Grady McGregor here in Hong Kong, filling in for Jeremy.
Late last week, Chinese regulators publicly shared details on 30 algorithms that power some of the countrys most widely used apps and websites, an unprecedented measure that marks a new escalation in Beijings years-long campaign to rein in the power of big tech.
The list of algorithms included details on the underlying technology that power apps from Chinas largest internet companies, including e-commerce firm Alibaba, social media company and TikTok-owner Bytedance, and delivery giant Meituan. The A.I.-driven recommendation algorithms are highly valuable trade secrets that have come to govern many parts of day-to-day life in China, determining what videos people watch, the products they buy, and routes that food delivery workers operate.
The fact that the Cybersecurity Administration of China (CAC), the countrys tech regulator, released the list to the public was unusualand not just for China.
Im not aware of any other country in the world that has a public facing list of every piece of code that manages your [online] decisions, says Kendra Schaefer, head of China tech policy research at Trivium China.
Its been clear that Chinese tech companies would need to share some details of their algorithms with authorities since at least March. That month, Chinas government implemented a sweeping new law governing recommendation algorithms. The new law banned any algorithm that might threaten national security, social stability or induce user over-indulgence or wanton consumption, says Angela Zhang, associate professor at the University of Hong Kongs law school.
One of those new rules required Chinese tech companies to register their algorithms with the CAC, which explains why the companies had released at least some technical details to authorities. While the information that the government has since released to the public does not include the actual computer code underlying the various algorithms, its not clear if Chinese firms have handed over more granular, code-level details that the government has not released. How much access the CAC ends up getting to that code is a big question mark, Schaefer says.
For now, Beijings crackdown on the recommendation algorithms appears equal parts populist and draconianBeijing wants to grant consumers more rights to their information online as long as the government ultimately retains more power over the industry. Half of the regulations are focused on very forward-looking, very positive consumer rights issues, says Schaefer. Half of the regulations are focused on tightening content control online.
Big tech companies, meanwhile, appear to be clear losers of Beijing tightening the algorithm rules, and the governments approach raises questions about the broader future of A.I. development within the worlds most populous nation.
Matt Sheehan, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace specializing in Chinese A.I. policy, says that Beijing has not completely soured on A.I. Rather, he says authorities are aiming to re-align uses of A.I. with the governments larger socio-political goals, even if that means weakening consumer-facing algorithms.
A.I. is woven throughout Chinas economy [so authorities are now] regulating the actual operation of these algorithms to ensure that they are pushing in the direction that they want, he says.
And, at the same time that Beijing is cracking down on consumer-facing technology firms that deploy A.I., the government has prioritized deep tech applications of A.I. such as in robotics and industrial applications, says Sheehan.
Investors and the companies themselves have begun to follow the political winds. Last month, the Financial Times reported that Neil Shen, the influential Chinese investor and founder of Sequoia China, planned to deploy a $9 billion new fund to supporting artificial intelligence and other technologies like semiconductors while he continues to divest from consumer-facing companies that use A.I. like Meituan. Social media giant Tencent, meanwhile, has stepped up its own deep tech efforts in the past year, putting billions into new A.I. and robotics investments.
Theres plenty of ways to use A.I. that are perfectly in line with the Chinese Communist Partys vision for the economy and society, he says. Companies are trying to strategically fall in line with with those priorities.
Heres the rest of this weeks news in A.I.
TikTok launched a text-to-image A.I. generator. Called A.I. Greenscreen, the recently added feature allows users of the short-form video platform to create unique, computer-generated images after typing in a text prompt. The inclusion of the text-to-image A.I. software on TikTok's platform marks a rapid expansion of a technology that is less than two years old. In early 2021, artificial intelligence research laboratory OpenAI released the original text-to-image platform called DALL-E, which became popular as users experimented in making wholly original pieces by simply typing in words like flower or chair. TikTok's 'A.I. Greenscreen' feature is still primitive compared to DALL-E, Google's Imagen, or Midjourney's eponymous platform, according to the Verge, with many prompts producing abstract images. But that may be a good thing due to the potential that users might abuse the technology and make explicit or hateful images,theVergenotes.
Chinese A.I. giant SenseTime is selling a new robot that plays Chinese chess. The SenseRobot sells for $299 (or $368 for a pro version) in China and comes equipped with a mechanical arm, camera, and chess board. The move marks SenseTime's first foray into the consumer market, after the firm has spent years struggling to reach profitability and fighting political battles. SenseTime develops commercial A.I. technologies used in surveillance cameras, self-driving cars, and facial recognition cameras. The U.S. government alleges that at least some of SenseTime's technology has been used to perpetuate human rights violations in China's western Xinjiang province. SenseTime has denied the allegations. Now, the firm may hope that a chess-playing robot can soften its image. "We hope to create a robot product that can truly think and act through innovative and leading A.I. technology, allowing industrial-grade A.I. technology to enter thousands of homes and interact with children and elders in a real way, SenseTime chairman Xu Li, tellsSCMP.
