China’s AI firms are cleverly innovating around chip bans: Tweaks to software blunt the shortage of powerful hardware. Economist
Bloomberg: Apple gets EU warning to open up iPhone operating system
+ EU announces efforts to pull Apple into compliance with rules
+ Apple previously said it would hold back future tech from EU
Meta to European Union: Your tech rules threaten to squelch the AI boom: Facebook parent, other companies warn in open letter that the bloc’s regulations risk hampering innovation and economic growth. WSJ
Mark Zuckerberg says Europe needs more consistent AI regulation—and even his privacy nemesis agrees Fortune
UN advisory body makes seven recommendations for governing AI: Reuters reports an artificial-intelligence advisory body at the United Nations on Thursday released its final report proposing seven recommendations to address AI-related risks and gaps in governance. The UN last year created a 39-member advisory body to address issues in the international governance of AI. The recommendations will be discussed during a UN summit held in September.
AI development is being hijacked by Big Tech and rich nations, UN report warns Fortune
There are more than 120 AI bills in Congress right now: US policymakers have an ‘everything everywhere all at once’ approach to regulating artificial intelligence, with bills that are as varied as the definitions of AI itself. Scott J Mulligan
Bloomberg: Gensler says AI risks heartbreak like Scarlett Johansson’s ‘Her’
+ SEC chair says too many brokers may rely on same models
+ Watchdog touts competition from new rules on stock pricing
More people are flocking to TikTok for news, per a Pew Research study. 52% of users say they regularly get news there, up from 43% last year and 22% in 2020.
California Governor’s desk overflows with AI bills as state leads the charge on regulation Fortune
Edelman’s 2024 AI landscape report: Generative AI is transforming marketing and communications – enterprises and professionals alike must either adapt or get left behind. Edelman
Generative AI is transforming Silicon Valley: The technology is forcing America’s disrupters-in-chief to think differently. Economist
Tech Jjobs have dried up—and aren’t coming back soon: Employment for software engineers has cooled as resources shift toward developing artificial intelligence. WSJ
YouTube is expanding shopping efforts in Asia in a deal with Shopee.
YouTube announced new generative AI tools for creators at its Made On YouTube event.
Apple Intelligence (the company's genAI tools) will also be available in English (India), English (Singapore), German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Vietnamese, and "others."
CNBC: China’s Alibaba launches over 100 new open-source AI models, releases text-to-video generation tool
+ Alibaba on Thursday released more than 100 open-source artificial intelligence models and boosted the capabilities of its proprietary technology.
+ The Hangzhou-headquartered firm is looking to increase competition with domestic rivals such as Baidu and Huawei, as well as US titans like Microsoft and OpenAI.
+ Alibaba also launched a new text-to-video tool based on its AI models. This allows users to input a prompt and the AI will create a video based on it, similar to OpenAI’s Sora.
OpenAI has hired former Coursera Inc. executive Leah Belsky to be its first general manager of education, leading the artificial intelligence startup’s efforts to bring its products to more schools and classrooms.
LinkedIn plans to use your data to train its AI. Here’s how to stop it: Updates to LinkedIn’s user agreement will automatically opt users into sharing their data with its AI. Follow these steps to opt out. FC
CNBC: Amazon introduces Amelia, an AI assistant for third-party sellers
+ Amelia is an artificial intelligence tool designed to help third-party sellers quickly resolve issues with their accounts and fetch sales and inventory data.
+ Amazon said it’s launching the product in beta for select U.S. sellers, before introducing it more broadly later this year.
+ It’s the latest generative AI tool from Amazon, which is using the technology across its retail portfolio.
Amazon raised the pay of its warehouse workers.
AI hiring platform Mercor backed by Dorsey, Peter Thiel in $30 mln fundraise: Reuters reports the Series A funding round was led by venture capital firm Benchmark's Victor Lazarte and Bill Gurley, and also saw participation from Quora CEO Adam D'Angelo and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, both of whom are OpenAI board members.
AI wants to be free or at least very, very cheap. John Herrman
The breakthrough AI needs: A race is on to push artificial intelligence beyond today’s limits. Economist
AI has returned chipmaking to the heart of computer technology: And the technological challenges are bigger than the political ones, argues Shailesh Chitnis. Economist
Companies carry more liability for AI than they realize: Axios reports companies that make use of generative AI — whether they know it or not — could be taking on more legal liability than they realize. The legal discussion around genAI has largely focused on the liability of the companies developing the technology rather than those who use it. The 100-page article, published in NYU's Journal of Legislation and Public Policy, provides a detailed overview of the legal landscape in both the US and around the world in terms of existing and emerging law. Access the NYU article here.
China's foldable phones herald conquest of OLED screen market: Nikkei reports Samsung and LG see sales share sink as Beijing pushes supply chain localization.
Hackers extorted a record $75 million payment in a February cyberattack on drug distributor Cencora.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
