A March research paper by Microsoft has reopened discussion as to whether artificial intelligence is inching toward human reasoning, as the industry grapples with how an AI system can assimilate training data in a way that allows it to generate answers and promulgate ideas that weren’t programmed into it. Asked for a stable way to stack a book, nine eggs, a laptop, a bottle and a nail, the Microsoft AI generated a response researchers say hinted at artificial general intelligence, or AGI, a term used to connote an as yet theoretical type of machine learning that can duplicate human reasoning. Read more

While the tech conversation has most recently pivoted to artificial intelligence, Meta Platforms isn’t giving up on the metaverse, though it shifted the focus from fun and games to job training and education at the company’s Future of Work Summit. “When it comes to AR and VR, it’s very obvious to me that one of the most powerful applications is the ability to dramatically improve re-skilling,” Meta’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg said, citing opportunities in skilled trades, teaching and elder care, speaking Tuesday in Washington. Read more

Telly, the TV hardware startup led by Pluto TV co-founder Ilya Pozin, is shaking up industry business models by offering 500,000 smart TVs free to consumers willing to watch 24/7 ads on a split screen with streaming TV shows and movies. The ad-subsidized sets feature a dual-screen that includes a 55-inch 4K HDR display with a nine-inch “smart screen” mounted beneath. The smaller screen is where the ads will appear, running alongside feeds featuring information such as weather, stock reports, and sports scores. Powered by TellyOS, the sets also have a built-in five-driver soundbar. Read more

European Union regulators have approved Microsoft’s proposed $68.7 billion purchase of game company Activision Blizzard. The European Commission accepted Microsoft’s remedies for staving off antitrust concerns in the area of cloud gaming. Microsoft said it would guarantee at least 10 years of access to Activision titles on third party cloud services, which satisfied the 27-nation bloc’s executive body. The EU announced its decision just weeks after UK lawmakers blocked the acquisition, and in the U.S. Microsoft is fending off efforts by the Federal Trade Commission to cancel the deal. Read more

Vice Media, the digital company once valued at nearly $6 billion, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday. After launching as a magazine 29 years ago in Montreal, the startup expanded, launching a flagship website and acquiring the Virtue ad agency, Pulse Films and the women-focused Refinery29. Vice’s businesses will continue operations throughout the bankruptcy process, which includes a sale to take place within 55 days. Vice lenders including Fortress Investment Group and Soros Fund Management have joined forces to acquire the company, submitting a bid of $225 million and agreeing to assume “substantial debt.” Read more