TikTok told a federal appeals court on Thursday that the US Department of Justice has misstated the social media app's ties to China, urging the court to overturn a law requiring China-based ByteDance to sell TikTok's US assets or face a ban.
South Korea’s plan for AI textbooks hit by backlash from parents: Government says new digital education tools are ‘pivotal’ to overhaul of school system. FT
Prince Harry urges caution on AI at start of trip to Colombia: Reuters reports Britain's Prince Harry urged caution over artificial intelligence and talked of social media as divisive during a panel in Colombia's capital Bogota alongside his wife Meghan and the Andean country's Vice President Francia Marquez.
As DNC hits Chicago, Microsoft warns of deepfake artificial-intelligence attacks: CST reports President Joe Biden became a target of satirical, manipulated videos before he dropped his reelection bid. And a deepfake photo after the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump was altered to make it appear Secret Service agents smiled as they encircled him — apparently an effort to make the shooting appear to be a hoax.
OpenAI said on Friday it had taken down accounts of an Iranian group for using its ChatGPT chatbot to generate content meant for influencing the US presidential election and other issues.
California trims AI safety bill amid fears of tech exodus: And as Anthropic boss reckons there's 'a good chance ... we'll be able to get models that are better than most humans at most things.' The Register
California bill to regulate AI advances over tech opposition with some tweaks: SB 1047 would regulate large-scale AI models, protect whistleblowers. SJMN
This controversial California AI bill was amended to quell Silicon Valley fears. Here’s what changed LAT
California AI bill is amended; Vote is expected by end of August: Silicon Valley companies still worry that state lawmakers are jumping the gun on regulating a still-unproven technology. NYT
Nancy Pelosi criticizes California AI bill as ‘ill-informed’ TC
Pelosi Statement in opposition to California Senate Bill 1047 Press Release
Senator Wiener responds to Speaker Emerita Pelosi's opposition to SB 1047 Press Release
Re “Many people fear AI. They shouldn’t,” by David Brooks: Alligators are heartless and have little interest in arts or music; that doesn’t stop them from biting your arm off if you stick it in a swamp. Instead of assuring the public that AI will be good for humanity, Mr. Brooks should help us think through what kinds of policies will allow us to use AI safely. Jason Green-Lowe NYT-LTE
AI discovers new drugs that could save millions of lives — and Big Pharma’s time: The Times reports while many industries are having second thoughts about artificial intelligence transforming the way they operate, it is proving revolutionary in drug discovery.
AI could actually change the gaming industry: The technology is expected to slash the fat budgets that have been required to develop every new game. FT
AI is helping to launch new businesses (and not just AI businesses): Entrepreneurs say use of artificial intelligence for a variety of tasks is accelerating the path to hiring and, ideally, profitability. NYT
Biggest US companies warn of growing AI risk: Study finds more than half of Fortune 500 groups cited new technology as a potential hazard in their latest annual reports. FT
Noxious images spread after Elon Musk launches AI tool with few guardrails: WP reports by using his platform to favor Donald Trump and launch a loosely-controlled AI chatbot, Grok, Musk has dragged the company into uncharted territory ahead of a contentious election.
Why does AI art look like that? Every tech company wants its image generator to be the best. But they all produce oddly similar work. Caroline Mimbs Nyce
Reuters: South Korean AI chip makers Rebellions and Sapeon agree to merge
Samsung bets on CXL memory to become next AI darling: Nikkei reports the technology can boost server memory capacity 10-fold over current products.
US tech groups’ water consumption soars in ‘data centre alley’: FT reports usage has increased by almost two-thirds since 2019 in the world’s largest concentration of computing infrastructure.
Reuters: X says it is closing operations in Brazil due to judge's content orders
Inside Worldcoin’s orb factory, audacious and absurd defender of humanity: The startup, co-founded by Sam Altman, is determined to verify every human on Earth, one iris at a time. Bloomberg
Sam Altman’s Worldcoin is battling with governments over your eyes: WSJ reports the OpenAI chief’s Worldcoin project involves an attempt to scan the irises of every person on Earth and pay them with his own cryptocurrency. Authorities aren’t buying it.
Bitcoin rises 5.17% to $59,609.
The unraveling of a crypto dream: Brock Pierce arrived in Puerto Rico seven years ago, promising to use crypto magic to revitalize the local economy. Now he’s mired in legal disputes and fighting with his business partners. NYT
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
