DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Part scary, part exciting: How artists are using AI in their work
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Lucy Handley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

But they also said they were excited about what generative AI might bring. Installation artist Rubem Robierb was "shocked" when he first saw what generative AI could do, he told CNBC by phone. "In its infancy, [generative] AI can create more images in a second [than] the human brain can even process. As it exists right now, [generative] AI sources from known images, known artwork, and known artists to complete a task. Generative artUsing generative AI in an ethical manner is a key consideration for London gallery the Serpentine, which has developed AI projects with artists since 2014, according to its CEO Bettina Korek.

Persons: Refik, Hugo Glendinning, OpenAI's DALL, Rubem Robierb, Robierb, Dandara dos Santos, Rubem, Bettina Korek, Refik Anadol, Korek, Anadol, Julian Espagnon, Danilo S, Shane Guffogg, Carlucci, Holly Herndon, Mat Dryhurst, Jordan Meyer, Guffogg, I'm Organizations: CNBC, Celebrity Cruises for Edge, Smithsonian Institution, Economic, United Arab, & Systems, gallery's Arts Technologies Locations: London, New York City, Fortaleza, Brazil, New York, Miami, Europe, Serpentine, Davos, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Herndon, Venice, Italy, California

In mid-2020 Rome secured the lion's share of a 724-billion-euro kitty aimed at helping EU members emerge from COVID greener and more tech-friendly. Italy's 191.5 billion euros ($210 billion) of cheap loans and grants, to be received in tranches through 2026, was intended for productive investments in the bloc's most chronically stagnant economy. MICRO-PROJECTSMore than half the EU money is meant to go on digitalisation and ecological transition, with the rest devoted to sustainable transport, education, social cohesion and health. The government is still awaiting a 19-billion-euro tranche of the EU funds blocked in March over missed policy targets stemming from 2022. It brings Italy's byzantine rules closer to EU standards, but Gobbato said people will initially find it hard to adapt.

Persons: Flavio Lo Scalzo, Rome, Roberto Perotti, Giorgia Meloni, Mario Draghi, Giuseppe Conte, Carlo Messina, Intesa, Vittorio Soldavini, Davide Carlucci, It's, Gustavo Piga, Rome's, Ilaria, Dentons, Gobbato, Catherine Evans Organizations: REUTERS, Milan's Bocconi University, Treasury, European Central Bank, Technology, Tor Vergata University, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Milan, Italy, ROME, MILAN, tranches, Brussels, Italy's, Italian, Parma

☆ Virgin Galactic launches first paying customers to the edge of space
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —Virgin Galactic, the venture founded by British billionaire Richard Branson, successfully launched its first paying customers to the edge of space — a milestone two decades in the making. (Future Virgin Galactic flights, however, are expected to include a range of high-profile customers.) Bennett’s role was to assess the comfort and function of the flight, using that information to inform future changes Virgin Galactic might make to its rocket-powered space plane, VSS Unity. Organizations such as NASA have routinely flown experiments on suborbital rockets, including Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin missions. In a tragic 2014 accident, Virgin Galactic’s space plane broke apart during flight, killing the mission’s copilot, Michael Alsbury.

Persons: Richard Branson, Virgin Galactic’s, Jeff Bezos’s, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Colin Bennett, Pantaleone, Branson, Burt Rutan, Paul Allen, Hamish Harding, Michael Alsbury, — Organizations: CNN, Virgin Galactic, Italian Air Force, Virgin, SpaceX, Italy’s National Research Council, Branson, VSS, VSS Unity, NASA, International, National Research Council, Microsoft, Galactic, OceanGate, Scaled Composites, Origin, Congress, Federal Aviation Administration, FAA Locations: British, New Mexico, United States

The flight marks a decisive moment for Virgin Galactic Holding Inc (SPCE.N), the space tourism venture founded by British billionaire Richard Branson in 2004, as it inaugurates commercial service following several years fraught with development setbacks. Rounding out the crew was their Virgin Galactic trainer, Colin Bennett, the company's lead "astronaut instructor," and Unity's two pilots, Michael Masucci and Nicola Pecile. A final crewed test flight to space was conducted with little fanfare five weeks ago. Virgin Galactic has said it has already booked a backlog of some 800 customers, charging from $250,000 to $450,000 per seat, and envisions eventually building a large enough fleet to accommodate 400 flights annually. An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.

