Marcos deepfake fanning China tensions linked to ‘foreign actor’: Bloomberg reports a “foreign actor” is likely behind deepfake content that made Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sound like he’s urging military action against China, according to his communications office.
French government makes offer for part of Atos, Le Maire says: Bloomberg reports France’s government has sent an offer letter to Atos SE proposing to take over parts of the company that the state considers to be strategic, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday. Le Maire didn’t provide an offer price for the proposed deal, which includes the company’s supercomputer, quantum computing, and cyber products operations.
The Chips Act has been surprisingly successful so far: More than halfway through its incentives spending, the US will have far greater scope to manage shocks. Chris Miller
How TikTok lost the war in Washington: Combination of coordinated efforts by its critics and missteps by the company led to the law forcing a sale or ban of the popular app. WSJ
ChatGPT maker enlists humans to win over fans in DC and beyond: OpenAI’s global influence operation doesn’t run on robots. Bloomberg
+ AI player boosted its federal lobbying tab by 30% this year
+ Ex Gore campaign aide Chris Lehane has joined OpenAI
Sam Altman and Satya Nadella tapped for US government AI security board: Bloomberg reports Delta Air Lines Inc. CEO Ed Bastian and Microsoft Corp.‘s Satya Nadella are among the corporate executives tapped Friday to help shield critical US services from artificial intelligence-powered attacks, as part of the Biden administration’s broader effort to minimize risks the technology poses to national security.
+ The board, slated to meet for the first time in May, also includes OpenAI‘s CEO Sam Altman, and leaders from Amazon.com Inc, International Business Machines Corp., and Nvidia Corp.
+ The group will recommend steps to protect US pipelines, power grids, and transportation services from adversaries using AI to disrupt them, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Friday in announcing the board.
Meet the AI expert advising the White House, JPMorgan, Google, and the rest of corporate America: Ethan Mollick at the University of Pennsylvania has become the go-to authority on the new technology. Christopher Mims
Why we may be headed for a generative AI winter: As the generative AI buzz fades, its positive effects seem spotty and anecdotal. Meanwhile, some execs may wonder if all these tools and products are really making things better. FC
Zuckerberg’s fake beard shows power of AI to shape perceptions: Bloomberg reports last week, Mark Zuckerberg posted a video of himself discussing Meta’s latest AI model. Mike Rundle, an app designer based in North Carolina, was watching the video and was struck by Zuckerberg’s new look: slightly longer hair and a chain necklace. And he thought the Meta chief executive officer would look “cooler with a beard,” he said.So, on a whim, Rundle pulled a still from the video and passed it through a “beard” filter on photo tool app FaceApp, then tossed the image on X. Bearded Zuck went quasi-viral.
Bloomberg: Apple intensifies talks with OpenAI for iPhone generative AI features
Apple renews talks with OpenAI for iPhone generative AI features, Bloomberg News reports CNA
In race to build AI, tech plans a big plumbing upgrade: The spending that the industry’s giants expect artificial intelligence to require is starting to come into focus — and it is jarringly large. NYT
The Algorithm by Hilke Schellmann — why AI really is coming for your job: Tools used by recruiters and managers to hire and fire may be doing more harm than good. FT
Technology can detect wildfires. Do humans still have to? New technology and human solutions both have pros and cons. CBC
How AI will step off the screen and into the real world Daniela Rus @ TED
Data center operator Data4 plans to create a new campus in Milan called “Mil02” in an effort to expand its Italian reach. The company purchased a 77,000-square-meter (829,000 square feet) parcel of land where it will build eight data centers, according to a press release on Saturday. The facility will be its second investment in Italy, after setting up another center that’s also close to Milan.
Who might buy TikTok? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯: Plus other burning questions about the new law that could kick TikTok out of the United States. Maybe. WP
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc