AI @ Noon | September 30

Let's beware of a post-Olympic drift in the use of AI-powered video surveillance: Paris police chief said he was 'very much in favor' of extending the algorithmic video surveillance system used during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. But the system cannot be made permanent without a careful examination. Le Monde - Editorial

California’s Gavin Newsom vetoes controversial AI safety bill: Governor seeks more encompassing rules than the bill opposed by OpenAI, Meta and supported by research scientists. WSJ

California governor vetoes controversial AI bill in a win for Big Tech: Tech executives and investors opposed the measure, which would have required companies to test the most powerful AI systems before release. WP

California Governor vetoes sweeping AI legislation: The bill would have been the first in the nation to place strict guardrails on the new technology, but Gov. Gavin Newsom said the bill was flawed. NYT

California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoes AI safety bill: The legislation makes artificial intelligence companies legally liable for damage caused by their models. Le Monde

California governor vetoes bill to regulate artificial intelligence: Gavin Newsom agrees with leading AI companies that legislation could stifle innovation. FT

OpenAI funding and restructuring plans renew pressure on AI’s top startup: WP reports the ChatGPT maker is seeking a valuation of $150 billion while also exploring a provocative overhaul of its nonprofit structure and dealing with executive departures.

Who’s left at OpenAI? Sam Altman consolidates power after failed coup: Departure of chief technology officer Mira Murati ensures ChatGPT-maker’s chief executive is now surrounded by allies. FT

Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund backs nuclear fuel start-up: FT reports the incubation effort comes as Big Tech looks to atomic energy to meet soaring power demand for AI race.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 27

‘Deepfake’ caller poses as Ukrainian official in exchange with key Senator: A figure impersonating Dmytro Kuleba, the former foreign minister of Ukraine, targeted Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, over a Zoom call. NYT

How a Chinese billionaire’s Silicon Valley splurge caught the eye of the FBI: Shan Xiangshuang’s $10bn buyout group quietly became a top US tech investor. That has triggered official concern. FT

The European Commission has revealed a list of the first 100-plus signatories to the AI Pact — an initiative focused on getting companies to publish “voluntary pledges” on how they approach and deploy artificial intelligence.

Reuters: US FTC announces crackdown on deceptive AI claims, schemes

Bloomberg: Bitcoin climbs past $65,000 ahead of $5.8 billion options expiry

AI’s trillion-dollar opportunity: The market for AI products and services could reach between $780 billion and $990 billion by 2027. Bain

OpenAI boss set for $10bn payday from move to for-profit model: Three executives depart amid reports Sam Altman’s company may ditch founding non-profit principle and hand chief executive a 7 percent stake. The Times

OpenAI pushes ahead with for-profit plans and talks to give Sam Altman a stake: Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati to step down in leadership shake-up. FT

OpenAI is just like the rest of Silicon Valley after all: Sam Altman’s company is shaking off the do-gooder shackles. Dave Lee

Meta releases Llama 3.2—and gives its AI a voice: Meta’s AI assistants can now talk and see the world. The company is also releasing the multimodal Llama 3.2, a free model with visual skills. Wired

Can machines be more ‘truthful’ than humans? A new film based on the life of Brian Eno raises some profound questions about the disruptive effects of AI. John Thornhill

Micron, the largest US maker of computer memory chips, gained the most in nearly 13 years after giving surprisingly strong sales and profit forecasts, helped by demand for artificial intelligence gear.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 26

Mexico’s datacentre industry is booming – but are more drought and blackouts the price communities must pay? Many fear the arrival of tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft and Google in the state of Querétaro will place too much of a strain on scarce water and electricity resources. Guardian

FTC announces crackdown on deceptive AI claims and schemes: With Operation AI Comply, agency announces five law enforcement actions against operations that use AI hype or sell AI technology that can be used in deceptive and unfair ways.

Understanding the impact of AI on misinformation: Researchers from Indiana University are leading a federally funded effort to understand the role AI plays in making the messages we receive online more influential. Axios

What public discourse gets wrong about social media misinformation: A new study co-authored by Wharton's Duncan Watts shows that while online misinformation exists, it isn’t as pervasive as pundits and the press suggest. K@W

We need a Food and Drug Administration for AI: Governments should look to the pharmaceutical sector when regulating large language models. Anja Manuel

Drowning in slop: A thriving underground economy is clogging the internet with AI garbage — and it’s only going to get worse. Max Read

James McAvoy and Tom Brady fall for 'Goodbye Meta AI' hoax: BBC reports more than 600,000 people, including many celebrities, have fallen for a hoax claiming to deny Facebook and Instagram owner Meta the right to use their images for training artificial intelligence (AI).