Codelco uses A.I. to get more copper from aging mines. In 2020, Chilean mining firm Codelco introduced a new digital data center that uses machine learning to aid in mining copper. The use of A.I. helps Codelco optimize the processing of extracted ore, essentially helping the firm get more value out of the material the firm already mines. Codelco tells Bloombergthat A.I. is now helping it mine 8,000 more metric tons per year of copper, translating to a $80 million boost in annual profits. Chile holds the world's largest copper reserves, but Codelco's use of A.I. in copper mining has helped it battle against the fact that the quality of Chilean ore has been deteriorating in recent years.
The U.S. government passed The CHIPS and Science Act. The headlines regarding the new law were mostly about semiconductors because the legislation allocates $52 billion to promote semiconductor manufacturing industry in the U.S. But the CHIPS and Science Act also includes roughly $200 billion for research into A.I. and other critical emerging technologies. The Wall Street Journal's editorial board argued that the investment would only create a more bloated government bureaucracy, but U.S. President Joe Biden said the investment could make the U.S. more globally competitive for years to come. This bill is about more than chips. Its about science as wellthis increased research and development funding is going to ensure the United States leads the world and the industries of the future, from quantum computing to artificial intelligence to advanced biotechnology, Biden said about the new law.
Cybersecurity firm Vectra A.I. hired Myrna Soto as a key strategic advisor to the companys leadership team. Soto was most recently the chief strategy officer of technology provider Forcepoint. Vectra AI uses A.I. tools to detect and respond to cyber threats for companies that use hybrid or multiple cloud platforms.
Corvus Insurance promoted Madhu Tadikonda from president to CEO, taking over from Corvus founder Phil Edmundson who will become chair of Corvus board. The cyber insurance firm offers commercial insurance policies powered by A.I.-driven risk tools, and recently expanded into the U.K. and Germany.
Cybersecurity firm NetWitness hired Ken Naumann as its new CEO. Naumann was previously CEO of data forensics firm AccessData. Netwitness offers a range of A.I.-driven cybersecurity solutions to detect and eliminate digital threats.
Boston Dynamics and Hyundai Motor Group are launching a new Boston Dynamics AI Institute. The two companies made the announcement via joint press release on Friday, saying they would together invest $400 million to get the institute off the ground. The A.I. institute has not provided many clues on specific projects it will focus on, but the release said it will focus on four core areas including cognitive A.I., athletic A.I., organic hardware design, and ethics and policy. On a newly created website, Marc Raibert, the executive director of the new institute, pointed towards more lofty goals. "We need to make robots smarter, more agile and dexterous, and generally easier to use more like people. Once we do that, robots and other types of intelligent systems will increase productivity, free people from dangerous work, care for the disabled, and generally help people live better lives," he writes.
The U.S. is worried it will lose its scientific edge to China. By one new measure, it already hasby Nicholas Gordon
One of the most dangerous and irresponsible actions by a car company in decades: Activist Ralph Nader urges regulators to recall Teslas self-driving technologyTristan Bove
Elon Musk wrote an op-ed for Chinas internet regulator, seeking like-minded Chinese partners and pitching Tesla Bot as an aid in its population crisisNicholas Gordon
United Airlines bets $10 million on flying taxisChris Morris
Inventory issues are hurting the bottom line. Its time for a hybrid approach to supply chainsKal Raman
Injecting A.I. into social science is a no-brainer, right? Indeed, researchers have come up with ground-breaking new findings after using machine learning methods for the first time, claiming that A.I.-driven pattern recognition has revolutionized fields like political science and psychology. One study claimed that artificial intelligence allowed researchers to predict when a civil war would break out with 90% accuracy, a 20% improvement on traditional statistical methods.
But some skeptics like Princeton professor Arvind Narayanan, and his PhD student Sayash Kapoor, have begun to question the A.I.-assisted findings. Kapoor and Narayanan say they were not able to replicate the civil war finding or several others after using their own machine learning methods. They believe that the initial experiments suffered from data leakage, meaning that the researchers accidentally exposed some data to the algorithm before they were supposed to.
Now, they warn the misuse of machine learning in science has created a reproducibility crisis and countless other studies could be plagued with similar issues. The idea that you can take a four-hour online course and then use machine learning in your scientific research has become so overblown People have not stopped to think about where things can potentially go wrong, Kapoor tells Wired.
