Tech stocks plummet because of a new Trump policy, Adobe can detect manipulated images with AI, and the world’s first burger-making robot makes its debut.
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First up from Reddit is news that the stocks of computer chip manufacturers like AMD and NVIDIA have dropped significantly because of Trump’s plans to restrict foreign investment in US tech companies. The US Treasury department initially said on the weekend that it would block companies with at least 25 per cent Chinese ownership from buying businesses involved in industrially significant technology. However, it then expanded the scope of its limitations yesterday to all countries that are quote “trying to steal the US’ technology.” As a result, the shares of semiconductor companies like AMD, Micron, Nvidia, and Intel fell by more than four per cent overnight. The tech world seems to be holding its breath to see where legislation goes from here.
Next up from Google Trends, Adobe has apparently developed an artificial intelligence that can tell whether an image has been manipulated. The platform can scan an image on a scale not visible to the human eye to see if any elements have been added, moved, or cut from the picture. It’s based on the fact that manipulation techniques like those leave some sort of evidence behind, and the AI algorithm was trained to scan for and detect this evidence. In a world of fake news, Adobe is hoping that this platform could answer questions of authenticity more effectively.
And last but not least from LinkedIn, the world is getting its first burger joint where robots rule the kitchen. A new restaurant called Creator will open in downtown San Francisco today and offer a $6 burger assembled by a robot. The machine is made with 20 computers, 350 sensors and 50 actuator mechanisms. It does everything from grinding and cooking the meat fresh to order, to slicing and toasting the bun and adding toppings – all within five minutes. Creator’s founder, Alex Vardakostas, has been working on this for eight years and hired a team of engineers, designers and roboticists from NASA, Apple, Tesla and Disney to develop his burger-making robot. He says that machines can cook and serve burgers more efficiently than humans and don’t have to deal with health hazards like getting sick. The machine is behind a glass wall so everyone in the restaurant can see every part of the cooking process. Tickets for a meal at Creator have sold out until August, so you might want to get in line now.