Persons: Richard Branson, Jeff Bezos's, Elon Musk's, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Pantaleone, Colin Bennett, Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Branson, Bezos, Shepard rocketship, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham Organizations: Virgin Galactic, National Research Council, Italy, Virgin Galactic Holding Inc, Virgin, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Italian Air Force, VSS Unity, International Space, Air Force, America, Unity, NASA, U.S . Air Force, Thomson Locations: New Mexico, Italy, British, Italian, Los Angeles

Virgin Galactic leases part of the facility. The flight marked a long-delayed breakthrough for Virgin Galactic Holding Inc (SPCE.N), finally inaugurating commercial service after nearly 20 years of fraught by development setbacks. Rounding out the crew was their Virgin Galactic trainer, Colin Bennett, the company's lead "astronaut instructor," and Unity's two pilots, Michael Masucci and Nicola Pecile. Virgin Galactic said Unity topped out its flight at an altitude of nearly 52.9 miles (85.1 km). An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.

Persons: Richard Branson, Joe, Branson, Burt Rutan, Jeff Bezos's, Elon Musk's, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Pantaleone, Colin Bennett, Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Bezos, Shepard rocketship, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Virgin, REUTERS, Virgin Galactic, National Research Council, VSS Unity, America, Galactic, Virgin Galactic Holding Inc, . Virgin, Elon Musk's SpaceX, Italian Air Force, International Space, Air Force, Unity, NASA, U.S . Air Force, Thomson Locations: New Mexico, U.S, Italy, Mexico, Italian, Los Angeles

Virgin Galactic leases part of the facility. The flight marked a long-delayed breakthrough for Virgin Galactic Holding Inc (SPCE.N), finally inaugurating commercial service after nearly 20 years fraught by development setbacks. Virgin Galactic said Unity topped out its flight at an altitude of nearly 52.9 miles (85.1 km). A final crewed test flight to space was conducted with little fanfare five weeks ago. An earlier prototype of the Virgin Galactic rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another.

The flight, dubbed Galactic 01, comes two years after Branson himself rode along with five other Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc (SPCE.N) personnel for the company's first fully crewed test spaceflight of its rocket plane, VSS Unity. Back then, Virgin Galactic officials said they expected to begin regular commercial operations in 2022 following additional test flights. Virgin Galactic had projected booking its first 1,000 paying customers, charging about $250,000 per seat, by the time commercial service opened. An earlier prototype of Virgin Galactic's rocket plane crashed during a test flight over California's Mojave Desert in 2014, killing one pilot and seriously injuring another. Billionaire rival Jeff Bezos, whose astro-tourist venture Blue Origin has already flown several commercial passenger flights, has disparaged Virgin Galactic as falling short of a true spaceflight experience.

Persons: Richard Branson, Joe Skipper, Branson, Walter Villadei, Angelo Landolfi, Pantaleone, Colin Bennett, Michael Masucci, Nicola Pecile, Branson's, Jeff Bezos, Virgin, Shepard rocketship, Jose Luis Gonzalez, Steve Gorman, Will Dunham Organizations: Virgin, Unity, REUTERS, Virgin Galactic, National Research Council, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc, VSS, Galactic, SpaceX, Origin, Italian Air Force, International Space, Air Force, . Air Force, America, Corporate, NASA, U.S . Air Force, Thomson Locations: New Mexico, U.S, Italy, Mexico, Italian, Branson, Bezos, Los Angeles

☆ Household budgets are shredded: These stocks will benefit as consumers trade down to store brands
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +12 min

Shoppers are largely creatures of habit, but after two years of rising prices, a broader shift to private label brands is underway. 'A tailwind' for private label That is good news for store brands, otherwise known as private label. Yet the biggest pure play on private label brands is Treehouse Foods , Chappell said. "That's where you're going to see them lean into store brands," said Mary Ellen Lynch, principal of IRI's center store solutions. Americans forced to trade down due to supply chain constraints found store brands they enjoyed, she said.

Search resuls for: "Carlucci"

8 mentions found