Latest tech news: February 2023

Find out what’s been happening in the tech world in February 2023, including Meta subscriptions, new iOS emojis, and limits on the number of Bing replies.

February has been a big month on the technology front. Here are the biggest stories of the month so far:

Meta Announced New Paid Verification To Cut Down on Fake Accounts

Meta Inc. will soon launch a pay-for-verification subscription service for Facebook and Instagram, taking a leaf out of Elon Musk’s playbook for Twitter. Meta Verified, as it is called, will cost US users $11.99 per month for the web or $14,99 per month for iOS. Rollout to other parts of the world won’t be immediate but will happen soon.

Facebook wants the new service to end spam and fake accounts on the platform. As such, users must provide a valid government ID matching their name and profile picture to obtain a blue verification badge.

Apple Launches New iOS Emojis in 16.4 Beta

Apple has announced it will release a suite of emojis as part of the iOS 16.4 beta, including new heart colours, a donkey, a hair pick, maracas, a piccolo, and stem ginger. According to the tech giant, users will enjoy access to more than 31 new designs, drawn from Unicode’s September 2022 recommendation list.

Microsoft Bing Limits Chats To Five Replies To Prevent Weirdness

Microsoft announced on February 17 that it would limit interactions with its new ChatGPT-powered Bing search engine to five replies to prevent disturbing responses. Multiple users reported how the service gave false information or appeared angry when they asked too many questions.

In one episode, Bing gaslighted a user, claiming the year wasn’t 2023. In another, it responded angrily to a user because it couldn’t answer his question.

Microsoft is now paring back the web live chat software to limit brand damage. The tool, it says, isn’t an AI assistant but software that helps users “learn more about the world.”

New NBA App Lets Fans Insert Themselves Into Games

For many fans, being able to play in the NBA is a dream. However, a new app promises to bring it closer to reality.

The concept is as weird as it sounds. The NBA app will let fans insert themselves into games using clever scanning and AI technology.

First, users must scan themselves in various positions, capturing their face, body, and movements. Fans can then open the app and choose which player they’d like to inhabit. Once the scanning is complete, the software will overlay the user’s images onto players, making it seem like they are running around the court live.

In a press release, the developers also said users will be able to transport games to virtual locations. Hence, the next NBA match you see might be on Mars.

Firaxis Is Developing Civilization VII

Lastly, Firaxis says it is developing a new Civilization game six years after the release of the critically-acclaimed Civilization VI. The new title, likely to be called Civilization VII, doesn’t yet have a release date and we don’t know any further details about gameplay or licensing.