Saturday, April 26, 2025
The Nordic Times

Polaris of Enlightenment

Saturday, April 26, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

Breaking News
Ad:

https://nordictimes.com/tech/xai-releases-grok-2-with-image-generation-on-x/

Tech

xAI releases Grok-2 with image generation on X

The future of AI

Published 15 August 2024
– By Editorial Staff
The image is generated with Grok-2 and the following prompt: “A captivating scene featuring a rain of electric blue fire and a vortex of soft pink water, with the silhouette of a panda in the middle, shot on Olympus OM-D E-M1X, displaying a photorealistic, volumetric, and dynamic appearance”
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Elon Musk’s AI company xAI has launched Grok-2 and Grok-2 mini, two new models of its Grok chatbot, offering upgraded performance and new image generation capabilities. Grok’s text-based image creator is powered by Black Forest Labs’ Flux 1 AI model and allows users to create and publish images directly on the X platform, with few restrictions to prevent abuse.

xAI writes that both models are available in beta on X (where access to Grok is currently limited to Premium and Premium Plus users) and that the models will be available through the company’s API later this month.

What’s new with Grok-2?

Grok-2 integrates Black Forest Labs’ Flux.1 model, allowing users to generate high-quality, realistic images with simple text input. This has already led to users testing the limits of the system, including creating controversial images of public figures.

The updated model has been shown to outperform several competing models on leading third-party benchmarks, including in math, coding, and general knowledge.

 

For now, access is limited to Premium and Premium Plus users on X, but there are plans to make Grok-2 available via the xAI API.

What are users saying?

Users on X have already begun experimenting with Grok-2’s image generation capabilities, with reports that the results are impressively realistic and detailed. However, there are concerns about a lack of restrictions, especially in view of upcoming elections, which could lead to increased spread of disinformation.


Grok-2’s launch marks a new era for AI on social media, with powerful image generation tools that can both inspire creativity and raise concerns about misuse. xAI has sparked a discussion about whether the world is ready for such freedom in AI-generated media.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

TNT is truly independent!

We don’t have a billionaire owner, and our unique reader-funded model keeps us free from political or corporate influence. This means we can fearlessly report the facts and shine a light on the misdeeds of those in power.

Consider a donation to keep our independent journalism running…

https://nordictimes.com/tech/google-develops-ai-to-communicate-with-dolphins/

Tech

Google develops AI to communicate with dolphins

The future of AI

Published today 10:46
– By Editorial Staff
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Google has developed a new AI model to communicate with dolphins. The AI model, named DolphinGemma, is designed to interpret and recreate dolphins’ complex sound signals.

Dolphins are known as some of the world’s most communicative animals, and their social interactions are so advanced that researchers at the Wild Dolphin Project (WDP) have spent over 40 years studying them.

In particular, a dolphin population in the Bahamas has been documented for decades through audio recordings and video footage, where researchers have been able to link specific sounds to behaviors such as mating rituals, conflicts, and even individual names.

The ability to communicate with dolphins has long fascinated researchers, but until now the technology to analyze and mimic their sounds has been lacking. However, breakthroughs in AI language models have raised new hopes, and a collaboration between Google, Georgia Institute of Technology and WDP has produced DolphinGemma.

The goal: Common vocabulary between humans and animals

The model is based on the same technology as Google’s Gemini system and works basically like a language model – similar to ChatGPT – but trained for dolphin sounds. It receives whistles, clicks and pulses, analyzes them and predicts what is likely to come next. In practice, it connects to a CHAT system installed on modified Google Pixel phones.

The aim of the project is not to translate the dolphins’ language in its entirety, but rather to establish a basic common vocabulary between humans and animals. In the coming months, the model will be tested in the field, where researchers will try to teach the dolphins synthetic whistles linked to their favorite objects, such as seagrass and seaweed. Specifically, the ambition is for the dolphins themselves to be able to “ask for” what they want to play with, reports Popular Science.

 

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/tech/nato-implements-ai-system-for-military-operations/

Tech

NATO implements AI system for military operations

The future of AI

Published 17 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Modern warfare increasingly resembles what only a few years ago was science fiction.
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

The military pact NATO has entered into an agreement with the American tech company Palantir to introduce the AI-powered system Maven Smart System (MSS) in its military operations.

The Nordic Times has previously highlighted Palantir’s founder Peter Thiel and his influence over the circle around Trump, and how the company’s AI technology has been used to develop drones that can identify Russians and automate killing.

NATO announced on April 14 that it has signed a contract with Palantir Technologies to implement the Maven Smart System (MSS NATO), within the framework of Allied Command Operations, reports DefenceScoop.

MSS NATO uses generative AI and machine learning to quickly process information, and the system is designed to provide a sharper situational awareness by analyzing large amounts of data in real time.

This ranges from satellite imagery to intelligence reports, which are then used to identify targets and plan operations.

Terminator
In the “Terminator” movies, the remnants of the Earth’s population fight against the AI-controlled Skynet weapon system.

Modernizing warfare

According to the NATO Communications Agency NCIA, the aim is to modernize warfare capabilities. What used to require hundreds of intelligence analysts can now, with the help of MSS, be handled by a small group of 20-50 soldiers, according to the NCIA.

