Silicon UK Pulse: Your Tech News Update: Episode 16

Welcome to Silicon UK Pulse

This is your weekly round-up of the top tech news stories.

Every Friday, Silicon UK surveys the week’s tech news.

Stay up-to-date with what’s happening in your industry or sector.

I’m James Marriott with all the big technology news from the last week.

Welcome to Silicon UK Pulse

I’m James Marriott with all the big technology news from the last week.

The UK government’s upcoming AI Safety Summit is to be held at one of the birthplaces of computer science.

It’s been revealed the iconic and world-famous Bletchley Park will host the “major global event” on 1 and 2 November 2023.

The AI Safety Summit is the first major international summit of its kind on the safe use of artificial intelligence.

It will host talks “to explore and build consensus on rapid, international action to advance safety at the frontier of AI technology.”

Two UK teenagers have been found to be part of an international cyber-crime gang that hacked multiple big name tech firms.

A jury at Southwark Crown Court in London found the 17 and 18-year-olds male were part of Lapsus$, which was responsible for a hacking spree over recent years.

Both await sentencing after a seven-week trial in London.

Lapsus$ is known for stealing data from companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Samsung and Vodafone with the aim of extorting payments from them.

The Met police are on high alert after a data breach.

Some of its information has apparently been compromised after the IT systems of a contractor were hacked.

The breach could expose the names, ranks, photos, vetting levels and pay numbers for 47,000 Met police officers and staff.

Major new rules governing tech firms in the EU have come into force.

The Digital Services Act introduced a raft of new European laws which big name companies must follow – or they could face hefty fines.

Many including Apple had campaigned against the move.

The act targets tech platforms that are used “as a vehicle for disseminating illegal content or selling illegal goods or services online.”

The rules cover everything from social media moderation to targeted advertising and counterfeit goods in e-commerce.

The countdown is officially on to the new range of iPhones.

Invites have been sent out to the press for the so-called Wonderlist event on Tuesday 12 September at 10am Pacific time – that’s 6pm for us in the UK.

The iPhone 15 will be unveiled – we’re expecting four models again this year including the two Pro handsets.

This year should see USB-C ports on the phone for the first time.

A new Apple Watch model will also be revealed.

Meanwhile, Apple is reported to be planning a major iPad Pro upgrade next year.

Google’s testing a new system of digital watermarks so it can spot images which have been made by AI.

It embeds changes to individual pixels in images creating a watermark which can’t be seen but can be read by software.

It’s called SynthID and has been developed by Google’s AI arm known as DeepMind.

It comes amid growing concern about disinformation caused by fake images and photographs.

Another blow for the crypto company Binance.

Mastercard is no longer offering Binance branded cards in parts of Latin America and the Middle East.

They allow customers to use their crypto to purchase goods.

Visa made a similar move in Europe back in July.

The GPU powerhouse company Nvidia is celebrating this week after a huge jump in profits.

Its Q2 results show year on year quarterly profits have risen a staggering 843%, while quarterly revenue has also risen by 101%.

It’s reaping the reward as demand surges for AI chips.

The firm is now believed to be valued at $1.19 trillion.

A man’s been fined for flying a drone near an airport as he was trying to film a nearby rock festival.

Daniel Cesare was capturing footage of Download at Donington Park which is next to East Midlands Airport.

Now that’s a ‘flight restriction zone’.

He admitted a total of seven offences and was ordered to pay a total of almost £1500.

Donald Trump made an unexpected return to X or Twitter this week.

It’s his first post on the platform since January 2021 – of course he did get banned, but then Elon Musk took over and restored his account.

And what was his long-awaited comeback tweet…?

Well, it was actually his mugshot taken at the Fulton County jail after his most recent arrest – if you’re keeping count, that’s his fourth arrest of the year.

And it’s long been a mainstay of Microsoft computers and this week it was revealed that MS Paint is getting a makeover.

Apparently, that could include AI capabilities.

It’s reported that the software giant is looking at ways to bring artificial intelligence features to Windows 11.

That’s the latest from Silicon UK Pulse. For more tech news and features, head to silicon.co.uk