May Tech News Overview

Jeff Bezos will step down as Amazon CEO, the Internet via air balloons, the next-gen Bird Three scooter release, Lucid Motors all-electric Air sedan secrets, Virgin Galactic spaceplane launch, chips designed by AI, new Google MUM algorithm – all the most breakthrough and heartwarming news for May read in this article.

Jeff Bezos announced his resignation from the post

It’d seem that there is nothing special – a change of leadership. On July 5, when Amazon was registered, the leading creator will leave his brainchild. Actually, not at all: according to Bezos, he’ll move to the [executive] chair role to focus on new products. The assumptions of leadership change were first announced in the February earnings report, followed by a statement that Andy Jassy would take over during the fiscal third quarter.

We recall, Jeff Bezos owns several other enterprises such as Bezos Earth Fund and Blue Origin. In February 2021, he noted that he hopes to pay special attention to these projects.

So far, the company’s head will appoint Andy Jassy, who has devoted 24 years to the Internet giant, as executive director. A person of “the highest of high standards” won’t allow the AMZN to become typical – he is endowed with the energy to support what made it special. Tableau CEO Adam Selipsky will replace Jassy’s seat.

So, Jassy will take on robust business replenished with the recent purchase of MGM for $ 8.45 billion. Jassy will also manage telehealth offering, Amazon Care, and its Project Kuiper. But the company scale is causing resentment, especially in light of recent events when an antitrust lawsuit was filed for abuse of dominance in the e-commerce market. In addition, the scandal associated with a trade union action in one of its warehouses is still ongoing. In contrast, Bezos said about constant intense competition from well-established brands. Nevertheless, the company’s entire history is a continuous risk – something failed, and something gained popularity.

If Amazon is drowning in disputes with warehouse workers, a change of power, and the division of shares of the company between ex-spouses, then Virgin Galactic is doing more than well.

Virgin Galactic and the new spaceplane launch

Virgin Galactic rocket-powered plane soared into the upper atmosphere in the last days of May. As part of its third mission to reach space, the company has already begun to attract paying customers for short but scenic flights into suborbital space. The flight news inspired investors, and just a couple of days later, share prices raised by more than 14%. The company has already sold tickets worth up to $ 250,000 to more than 600 admiring fans. Ticket prices are expected to increase.

Recall that earlier, the spaceplane called VSS Unity reached an altitude of 55.45 miles, which according to the space boundary mark of 50 miles, is a reasonably successful result. In-flight technological experiments were conducted on flight capabilities for the NASA program. The attempt ended when the VSS Unity plane’s rocket engine failed.

Chips created by AI

According to the Gordon Moore law, the number of transistors in the integrated circuit doubles every two years. There is also the problem of transistors that need to be squeezed into the chip and system complexity development. At the moment, many scientific publications predict the death of the law, but the truth is that many manufacturers are striving to improve the technological components. So now the era of “SysMoore” has arrived, as Synopsys CEO Aart de Geus said.

It’s assumed that AI tools will make it possible to create perfect chips and achieve 1000X AI compute from the cloud to the edge in the next decade with minimal cost.

Internet via balloons

Alphabet closes the Internet delivery project via Loon’s balloons due to unprofitability. More and more people living in regions with no Internet couldn’t afford a phone that supports 4G, which is necessary for the Loon’s operation.

Internet balloons have the size of a tennis court. They’re autonomous and mobile, capable of traveling thousands of square miles. The project also has an existing project, such as introducing 4G LTE in remote areas of Kenya.

Release of new Bird scooters

This summer, Bird will introduce new models of long-range scooters with a reliable battery equipped with a diagnostic monitoring system. At the moment, Bird Three is already presented in Tel Aviv.

The startup is building its own Bird OS and IoT engine controller system, according to Scott Rushforth. Self-diagnosis allows the battery to communicate with the server and within the connected car network. If the scooter overheats, the server will receive a warning that will start an automatic cooling program. The battery will be enclosed in an IP68 case, which provides protection from dust, water, and … THEFT! It’s said to be the best in its industry.

Lucid Motors revealed the secrets!

The company finally announced the inside of its technological miracle – all-electric Air sedan equipped with a curved 34-inch 5K display, an extra touch screen, and an integrated Amazon Alexa.

Lucid User Experience aims to include all the technologies that clients may need in a premium car.

So, the display is three separate units placed under a glass plate. There is a touch screen with essential control functions (window defrosters, lighting, and wiper). On the middle screen are the speed and battery charge. The right part is equipped with a widget with navigation, music, and the driver assistance system. A car has a home screen with access to media.

There is a touch panel and two toggle switches on the steering wheel to start the Alexa, driver assistance functionality, cruise control, and volume.

Google MUM

This revolutionary algorithm designed to solve complex queries just blew up the circles of IT. And if today we use BERT, which can adequately work with SEO, then, in this case, no optimization is required. The algorithm is based on the Transformer architecture, which is 1000 times more potent than BERT. For example, if a user enters a search query that requires a detailed answer, the search engine finds information in Japanese; thus, the page will be translated. The system eliminates language barriers, simultaneously understands several tasks, information from videos, images, and audio.

When Google MUM will be implemented is still unknown-perhaps in the coming months, years.

Conclusions

Technology doesn’t stand still, and changes drive progress. So, if Jeff Bezos’ decision to pass the reins off to Andy Jassy may seem risky, then the prospects for Virgin Galactic investors are breathtaking. Don’t underestimate AI – now, it’ll make it easier for researchers to build powerful compact chips. As for Lucid Motors, it finally became known that the car has a curved glass multi-display; Bird is also not far behind in the desire to increase margins – the startup has released a new unique line of scooters. Google MUM is designed to revolutionize soon the Internet, which, unfortunately, due to Loon’s Balloons of unprofitability, will be unavailable in difficult-to-reach regions.

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