Latest news with #open-source
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
New technology set to bring your dreams to life as ‘vivid cinematic reels'
A new tech development designed to turn your dreams into 'vivid cinematic reels' using AI has left people feeling horrified. A company called Modem Works announced that it was releasing Dream Recorder, a 'magical bedside open-source device' that 'captures your subconscious'. It has claimed that after you wake up, all you have to do is describe what you dreamed aloud 'in any language' and you can then 'watch it come to life as a dreamscape in the aesthetic of your choice'. Dream Recorded uses AI to turn whatever you say into a short film, so you can relive what was in your head overnight. The description on the website reads: 'Play back your dreams and reflect on their meanings as they echo into waking life.' The device can be made using a 3D printer at home and programmed with Modem Work's downloadable open-source software. The total cost comes to just over $300. 'Nah I don't want anyone to know how weird my dreams are,' one user confessed. Another asked: 'This scary as hell. Why is this a thing?' 'I'm both terrified and intrigued,' someone else wrote. A different user added, 'We really living in a Black Mirror episode.' Others, however, praised the new technology. 'Wait this is actually really cool,' said one supporter, while another added: 'This is actually pretty sick I wonder how accurate it'll be.' 'One of the coolest things I've seen on the timeline,' said someone else. 'I can finally visualize me and my dog flying through clouds in a pink car,' joked another. Mechanism: The device uses AI to turn whatever you say into a short film, so you can relive what was in your head overnight Speaking about the innovative device, Modem Works co-founder Bas van de Poel told Newsweek: 'Dreaming is one of the rare experiences shared by all people. Everyone dreams, which makes it powerful territory to explore. The fascination has always been there. 'For the first time, we have tools capable of giving shape to the subconscious, turning the invisible into something we can see, and maybe even begin to understand.' He explained that it was designed to 'transcribe your words and pass them through a video AI model, translating your dream into ultra-low-definition, impressionistic dreamscapes'. Van de Poel concluded: 'As soon as you wake up, you simply touch the device, speak your dream aloud, and watch it take shape as a dreamscape. 'No distractions, no feeds - just a quiet moment to reflect and reconnect with your subconscious.'
TechCrunch
12 hours ago
- Business
- TechCrunch
Proton's new privacy-first AI assistant encrypts all chats, keeps no logs
Privacy-focused productivity tools maker Proton on Wednesday released its AI assistant, called Lumo, which it says prioritizes protecting user data. The company says the chatbot keeps no logs of your conversations, has end-to-end encryption for storing chats, and offers a ghost mode for conversations that disappear as soon as you close the window. Available via a web client, as well as Android and iOS apps, Lumo doesn't require you to have an account to use the chatbot and ask questions. You can upload files to have the chatbot answer questions about them, and if you have a Proton Drive account, you can connect it with Lumo to access files stored in the cloud. While the chatbot has access to the web, it might not find you the latest results if you use it to search. Image Credits: Screenshot by TechCrunch Proton seems intent on making it clear that its focus is on privacy. The company says Lumo is based on open-source models, and it will only depend on them for research and development going forward without utilizing user data to train its models. It also said Lumo relies on zero-access encryption, an encryption method that other Proton products also use, to let users store their conversation history, which can be decrypted on the device. Throughout its blog post about Lumo, Proton emphasized its European base, saying it gives the company a leg up over AI companies based in the U.S. and China when it comes to privacy. Image credits: 'Lumo is based upon open-source language models and operates from Proton's European datacenters. This gives you much greater transparency into the way Lumo works than any other major AI assistant. Unlike Apple Intelligence and others, Lumo is not a partnership with OpenAI or other American or Chinese AI companies, and your queries are never sent to any third parties,' Proton said. This is not Proton's first foray into the fast-developing AI tools space: Last year, it rolled out an AI-powered writing assistant for its Mail product that also runs on the user's device.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
People horrified at latest tech development designed to turn your dreams into 'vivid cinematic reels'