That message from your doctor? It may have been drafted by AI: Overwhelmed by queries, physicians are turning to artificial intelligence to correspond with patients. Many have no clue that the replies are software-generated. NYT

Microsoft President Brad Smith argued at a Semafor event that the US “needs to get comfortable” with exporting artificial intelligence chips to foreign countries like the United Arab Emirates and Kenya.

James Cameron joins board of Stability AI in coup for tech firm: THR reports the director says that “the intersection of generative AI and CGI image creation is the next wave” of film technology, as he joins the company behind the popular Stable Diffusion AI model.

Reuters: Spotify expands AI playlist feature to new markets including US, Canada

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman sees AI producing "massive prosperity" in a future that is "so bright that no one can do it justice by trying to write about it now." In a manifesto titled "The Intelligence Age," posted to his website Monday, Altman said that OpenAI's strategy of scaling AI up will continue to pay off. Read the post here.

+ OpenAI might achieve superintelligence in as little as 8 years.

Bloomberg: OpenAI pitched White House on unprecedented data center buildout

+ Startup calls for more US data centers as large as 5 gigawatts

+ CEO met with White House officials earlier this month

Reuters: OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity, sources say

OpenAI chief technology officer resigns: WSJ reports it’s the latest in a string of departures this year at the company behind ChatGPT.

Bloomberg: OpenAI CTO Mira Murati says she will leave the company

+ Murati was key figure at OpenAI, including interim CEO stint

+ Startup has seen multiple top leaders exit in past year

Behind OpenAI’s audacious plan to make AI flow like electricity: Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive, is talking to the United Arab Emirates, Asian chipmakers, and US officials to expand the computing power needed to build artificial intelligence. NYT

My chat with soulless AI Judi Dench, coming soon to your Facebook: Hear our tech columnist’s chat with the AI celebrity voices coming to the chatbot built into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Geoffrey A. Fowler

Meta is spurning the European Union’s voluntary artificial intelligence safety pledge that’s planned as a stopgap measure before the bloc’s AI Act rules take full force in 2027.

Facebook owner Meta is preparing to kick off its annual Connect conference at its California headquarters, where it is expected to preview its first augmented reality glasses and announce updates to its existing virtual reality and AI products.

The celebrities lending their voices to Meta’s new AI: WSJ reports the social media giant announced deals with Awkwafina, John Cena, and others, who are allowing a likeness of their voices to be used with its AI assistant.

Zuckerberg’s Meta Ray-Bans offer translations and restaurant tips: The smart glasses and a cheaper version of the firm’s VR headset were previewed at the Connect conference in California. The Times

Bloomberg: Meta debuts Orion AR glasses as eventual smartphone rival

+ Orion glasses only a prototype, not available for sale

+ New glasses unveiled at Meta’s annual Connect conference

Meta presses pause on launch of latest AI in Britain and EU: The Times reports the Facebook owner has blamed the stalled rollout of Meta AI in Europe on uncertainty around what data can be used to train AI models.

Google paid $2.7 billion to bring back an AI genius who quit in frustration: Amid debate on whether tech companies are overspending on AI, Google’s pricey reunion with Noam Shazeer draws attention. WSJ

Reuters: Google, Volkswagen partner on smartphone AI assistant

Can dealmaking save Intel? America’s failing chip champion needs a financial-engineering miracle. Economist

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 25

FBI probes whether Silicon Valley venture firm passed secrets to China: Hone Capital became one of the most prolific early investors in US tech start-ups. FT

US SEC, Coinbase clash in court over crypto rulemaking: Reuters reports Coinbase, the largest US crypto exchange, sued the Securities and Exchange Commission last year to compel the regulator to act on a petition for rulemaking Coinbase filed in 2022.

Congress grills CrowdStrike about multibillion-dollar July outage: WP reports a computer security company executive apologized for the flawed software update that triggered catastrophic system failures and said practices have improved.