See the rest here:
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- Big Tech's ad transparency tools especially X's are failing at their jobs, report finds - Mashable - April 18th, 2024 [April 18th, 2024]
- Big Tech Taps AI Agents to Drive Revenue Growth - PYMNTS.com - April 18th, 2024 [April 18th, 2024]
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- Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta Shows Power of Ads Over Subscriptions - Bloomberg - January 2nd, 2024 [January 2nd, 2024]
- Looking Beyond The 'Magnificent 7' Analysts Just Upgraded These Three Large-Cap Stocks - Anheuser-Busch - Benzinga - January 2nd, 2024 [January 2nd, 2024]
- Mapping the Biggest Tech Talent Hubs in the U.S. and Canada - Visual Capitalist - January 2nd, 2024 [January 2nd, 2024]
- Google, Meta, other tech giants slash DEI-related jobs, resource groups in 2023: Report - Fox Business - January 2nd, 2024 [January 2nd, 2024]
- South Koreas proposed tech regulations would be a gift to China - The Hill - January 2nd, 2024 [January 2nd, 2024]
- Outlook 2024: Big changes to expect in personal tech - The Indian Express - January 2nd, 2024 [January 2nd, 2024]
- Big Tech Dumped $17 Billion Into AI Companies in 2023 Despite Frozen Market - The Messenger - January 2nd, 2024 [January 2nd, 2024]
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- Opinion | Lindsey Graham and Elizabeth Warren: When It Comes to Big Tech, Enough Is Enough - The New York Times - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- Globe editorial: Canada can't tackle Big Tech on its own - The Globe and Mail - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- July jobs report and more Big Tech earnings are in the week ahead after markets notch historic run for Dow - CNBC - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- A Setback in the F.T.C.'s Fight Against Big Tech - The New Yorker - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- Be strong in the fight against Big Tech, Canada - Canada's National Observer - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- Decoding volatility: Are big tech stocks as stable as we think? - CryptoSlate - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- Patients think their health data will be leaked and don't trust big tech ... - Contemporary Pediatrics - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Big Tech Earnings Season - Fagen wasanni - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- The problem with Big Tech's voluntary AI safety commitments - Emerging Tech Brew - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
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- The Week Ahead: Fed, ECB and BoJ set rates, and Big Tech ... - Financial Times - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- China's Big Tech making a comeback with Beijing offering fresh ... - The Straits Times - July 29th, 2023 [July 29th, 2023]
- Montgomery County school district sues Big Tech over youth mental ... - Washington Times - June 18th, 2023 [June 18th, 2023]
- Big Tech knows most Brits don't know how to protect their online ... - TechRadar - June 18th, 2023 [June 18th, 2023]
- The time for talk is over is time for action on data privacy - The Hill - June 18th, 2023 [June 18th, 2023]
- Meet the man calling out Big Techs climate hypocrisy - Corporate Knights Magazine - June 18th, 2023 [June 18th, 2023]
- Letter: UK watchdog's tough stance on Big Tech should reassure MPs - Financial Times - June 18th, 2023 [June 18th, 2023]
- Peter Thiel on Big Tech: A Throwback Lecture - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence - June 18th, 2023 [June 18th, 2023]
- Big Tech Is Big Tobacco - The Lever - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Graham fires warning shot at Big Tech: Were going to unleash the courtrooms of America on you - Fox News - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Experts weigh the current cost of anticompetitive behavior in Big ... - NYU Law - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Big Tech lobbying on AI regulation as industry races to harness ... - Center for Responsive Politics - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- 'Big Tech is knowingly fueling a mental-health crisis in this country ... - Morningstar - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- EY's Abandoned Split Exposes Obstacles to Big Tech Consulting - Bloomberg Tax - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Apple CEO Tim Cook calls mass layoffs a last resort, as the company avoids the giant job cuts of its Big Tech peers - Yahoo Finance - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Big Tech stocks are flying! Which ones are the best buys today? - Motley Fool UK - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Why Indian start-ups have accused the Internet and Mobile Association of India of spreading Big Tech propaganda - The Indian Express - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Intimate Images Protection Update Big Tech Warned To Be Ready ... - BC INJURY LAW - May 6th, 2023 [May 6th, 2023]
- Apple Stock and Big Tech Are Winners. Why Cathie Wood's ARK Is Still a Loser. - Barron's - May 4th, 2023 [May 4th, 2023]
- White House officials will meet Big Tech CEOs as President Biden looks to tackle AI safety concerns - Yahoo Canada Finance - May 4th, 2023 [May 4th, 2023]
- The top 10 buzziest companies Gen Z wants to work fornone of them are in Big Tech, says new report - CNBC - May 4th, 2023 [May 4th, 2023]
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- Big Tech Earnings: Time to Take Another Bite of Apple? - Yahoo Finance - May 4th, 2023 [May 4th, 2023]
- Vibe Check: Big Tech Is Losing Its 'Luster' For The Class Of 2023 Amid Mounting Layoffs And An Uncertain Economy - Forbes - May 4th, 2023 [May 4th, 2023]
- Lindsey Graham says Big Tech will kill online child safety bill, teases plan with Elizabeth Warren - Washington Times - May 4th, 2023 [May 4th, 2023]
- 'Break them open' new EU rules coming for Big Tech - TNW - May 4th, 2023 [May 4th, 2023]
- EY's Abandoned Split Exposes Obstacles to Big Tech Consulting - Bloomberg Law - May 4th, 2023 [May 4th, 2023]
- Open Source Communities Need More Than Funding From Big Tech - DevOps.com - May 4th, 2023 [May 4th, 2023]
- Night School, Class 3: Big Tech vs the insurgents - Financial Times - May 4th, 2023 [May 4th, 2023]
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