A new tech development designed to turn your dreams into 'vivid cinematic reels' using AI has left people all across the globe horrified. A company called Modem Works announced last month that it was releasing Dream Recorder, a 'magical bedside open-source device' that 'captures your subconscious.' After you wake up, all you have to do is describe what you dreamed aloud 'in any language' and you can then 'watch it come to life as a dreamscape in the aesthetic of your choice.' It uses AI to turn whatever you say into a short film, so you can relive what was in your head overnight. 'Play back your dreams and reflect on their meanings as they echo into waking life,' reads a description on its website. The device can be made using a 3D printer at home and programmed with Modem Work's downloadable open-source software, per Dexerto. The total cost comes to just over $300. Immediately, the internet seemed divided over the product. While some were 'intrigued' by the idea and thought it was cool, many were freaked out by it. A company called Modem Works announced last month that it was releasing Dream Recorder, a 'magical bedside open-source device' that 'captures your subconscious' 'Nah I don't want anyone to know how weird my dreams are,' one user confessed. 'This scary as hell. Why is this a thing?' asked another. 'I'm both terrified and intrigued,' someone else wrote. 'THIS IS THE SCARIEST THING IVE EVER HEARD,' read a fourth post on X (formerly Twitter). 'I don't know what I be dreaming and I don't want to know,' said a fifth. A different user added, 'We really living in a Black Mirror episode.' 'Oh hell nah leave me and my dreams alone,' penned someone else. 'No thanks, experiencing them once is enough torture,' replied another person. After you wake up, all you have to do is describe what you dreamed aloud 'in any language' and you can then 'watch it come to life as a dreamscape in the aesthetic of your choice' It uses AI to turn whatever you say into a short film, so you can relive what was in your head overnight Others, however, praised the new technology. 'Wait this is actually really cool,' gushed one supporter, while another agreed, 'This is actually pretty sick I wonder how accurate it'll be.' 'I've been waiting for this,' said someone else. 'This is wild wild! I would love to play back my dreams and recant them as movies,' read another post. 'One of the coolest things I've seen on the timeline,' shared a different person. 'I can finally visualize me and my dog flying through clouds in a pink car,' joked another. Modem Works co-founder Bas van de Poel told Newsweek of the device, 'Dreaming is one of the rare experiences shared by all people. 'Everyone dreams, which makes it powerful territory to explore. The fascination has always been there. 'For the first time, we have tools capable of giving shape to the subconscious, turning the invisible into something we can see, and maybe even begin to understand.' He explained that it is designed to 'transcribe your words and pass them through a video AI model, translating your dream into ultra-low-definition, impressionistic dreamscapes.' 'As soon as you wake up, you simply touch the device, speak your dream aloud, and watch it take shape as a dreamscape,' he concluded.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
DIY plastic recycling made easy: How a global community is fighting plastic pollution
It all started in 2014 when Dave Hakkens, then a student at the Eindhoven Design Academy, released his design for a plastic recycling machine to the world for free. The aim was to make plastic recycling available to local communities at scale by lowering the technological threshold for success with easily replicable and repairable machines. That year, three people independently replicated Hakkens' machine. Within a short time, the Precious Plastic project was born. 'Teach a man to fish' Everything the project makes - from machines, tutorials and tools to product designs - is shared freely online under open-source licenses, enabling anyone, anywhere, to start a plastic recycling project. Machines can also be purchased and shipped globally, or, for the DIY-savvy, replicated, repaired and improved upon with off-the-shelf materials. Four iterations of the original machines later, Precious Plastic is now a global community of more than 2000 registered plastic recycling initiatives across 56 countries. Community members not only tweak and improve upon the machines, but are also setting up business and infrastructure for plastic recycling while raising awareness locally. 'At the end of the day, what we wanted was more plastic recycling,' says Jerry de Voos, who joined Precious Plastic in 2017 while on a gap year between his Bachelor's and Master's in Industrial Design to help develop version three of the machines. 'Often, we had an idea from what others had done or what we thought the community would benefit from,' explains de Voos. 'Then we'd seek funding and when we were happy with the results, we would share them online.' Related 'We don't want to be a niche brand': Seaweed is taking plastic out of stadiums and sandwich boxes Plastic waste remains an intractable problem By 2050, 99 per cent of all birds will have eaten plastic. Plastic waste remains one of the biggest environmental issues facing the planet. It's estimated that less than 9 per cent of all plastic is recycled, with the rest ending up in landfills, nature or the ocean. The consequences are particularly felt by wildlife and vulnerable ecosystems, with the actual impact of issues like microplastics only recently becoming evident. For the first time in 2025, an Italian study found microplastics in several women's ovaries, raising concerns over their impact on fertility rates. Though the technology for plastic recycling is out there, the expansion of the recycling industry remains stagnant. More often than not, recycled plastics rely on infrastructure that remains immature or non-existent in many countries. Virgin plastics manufacturing also remains significantly cheaper than high-quality recycling. Add to this an increase in energy and labour costs, and what you're left with is a recycling sector under pressure, with investors unwilling to bet on the growth of the sector as it is. But rather than wait for the established market players to turn plastic recycling into a viable business proposition, Precious Plastic decided to lower the threshold for new players to enter the game. 