Cache of the Day | Musk’s AI chatbot Grok generates deepfakes; Cisco to cut 7% workforce; Google’s expansion into retail | Photo credit: REUTERS
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Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok generates deepfakes
AI chatbot Grok on Elon Musk’s social media platform X is being used to generate graphic, explicit, fake or illegal media shortly after its image-generating capabilities were announced, general users and journalists have claimed. By simply entering a simple text prompt, The Hindu was able to use the new Grok 2 mini (beta) model to generate highly realistic deepfakes featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice President Kamala Harris brandishing rifles.
Other text-to-image generators typically use content filters or safeguards to prevent users from creating fake images of real politicians or celebrities, for safety reasons. Other X users have shared shocking images they claim were generated with Grok. These included a prominent American musician in a skimpy outfit, Disney characters killing people, and even a gun-toting Elon Musk standing over dead or bloodied victims at a school.
Cisco to cut workforce by 7%
Cisco Systems has announced a restructuring plan that will see it cut 7% of its global workforce.while lowering its annual revenue target. The California-based company plans to invest in key growth opportunities and increase efficiency. It estimates it will recognize pretax charges of up to $1 billion under the plan, with $700 million to $800 million recognized in the first quarter.
This is the second wave of layoffs, which is expected to affect 6,000 employees. In early February, the company announced it would cut 5% of its workforce, or more than 4,000 jobs. Cisco reported revenue of $13.64 billion for the fourth quarter ended July 27, compared with estimates of $13.54 billion. The company’s sales fell for a third straight quarter, as its core networking business, including switches and routers, trended lower as companies began migrating to the cloud.
Google’s expansion into retail
With the launch of the new Pixel 9 series, Google has finally realised that it needs to win over a loyal user base in India Google needs to have a retail presence. And to achieve this momentous feat, the American search giant has partnered with Tata’s Croma and Reliance Digital to bring the Pixel device ecosystem to a wider audience in the world’s most populous country. With the new retail expansion, Google said that Pixel products will now be available across over 150 Croma and Reliance Digital retail outlets across 15 cities in India. Prior to this retail expansion, Google was selling Pixel devices only through Flipkart in India.
Counterpoint Research points out that offline retail accounts for around 60% of sales in the non-festive quarter and around 40% in the festive quarter due to easy financing, trade-in and better bundle deals on premium devices. The Alphabet-owned company also announced the opening of three after-sales service centres in India for the first time.
