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In the early years, getting AI models like ChatGPT or its rival Cohere to spit out human-like responses required vast teams of low-cost workers helping models distinguish basic facts such as if an image was of a car or a carrot.

But more sophisticated updates to AI models in the fiercely competitive arena are now demanding a rapidly expanding network of human trainers who have specialized knowledge -- from historians to scientists, some with doctorate degrees.

"A year ago, we could get away with hiring undergraduates, to just generally teach AI on how to improve," said Cohere co-founder Ivan Zhang, talking about its internal human trainers.

"Now we have licensed physicians teaching the models how to behave in medical environments, or financial analysts or accountants."

Sept 28 (Reuters) - The European Union is planning to vote on whether to introduce tariffs as high as 45% on imported electric vehicles made in China on Oct. 4, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Member states have received a draft of the regulation for the proposed measures, the report said, adding that the new date could still change.

According to the report, the vote among the bloc's member states was slightly delayed amid last-minute negotiations with Beijing to try to find a resolution that would avoid the new levies.

The European Commission is on the verge of proposing final tariffs of up to 35.3% on EVs built in China, on top of the EU's standard 10% car import duty.

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The U.S. military said on Sunday it was increasing its air support capabilities in the Middle East and putting troops on a heightened readiness to deploy to the region as it warned Iran against expanding the ongoing conflict.

The announcement came two days after President Joe Biden directed the Pentagon to adjust U.S. force posture in the Middle East amid intensifying concern that Israel's killing of the leader of Iran-backed Hezbollah could prompt Tehran to retaliate.

"The United States is determined to prevent Iran and Iranian-backed partners and proxies from exploiting the situation or expanding the conflict," Pentagon spokesperson Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement.

In a statement on Sunday, the military said of dozens of aircraft, including fighter jets, attacked power plants and sea port facilities at the Ras Issa and Hodeidah ports. The air raids caused power outages in most parts of Hodeidah, according to residents.

The attack came a day after the Houthis said they fired a ballistic missile at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv in Israel.

Yemen’s Houthis said they fired a missile at Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport Saturday, hoping to hit it as Prime Minister Benjmain Netanyahu arrived back from a visit to New York.

“The missile force... carried out an operation targeting... ‘Ben Gurion’... Airport,” the Iran-backed group said in a statement, adding it had named the missile “Palestine 2.”

The Israeli military said earlier that it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen that triggered air raid sirens in the center of the country.

According to The Atlantic, Blinken enquired whether the Saudis could tolerate Israel periodically re-entering the territory to strike the besieged Gaza Strip.

“They can come back in six months, a year, but not on the back end of my signing something like this,” Mohammed bin Salman responded.

“Seventy percent of my population is younger than me,” the crown prince explained to Blinken.

“For most of them, they never really knew much about the Palestinian issue. And so they’re being introduced to it for the first time through this conflict. It’s a huge problem. Do I care personally about the Palestinian issue? I don’t, but my people do, so I need to make sure this is meaningful.”

Israel's prime minister indicated that he "did not even respond" to proposals aimed at bringing about a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, as Israeli forces continued raining down air strikes on Lebanon.

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron published a joint statement calling for a 21-day truce, aimed at paving the way for broader negotiations for a permanent ceasefire.

Just hours later, however, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office rejected the idea.

"The news about a ceasefire - not true. This is an American-French proposal, to which the prime minister did not even respond," his office said.

"The prime minister instructed the [Israeli army] to continue the fighting with full force, and according to the plans presented to them," it said, adding that hostilities would continue in Gaza too.

On September 24, ProPublica revealed that Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly ignored two different reports from within the Biden administration concluding that Israel was deliberately blocking aid into Gaza. Only days after receiving detailed memos explaining exactly how the Israeli military was blocking humanitarian aid, Blinken told Congress that US does not “currently assess that the Israeli government is prohibiting or otherwise restricting the transport or delivery of US humanitarian assistance.”

Now, the Secretary of State is facing calls for his resignation. “[Blinken] lied. People went hungry, and some died. He needs to resign now,” Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich) wrote this morning. Tlaib, who is the only Palestinian-American in the US House, is the first member of Congress to call for Blinken to resign.

Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda and Al Jazeera’s AJ+ have won an Emmy in the Outstanding Hard News Feature Story category for their documentary, It’s Bisan From Gaza – and I’m Still Alive.

Owda has been at the forefront of reporting from Gaza since Israel launched its assault on the territory last October, bringing the stories of Palestinians to a global audience amidst 11 months of war and devastation.

The award came a month after Creative Community for Peace, a pro-Israel nonprofit organisation, issued a letter criticising the nomination of the 25-year-old’s short film documenting the initial days of Israeli bombardment and its devastating impact on everyday people in the Gaza Strip.

Meta announced the Quest 3S, the latest virtual reality headset to come out of the company’s Reality Labs division and a cheaper offering than its predecessor.

The device will go on sale on Oct. 15, and it’ll retail starting at $299, down from the $499 starting price for 2023′s Quest 3. The device can be used to watch movies, as well as run VR fitness apps and gaming, Meta said Wednesday at its Connect event in Menlo Park, California. The company positioned the headset as a multitasking computer, putting it in competition with Apple’s $3,499 Vision Pro headset that launched in February.

In addition to the Quest 3S, Meta on Wednesday also showcased its latest prototype of augmented-reality smart glasses and announced a flurry of new features for its Meta AI chatbot.