Tech

Elon Musk Changes Twitter Logo to Shiba Inu Causing Dogecoin to Jump 30 Percent

Published

1 year ago

2023-04-04

Dogecoin cryptocurrency increased by over 30% on Monday after Twitter CEO Elon Musk changed the blue bird on his company’s website with a Shiba Inu, the digital coin’s logo.

On Friday, lawyers for Twitter and Musk asked a federal court to dismiss a $258 billion lawsuit from 2022 that accused Musk of manipulating the price of Dogecoin and driving it up by more than 36,000%.

Musk posted a meme about the change to his 133.5 million Twitter followers after changing the Twitter logo to a Shiba Inu image. The dog showed only for some Twitter users, including those on the company’s website. Twitter did not reply to a comment request.

pic.twitter.com/wmN5WxUhfQ

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 3, 2023

Musk has been promoting Dogecoin for several years. He regularly tweets about the token, created as a joke in 2013, creating predictable volatility each time. Dogecoin is the eighth-most valued cryptocurrency, with a market cap of more than $13 billion, according to CoinMarketCap.com.

In a court filing Friday, Musk’s lawyers characterized his public statements about the coin as “innocuous and frequently silly tweets.”

However, Musk’s public support for the coin extends beyond social media comments. Tesla and SpaceX are two of Musk’s other businesses.

Two of Musk’s other companies, Tesla and the Boring Company, are named in the lawsuit.

Tesla announced in December 2021 that it would take Dogecoin for some merchandise. Musk stated on Twitter then that Tesla would “see how it goes.”

Following that post, the price of Dogecoin increased by more than 20%. When Musk declared on Twitter in January 2022 that Dogecoin payments were now available, the cryptocurrency rose by up to 15%.

Tesla does have digital assets, including bitcoin, on its books, and it still takes Dogecoin as payment for some merchandise.

“We have not sold any of our Dogecoin,” Elon Musk said last year during an earnings conference. “We have it still.”

Musk has stated that he directly owns Dogecoin.

In a recent tweet, Musk wrote “Dogecoin” in response to a picture of himself next to News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch.

What’s Elon Musk’s name doing in the source code for Twitter’s algorithm?

Meanwhile, Elon Musk describes it as “weird” that his name was discovered in Twitter’s algorithm source code alongside designations such as “Democrat” or “Republican.”

Elon Musk responded to questions about the platform’s source code being released on GitHub on Friday.

During a Twitter Spaces event, two users pointed out that Musk’s name had been coded into Twitter’s recommendation algorithm, which explicitly labeled whether Musk had authored a tweet.

“I think it’s strange,” Musk said. “By the way, this is the first time I’ve heard of it.”

A branch of Twitter’s algorithm revealed that the platform not only recognized whether Musk wrote a tweet but also labeled tweets based on whether the user was a “Democrat,” “Republican,” or “power user.” The code segment has since been removed from GitHub.

“What’s going on, guys?” Musk asked Twitter engineers in the conversation.

During the meeting, Brian Wichers, a senior engineering manager at Twitter, stated that the specific categories were added to the algorithm about ten years ago and are “not overly important in how it’s used throughout the code base.”

Another Twitter engineer on the call clarified that the code is only used for monitoring and to “make sure we don’t bias toward one group versus another,” not for “special treatment.”

Musk stated that the code was an example of something the business should eliminate immediately.

“It definitely shouldn’t be dividing people into Republicans and Democrats. That makes no sense,” Musk said. “That’s why I prefaced this that there will be a ton of stupid, embarrassing things,” he added.

On Friday, Twitter published the code determining which tweets appear in a user’s For You timeline. Musk has been saying for months that he will increase transparency by open-sourcing the code of the social media site. On Twitter on Friday, the billionaire stated that the release reflected “most of the recommendation algorithm” and that the remainder would be released in the future.

Musk has previously criticized Twitter’s code and stated during his Twitter Spaces appearance that the business will change its code based on recommendations from outside engineers on GitHub.

Twitter explained how the algorithm determines which tweets to feature in a blog entry explaining the choice to release the code. According to the company, it has a three-step process that gathers the best tweets from “different recommendation sources,” ranks them using a “machine learning model,” and filters out blocked tweets, inappropriate tweets, or posts the user has already seen.

It’s not the first time that questions have been raised about Musk’s material being promoted on Twitter. Platformer reported in February that the billionaire had fired a Twitter engineer after the employee told him his popularity was dwindling on the site and had assigned engineers to investigate why his tweets were receiving fewer views after his tweet during Super Bowl Sunday received less engagement than President Joe Biden’s. According to the publication, Twitter engineers briefly gave Musk’s tweets an “artificial boost”.

Musk appeared to recognize his increased exposure on the site at the time, posting a meme about his tweets, and later stated that the company would be making additional changes to the algorithm.

Platformer revealed last month that Musk was not the only user benefiting from an artificial boost. According to the publication, Twitter has an internal Twitter list of 35 users established to monitor how algorithm changes affected the site’s most popular users but have since evolved into a list of people who receive preferential treatment on the platform.

With over 133 million followers, Musk is the most followed Twitter user.

Computer

Cisco Systems Joins Microsoft, IBM In Vatican Pledge To Ensure Ethical Use And Development Of AI

Published

42 mins ago

2024-04-24

Kiara Grace

AP - VOR News Image

ROME — Cisco Systems, a prominent technology company, has recently joined Microsoft and IBM in endorsing a pledge initiated by the Vatican. This pledge aims to guarantee the ethical development and utilization of artificial intelligence for the betterment of society.