AI is evolving faster than experts imagined, including for Bill Gates CNET

OpenAI rolls out new voice assistant to all paid ChatGPT users: Bloomberg reports the startup previously delayed the feature to work through potential safety issues.  

Snap will start using Google’s generative artificial intelligence model to help power Snapchat’s AI chatbot, part of a broader plan to boost engagement and increase user time spent on the messaging app.

A chatbot is now cleared to give buy, sell investment advice: Bloomberg reports an  Israeli regulator has cleared an artificial intelligence startup to launch a chatbot that offers stock-picking advice in partnership with a large bank, even as other governments have raised alarms that AI might destabilize financial markets if used widely in investing.

The man tasked with rebooting Amazon AI: The company turns to Rohit Prasad to make it a stronger rival to the likes of OpenAI, Microsoft, and Google. WSJ

Yahoo: Intel launches new AI chips as takeover rumors swirl

The Biden administration has finalized its first binding award under the Chips and Science Act: a $123 million grant to Polar Semiconductor that officials say could double the company’s US manufacturing capacity within two years.

US nuclear plants won't power up Big Tech's AI ambitions right away: Reuters reports Constellation Energy and Microsoft plan to restart the Three Mile Island nuclear plant, hoping they have scored a quick source of enough climate-friendly energy to power rapidly expanding data centers for artificial intelligence (AI).

+ US power generation capacity through the end of the decade could rise by about 2.4% to 2.7%, according to an analysis of the most recent US Energy Information Administration (EIA) data from late 2022. Data center power use is expected to more than double by 2030 to consume about 9% of all the country's electricity.

To compete with China on AI, we need a lot more power: A ChatGPT query uses 10 times the wattage of a Google search. It may already be impossible for the U.S. to match China’s centralized energy system. Daniela Rus + Nico Enriquez

+ Daniela Rus is the director of the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Nico Enriquez, a Stanford Graduate School of Business student, has been a Technology-to-Market Scholar at the Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Google files Brussels complaint against Microsoft cloud business: FT reports the search giant seeks antitrust probe of Big Tech rival over dominance of Azure platform.

Uber’s next act: Taking on Amazon: On top of ride-sharing and takeaways, the company’s couriers now transport goods for many retailers. But is it trying to do too much? FT

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 24

Meta’s Nick Clegg tears into Rishi Sunak’s AI doomerism: The Meta exec and former deputy PM said Britain had “wasted a huge amount of time” focusing on the gloomy risks of artificial intelligence. Politico

Tech giants push to dilute Europe's AI Act: Reuters reports the world's biggest technology companies have embarked on a final push to persuade the European Union to take a light-touch approach to regulating artificial intelligence as they seek to fend off the risk of billions of dollars in fines.

The US Commerce Department is planning to reveal proposed rules that would ban Chinese- and Russian-made hardware and software for connected vehicles as soon as Monday, said people familiar with the matter. The Biden Administration’s primary concern is preventing China or Russia from hacking vehicles or tracking cars by intercepting communication with software systems that their domestic companies have created.

US pitches ban on Chinese tech in driverless and connected vehicles: WP reports officials also flag Russia, cite risk of spying and sabotage.

Russia, Iran use AI to boost anti-US influence campaigns, officials say: American intelligence officials say Moscow’s efforts, aimed mostly at undermining Harris, are the most aggressive. WP

In critical Ohio Senate race, crypto cash looks to tip the scales: The industry has spent over $38 million on ads touting Bernie Moreno, the GOP candidate, as it looks to send new allies to Washington in 2024. WP

FTC head Lina Khan fighting Big Tech, Big Pharma, and Big Groceries as trustbuster 60 Minutes

Google emails show unease over advertising dominance: At antitrust trial, Justice Department argues internal company communications support its claims of illegal monopolization. WSJ

Lobbying for unfettered innovation is bad for democracy: Lawmakers should resist the efforts of Big Tech to protect its own interests. Marietje Schaake

World’s biggest banks pledge support for nuclear power: FT reports financial institutions including BofA, Morgan Stanley and Goldman back COP28 goal of tripling capacity by 2050.

For now, there’s only one good way to power AI: Chatbots are saving America’s nuclear industry. Matteo Wong

LinkedIn is training AI on you — unless you opt out with this setting: The professional network now by default grants itself permission to use anything you post to train its artificial intelligence. WP

Speaking Saturday at the UN Summit of the Future, Google CEO Sundar Pichai described AI as “the most transformative technology yet” and announced a new fund for AI education and training around the world.