Palantir has previously supplied similar technology to the US Army, Air Force and Space Force. In September 2024, the company also signed a $100 million contract with the US military to expand the use of AI in targeting.

The system is expected to be operational as early as mid-May 2025.

The new deal has also caused financial markets to react and Palantir’s stock has risen. The company has also generally seen strong growth in recent years, with revenues increasing by 50% between 2022 and 2024.

Criticism and concerns

Palantir has previously been criticized for its cooperation with the Israeli Defense Forces, which led a major Nordic investor to cancel its involvement in the company. Criticisms include the risk of AI technology being used in ways that could violate human rights, especially in conflict zones.

On social media, the news has provoked mixed reactions. Mario Nawfal, a well-known voice on platform X, wrote in a post that “NATO goes full Skynet”, …referring to the fictional AI system in the Terminator movies, where technology takes control of the world.

Several critics express concerns about the implications of technology, while others see it as a necessary step to counter modern threats.

NATO and Palantir emphasize that technology does not replace human decision-making. They emphasize that the system is designed to support military leaders and not to act independently.

Nevertheless, there is a growing debate and concern about how AI’s role in warfare could affect future conflicts and global security. Some analysts also see the use of US technologies such as MSS as a way for NATO to strengthen ties across the Atlantic.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/tech/openai-may-develop-ai-weapons-for-the-pentagon/

Tech

OpenAI may develop AI weapons for the Pentagon

The future of AI

Published 14 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Sam Altman's OpenAI is already working with defense technology company Anduril Industries.
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, does not rule out that his and his company will help the Pentagon develop new AI-based weapon systems in the future.

– I will never say never, because the world could get really weird, the tech billionaire cryptically states.

The statement came during Thursday’s Vanderbilt Summit on Modern Conflict and Emerging Threat, and Altman added that he does not believe he will be working on developing weapons systems for the US military “in the foreseeable future” – unless it is deemed the best of several bad options.

– I don’t think most of the world wants AI making weapons decisions, he continued.

The fact that companies developing consumer technology are also developing military weapons has long been highly controversial – and in 2018, for example, led to widespread protests within Google’s own workforce, with many also choosing to leave voluntarily or being forced out by company management.

Believes in “exceptionally smart” systems before year-end

However, the AI industry in particular has shown a much greater willingness to enter into such agreements, and OpenAI has revised its policy on work related to “national security” in the past year. Among other things, it has publicly announced a partnership with defense technology company Anduril Industries Inc to develop anti-drone technology.

Altman also stressed the need for the US government to increase its expertise in AI.

– I don’t think AI adoption in the government has been as robust as possible, he said, adding that there will be “exceptionally smart” AI systems in operation ready before the end of the year.

Altman and Nakasone – a retired four-star general – attended the event ahead of the launch of OpenAI’s upcoming AI model, which is scheduled to be released next week. The audience included hundreds of representatives from intelligence agencies, the military and academia.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/the-nordics/sweden/swedish-authors-meta-has-stolen-our-books/

Sweden

Swedish authors: Meta has stolen our books

The future of AI

Published 8 April 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Kajsa Gordon and Anna Ahlund are two of the authors who signed the open letter.
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Meta has used Swedish books to train its AI models. Now authors are demanding compensation and calling on the Minister of Culture to act against the tech giant.

The magazine The Atlantic recently revealed that Meta used copyrighted works from authors around the world without permission or compensation. Swedish authors are also among them.

In an open letter, published in the Schibsted newspaper Aftonbladet, 53 Swedish children’s and young adult authors accuse Meta of copyright infringement.

“Meta has vacuumed our books and used them as a basis for creating AI texts. They have also often used translations of our books to train their AI models in multiple languages. This copyright infringement is systematic”, the authors write.

Among the affected authors who signed the letter are Anna Ahlund, who had five works stolen, Kajsa Gordon, who had eight works stolen, and Pia Hagmar, who had 51 works stolen. The authors point out that there is a wide range of authors in fiction and non-fiction who have had several works stolen, and that many authors do not yet know that they have been affected.

“Our words are being exploited”

The authors are now calling on Sweden’s Minister of Culture Parisa Liljestrand to act against Meta and demand a license fee for the use of copyrighted texts.

“We refuse to accept that our words are being exploited by a multi-billion dollar company without our consent or compensation”.

It also demands that Meta disclose which Swedish authors are used to train its AI model, and that authors have the right to deny the tech giant use of the texts.

“The Swedish government often talks about strengthening children’s reading. A prerequisite for reading is that Swedish cultural policy makes it possible to be an author”, the authors conclude

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

N

Polaris of Enlightenment

News

Other

Subscribe to our newsletter!

Follow TNT socials!

X-twitter Facebook Telegram Instagram

© 2022-2025 The Nordic Times TNT.
All rights reserved.

Our independent journalism needs your support!
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Donate

Our independent journalism needs your support!
Consider a donation.

You can donate any amount of your choosing, one-time payment or even monthly.
We appreciate all of your donations to keep us alive and running.

Donate
Dont miss another article!

Sign up for our newsletter today!

Take part of uncensored news – free from industry interests and political correctness from the Polaris of Enlightenment – every week.