SpaceX has proposed an ambitious satellite network around Mars, aiming to enhance communication for future missions to the planet. Dubbed “Marslink,” this concept was presented at a recent NASA-led meeting by the Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group, where SpaceX pitched the idea of placing satellites in Mars’ orbit to create a relay system for data exchange. The proposal aligns with SpaceX’s broader goals to support Mars exploration and potentially human habitation on Mars.

Marslink’s Potential Role in Mars Missions

As per a report by Spaceflight News, the Marslink network would be based on the existing Starlink satellite model, which SpaceX has deployed in Earth’s orbit to provide global internet coverage. With thousands of Starlink satellites currently in orbit, and over 102 countries using the network, SpaceX envisions a similar infrastructure for Mars. Marslink could provide constant connectivity for Mars surface assets and enhance interplanetary communication, aiding NASA’s objectives to develop sustainable exploration infrastructure on the Red Planet.

Competing Proposals from Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin

The report further mentions that NASA also reviewed alternative proposals from companies like Blue Origin and Lockheed Martin. Blue Origin presented its Blue Ring orbital tug concept, which would deliver data relay capabilities and perform in-space cloud computing. The report further mentions that this project is scheduled for initial testing in the Pentagon-sponsored DarkSky-1 mission, although a precise launch date has not been set.

Lockheed Martin proposed leveraging the existing MAVEN spacecraft, which was launched in 2013 to study Mars’ atmospheric evolution. In Lockheed’s plan, MAVEN would be moved to a communications orbit, enabling it to operate as a relay similar to NASA’s Earth-based Deep Space Network.

NASA’s Shift Towards Private Sector Collaboration

NASA’s consideration of private sector-led projects reflects a growing reliance on commercial partnerships for Mars exploration. The agency plans to collaborate with companies capable of providing the technical resources needed for future human missions. NASA is also working on laser-based communication technologies, which would allow for faster and more efficient data transmission across deep-space distances.

ChatGPT creator OpenAI is stealing “vast amounts” of personal information to train its artificial intelligence models in a heedless hunt for profits, a group of anonymous individuals claimed in a lawsuit seeking class action status.

OpenAI has violated privacy laws by secretly scraping 300 billion words from the internet, tapping “books, articles, websites and posts — including personal information obtained without consent,” according to the sprawling, 157-page lawsuit. It doesn’t shy from sweeping language, accusing the company of risking “civilizational collapse.”

The plaintiffs are described by their occupations or interests but identified only by initials for fear of a backlash against them, the Clarkson Law Firm said in the suit, filed Wednesday in federal court in San Francisco. They cite $3 billion (roughly Rs. 24,611 crore) in potential damages, based on a category of harmed individuals they estimate to be in the millions.

A different approach: Theft

“Despite established protocols for the purchase and use of personal information, Defendants took a different approach: theft,” they allege. The company’s popular chatbot program ChatGPT and other products are trained on private information taken from what the plaintiffs described as hundreds of millions of internet users, including children, without their permission.

Microsoft, which plans to invest a reported $13 billion (roughly Rs. 1,06,651 crore) in OpenAI, was also named as a defendant.

A spokesperson for OpenAI didn’t immediately respond to a call or email seeking comment on the lawsuit. A spokesperson for Microsoft didn’t respond right away to an email.

ChatGPT and other generative AI applications have stirred intense interest in the technology’s promise but also sparked a firestorm over privacy and misinformation. Congress is debating the potential and dangers of AI as the products raise questions about the future of creative industries and the ability to tell fact from fiction. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman himself, in testimony on Capitol Hill last month, called for AI regulation. But the lawsuit focuses on how OpenAI got the guts of its products to begin with.

Secret scraping

OpenAI, which is at the forefront of the burgeoning industry, is accused in the suit of conducting an enormous clandestine web-scraping operation, violating terms of service agreements and state and federal privacy and property laws. One of the laws cited is the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, a federal anti-hacking statute that has been invoked in scraping disputes before. The suit also includes claims of invasion of privacy, larceny, unjust enrichment and violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.

Misappropriating personal data on a vast scale to win an “AI arms race,” OpenAI illegally accesses private information from individuals’ interactions with its products and from applications that have integrated ChatGPT, the plaintiffs claim. Such integrations allow the company to gather image and location data from Snapchat, music preferences on Spotify, financial information from Stripe and private conversations on Slack and Microsoft Teams, according to the suit.

Chasing profits, OpenAI abandoned its original principle of advancing artificial intelligence “in the way that is most likely to benefit humanity as a whole,” the plaintiffs allege. The suit puts ChatGPT’s expected revenue for 2023 at $200 million.

While seeking to represent the massive class of allegedly harmed individuals, and requesting monetary damages to be determined at trial, the plaintiffs are also asking the court to temporarily freeze commercial access to and further development of OpenAI’s products.

© 2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Google Pixel 9 Pro was launched alongside the Google Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro XL, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold in August this year. While the Pro variant did not go on sale in India at the time, it will now finally be available for pre-orders later this week in the country. The price and colour options of the phone had previously been confirmed by the California-based tech giant. The Pixel 9 Pro is powered by a Tensor G4 SoC alongside a Titan M2 security chipset and ships with Android 14.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Pre-Order in India

Google Pixel 9 Pro price in India is set at Rs. 1,09,999 for the 16GB + 256GB option, the company revealed previously. Now, a Flipkart banner confirms that the phone will be available for pre-orders in the country starting October 17 at 12pm IST. It will be offered in Hazel, Porcelain, Rose Quartz, and Obsidian colourways, similar to the Pixel 9 Pro XL variant.

