ELIZA (1966) pioneered chatbot pattern matching, followed by PARRY (1972) which mimicked a paranoid patient. The 2010s saw a shift from rule-based chatbots to learning-based ones with neural networks and transformers, highlighted by Google’s BERT (2018) and OpenAI’s GPT series (GPT-3, 2020). GPT-3, with 175 billion parameters, debuted in 2020, and the ChatGPT prototype launched…
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Siri debuted in 2011 on the iPhone 4S as the first widely used voice assistant. Alexa launched in 2014 with the Echo, popularizing voice-controlled smart home devices. ChatGPT, built on GPT-4, launched in late 2022 and reached 100 million users by January 2023. Google introduced Gemini in 2024 as a major overhaul of its AI…
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By mid-2023, fixed fiber passed over 92% of Portuguese homes, with end-2023 FTTH/B connections totaling 3.24 million households versus about 1.3 million on cable. By June 2023, 5G coverage reached about 98.1% of households (low-band), and rural 5G coverage jumped to 87.5% by mid-2023 from 20% in 2022. As of June 2023, 97.6% of households…
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Venice’s historic center is effectively a no-fly zone that requires explicit ENAC and local authorities’ authorization, with the D-Flight map marking Venice in red as prohibited. The EU/ENAC altitude limit is 120 m (400 ft) above ground level, but in Venice’s restricted zones the practical limit without a permit is 0 m. Drones must stay…
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By early 2025, Starlink was available in over 100 countries across every inhabited continent. In the past year, Starlink launched in 42 new countries and territories and surpassed 6 million active customers worldwide. In the United States, the standard Starlink plan costs about $90 per month with a $599 equipment kit. SpaceX added about 2,300…
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On July 23, 2025, NASA and SpaceX launched the TRACERS tandem-satellite mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base aboard a Falcon 9 rocket to study how solar eruptions trigger magnetic explosions in Earth’s atmosphere. The two TRACERS probes will fly seconds apart through Earth’s polar magnetic cusp to observe magnetic reconnection events in real time. TRACERS…
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On July 22, 2025, NASA, with SpaceX, launched TRACERS, a twin-satellite mission aboard a Falcon 9 to study magnetic reconnection in Earth’s magnetosphere. The University of Iowa-led TRACERS mission will fly two probes through Earth’s northern magnetic cusp in tandem to improve space weather forecasts. A UK study found that vaccinating pregnant women against RSV…
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Cybersecurity & Network Infrastructure Tech Policy & Legal Affairs Biotechnology & Health Tech Space & Aerospace Green Energy & Climate Tech Automotive & Transport Tech Finance & Cryptocurrency This comprehensive news roundup highlights the major technology developments (outside of AI) from July 21–22, 2025. From cybersecurity crises and regulatory battles to breakthroughs in biotech, space,…
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AAAI 2025 was held February 27–March 2, 2025 in Philadelphia, USA, and AAAI 2026 is scheduled for January 20–27, 2026 in Singapore. NeurIPS 2025 will be held December 10–15, 2025 in San Diego, USA, attracting over 13,000 participants. ICML 2025 takes place July 13–19, 2025 in Vancouver, Canada, with around 6,000 participants. ICLR 2025 is…
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Malta has 100% fixed broadband coverage with gigabit-capable networks via fiber or upgraded cable, exceeding the EU average of 70% and ranking 6th in the 2022 DESI index for digital development. As of early 2024, FTTH connections accounted for about 34% of fixed broadband subscriptions, up from 26.8% in 2023. GO’s True Fibre network offers…
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