Jony Ive confirms he’s working on a new device with OpenAI: The Verge reports the confirmation comes in a major New York Times profile about what Ive’s been up to since leaving Apple.

After Apple, Jony Ive is building an empire of his own: Five years after leaving Apple, the iPhone designer is forging a new life in San Francisco, one imaginative building at a time. NYT

Lionsgate, studio behind ‘John Wick,’ signs deal with AI startup Runway: Hollywood studio will give the tech company access to its library of movies and shows in exchange for a custom-built AI model. WSJ

An outsider critiqued Meta’s smart glasses. Now she’s in charge of them: Li-Chen Miller is helping lead the social network’s push toward Zuckerberg’s augmented reality ambitions. Bloomberg

Huawei laptop reveals China’s progress towards tech self-sufficiency: A look inside the bestselling Qingyun L540 shows how the campaign to use locally made components is progressing. FT

Microsoft CEO to cyber team: Don’t tell me how great everything is: Nadella is holding weekly meetings to assess efforts to shore up software resilience after a series of embarrassing hacks. Bloomberg

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 23

How to beat online poker: Russian group won big with AI: How a card-playing Siberian AI outsmarted the world’s brightest researchers and raked in millions. Bloomberg

Will AI solve the UK’s growth problem? Don’t be so sure: AI might one day follow earlier technological innovations in boosting productivity, including in public services, but it could be agonisingly slow. Diane Coyle

Bloomberg: Lula seeks to lead push for global AI rules during Brazil’s G20

+ Brazilian president sees need for Global South voice in debate

+ Consensus remains elusive on how to regulate the technology

US and Taiwan seek to strengthen drone supply chain to keep out China: FT reports co-operation would be part of wider western ‘de-risking’ because of security fears over Chinese products.

The Chinese chipmaker at the heart of the US-China tech war: Efforts by the Beijing-backed Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, or SMIC, to break through innovation barriers have landed it in a geopolitical tech battle. NYT

War in the age of AI demands new weaponry: We must develop now what we need to be ready to fight in the future. Eric Schmidt

Google to present defense in antitrust trial: WSJ reports the company will lay out its defense in the civil case against its ad business, after the Justice Department argued that Google’s internal communications support its claims of illegal monopolization.

Electricity that costs nothing—or even less? It’s happening more and more: A big increase in wind and solar power has pushed wholesale prices to zero or below for many hours of the year, spurring a sea change in the way people use power in some parts of the world. WSJ

WP: Microsoft deal would reopen Three Mile Island nuclear plant to power AI

Microsoft AI needs so much power it's tapping site of US nuclear meltdown: Bloomberg reports Constellation to invest $1.6 billion to restart dormant reactor as data-center power demand surges.

Salesforce Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff said his company’s newly introduced artificial intelligence software is a complete package for business customers seeking to take advantage of the emerging technology.

The joys of talking to ChatGPT: Among the ways I find it useful: It helps me cure writer’s block, prepare for meetings in the car and sightsee. Oh, and hang curtains. WSJ

Bloomberg: OpenAI to decide which backers to let into $6.5 billion funding

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing + Samsung have discussed building major new factories in the United Arab Emirates in coming years amid the rise of artificial intelligence, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Qualcomm approached Intel about takeover bid in recent days: FT reports no formal offer has been made in deal which would be biggest tech acquisition in history.

Bloomberg: Apollo to offer multibillion-dollar investment in Intel

+ Investment firm offered equity-like investment in chipmaker

+ Move comes as rival Qualcomm makes approach about takeover

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | September 20

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

AI @ Noon | September 19

EU picks tech enforcer who helped write its social-media rules: Bloomberg reports Henna Virkkunen, 52, has been tapped for the role of executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy. If confirmed, she’d be in charge of enforcing the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, two rulebooks put in place to monitor how large tech companies control content and their impact on competition. She’ll also be responsible for fostering new European tech champions. 

US Intel's factory delay adds to Germany's economic woes: DW reports US chipmaker Intel has announced it is postponing a $30 billion investment in Germany due to financial problems at the firm. But is the German government still committed to the investments?

The EU’s chips plan implodes as Intel pauses investments: Politico reports EU semiconductor struggles are a bad omen for industrial policy plans.