Google Pixel 9 Pro Specifications, Features

The Google Pixel 9 Pro sports a 6.3-inch 1.5K (1,280 x 2,856 pixels) SuperActua (LTPO) OLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate and up to 3,000 nits of peak brightness level. It is powered by the Tensor G4 SoC alongside a Titan M2 security chipset and runs on Android 14 out-of-the-box. 

For optics, the Google Pixel 9 Pro carries a triple rear camera unit, including a 50-megapixel primary sensor, a 48-megapixel ultrawide shooter, and another 48-megapixel periscope telephoto camera with 5x optical zoom. It gets a 42-megapixel from camera for selfies and video calls.

The Google Pixel 9 Pro packs a 4,700mAh battery with 45W wired as well as Qi wireless charging support. It comes with an IP68-rated build for dust and water resistance. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC, Google Cast, GPS, Dual Band GNSS, BeiDou, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS, NavIC, and a USB Type-C port.

Death Stranding is coming to the big screen, thanks to a partnership between indie film studio A24 and game developer Kojima Productions. The announcement comes ahead of the Hideo Kojima-helmed studio’s 8th anniversary. The film adaptation will focus on the mysteries surrounding the titular apocalyptic event that brought the nightmarish creatures called BT into the living world, blurring the lines between the dead and the living through a portal. Instead of a direct translation of the divisive 2019 video game, the film will serve as a companion piece that further expands the solitary universe. The world of Death Stranding is also set to return in DS2, a sequel announced at last year’s The Game Awards.

“A24 was born into this world about 10 years ago, their presence is singular within the industry, they are like no other,” Kojima said in a blog post. “The intention is that our audience will not only be fans of the games, but our film will be for anyone who loves cinema. We are creating a Death Stranding universe that has never been seen before, achievable only through the medium of film, it will be born.” Reports of an adaptation surfaced last year, with Hammerstone Studios — best known for Barbarian — attached to produce, though now it’s unclear whether the team will be involved in any way. Kojima, on the other hand, will be ‘deeply involved’ with the creation of the movie — supervising, art, plotting, and content — but won’t be directing it. While not explicitly mentioned, he’s already got his hands full with Death Stranding 2 and OD, his horror collaboration with filmmaker Jordan Peele. Neither have announced a release window yet.

For the uninitiated, A24 is the studio behind acclaimed arthouse films like The Lighthouse, the Oscar-winning Everything Everywhere All at Once, Uncut Gems, the new horror flick Talk to Me, and more. At the moment, there are no details on the cast and crew, but the original game featured a range of A-list Hollywood actors, which was instrumental in sales — besides the legendary Kojima’s namesake, of course.

The game starred Norman Reedus (The Walking Dead) as Sam Porter Bridges, a courier tasked with reconnecting the last survivors of a post-apocalyptic America, which fell victim to an extinction event, leading to otherworldly forces ravaging the living world. The post-apocalyptic world has its own rules and phenomena like ‘Timefall,’ which refers to rainfall that causes all organic matter to age, forcing every human being to wear raincoats and carry around oddly shaped umbrellas to prevent exposure. The game also starred Mads Mikkelsen as Clifford Unger, Léa Seydoux as Fragile, filmmakers Nicolas Winding Refn and Guillermo Del Toro, Tommie Earl Jenkins, and Troy Baker as the lead antagonist Higgs.

Kojima Productions is also bringing the documentary Hideo Kojima: Connecting Worlds to the public eye by releasing it on Disney+ in the American Spring 2024. It largely focuses on Kojima’s process as he launched his independent studio in 2015 and the creation of Death Stranding, following his split from Konami — the Japanese studio where he helmed the Metal Gear Solid series of games.

Currently, there is no release window for the Death Stranding movie.

Samsung is speculated to be developing a tri-fold smartphone. This move is said to be in a bid to catch up to Huawei, which launched the world’s tri-fold smartphone dubbed Mate XT Ultimate Design in September. Ahead of its anticipated debut in 2025, Samsung has been recently granted a patent for a flexible display device with a foldable design featuring three screens and a specialised barrier layer for improved durability and reduced strain.

Samsung Patent for Tri-Fold Smartphone

A patent granted by the US Patent and Trademark Office (via MSPoweruser) to Samsung Electronics describes a display device with a flexible form factor. It was filed by Samsung in 2021 and was granted on November 5. Unlike rigid devices which have an allocated screen area for displaying images, this purported device is shown to have three areas: a first area which is folded, a second area which can be folded and unfolded, and a third area arranged along a specific direction.

Samsung’s purported tri-fold smartphone
Photo Credit: US Patent and Trademark Office/Samsung

As per the patent, the device will feature a specialised barrier layer positioned below the display panel. This layer is said to have at least one opening which might overlap the second display area, and two lower plates placed below the panel overlapping all three areas. Furthermore, the display panel might also feature an anti-reflective layer on top, similar to the one used on the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra.

Although it suggests that the flexible display device may have the ability to be folded, bent, or deformed into various shapes, the document could be referring to the same purported tri-fold smartphone that Samsung is rumoured to be developing.

The tri-fold smartphone is also speculated to come with support for multiple input methods, in addition to touch gestures. This suggests that the purported device might also feature S-Pen support.

However, it is crucial to note that not all devices whose patents have been granted make it to the final production stage or carry the same elements. Thus, it is currently unclear whether Samsung’s purported tri-fold smartphone will feature similar technical aspects as described in the patent filing.