Technology
This year in tech felt like a simulation
This year in tech, too much happened and very little of it made sense. It was like we were being controlled by a random number generator that would dictate the whims of the tech industry, leading to multiple “biggest news stories of the year” happening, all completely disconnected from one another.
As we approach the end of the year, it’s hard to deny that the events of the past 12 months have felt like something out of a simulation. From the rapid shift to remote work and online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to the explosion of interest in cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), it’s been a wild ride.
One of the biggest stories of the year has been the rapid adoption of remote work and online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With lockdowns and social distancing measures in place, companies and educational institutions around the world were forced to find ways to continue operating remotely. This led to a surge in the use of video conferencing tools like Zoom and Microsoft Teams, as well as a proliferation of online learning platforms like Coursera and edX. One of the biggest story of the year is “Meta laid off 11000 people ” Normally, a social media giant laying off 13% of its workforce was a top story but at that moment FTX went bankrupt and everyone was impersonating corporations on Twitter because somehow Elon Musk didn’t think through how the things would go horribly wrong if anyone could buy a blue check.
now we are at the stage where in tech history nothing is possible. this is inspiring and horrifying for us. It’s possible for a team of Amazon fulfillment center workers in Staten Island to win a union election, successfully advocating for themselves in the face of tremendous adversity. It’s also possible for Elon Musk to buy Twitter for $44 billion.
Crypto collapses like FTX’s bankruptcy and the UST scandal have harmed actual people who invested significant sums of money into something that they believed to be a good investment. It’s funny to think about how you’d react ten years ago if someone told you that Meta (oh yeah, that’s what Facebook is called now) is losing billions of dollars every quarter to build virtual reality technology that no one seems to want. But those management decisions are not a joke for the employees who lost their jobs because of those choices.
Another major trend in tech this year has been the explosion of interest in cryptocurrency. Bitcoin, the most well-known cryptocurrency, saw its value soar to new heights, reaching an all-time high of over $64,000 in April. Other cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum and Dogecoin, also saw significant gains. The hype around cryptocurrency has also led to the emergence of non-fungible tokens (NFTs), which are unique digital assets that can be bought and sold like traditional assets. NFTs have been used to sell everything from virtual real estate to digital art and even tweets, leading to some eye-popping sales figures.
In addition to these trends, we’ve also seen the continued growth of the gig economy, with more and more people turning to platforms like Uber and Airbnb to earn extra income. We’ve also seen the emergence of new technologies like electric and autonomous vehicles, as well as the growing popularity of streaming services like Netflix and Spotify.
Overall, it’s been a year full of surprises and unexpected developments in the tech world. As we move into the next year, it will be interesting to see how these trends continue to evolve and shape the way we live and work.
News
OpenAI Releases More Powerful AI Named chat GPT 4
GPT 4 has finally arrived it leaves chat GPT In the dust it can convert a drawing on a napkin into a functional website it can even explain to you a joke from a series of images. GPT 4 in comparison to its previous model it’s multimodal now this simply means that unlike previous versions of GPT which were only text-based. GPT 4 can accept and process images as well as text I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s an audio component to this as well but for the time being open AI simply did a demonstration showcasing an example of their image-to-text processing the first one is on their website where they gave AI difficult task of explaining a joke based on series of images this image is of an iPhone but it’s charging with a VGA cable and GPT 4 accurately was able to identify all the elements in the photo.
OpenAI’s recently launched Chat GPT 4 is a significant improvement over its predecessor, the GPT-3.5, which powered ChatGPT until now. Chat GPT 4 can process a staggering 25,000 words and is capable of understanding and responding to images. This is a major development that has impressed those who were already impressed by ChatGPT.
With Chat GPT-4, users can provide an image of their ingredients and ask the chatbot to create a recipe, which it will do by analyzing the picture and generating a detailed description. This is just one example of the many ways in which AI is slowly but surely taking over jobs that were once the sole domain of humans. However, GPT-4 is not infallible, and there is a risk that it may sometimes provide incorrect information or create completely untrue facts due to what OpenAI calls “hallucinations”.
Chat GPT-4’s capabilities are due in part to the fact that it has been trained on a much larger database than its predecessor. Microsoft CEO Bill Gates is among the many people who have been impressed by GPT-4, stating that he is now a fan of ChatGPT. However, OpenAI warns that AI is not perfect and users should exercise caution when relying on its output.
Despite its flaws, Chat GPT-4 is already being used as an integrated feature on the Microsoft Bing browser and is available to ChatGPT Plus subscribers for a subscription fee of $20. It will be interesting to see how this AI technology evolves in the future and how it will continue to impact our lives in ways we never thought possible.
News
Japanese Robotics Lag As AI Captures Global Attention

Japan, renowned for crafting robots and other artificial intelligence (AI) tools, has established a long-standing reputation for producing dependable and esteemed electronic products spanning decades.
According to Manuela Veloso, the head of AI research at JPMorgan Chase, Japanese robotics still generates “extraordinary documents” and is exceedingly conspicuous in the research sector.
One of Japan’s greatest strengths in the realm of robotics is its profound admiration for machines, as the country has a rich history of believing that objects, locations, and creatures possess a spiritual essence.
