The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday adopted a U.S.-led resolution to promote “safe, secure and trustworthy” artificial intelligence systems and their sustainable development for the benefit of all. The non-binding proposal, which was adopted without a formal vote, drew support from more than 122 co-sponsors, including China and India. It emphasizes “the respect, protection and promotion of human rights in the design, development, deployment and use” of responsible and inclusive AI. “The same rights that people have offline must also be protected online, including throughout the life cycle of artificial intelligence systems,” the resolution affirms. Continue reading UN Adopts Global AI Resolution Backed by U.S., 122 Others

The Federal Trade Commission has opened an investigation into Big Tech’s artificial intelligence arms race. Specifically, the agency has ordered five companies to provide information under what it calls a “6(b) inquiry,” targeting Amazon and Google’s strategic alliance with Anthropic, and Microsoft’s investment in OpenAI. The scrutiny aims “to build a better internal understanding of these relationships and their impact on the competitive landscape.” In other words, the government does not want another free for all, along the lines of social media’s growth, which saw big players acquire startups competing in the space. Continue reading FTC Is Investigating AI Investments by Major Tech Companies

The UK government plans to invest at least £225 million (about $273 million) in AI supercomputing with the aim of bringing Great Britain into closer parity with AI leaders the U.S. and China. Among the new machines coming online is Dawn, which was built by the University of Cambridge Research Computing Services, Intel and Dell and is being hosted by the Cambridge Open Zettascale Lab. “Dawn Phase 1 represents a huge step forward in AI and simulation capability for the UK, deployed and ready to use now,” said Dr. Paul Calleja, director of Research Computing at Cambridge. Continue reading United Kingdom Investing $273 Million in AI Supercomputing

Netflix can chalk up another solid quarter, with Q3 revenue of $8.5 billion, up 8 percent year-over-year, with 9 million new subscribers for a total of 247 million worldwide. Netflix attributes the strong subscriber growth in part to its ongoing password-sharing crackdown. The company has now officially rolled out what it calls “paid sharing” in all regions in which it operates, reporting that there were fewer resulting cancellations than expected. Rather, it says it has largely effectuated its desired result of converting piggybacking customers into paid subscribers. Meanwhile, Netflix is raising its rates as it continues to add originals and “license titles from around the world.” Continue reading Netflix Raising Rates After Profitable Q3, Subscriber Growth

British legislators seem ready to make good on a threat to add criminal liability and jail time for high-level social media executives who fail to protect children from online harm as part of the Online Safety Bill. While the bill also aims to protect adults from fraud and malfeasance, its strictest provisions are geared toward child protection. The current proposal could win approval by the House of Commons within the week, and would then move to the upper chamber, the House of Lords, later in the quarter for further revision. Enactment is anticipated by year’s end.
Continue reading UK Online Safety Bill to Exert Pressure on Social Media Execs

The growth of streaming TV means it’s getting harder for networks to get their top shows noticed on welcome screens that feature services aggregated by the makers of the television, set-top box or dongle, but UK broadcasters are fighting back. A consortium of interests including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and ViacomCBS’s Channel 5 are banding together to create a shared program service designed to better-position them against U.S. tech giants and new local TV laws currently in the works. The effort is being mounted through Digital UK, owned by the BBC, Channel 4 and ITV. Continue reading UK Broadcasters Unite in Offensive Against Streaming Giants

Reversing a January decision, the U.K. has decided to ban Huawei Technologies gear from its 5G network, giving telecom operators until 2027 to remove existing equipment. Oliver Dowden, the U.K. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said the turnabout was due to U.S. sanctions on Huawei in May. “Given the uncertainty this creates around Huawei’s supply chain, the U.K. can no longer be confident it will be able to guarantee the security of future Huawei 5G equipment,” said Dowden. The Trump administration has been urging allies to join the ban. Continue reading U.K. Bans the Use of Huawei Equipment for 5G Infrastructure

