IMF revises 2023 growth upward; Apple working on a foldable iPad – report; ChatGPT can fix software bugs

One Thing Today in Tech

The International Monetary Fund yesterday revised upward its global growth projections for the year, after better-than-expected data on spending by American households and businesses, and in other countries, and Europe’s handling of its energy crisis, CNBC reports. Also in this report, pet fish apparently changed their owner’s Nintendo username, downloaded a new avatar, set up a PayPal account and even charged his credit card, CNN reports. And, after getting an MBA, ChatGPT is now fixing software bugs.

Notes:

The International Monetary Fund yesterday revised upward its global growth projections for the year, after better-than-expected data on spending by American households and businesses, and in other countries, and Europe’s handling of its energy crisis, CNBC reports.

The fund warned that higher interest rates and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were still reasons for worry.

In its latest economic update, the IMF said the global economy will grow 2.9 percent this year — which represents a 0.2 percentage point improvement from its previous forecast in October. However, it said that number would still mean a fall from an expansion of 3.4 percent in 2022.

It also revised its projection for 2024 down to 3.1 percent.

“Growth will remain weak by historical standards, as the fight against inflation and Russia’s war in Ukraine weigh on activity,” Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas, director of the research department at the IMF, said in a blog post.

Apple is working on a foldable iPad for 2024, CNBC reported yesterday, citing well-known Apple watcher Ming-Chi Kuo. The analyst had previously predicted a foldable iPhone for 2024.

Facebook can secretly drain its users’ cellphone batteries, a former employee contends in a lawsuit, New York Post reports.

The practice, known as “negative testing,” allows tech companies to “surreptitiously” run down a phone’s battery in the name of testing features or issues such as how fast their app runs or how an image might load, according to data scientist George Hayward, the New York Post reports.

Hayward said in a Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit that he was fired in November for refusing to participate in negative testing. The lawsuit, which sought unspecified damages, has since been withdrawn because Hayward is required to go to arbitration, according to New York Post.

Computer science researchers from Johannes Gutenberg University and University College London, have found that ChatGPT can fix bugs in software code quite well. In fact, it can outperform existing bug-fixing programs, because of its ability to ask for more information and learn from that.

Mercedes-Benz says it is the world's first automotive company to introduce SAE Level-3 conditionally automated driving. SAE previously for the Society of Automotive Engineers, an organisation developing automotive standards in the US. It is not called SAE International. And Level-3 autonomy refers to a stage where the car can take over certain driving functions although the driver is expected to be always ready to take back control.

Pet fish playing a video game in Japan managed to log on to the Nintendo Switch store, change their owner’s avatar, set up a Pay Pal account and rack up a credit card bill, CNN reports.

And it was all live-streamed on the internet.