Amazon workers in the UK stage first ever strike, Samsung wallet becomes available in eight new markets including Canada and Shutterstock rolls out generative AI toolkit, following partnership with OpenAI.
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That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending. It’s Thursday, January 26 and I am your host, Ashee Pamma.
Amazon workers staged their first-ever strike in the U.K. at the e-commerce giant’s warehouse in Coventry, England. Staff complained that they are unhappy with the below-inflation pay increase and difficult working conditions. The GMB Union, representing the workers, said around 300 staff walked out at Amazon’s Coventry warehouse, denouncing a measly 5 per cent pay rise to £10.50 an hour. Workers told the BBC that they are constantly monitored, even when they go to the toilet and upbraided for “idle time” lasting just a few minutes. Another worker said that robots are treated better than workers. A spokesperson for Amazon told the BBC that it has a system “that recognises great performance” and performance is only measured when an employee is at their station and logged in to do their job.
Samsung Electronics today announced Samsung Wallet will be available in eight new markets, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan starting at the end of January. Samsung Wallet is a secure, go-everywhere app on Galaxy phones to organize and use daily essentials. The company says it has gone above and beyond to better safeguard customer data by storing it in a secure environment to help protect it from malware and other potential threats.
Source: Samsung Newsroom
Shutterstock has rolled out a generative AI toolkit to create images based on text prompts, following its partnership with OpenAI. Shutterstock allowed OpenAI to use its libraries to train and feed the algorithm of its image generating platform, Dall-E 2. Now, customers of Shutterstock’s Creative Flow online design platform will be able to create images based on text prompts, powered by OpenAI and Dall-E 2. Interestingly, Shutterstock says the images are “ready for licensing” right after they’re made. According to TechCrunch, this means that Shutterstock seeks to embrace the use of AI and is setting itself up in opposition to competitor Getty who is currently embroiled in a lawsuit against Stability AI, who allegedly used Getty’s images to train its AI without the appropriate permission.
Source: TechCrunch
Intel has canceled plans to build its Oregon Research and Design Mega Lab, a 200,000-square-foot facility designed to test data center cooling innovations, Data Center Knowledge reported. The chipmaker said it is exploring the most cost-effective real-estate options as it looks to cut $3 billion in spending in 2023. Pulling back on the data center plans already wipes out from that number, $700 million announced for the lab in 2022. Facebook also canceled data center builds in Europe but cited changes in AI as the reason. This data center cancelation indicates another roadblock in Intel’s quest to unseat competitor AMD’s dominance in the data center chip space.
Source: Data Center Knowledge
A new study demonstrates that scientists have created robots that can shapeshift between solid and liquid states, enabling them to perform feats such as jumping, climbing and even oozing out of cage, Vice reported.The shape and movements of the machines are controlled by magnetic fields, an approach that may lead to new biomedical and engineering technologies, such as targeted drug delivery, circuit assembly, or the creation of universal screws. The dynamic shapeshifting powers of the robots could also be adapted to serve many functions, especially in biomedicine, including delivering medications to specific organs, or extracting dangerous objects from the body. The ability to switch between solid and liquid states could also be useful in accessing any confined or hard-to-reach spaces.
Source: Vice
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash briefings or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. Also, catch the next episode of Hashtag Tendances, our weekly Hashtag Trending episode in French, which drops every Thursday morning. If you have a suggestion or a tip, drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thank you for listening, I’m Ashee Pamma.