking Ukraine's stolen grain Berdyansk is in … [Read more...] about Turkey detains Russian-flagged grain ship from Ukraine