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ElevenLabs Fundraises $80 Million for Projects Including AI Voice Cloning

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ElevenLabs Fundraises $80 Million for Projects Including AI Voice Cloning

The business revealed its $80 million Series B financing on Monday, January 22. It stated that the money would be utilized, among other things, to launch new products and enhance security protocols in order to “ensure responsible and ethical development of AI technology.”

ElevenLabs stated in its release that it had achieved “unicorn” status—a phrase for a privately held firm valued at more than $1 billion—but it did not provide a precise figure. The CEO of the company, Mati Staniszewski, confirmed the precise amount to Bloomberg News: $1.1 billion.

Along with the investment announcement, ElevenLabs disclosed the debut of a number of new products, such as a voice library marketplace where users may profit from artificial intelligence (AI) renditions of their own voices and a new dubbing studio that allows users to dub entire movies.

“Users can create their professional AI voice replica, verify it, and share it via Voice Library,” the company’s announcement said. “When others use these verified voices, the original creators receive compensation. Users always retain control over their voice’s availability and compensation terms.”

Over the past year, there has been a surge in funding for businesses that mimic human speech using artificial intelligence (AI), but there has also been an increase in worries that the technology might be misused.

She continued, “Fraudsters are using AI to not just launch attacks, but to get really excellent at it.

In response to these concerns, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced the Voice Cloning Challenge last year and invited suggestions on how to stop this technology from being abused.

Samuel Levine, the director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated at the time, “We want to address harms before they hit the marketplace and enforce the law when they do.”

According to the release, advances in text-to-speech AI have led to developments in voice cloning technology.

The FTC points out that although voice cloning has promise uses, such as helping those who are voiceless, it can also be abused. Scammers could, for instance, use voice cloning to pose as friends, family, or company officials, deceiving unwary customers and causing them financial harm.

ElevenLabs stated on Monday that it was focusing on developing detection tools to ensure that content generated by artificial intelligence could be easily identified, as part of its commitment to the “safe and responsible development of AI.”

Launched in 2023, the startup’s AI Speech Classifier can determine whether an audio sample contains content produced by ElevenLabs. This year, the company wants to improve the tool so that it covers additional speech AI models.

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iPhone 16 Pro Users Report Screen Responsiveness Issues, Hope for Software Fix

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Many iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max users are experiencing significant touchscreen responsiveness problems. Complaints about lagging screens and unresponsive taps and swipes are particularly frustrating for customers who have invested $999 and up in these devices.

The good news is that initial assessments suggest the issue may be software-related rather than a hardware defect. This means that Apple likely won’t need to issue recalls or replacement units; instead, a simple software update could resolve the problem.

The root of the issue might lie in the iOS touch rejection algorithm, which is designed to prevent accidental touches. If this feature is overly sensitive, it could ignore intentional inputs, especially when users’ fingers are near the new Camera Control on the right side of the display. Some users have reported that their intended touches are being dismissed, particularly when their fingers are close to this area.

Additionally, the new, thinner bezels on the iPhone 16 Pro compared to the iPhone 15 Pro could contribute to the problem. With less protection against accidental touches, the device may misinterpret valid taps as mistakes, leading to ignored inputs.

This isn’t the first time Apple has faced challenges with new iPhone models. For instance, the iPhone 4 experienced “Antennagate,” where signal loss occurred depending on how the device was held, prompting Steve Jobs to famously suggest users hold their phones differently. Apple eventually provided free rubber bumpers to mitigate the issue.

To alleviate the touchscreen problem, using a case might help by covering parts of the display and reducing the chances of accidental touches triggering the rejection algorithm. The issue appears on devices running iOS 18 and the iOS 18.1 beta and does not occur when the phone is locked. Users may notice difficulties when swiping through home screens and apps.

Many are hopeful that an upcoming iOS 18 update will address these issues, restoring responsiveness to the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max displays.

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Sony has Revealed the PlayStation 5, PS5 Pro, and a Limited Edition PSOne-Style Device

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In the PlayStation video below, the collection was unveiled along with a limited-edition DualSense, DualSense Edge, and PlayStation Portal. All products will be available for preorder starting on September 26 and will ship on November 21.

There are just 12,300 PS5 Pro bundles available worldwide, making it probably the most limited edition. Included in the bundle are the DualSense Edge controller and case in the iconic PlayStation design, along with the PS5 Pro itself, a vertical stand, a charging station, and other accessories. Along with four cable ties designed in the image of the sacred symbols, an original PlayStation controller-style cable connector, a sticker, poster, and paperclip are also included.

The PlayStation 5 Slim Digital Edition is the other console that is available; however, if you want to utilize discs on the retro-themed console, you will still need to purchase a matching disc drive cover. Along with four cable ties designed to resemble sacred symbols, a sticker, poster, paperclip, and the original PlayStation controller-style cable connector, it also includes a standard DualSense controller and a vertical stand.

Sony withheld the pricing of any of the collection’s products, but enthusiasts who aren’t willing to shell out a lot of cash will be glad to hear that the DualSense controller and DualSense Edge will be sold individually.

As stated on the PlayStation Blog, preorders will be accessible to PlayStation Network account holders via PlayStation Direct on September 26. Additionally, between September 26 and October 10, participating shops will be taking preorders for the DualSense controller and the PS5 Digital Edition. On September 26, those who wish to preorder PlayStation Direct in nations where it is not accessible can do so at participating retailers.

At a technical conference on September 10, PlayStation unveiled the PS5 Pro and its $699.99 price tag. Those who like to use discs and stand their PS5 Pro upright will have to shell out approximately $805 since the regular model does not come with a disc drive or vertical stand.

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Google experiments with Android tablets’ desktop windowing

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Google is testing a new feature for Android tablets that would allow you to easily rearrange apps on your screen and resize them, which will facilitate multitasking. Developer previews of the “desktop windowing” functionality are now accessible, and you can even run multiple instances of the app simultaneously if they support it.

At the moment, Android tablet apps always open in full screen mode. Each program will show up in a window with controls to let you move, maximize, or close it when the new mode is enabled. Moreover, your open programs will be listed in a taskbar at the bottom of the screen.

It sounds a lot like Stage Manager for the iPad, which allows you to do the same with windows on your screen, or with almost any desktop operating system. For years, Samsung has also provided its DeX experience, which gives Android apps on Galaxy phones and tablets desktop-like window management.

When the functionality becomes available to all users, you may activate it by tapping and holding the window handle located at the top of an application’s screen. The shortcut meta key (Windows, Command, or Search) + Ctrl + Down can also be used to enter desktop mode if a keyboard is connected. (You can drag a window to the top of your screen to dismiss the mode, or you can close all of your open apps.)

Apps that are locked to portrait orientation can still be resized, according to Google, which could have odd visual effects if some apps aren’t optimized. Google intends to fix this in a later release, though, by scaling non-resizable apps’ user interfaces without changing their aspect ratios.

For the time being, users with the most recent Android 15 QPR1 Beta 2 for Pixel Tablets can access the developer preview.

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