The Vatican said that Chuck Robbins, the CEO of Cisco Systems, had signed the Rome Call document and privately met with Pope Francis.

AP – VOR News Image

Cisco Systems Joins Microsoft, IBM In Vatican Pledge To Ensure Ethical Use And Development Of AI

The promise delineates fundamental principles for the ethical and conscientious utilization of AI. The statement underscores the importance of designing, utilizing, and overseeing AI systems in a manner that prioritizes and safeguards the dignity of all individuals without any form of discrimination and their surroundings. The document emphasizes the importance of transparency, inclusivity, responsibility, impartiality, and security in guiding all AI advancements.

AP – VOR News Image

Cisco Systems Joins Microsoft, IBM In Vatican Pledge To Ensure Ethical Use And Development Of AI

The document was revealed and officially endorsed during a Vatican meeting on February 28, 2020, shortly before Italy implemented strict measures due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The document’s signatories were Brad Smith from Microsoft and John Kelly III from IBM. Universities, United Nations agencies, private enterprises, and nongovernmental organizations have also agreed to participate.

Francis has advocated for an international agreement to guarantee AI’s ethical development and utilization, dedicating his yearly peace message to this subject.

Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, who is spearheading the AI program, approved of Cisco’s involvement. He mentioned the IT company’s proficiency in “infrastructure, security, and safeguarding of AI data and systems.”

AP – VOR News Image

Cisco Systems Joins Microsoft, IBM In Vatican Pledge To Ensure Ethical Use And Development Of AI

The global spotlight has been directed towards artificial intelligence due to the remarkable progress made by state-of-the-art systems such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT. These systems have impressed users with their capacity to generate text, photographs, and melodies that closely resemble human creations. However, the advancement of technology has also sparked concerns regarding the potential hazards it presents to employment, privacy, copyright infringement, and even human existence.

SOURCE – (AP)

Tech

FIFA Nears $1 Billion Deal with Apple TV Plus

Published

2 days ago

2024-04-23

Geoff Thomas

FIFA Nears $1 Billion Deal with Apple TV Plus

FIFA is close to sealing a deal with Apple: CTN News Image

FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, wants to stage a World Cup-style event with 32 top club clubs from around the world. If talks between Apple and FIFA are successful, it might be shown on Apple TV Plus.

According to the New York Times, FIFA is close to sealing a deal with Apple for global rights to the event. According to the Times, an agreement might be revealed by the end of the month.

According to reports, the purchase could be worth $1 billion, significantly less than FIFA‘s expectation of $4 billion. It is unclear whether this club tournament will be shown solely on Apple TV Plus or with free-to-air rights.

Nonetheless, given Apple’s interest in live sports for its streaming service — Apple TV Plus presently features Major League Soccer events as well as a monthly Major League Baseball doubleheader — one would expect Apple TV Plus to be the exclusive home for the Club World Cup.

The 32-team tournament is slated to begin in June 2025. The competition would include club teams from Africa (4 teams), Asia (4), Europe (12 teams), North America/Central/Caribbean (4), Oceania (1 team), and South America (6 teams).

FIFA has been attempting to launch a version of this competition for some years. The final big stab was scheduled to take place in China in 2021. COVID delayed and ultimately ended that iteration of the event.

Supposedly, both broadcasters and sponsors have been hesitant to agree to FIFA’s asking fees. So, this could be the last chance for FIFA president Gianni Infantino to make this event a reality.

If this agreement is completed, it will be the first time FIFA has entered into a single global contract for viewing.

Soccer has proven to be a popular source of content for streaming services aiming to attract viewers (and subscribers). Peacock presently has the streaming rights for English Premier League fixtures. Paramount Plus presently holds the rights to the UEFA Champions League.

Tech

iPhone 16 Design Details and New Features Revealed in Leak

Published

2 days ago

2024-04-22

Arsi Mughal

iPhone 16 Design Details and New Features Revealed in Leak

iphone on display at Apple Store: Getty Images

(CTN News) – The design of the next iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro has been revealed through mock leaks, prompting case makers to adjust accordingly.

Leaker Sonny Dickson shared an image on X that shows the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro Max in matching cases. Aside from the standard cutout in the cases’ bodies for the cameras, there is another weirdly placed cutout on their right flanks.

The Capture button, a supposed new feature of the iPhone 16s, allows users to focus and take images and videos without using on-screen controls in the Camera app.

The button is pressure-sensitive and requires a finger contract to function. As a result, cases cannot cover these buttons without rendering them unusable, thus the cutout.

The Capture button is expected to be located in the same location as the mmWave 5G antenna on existing devices. It’s likely that this cutout is solely for connectivity purposes, and that the reports concerning the Capture button are false.

iPhone 16 Rumors: File Image

Stay Updated on iPhone 16 Rumors

Furthermore, as commentators on Dickson’s article point out, the iPhone 16 lacks a visible flash, indicating that these cases are unlikely to be final products, even if they are otherwise accurate.

Another notable iPhone 16 difference evident in this dummy/case combo is the vertically placed cameras on the standard iPhone 16. This is likely to enable the phone to capture spatial video, similar to the Pro models, which can then be seen with an AR/VR headset like the Vision Pro.

Apple’s September launch window for iPhones is still a while off, but you can find all the rumors so far in our iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max hubs. And we will keep you updated until their expected announcement this fall.