Do you have an idea for a song but are not sure how to write it? Maybe you just have some lyrics you want to put a tune to? A new free AI music generator called Tad AI offers you a chance to bring those ideas to life, producing royalty-free songs in seconds with minimal input. The relatively simple interface produces some pretty impressive results. Whether it can thread the needle and avoid the issues causing legal and ethical headaches for Suno, Udio, and other AI music generators remains to be seen. 

Tad AI provides various levels of assistance in writing music. It’s similar to its rivals but is notably intuitive in how you produce the song. You can describe how you want the song to sound in as much detail as you choose, but Tad AI does have quite a lot of musical genres and moods you can select from that are already available. The genre options obviously relate to the genre of the tune, but the mood-based list of options can vary the tone within that genre, as a rock or rap song could be sad, romantic, or angry while still being the same genre.

This month sees a very special visitor to the skies over Earth: a comet that only passes by once every 80,000 years. The last time this comet passed Earth, Neanderthals populated the planet, hunting with stone tools. Now, Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS has been photographed on its journey around the sun by humans living in orbit in the International Space Station.

The comet made its closest pass of the sun on September 27, but is even more visible in the sky now as it passes by Earth. ISS astronauts have tracked the comet as it approaches, and the next few days should offer the best chance for those of us here on the surface to see this remarkable sight streaking through the sky.

“Though the comet is very old, it was just discovered in 2023, when it approached the inner solar system on its highly elliptical orbit for the first time in documented human history,” NASA wrote in an update. “Beginning in mid-October 2024, Comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) will become visible low in the west following sunset. If the comet’s tail is well-illuminated by sunlight, it could be visible to the unaided eye. Oct. 14-24 is the best time to observe, using binoculars or a small telescope.”

As well as the image above, taken by NASA astronaut Matthew Dominick, some NASA missions have also caught glimpses of the comet. A striking image was taken as the comet passed the NASA/European Space Agency’s Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) spacecraft, which orbits the sun and saw this blazing view of the comet on October 10.

Comets have their distinctive tails because of their composition. Unlike asteroids, which are made of rock, comets are made of a mixture of rock and ice. As they get close to the sun, the comet warms up and this ice sublimates into gas, creating the stunning tail.

However, this effect also makes comets’ brightness and lifespan hard to predict as they can break up depending on how much ice material they hold and how quickly they disintegrate. There had been hopes that this comet would be a super-bright “comet of the century,” but this is still a relatively dim object in the sky. According to space.com, the comet may already be breaking up and may not survive for much longer. So if you’re hoping to get a glimpse of this ancient wonder, you better move fast.

Samsung has opened enrollment for its Care plus program, offering users with existing phones a 20% discount. This initiative, which began today, enables eligible users to secure protection for their devices through December 24.

Enrollment period details for Samsung Care plus existing phones

Samsung Care+ is a device protection program designed to cover various incidents. Users can protect their phones against damage, including screen breaks and other accidents. The program also offers coverage for lost or stolen devices when users select the theft and loss option.

During this open enrollment period, Samsung is making it easier for users with eligible existing devices to sign up. Previously, Care+ was only available for new devices during the checkout process. Now, users can add their existing phones to the program. The eligible models include the Galaxy S24 series, Galaxy Z Flip 6, Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy A25, and Galaxy A15.

Advantages of Samsung Care+

Samsung’s decision to offer this program comes after a price increase for Care+ at the beginning of this year. With this new discount, users can access the benefits of the program without the high cost. Care+ provides unlimited repairs and up to three replacement devices per year, making it a valuable option for those who want to protect their investment.

While Care+ aims to lower repair costs, users should review the details of the program. Some services may still incur fees, despite purchasing protection. Being informed about what is covered can help users make the best decision for their needs.

To take advantage of this limited-time offer, users must enroll in the program by November 24. This initiative encourages users to consider Care+ as a viable option for protecting their existing devices. With the current promotion, Samsung aims to provide peace of mind to users worried about potential damage or loss.

For those with eligible devices, now is the perfect time to explore Samsung Care+. This open enrollment period presents a significant opportunity to secure essential protection at a discounted price.

Google is turning to nuclear energy to help power its AI drive. On Monday, the company said it will partner with the startup Kairos Power to build seven small nuclear reactors in the US. The deal targets adding 500 megawatts of nuclear power from the small modular reactors (SMRs) by the decade’s end. The first is expected to be up and running by 2030, with the remainder arriving through 2035.

