OpenAI believes artificial intelligence exceeding human intelligence “could arrive this decade.” Calling the massive compute power “superintelligence rather than AGI to stress a much higher capability level,” the company warns that even though this new cognition holds great promise it will not necessarily be benevolent. Preparing for the worst, OpenAI has formed an internal unit charged with developing ways to keep superintelligent AI in check. Led by OpenAI’s Ilya Sutskever and Jan Leike, the Superalignment Team will work toward “steering or controlling a potentially superintelligent AI and preventing it from going rogue.” Read more

China’s ByteDance is testing an AI tool called Ripple. The free app for creating music and editing audio is being made available in closed beta in the U.S. with a small group of invited testers. Aimed at creators who want to up their sound game, Ripple is designed in the manner of a portable smart digital audio workstation (DAW). Ripple incorporates what TikTok’s parent company ByteDance calls a “virtual recording studio” that allows users to record and edit audio files on a mobile device, and the company plans to release additional mobile-friendly audio tools. Read more

Sony Electronics is launching its Mocopi mobile motion capture system in the United States. Using a dedicated smartphone app for iOS and Android, the wireless system enables full-body motion tracking, captured by six small, lightweight sensors. Sony has been marketing Mocopi in Japan where virtual streamers (also called “VTubers”) have been using the system to drive avatars and fictional animated characters. Mocopi allows users to go mobile with virtual reality, loosening time and location constraints. Sony is now taking preorders for the $499 Mocopi system, which ships July 14. Read more

LG Electronics is introducing the LG Smart Cam, a Full HD video camera with built-in dual microphones and multi-view function. The LG Smart Cam is a 1080p camera system designed to seamlessly operate with any LG smart TV running webOS 22 or webOS 23, the company’s proprietary platform. Among the features of the model VC23GA Smart Cam are webOS’s multi-view, which displays two apps in a split-screen, and videoconferencing using LG’s web-based RemoteMeeting app. LG is also touting Smart Cam as a next-generation home fitness experience. Read more

This week, Twitter released TweetDeck 2.0 and announced that as of August it will be available only to those who pay for a Twitter Blue subscription. Since competing products like Hootsuite and Buffer also charge for use, TweetDeck may entice those customers who find it a valuable tool to Twitter’s premium tier. Twitter owner Elon Musk has been paywalling various functions as he seeks to generate revenue to help meet hefty interest payments, estimated at $300 million every three months, from his highly publicized October 2022 acquisition. The third payment is due late this month. Read more