Amazon to invest $13 billion in Australia's data center infrastructure
June 14 (Reuters) - Amazon will invest 20 billion Australian dollars ($12.97 billion) from 2025 to 2029 to expand, operate and maintain its data center infrastructure in Australia, aiming to bolster the nation's artificial intelligence capabilities, the company said in a blog post on Saturday.
($1 = 1.5418 Australian dollars)
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Egypt signs financial closure deal with Norway's Scatec for 1 GW solar plant
CAIRO, June 15 (Reuters) - Egypt signed a financial closure deal on Sunday with Norwegian renewable energy developer Scatec ( opens new tab for a 1 gigawatt solar plant, which will allow the project to move into its construction phase, the Egyptian cabinet said. The project will involve a $600 million investment, a cabinet statement said. The government also signed a power purchase agreement for a 900 megawatt wind project that is being developed in the Gulf of Suez with Scatec. Investment in the project is estimated at $1 billion. Egypt is aiming for renewable energy to provide 42% of its electricity generation mix by 2030. However, the country has in recent years relied heavily on natural gas, with solar, wind, and hydropower making up only 11.5% of its electricity generation.
Geeky Gadgets
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iPadOS 26 introduces a comprehensive suite of updates designed to enhance productivity, usability, and performance. Whether you are a professional managing intricate workflows or a casual user seeking a smoother experience, this update offers tools and features tailored to meet diverse needs. Below is an in-depth look at the most impactful changes and how they can elevate your iPad experience in a new video from Brandon Butch. Watch this video on YouTube. Enhanced User Interface The user interface in iPadOS 26 has been thoughtfully redesigned to improve navigation and usability. These updates aim to make your interactions with the device more seamless and efficient: Redesigned menus: Streamlined for quicker access to essential features, reducing the time spent navigating. Streamlined for quicker access to essential features, reducing the time spent navigating. Optimized home screen layout: Offers better organization, allowing you to prioritize important apps and widgets. 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Personalization and Customization iPadOS 26 emphasizes personalization, offering new ways to tailor your device to your preferences: Customizable lock screens: Add widgets, dynamic wallpapers, and focus modes to create a personalized interface. Add widgets, dynamic wallpapers, and focus modes to create a personalized interface. Redesigned Control Center: Provides quicker access to frequently used settings, improving convenience. Provides quicker access to frequently used settings, improving convenience. New app icon themes: Choose from a variety of color schemes to match your style and workflow. These options allow you to create a setup that not only reflects your personality but also enhances your productivity. Performance and Efficiency Under-the-hood improvements in iPadOS 26 ensure a faster and smoother user experience: Reduced app launch times: Apps now open more quickly, minimizing delays and improving responsiveness. 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Seamless Integration Across Devices iPadOS 26 strengthens its integration within the Apple ecosystem, making it easier to work across multiple devices: Universal Control: Use a single keyboard and mouse to control your iPad and Mac, streamlining multitasking. Use a single keyboard and mouse to control your iPad and Mac, streamlining multitasking. Handoff: Seamlessly switch between devices while working on the same task, maintaining continuity. Seamlessly switch between devices while working on the same task, maintaining continuity. Improved AirDrop: Enables faster file sharing and introduces collaborative iCloud Drive folders for teamwork. These features enhance connectivity, making sure that your Apple devices work together harmoniously to support your productivity. Final Thoughts iPadOS 26 represents a well-rounded update that balances functionality, performance, and personalization. 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The Independent
2 hours ago
- The Independent
‘It is a better programmer than me': The harsh reality of being laid off because of AI
The often-talked threat of artificial intelligence on jobs suddenly became very real and shocking to Jane, who asked to use a pseudonym for privacy reasons, when her human resources role became automated and she was laid off in January. She'd spent two years at her company managing benefits and was on track for a promotion. She'd noticed her boss building out AI infrastructure, but didn't think her position, which paid roughly $70,000 a year, would be affected. 'I thought that because I had put in so much time and been so good on the higher-level stuff, he would invest in me,' the 45-year-old Bay Area resident told The Independent about her former employer. 'Then, as soon as he had a way to automate it away, he did that. He just let go of me.' Making matters worse, current economic conditions made job hunting hard. In February, an AI system conducted one of her phone interviews. 'It was kind of like having an interview with an automated voicemail,' she said, adding that the 'robot' asked her questions about herself and responded with generic answers, leaving her unhopeful the technology would help her get to the next round. After several months unemployed, Jane obtained a government position in April, before starting a new gig in sales just a few weeks ago. 'What's happening is there's a huge white collar slowdown,' said Jane. 'I think jobs are going away.' Workers across the country are grappling with the same issue, as tech CEOs sound the alarm on a potential job market bloodbath in the coming years. In an Axios interview last month, Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, a leading artificial intelligence company, predicted AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and increase unemployment to 10 to 20 percent within the next five years. The general public is 'unaware that this is about to happen,' he told the outlet. 'It sounds crazy, and people just don't believe it.' Perhaps no other sector has been hit harder than tech. Internet forums are flooded with workers relaying they've either been laid off or wondering when they might be. Software engineer Shawn K (his full last name is K) shared his experience on Substack of getting laid off as AI took over the company, in a now-viral post titled: The Great Displacement Is Already Well Underway. In March 2024, K, 42, was a full-stack engineer at His superiors encouraged employees to use ChatGPT and team productivity skyrocketed. A month later, he was laid off. He'd been in the industry for 21 years and was making $150,000. 'We had been reorienting the company towards AI, adding on AI features all throughout the software and trying to capitalize on AI to our customers, and then shortly after that kind of restructuring and strategizing...I got laid off,' he told The Independent. With two mortgages to cover, he started using Door Dash to do deliveries around his home in Central New York, just to make ends meet. After more than a year and nearly 800 applications, he finally landed a contract position earlier this month. 'I've tried a lot of stuff, like everything I can think of, I've lowered my standards over this past year of all the things I'm applying for and all the things I'm willing to consider,' he said. 'At some point, it gets to a situation where you need cash immediately to literally eat and pay your bills.' K believes AI will make some tech jobs obsolete — but the worker still has a place. 'AI is a better programmer than me, and that doesn't mean that I think that I have no value to offer anymore,' he said. 'I just think that means I can now do 100 times as much as what I was doing before, and solve harder problems that I wouldn't have even attempted before.' Now that his article has received so much attention, he wants people to take notice of the changes coming to the industry. 'I'm really convinced that anybody whose job is done on a computer all day is over. It's just a matter of time,' said K. Brian Ream, a 46-year-old high school and university tutor in Michigan, ran a medical transition business until AI caused demand to dry up. The business, which only generated a few thousand dollars a year, provided English translations for Portuguese medical journals. He started the business in 2014 after spending time in Brazil and learning the language but hasn't had an order in over a year. He knows most of his prior customers are now using Chat GPT and worries about the implications. 'When you're translating medical journal articles, this could have effects that are unintended,' said Ream, noting that some of his former clients could be translating articles with false medical information. Still, he acknowledges the technology could be useful and wants other educators to incorporate it into lessons. 'I wish that teachers were more connected to the tool and were able to teach students what it's capable of and what it's not capable of, so they don't try to use it for things that it can't do,' Ream said. 'The reality is, students are using this to write whole essays, and they're not learning how to do it themselves, so they don't know that the tool isn't capable of it.' As more employers require workers to use AI, he wants the next generation to be prepared — even if it destroyed his own business. 'You cannot stop this from happening,' Ream said.