It’s the first-ever corporate deal to buy nuclear power from SMRs. Small modular reactors are smaller than existing reactors. Their components are built inside a factory rather than on-site, which can help lower construction costs compared to full-scale plants.

Kairos will need the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve design and construction permits for the plans. The startup has already received approval for a demonstration reactor in Tennessee, with an online date targeted for 2027. The company already builds test units (without nuclear-fuel components) at a development facility in Albuquerque, NM, where it assesses components, systems and its supply chain.

The companies didn’t announce the financial details of the arrangement. Google says the deal’s structure will help to keep costs down and get the energy online sooner.

“By procuring electricity from multiple reactors — what experts call an ‘orderbook’ of reactors — we will help accelerate the repeated reactor deployments that are needed to lower costs and bring Kairos Power’s technology to market more quickly,” Michael Terrell, Google’s senior director for energy and climate, wrote in a blog post. “This is an important part of our approach to scale the benefits of advanced technologies to more people and communities, and builds on our previous efforts.”

The AI boom — and the enormous amount of data center power it requires — has led to several deals between Big Tech companies and the nuclear industry. In September, Microsoft forged an agreement with Constellation Energy to bring a unit of the Three Mile Island plant in Pennsylvania back online. In March, Amazon bought a nuclear-powered data center from Talen Energy.

The newly launched Swarm framework from developers at OpenAI is an experimental tool designed to orchestrate networks of AI agents, and it’s been making waves in the tech community. Unlike other multi-agent frameworks, Swarm aims to provide a blend of simplicity, flexibility and control that sets it apart. Although still in its early stages, Swarm offers a fresh take on agent collaboration, with core concepts like “routines” and “handoffs” to guide agents through collaborative tasks.

While Swarm is not an official OpenAI product nor is intended as a production-ready tool, it provides valuable insights into the potential of multi-agent systems in enterprise automation. Its key focus is on simplifying agent interactions, which is achieved through the Chat Completions API. This stateless design means agents do not retain memory between interactions, contributing to Swarm’s simplicity but limiting its use for complex decision-making tasks that require contextual memory. 

Instead, developers need to implement their own memory solutions, which offer both challenges and opportunities for customization. This balance of simplicity and control is a major point of attraction for developers interested in learning about or building multi-agent orchestration systems.

A lightweight approach for developers

Swarm is distinct in its lightweight design, focusing on ease of understanding and implementation. This approach gives developers more granular control over execution steps and tool calls, making it easier to experiment with agent interactions and orchestrations. Compared to other frameworks like LangChain or CrewAI, Swarm’s stateless model is easier to grasp, which makes it accessible for those who are new to multi-agent systems.

However, the lack of built-in memory management is a noted limitation. To achieve more sophisticated agent behavior, developers must implement external memory solutions. Despite this, Swarm’s emphasis on transparency and modularity has been praised for enabling developers to tailor agent behaviors and extend the framework based on their needs

Guiding collaboration with routines and handoffs

At the heart of Swarm are the concepts of “routines” and “handoffs,” which are mechanisms designed to help agents carry out collaborative tasks in an organized manner. A routine is a set of instructions that agents follow to complete specific actions, while handoffs allow for seamless transitions between agents, each specializing in particular functions. 

This structured approach to agent interactions allows developers to create dynamic, multi-step processes where tasks are handled by the agent best suited for each step. Examples include customer service systems where triage agents manage initial contact before passing on specific queries to agents specialized in sales, support or refunds. This adaptability makes Swarm particularly useful for building applications that require multiple, specialized capabilities to work together.

Addressing limitations: The role of state and memory

Despite its promising features, Swarm’s lack of internal support for state and memory limits its effectiveness in complex decision-making based on past interactions. For instance, in a sales scenario, a stateful system would allow agents to track customer history across interactions—a capability that Swarm, in its current form, does not provide.

The release of Swarm has also sparked ethical discussions about its potential impact on the workforce and the broader implications of AI-driven automation. While Swarm aims to make sophisticated multi-agent systems more accessible, its capability to replace human tasks raises concerns about job displacement and fairness. Security experts have also highlighted the need for robust safeguards to prevent misuse or malfunction within these autonomous agent networks.

However, the decision to open-source Swarm has created an opportunity for community-driven development, potentially leading to novel uses and improvements. As developers experiment with Swarm, they contribute to the growing understanding of how multi-agent orchestration can be leveraged to solve real-world problems, particularly in enterprise environments where automation can drive efficiency and allow human workers to focus on more strategic initiatives.