Thursday☕️

28 Sep 2023 — 5 min read

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U.S. Government Shutdown:

Congress is close to a government shutdown due to differences between House and Senate spending proposals. If Congress doesn't approve funding by September 30, federal agencies could partially close, affecting federal workers and military personnel's pay.
Both chambers have their own temporary funding proposals, but they face opposition in the other chamber because of disagreements on spending, Ukraine, and border security. McCarthy is pushing for a bill with strict border security and reduced spending and excludes funds for Ukraine and disaster relief.
The Senate's version continues higher spending and allocates funds for Ukraine and disaster relief but doesn't include border measures. McCarthy is against putting the Senate's bill for a vote. President Biden emphasizes sticking to an earlier debt-ceiling agreement and warns of the negative impacts of a shutdown.
U.S. Border security remains a significant and contentious issue, with the House GOP pushing for stricter measures. On Ukraine, the House GOP is hesitant about sending more funds, whereas the Senate's proposal includes substantial support.

Meta Announcements:

Yesterday Meta announced its inaugural generative AI products intended for the general public. Among these products is a sophisticated chatbot that has the ability to generate both text-based responses and hyper-realistic images. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, while addressing the attendees at the event, also revealed the upcoming release date for their new Quest mixed-reality headset, set for Oct. 10.
Meta showcased the versatility of the chatbot, emphasizing its applications beyond just answering questions. It's been designed for entertainment purposes and to enhance user interactions. To demonstrate its capabilities, the AI generated creative images, such as visualizing a dinosaur as a domestic pet and altering the fur style of Zuckerberg's own dog.
Zuckerberg reiterated the company's commitment to democratizing technology, stating the importance of making cutting-edge tech both accessible to a broad audience and reasonably priced. The newly introduced chatbot, named Meta AI, leverages the capabilities of Meta's open-sourced Llama 2 language model. Furthermore, in a collaboration aimed at enhancing its utility, the chatbot will incorporate real-time data from Microsoft's Bing search engine.

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