Week in tech: Pixel Fold, Nothing Phone 2 and more on AI

It’s been a big week for announcements on two upcoming Android smartphones and an even bigger week in the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Let's recap.

Google teased its foldable Pixel smartphone – the Pixel Fold – earlier this week as the anticipation around the device continued to build. The tech giant posted a video and photos of the device showing a phone with a large external display and an even bigger internal screen that can close up like a clamshell, a Bloomberg report said. The company has said on its website that it would provide more information on the device at its annual I/O conference on 10 May, where further details on a cheaper version of the Pixel 7 phone and a tablet that Google originally previewed last year are also expected to be revealed, the report added.

Nothing Phone 2 to launch this summer

Nothing, the consumer technology company founded by Carl Pei, has revealed a tentative launch date for its next big offering: the Nothing Phone (2). This comes a year after the company launched its first phone, the Nothing Phone (1). On 3 May, Nothing posted a tweet which read: “Premium. Phone (2) is coming summer 2023.” While the teaser doesn’t reveal much about the upcoming phone, many users still expect the device to have a transparent back design like its predecessor. The one standout feature, which was visible in a short 3-second teaser video, is a bright red LED. Apart from its phones, Nothing has attracted much acclaim for its audio products Nothing Ear (stick) and the Nothing Ear (2).

Meta has warned that hackers were using growing public interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool ChatGPT to trick people into installing malicious apps. (AFP/File)

ChatGPT-related malware on the rise: Meta

On 3 May, Facebook owner Meta warned that hackers were using growing public interest in generative artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT to trick people into installing malicious apps, codes and browser extensions. According to Reuters, the social media giant said in a report that since March, the company had found around 10 malware families and more than 1,000 malicious links that were promoted as tools featuring the popular AI-powered chatbot. In some instances, the malware delivered working ChatGPT functionality alongside abusive files, Meta added. Speaking at a press briefing on the report, Meta chief information security officer Guy Rosen said that for “bad actors ChatGPT is the new crypto."

FILE: Computer scientist Geoffrey Hinton, known as the 'godfather of artificial intelligence,' resigned from his high-profile job at Google specifically to share his concerns that unchecked AI development could threaten humanity. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

More AI warnings

It’s been a week where two prominent names warned against the dangers of artificial intelligence, especially if it were to fall into the hands of the wrong people. Humanity's survival is threatened when "smart things can outsmart us,” the Godfather of AI Geoffrey Hinton said at a conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on 3 May. “It may keep us around for a while to keep the power stations running,” Hinton said. “But after that, maybe not,” a report in the Associated Press quoted him as saying. On the other hand, Microsoft’s chief economist Michael Schwarz warned that AI will be dangerous in the hands of unscrupulous people, a Bloomberg report said. Speaking during a World Economic Forum panel in Geneva on 3 May, Schwarz said AI “clearly” must be regulated, but lawmakers should be cautious and wait until the technology causes “real harm.”

(With inputs from agencies)