“Since many Japanese people believe that everything has a soul, why not robots?” stated Minoru Asada.
As early adopters, Japan began developing industrial robots in 1960, with many large companies entering the industry in 1980, ultimately leading Japan to become known as a “robot superpower,” as Yasuyoshi Yokokohji, a mechanical engineer at Kobe University, stated.
Subsequently, Japan turned its attention to humanoid robots, which became popularized with the unveiling of Honda’s Asimo in 2000. “While no one else was manufacturing robots at the time, Japan was producing them,” Veloso remarked.
However, in 2010, Japan began to fall behind Boston Dynamics, a robotics company based in Massachusetts that developed humanoid robots, as well as Universal Robots, a company situated in Odense, Denmark.
Moreover, these robots had user-friendly programming interfaces and more adaptable applications. “By comparison, the programming interfaces developed by Japanese robotics companies were only for experts,” according to Akihiko Yamaguchi, the director and founder of FingerVision, a robotics startup located in Tokyo, China.
Nevertheless, the emergence of technology and the introduction of AI in 2012 altered the entire world. AI technologies such as deep learning and neural networks are currently utilized around the world, with AI research requiring “massive computers and vast quantities of data,” as Ishiguro noted.
Japan’s Pursuit of Innovation A surge of inventions brought about by Japanese researchers has been integrated into robotics, where Advanced AI technologies have been implemented. Asada argues that AI and robotics cannot be viewed as distinct entities. With sweeping changes taking place, we must accept them. However, the Japanese robotics field faces the obstacle of language, as many experts are not well-versed in English.
According to Woodrow Hartzog, a specialist in technology law at Boston University in Massachusetts, this is problematic because much of the excellent research in Japan is written in Japanese. Furthermore, robotics labs in Japan are focused on creating robots for the sake of it, rather than considering their practical applications, as Yokokohji has pointed out.
While this is a commendable starting point, the country still lacks a cohesive, long-term strategy for promoting robotics research, which necessitates continuous support for Japanese Robotics experts to develop their strengths on an international scale, as Asada suggests. Additionally, Japan is still a leader in developing intricate mechanical components, whereas digital work is the focus of many researchers around the world.
Japan has the potential to lead in bridging the gap between hardware and software, paving the way for sophisticated, human-like robots and other interactive gadgets. However, the key to this is how users can leverage their cultural backgrounds to create new possibilities for robots, as Ishiguro has pointed out. He also believes that such a challenge is advantageous for the Japanese people.
Electronics
Laptops In Pakistan Under 150k

Nowadays, it is essential to have a computer for work that involves technical aspects of any kind. Compared to a whole system, a laptop is more portable and can be used anywhere. As inflation rises and new taxes are introduced every week, laptops are becoming increasingly costly, especially in Pakistan. When you have a small budget, it’s difficult to find a good laptop, and if you’re really tight on cash, I recommend choosing PCs instead of laptops.
We have compiled a list of affordable laptops under Rs150k. You are sure to find the laptop you are looking for among these.
Acer Aspire 3
The Acer Aspire 3 laptops are seen in the lower to mid-range segment, despite Acer’s reputation for high-spec gaming laptops. These laptops are especially useful for studying, watching movies, surfing the internet, and even using Photoshop. It features an Intel Core i5 processor and 8GB RAM, allowing you to multitask with basic programs like Microsoft Office. There is an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage on these laptops. The Acer runs whatever you can run on the laptop without slowing down even when there are multiple programs running simultaneously.
Dell Inspiron 15
This Dell Inspiron 15 3000 (3511) has 4GB of RAM, 128GB of solid-state storage, and an Intel Core i3-1115G4 processor. The graphics and memory are not up to a decent laptop’s standards, but the processor is still a step above another cheap laptop’s Celeron CPU.
Dell Vostro 15 3510
This Vostro 15 3510 is made entirely of plastic, which is not surprising considering the majority of Vostro models are plastic-bodied. There are a lot of processor options available with this notebook. There are Celeron 6305s, Pentium 7505s, Core i3-1005G1s, Core i5-1035G1s, Core i3-1115G4s, Core i3-1125G4s, Core i5-1135G7s, and Core i7-1165G7s that you can choose from, and the more expensive the processor that you choose, the more expensive it will be. This laptop comes with a strong battery and a 41Wh battery that will last for 7 hours and 5 minutes when browsing the web, or for 6 hours and 30 minutes when watching videos.
Lenovo Thinkbook 15 G2
This Lenovo ThinkBook uses an Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor with an Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 80EUs integrated graphics unit. It comes with 16 GB of RAM and 512 GB of SSD, and Lenovo has removed the USB-A port that was hidden behind a flap in the first generation of the ThinkBook 15. However, one of the USB-C ports supports Thunderbolt 4, which allows for a number of expansion options. Also, the separate power connector has been removed, so it can now be charged via a USB-C port. Its display is a 15.6-inch IPS panel that provides a 1920 x 1080 resolution.
HP 15s
It is a budget-friendly mid-range laptop that offers substantial savings over its competition, making it a great choice for students and office workers who are currently on a tight budget. In the HP 15s, the same Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor powering the 17-inch HP 17 as well as 8GB of RAM, a 256GB solid-state drive, and an Intel Iris Xe graphics card are featured.