The latest IT news, articles and advice from Astaris

It’s been reported that a trade group for U.S. authors (including John Grisham) has sued OpenAI, accusing it of unlawfully training its chatbot ChatGPT on their work. Which Authors?  The Authors Guild trade group has filed the lawsuit (in Manhattan federal court) on behalf of a number of prominent authors including John Grisham, Jonathan Franzen, […]

Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company Neuralink has announced that it’s looking for recruits for its first in-human clinical trial of a brain implant. Approved  Neuralink says that it has received approval from the independent institutional review board and for its first hospital site to begin recruitment in its first-in-human clinical trial of a brain implant that could help people […]

In this insight, we look at the introduction of the Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 (ETDA), what it means and why it’s so significant, plus its implications. The ETDA  The Electronic Trade Documents Act 2023 (ETDA), which was based on a draft Bill published by the Law Commission in March 2022, came into force in […]

Google has announced that it is embedding its ‘Bard’ chatbot into its apps and services with the launch of ‘Bard Extensions’. Bard  In a similar way to Microsoft’s Copilot, Google’s own ‘Duet’ (for Google Cloud users), and Salesforce’s Einstein Copilot, Google is giving users an embedded chatbot assistant that works across its apps to leverage […]

Google’s AI research lab DeepMind has announced that in partnership with Google Cloud, it’s launching a beta version of SynthID, a tool for watermarking and identifying AI-generated images. The AI Image Challenge Generative AI technologies are rapidly evolving, and AI-generated imagery, also known as ‘synthetic imagery,’ is becoming much harder to distinguish from images not […]

In this insight, we look at the many ways to check how much bandwidth you’re using, thereby helping to avoid exceeding data caps, and providing other benefits. Why Monitor Bandwidth?  As we move deeper into the digital age, internet usage is skyrocketing, and with it, the necessity to manage bandwidth. For businesses, this is even […]

In this article, we take at what Google’s ‘Duet’ is, it’s features and potential benefits to businesses, and the price. Duet  Introduced in May this year, Duet AI in the Google Cloud is essentially Google’s answer to Microsoft’s Copilot. Duet is a paid-for, “always on” AI assistant and “collaborator” that is embedded within (and works across) all the Workspace […]

Astaris is now a part of the Cyber Essentials Scheme, This is a government-backed scheme that shows an organisation complies with a minimum level of protection in cyber security through annual assessments to maintain this certification. What is the scheme… And what are the requirements? In general, the Cyber Essentials scheme focuses on helping organisations […]

A new VentureBeat survey has revealed that 70 per cent of companies are experimenting with generative AI. Most Experimenting and Some Implementing  The (ongoing) survey which was started ahead of the tech news and events company’s recently concluded VB Transform 2023 Conference in San Francisco, gathered the opinions of global executives in data, IT, AI, security, and […]

Apple has issued a warning to iPhone users about the dangers of practices like charging a phone under a blanket or pillow at night, risking overheating and posing a fire risk. Danger From Prolonged Heat Exposure  In a wide ranging post on the iPhone user-guide section of Apple’s website, the company warns about the dangers […]

A free-standing AI road safety camera system deployed in Cornwall caught 300 drivers in the first three days. How It Works  The camera system, on the A30 near Launceston, implemented by road safety tech firm Acusensus in partnership with Vision Zero South West, records clear images of passing vehicles (and of the driver) thanks to […]

Following the news that US Federal regulators have sued Amazon, alleging that people have been “tricked” into buying hard-to-cancel Prime memberships, we take a closer look at ‘inertia selling’. What Happened With Amazon Prime Subscriptions?  Back at the end of June, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it was taking action against Amazon.com […]