On January 1, 2019, the French government will begin to tax digital companies including Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google, even as other members of the European Union have balked at imposing an EU-wide tax. French finance minister Bruno Le Maire declared that, as the other EU countries debate, his country will move forward alone, estimating that the total tax bill will come to 500 million Euros ($568 million), which will help defray 10 billion Euros in emergency spending announced by President Emmanuel Macron. Continue reading France to Impose Tax on U.S. Technology Companies in 2019

The Internet of Things is more vulnerable than previously proven. Up until now the most common attack via IoT device has been to enlist thousands of them into botnets. Another method of attack is to find entry via a weak IoT device to conduct a ransomware attack. Now, IoT security firm Senrio has demonstrated that attackers can jump from one IoT device to another, without moving through PCs and servers, making their path even harder to discover. In other words, one vulnerable IoT device can create network disruption. Continue reading Unregulated IoT Devices Now Entry Point for Elaborate Hacks

While autonomous and connected vehicles have been getting much of the press attention this year, there has also been a push toward electric cars. General Motors recently announced that it is ending its gas and diesel efforts to focus on an all-electric, zero-emissions future. The American automotive icon plans to roll out two new fully electric vehicles in 2017 and at least 18 more electric models by 2023. GM is not alone in this pursuit. Aston Martin, Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo are among the auto manufacturers that have made similar announcements in recent months to eventually phase out gas- and diesel-powered vehicles. GM, which sold 10 million vehicles in 2016, is one of the world’s largest automakers.

Continue reading General Motors Promises an All-Electric Future for its Vehicles

As part of an industry shift that began in Europe, an increasing number of cable operators in the U.S. have been forming agreements with Netflix. Charter Communications is expected to join more than a dozen pay TV providers, including Comcast, in making the streaming service available through its set-top boxes. “Some U.S. providers could start selling the streaming service as part of their Internet and video packages,” reports VentureBeat. “Altice NV is trying that approach in France, and the company aims to extend the deal to the United States.” Continue reading Cable Providers Make Course Correction and Support Netflix

Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg just released a 6,000 word document outlining the company’s new role in “social infrastructure,” to address terrorism, disease, climate change and other global woes. He suggested ways that the 13-year old company can work with governments, nonprofit organizations and other companies. Zuckerberg revealed that the company is building products and developing tools to fight the spread of fake news, and use AI to detect terrorism propaganda as well as promote global political engagement. Continue reading Facebook’s New Mission Statement Emphasizes Global Issues

Major American tech companies are building multiple data centers in Europe, with the end goal of dominating the cloud computing market there. The leading provider, Amazon Web Services, will soon open data centers in France and Britain. The second largest cloud computing provider, Microsoft reports it has spent $1 billion in the last year on data centers, for a total expenditure of $3 billion since 2005. Google, already in Belgium and Finland, will complete a new expansive data center in the Netherlands by the end of 2016. Continue reading U.S. Cloud Computing Titans Invest in European Data Centers

The European Commission has issued a $14.5 billion tax penalty against Apple, claiming the tech giant owes unpaid taxes following a sweetheart deal with Ireland that constitutes illegal state aid. Apple and Ireland both have plans to appeal the decision. “We never asked for, nor did we receive, any special deals,” wrote Apple CEO Tim Cook. “We now find ourselves in the unusual position of being ordered to retroactively pay additional taxes to a government that says we don’t owe them any more than we’ve already paid.” The Wall Street Journal suggests the “decision is likely to aggravate trans-Atlantic tensions over the investigations into tax deals brokered between U.S. multinational corporations and individual European countries.” Continue reading European Commission: Apple Must Pay Tax Penalty to Ireland

British voters cast their ballots yesterday regarding the United Kingdom’s Brexit referendum, and surprising to many, the country has opted to exit the European Union. Shortly after the results were announced, British Prime Minister David Cameron announced he would resign his position later this year, while leaders in Northern Ireland and Scotland have indicated they will seek independence referendums in order to reenter the EU. The immediate response has been a dramatic ripple effect in markets worldwide with expectations for future uncertainty and potential crises. The tech industry, which often benefits from the EU’s liberal trade and economic policies, will likely be impacted. Continue reading Global Markets React to UK’s Decision to Exit European Union