IN 'DUNE: PART TWO,' FILMMAKER DENIS VILLENEUVE REALIZES A LIFETIME DREAM

Denis Villeneuve doesn’t feel like he came back to Arrakis for “Dune: Part Two.” In his mind, he never left.

BIDEN'S CAMPAIGN JOINS TIKTOK, EVEN AS ADMINISTRATION WARNS OF NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS WITH APP

President Joe Biden’s 2024 campaign is now on TikTok, even though he has expressed national security concerns over the platform and banned it on federal devices.

Robot War

NEXT-GEN HUMANOID: OPTIMUS TESLA BOT VS ATLAS BOSTON DYNAMICS

SECOND NEW GEORGIA REACTOR BEGINS SPLITTING ATOMS IN KEY STEP TO MAKING ELECTRICITY

A nuclear power plant in Georgia has begun splitting atoms in the second of its two new reactors, Georgia Power said Wednesday, a key step toward providing carbon-free electricity.

AI-GENERATED VOICES IN ROBOCALLS CAN DECEIVE VOTERS. THE FCC JUST MADE THEM ILLEGAL

The Federal Communications Commission outlawed robocalls that contain voices generated by artificial intelligence, a decision that sends a clear message that exploiting the technology to scam people and mislead voters won’t be tolerated.

MULTIPLE THREATS TO ELECTION SYSTEMS PROMPT US CYBERSECURITY AGENCY TO BOOST COOPERATION WITH STATES

The nation’s cybersecurity agency launched a program aimed at boosting election security in the states, shoring up support for local offices and hoping to provide reassurance to voters that this year’s presidential elections will be safe and accurate.

AMID ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE BOOM, AI GIRLFRIENDS, AND BOYFRIENDS, ARE MAKING THEIR MARK

A few months ago, Derek Carrier started seeing someone and became infatuated.

JAPAN GAME MAKER NINTENDO REPORTS SOLID PROFIT ON A JUMP IN SUPER MARIO SALES

Nintendo reported healthy sales and profits on the back of the hit “Super Mario Bros. Wonder” game, prompting the Japanese video game maker to raise its full fiscal year forecasts.

THE OWNERS OF RUSSIA'S TECH PIONEER YANDEX ARE SELLING - AT A BIG, KREMLIN-REQUIRED DISCOUNT

The Dutch parent of pioneering Russian tech company Yandex is selling its operations in the country at a steeply discounted price of just over $5 billion to its Russia-based managers and oil company Lukoil, one of the biggest deals for Western-held companies to exit Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.

'ARGYLLE' WON'T BLOW YOUR SOCKS OFF

A checkered mesh of mysteries have accompanied the release of Matthew Vaughn’s “Argylle.”

THE SUPER BOWL IS EXPECTED TO SMASH BETTING RECORDS. NEARLY 68M US ADULTS PLAN TO WAGER

Nearly 68 million American adults — about 1 in 4 — plan to bet on this year’s Super Bowl, setting a record by a wide margin, according to the gambling industry’s national trade association.

NBA SET TO PLAY ON AN LED GLASS COURT FOR SOME ALL-STAR WEEKEND EVENTS

For the first time, the NBA will play on glass.

ESPN, FOX, WARNER BROS. DISCOVERY ARE PLANNING A SPORTS STREAMING PLATFORM IN THE FALL

ESPN, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans this week to launch a sports streaming platform in the fall that will include offerings from at least 15 networks and all four major professional sports leagues.

META SAYS IT WILL LABEL AI-GENERATED IMAGES ON FACEBOOK & INSTAGRAM

Facebook and Instagram users will start seeing labels on AI-generated images that appear on their social media feeds, part of a broader tech industry initiative to sort between what’s real and not.

GM'S TROUBLED ROBOTAXI SERVICE FACES ANOTHER ROUND OF PUBLIC RIDICULE IN REGULATORYHEARING

General Motors’ troubled robotaxi service Cruise this week endured a public lashing from a California judge who compared the company to the devious TV character Eddie Haskell for its behavior following a ghastly collision that wrecked its ambitious expansion plans.

APPLE ENDS YEARLONG SALES SLUMP WITH SLIGHT REVENUE RISE IN HOLIDAY-SEASON PERIOD BUT STOCK SLIPS

Apple snapped out of a yearlong sales funk during its holiday-season quarter, propelled by solid demand for the latest model of its iPhone and still-robust growth in a services division facing legal threats that could undermine its prospects.