'Precious Plastic was one of the first projects where you could have small, personal solutions to bigger challenges and thereby make people feel like they could contribute to solving the issue,' explains de Voos. It has also shared best-practice business tools for those wanting to make a living out of plastic recycling. As a result, several startups and businesses around the world are scaling plastic recycling at the local level. In Singapore, Plastify has kickstarted a PET-bottle collection scheme and collaborates with hospitals to turn medical packaging waste into products, including official merchandise for the F1 Grand Prix. In Turin, Italy, Plastiz turns everything from old traffic lights to coffee pods into sheets for architecture and interior design projects. And amidst war, No Waste Ukraine is 'trying to make waste sorting a cultural norm and to replace the old Soviet-era shame, when recycling was seen as a sign of poverty, with a new sense of pride and identity,' says project lead, Khrystyna Baranovska. Since opening a Precious Plastic workshop, No Waste Ukraine has been able to manifest café furniture, notebook covers and branded gifts made from recycled plastic. Related Nappies, smartphone glass, and cigarette butts are piling up in Europe. How can we recycle them? Plastic recycling requires long-term, multi-stakeholder commitment While donations and occasional funding have supplied materials, workspace and sustenance for the community, Precious Plastic owes much of its success to volunteer work. The reliance on altruism is both the key to its success and the fragile pillar of its foundation. When de Voos was active, 'we were 12 people volunteering almost daily for free,' he says. 'But at some point, people have to pay the rent.' When a new version has been released, the project dies down, with version five currently on hold due to financial trouble. De Voos is not worried, though. 'The machines are out there and they are as relevant now as back then,' he says. Anyone can pick up where Precious Plastic left off. Though Precious Plastic's global community has moved plastic recycling significantly closer to the finish line, 'it would be great if there was greater appreciation for people working in the recycling industry, and if the government would share the responsibility and back local initiatives,' he adds. . Related People are paid to return coffee cups in this Danish city - does it work? 'I love the idea of it': Locals fix their broken items for free at this repair cafe Recycling is only as good as the plastic produced Circularity in plastic requires change from start to finish. Even with hyperlocal efforts and open-source technologies, at current production rates, recycling efforts simply can't catch up with virgin plastics. Around 460 million metric tonnes of plastic are produced every year, according to the United Nations Environment Programme, of which most of it is designed in a way that makes 1:1 recycling difficult, if not impossible Alternatives are on the rise, however, from Notpla's edible packaging in the UK to a Japanese alternative that dissolves safely in sea water. There are numerous examples challenging the notion that virgin plastics everywhere are a must. What's left to be seen is whether global leaders can get behind a plastic treaty this August that will finally see the plastic industry shift towards more circular designs and production. If so, plastic recycling at scale could become a thing. If not via big industry players, then evidently via grassroots initiatives like Precious Plastic.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
How China's open-source AI is helping DeepSeek, Alibaba take on Silicon Valley
July 9, 2024, may be remembered as a day of humiliation for China's artificial intelligence community. On that day, US start-up OpenAI, the global leader in AI model development, blocked developers in China – including Hong Kong and Macau – from using its GPT models. Advertisement In contrast, developers from countries ranging from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe were given access, reflecting OpenAI's unspoken belief that its valuable models must be safeguarded against misuse by China, along with Iran, Russia and North Korea. Now the tide has turned. With the December 2024 launch of DeepSeek's free-for-all V3 large language model (LLM) and the January release of DeepSeek's R1, an AI reasoning model that rivals the capabilities of OpenAI's o1, the open-source movement started by Chinese firms has sent shock waves through Silicon Valley and Wall Street. The trend has not only unleashed a wave of AI applications in China, but also redefined the global AI landscape, winning the support of developers worldwide. Chinese open-source models present a viable alternative to the closed-off systems championed by US tech giants like OpenAI and Google. Open-source AI models – whose source code and model weights are available for anyone to use, modify, and distribute – encourage a collaborative approach to AI development. Advertisement While in the past, open-source computer systems like Linux failed to replace proprietary competitors like Microsoft's Windows, analysts said that this time around, China's free-to-use AI models posed a serious challenge to US counterparts.
