Meta opens AI model to commercial use, throwing nascent market into flux

By Katie Paul NEW YORK (Reuters) -Meta is releasing a commercial version of its open-source artificial intelligence model Llama, the company said on Tuesday, giving start-ups and other businesses a powerful free-of-charge alternative to pricey proprietary models sold by OpenAI and Google. The new version of the model, called Llama 2, will be distributed by…

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Canada gives Toronto C$97 million to shelter asylum seekers

OTTAWA (Reuters) – The Canadian government, under pressure over images showing asylum seekers sleeping on the streets of Toronto, on Tuesday said it would give the city an extra C$97 million ($73.6 million) to help meet the demand for housing. The money is part of a C$212 million ($160.9 million) one-time injection to help major…

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Hollywood studios say they offered actors $1 billion in gains before strike

By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Major film and television studios offered Hollywood actors more than $1 billion in higher compensation and enhanced benefits before the SAG-AFTRA union called a strike last week, a group that represents media companies said on Monday. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which negotiates on…

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TikTok, Warner Music Group to partner in music licensing deal

(Reuters) – Warner Music Group, the record label conglomerate behind artists such as Radiohead, AC/DC and Madonna, has signed a licensing deal with Chinese short-video app TikTok to boost its social media revenues. The multi-year deal will help Warner Music’s artists and songwriters unlock new revenue and marketing opportunities from TikTok’s more than 1 billion…

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Pfizer, Flagship Pioneering to invest $100 million in drug discovery

(Reuters) -U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and venture firm Flagship Pioneering on Tuesday said they would invest $100 million together to develop up to 10 new potential drugs for areas including internal medicine, oncology, infectious diseases and immunology. Flagship, which has incubated biotech companies, most famously Moderna Inc , and Pfizer will each invest $50 million. Flagship’s…

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US confident of reaching strategic agreement with Marshall Islands, official says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Biden administration is confident about reaching a strategic agreement with the Marshall Islands, the State Department’s senior official for East Asia and the Pacific told Congress on Tuesday. The Pacific nation’s foreign minister last week called for more U.S. money to deal with the legacy of massive U.S. nuclear testing to…

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