OVERSIGHT BOARD URGES META TO RETHINK ITS POLICY ON MANIPULATED MEDIA IN HIGH-STAKES ELECTION YEAR

An oversight board is criticizing Facebook owner Meta’s policies regarding manipulated media as “incoherent” and insufficient to address the flood of online disinformation that already has begun to target elections across the globe this year.

WHY APPLE IS PUSHING THE TERM 'SPATIAL COMPUTING' ALONG WITH ITS NEW VISION PRO HEADSET

With Apple's hotly anticipated Vision Pro headset hitting store shelves, you're probably going to start to see more people wearing the futuristic googles that are supposed to usher in the age of \"spatial computing.\"

WHY NOW IS A CRUCIAL TIME TO PAY OFF CREDIT CARD DEBT

For Americans who lacked savings prior to the pandemic, financial stress is rising. A combination of inflation, increased interest rates, and the end of pandemic-tied relief, such as the moratorium on student loan payments, has led to record credit card debt, experts say.

Game Boost

EXPANDING APPLE'S GAMING ECOSYSTEM WITH NEW RULES

THE JOB MARKET IS HUMMING, BUT LAYOFFS ARE STILL HAPPENING IN A SHIFTING ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

The U.S. economy is humming and there are hundreds of thousands of jobs being added every month. In a stunning burst of hiring to start the year, the nation added 353,000 jobs in January, shrugging off the highest interest rates in two decades that have been put in place by the U.S. Federal Reserve in part to cool off hiring and spending.

MICROSOFT CEO SATYA NADELLA CAPS A DECADE OF CHANGE AND TREMENDOUS GROWTH

Satya Nadella marks his tenth year as Microsoft CEO, capping a decade of stunning growth as he pivoted the slow-moving software giant into a laser focus on cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

IN A FIRST FOR UBER SINCE BECOMING A PUBLIC COMPANY, AN ANNUAL PROFIT

Uber posted its first full-year profit since going public in 2019 and its stock hit an all-time high Wednesday as strong bookings in the final quarter of the year pushed profit and revenue beyond Wall Street expectations.

ALIBABA APPROVES AN ADDITIONAL $25 BILLION SHARE BUYBACK AS ITS REVENUE DISAPPOINTS

Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding on Wednesday approved an additional $25 billion authorization to its share buyback program, after reporting lower-than-expected sales revenue for the last quarter of 2023.

GOOGLE'S GEMINI AI APP TO LAND ON PHONES, MAKING IT EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO CONNECT TO A DIGITAL BRAIN

Google on Thursday introduced a free artificial intelligence app that will implant the technology on smartphones, enabling people to quickly connect to a digital brain that can write for them, interpret what they’re reading and seeing, in addition to helping manage their lives.

NEW INDOOR EV CHARGING STATION IN SAN FRANCISCO OFFERS A GLIMPSE INTO THE FUTURE

A couple of blocks from the San FranciscoOakland Bay Bridge, Electrify America is about to open an indoor charging station that lets drivers relax in a lounge while their electric vehicle batteries are being filled up.

Chatgpt Violated European Privacy Laws, Italy Tells Chatbot Maker OpenAI

Italian regulators said they told OpenAI that its ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot has violated European Union’s stringent data privacy rules.

U.S. SETS PLANS TO PROTECT ENDANGERED WHALES NEAR OFFSHORE WIND FARMS; FIRMS SWAP WIND LEASES

Two federal environmental agencies issued plans to better protect endangered whales amid offshore wind farm development.

AMAZON CALLS OFF BID TO BUY VACUUM MAKER IROBOT AMID SCRUTINY IN EUROPE AND THE US

Amazon called off its proposed acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot this week as the deal faced antitrust scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic, with the ecommerce giant blaming “undue and disproportionate regulatory hurdles.”

TAYLOR SWIFT, BAD BUNNY AND OTHERS MAY VANISH FROM TIKTOK AS LICENSING DISPUTE BOILS OVER

Universal Music Group, which represents artists including Taylor Swift, Drake, Adele, Bad Bunny and Billie Eilish, says that it will no longer allow its music on TikTok now that a licensing deal between the two parties has expired.