US to convene global AI safety summit in November: Reuters reports the Biden administration plans to convene a global safety summit on artificial intelligence, it said on Wednesday, as Congress continues to struggle with regulating the technology. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will host on Nov. 20-21 the first meeting of the International Network of AI Safety Institutes in San Francisco to "advance global cooperation toward the safe, secure, and trustworthy development of artificial intelligence."

Washington sees AI everywhere: Politico reports from thier AI & Tech Summit, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) hinted once again that rather than one broad stroke, Congress’ approach to AI might look more like the efforts described by Lael Brainard, director of the National Economic Council and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas within their agencies — studying the technology’s impact closely in any given area and then responding piece by piece accordingly.

Congress promised AI rules to protect elections. It’s not happening. Politico reports despite urgent warnings, Congress is on track to leave the fight against deepfakes and deception to states and agencies.

+ According to a by Public Citizen, 19 states have passed legislation about AI and elections in an attempt to fill the gap

Newsom says he’s concerned about ‘chilling effect’ of AI bill: Bloomberg reports California Governor Gavin Newsom said he is concerned about a potential “chilling effect” on the development of artificial intelligence posed by a bill to regulate the new technology passed by the state legislature. State lawmakers on Aug. 28 approved SB 1047, a bill that would hold artificial intelligence companies legally liable if they don’t take required safety measures and their technology later causes major harm. Newsom must now sign the legislation into law or veto it.

+ Governor says he’s worried about the impact on competitiveness

+ Newsom gave his strongest signal yet that he’s considering vetoing state Sen. Scott Wiener’s AI safety legislation.

+ Newsom signs other legislation to ban election AI deepfakes

Hollywood bucks Nancy Pelosi on this major California bill: Actors Mark Ruffalo, Sean Astin, and Rosie Perez are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a major AI safety bill that’s currently sitting on his desk. Politico

Gavin Newsom signs election ‘deepfake’ ban in rebuke to Elon Musk: Politico reports California now has the nation’s most aggressive law in place on AI-generated content before the November election.

Newsom signs laws to protect Hollywood from fake AI actors: Politico reports the move comes as celebrities from Mark Ruffalo to Rosie Perez speak out about risks of the evolving technology.

Ban warnings fly as users dare to probe the “thoughts” of OpenAI’s latest model: OpenAI does not want anyone to know what o1 is “thinking" under the hood. ArsTech

CNBC: Microsoft, BlackRock form group to raise $100 billion to invest in AI data centers and power

+ The Global Artificial Intelligence Infrastructure Investment Partnership is initially looking to raise $30 billion for new and existing data centers.

+ The fundraising, which could total $100 billion, will also be used to invest in the energy infrastructure needed to power AI workloads.

+ Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the initiative brings “together financial and industry leaders to build the infrastructure of the future and power it in a sustainable way.”

BlackRock and Microsoft plan $30bn fund to invest in AI infrastructure: FT reports Nvidia and Abu Dhabi-backed MGX will join effort as energy-intensive tech strains power and data grids.

Microsoft’s hypocrisy on AI: Can artificial intelligence really enrich fossil-fuel companies and fight climate change at the same time? The tech giant says yes. Karen Hao

Google seeks authenticity in the age of AI with new content labeling system: ARS Tech reports the C2PA system aims to give context to search results, but trust problems run deeper than AI tech.

T-Mobile strikes deal with OpenAI: WSJ reports companies say new AI platform will harvest data on customer interactions to improve service.

AI-powered weed-killing robots threaten a $37 billion market: Bloomberg reports crop-chemical companies are rethinking business models as evolving tech promises to slash herbicide use.

Dell is cutting up to 26,000 jobs, potentially reducing its workforce to under 100,000. This makes it the largest layoff in the company's history. Driven by an AI-first restructuring strategy, more cuts are expected. 

General Catalyst — the US-based venture capital firm that funded AI startups Mistral and Anduril — announced Tuesday it is stepping up its Washington influence game with the launch of a new global policy institute. Called the General Catalyst Institute and helmed by tech industry veteran Teresa Carlson.

Huawei trifold phones being flipped for $7,000 even before release: Nikkei reports the limited availability causes prices to soar on online marketplaces.

Reuters: Musk's Neuralink gets FDA's breakthrough device tag for 'Blindsight' implant

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc