Unprecedented take-up may make AI chatbot the fastest-growing consumer internet app ever, analysts say
ChatGPT, the popular artificial intelligence chatbot, has reached 100 million users just two months after launching, according to analysts.
It had about 590m visits in January from 100 million unique visitors, according to analysis by data firm Similarweb. Analysts at investment bank UBS said the rate of growth was unprecedented for a consumer app.
Continue reading...Embattled firm to launch £75m share buyback to bolster stock price after criticism of sales and marketing
The chief executive of Darktrace has launched a staunch defence of the embattled cybersecurity company saying it is run with the “greatest integrity”, after allegations of irregular sales, marketing and accounting practices raised by a US-based hedge fund.
Poppy Gustafsson published a 1,200 word defence of the company she co-founded in 2013, after its share price collapsed to a record low after the publication of a highly critical 70-page report by New York-based Quintessential Capital Management (QCM) on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Washington officials appear to confirm deal to restrict export of semiconductor manufacturing technology to China
A Washington official has made the most direct comments by a US authority to date acknowledging the existence of a deal with Japan and the Netherlands for those countries to impose new restrictions on exports of chipmaking tools to China.
“We can’t talk about the deal right now,” said Don Graves, deputy commerce department secretary, on the sidelines of an event in Washington. “But you can certainly talk to our friends in Japan and the Netherlands.”
Continue reading...Beijing reacts angrily to reports that Washington has moved to restrict American exports to hi-tech company
China has reacted angrily to reports that the United States has stopped approving licences for American companies to export most items to China’s hi-tech company Huawei, accusing the US of deliberately targeting Chinese companies under the pretext of national security.
US officials are creating a new formal policy of denial for shipping items to Huawei that would include items below the 5G level, including 4G items, wifi 6 and 7, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing and cloud items, according to a Reuters report that quoted unnamed sources.
Continue reading...Ministers say exceptional security needed but rights groups warn new law could extend police powers permanently
The French government is fast-tracking special legislation for the 2024 Paris Olympics that would allow the use of video surveillance assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
Ministers have argued that certain exceptional security measures are needed to ensure the smooth running of the events that will attract 13 million spectators, but rights groups have warned France is seeking to use the Games as a pretext to extend police surveillance powers, which could then become permanent.
Continue reading...Draft plan to loosen state aid rules follows Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and Chinese subsidies
The EU executive will loosen state aid rules and propose a new “European sovereignty fund” later this year, in response to the controversial US Inflation Reduction Act and China’s “unfair” green subsidies.
A leaked European Commission plan underscores the global green subsidy race is under way, although EU member states remain divided on how to respond.
Continue reading...Shou Zi Chew will face legislators amid concerns over the social media app’s alleged collusion with Beijing in accessing user data
As the US legislative battle over TikTok continues to escalate, Shou Zi Chew, the chief executive of the video-sharing app, will make his first appearance before Congress to testify next month.
Chew will testify before the House energy and commerce committee on 23 March, Republican representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers confirmed in a statement on Monday, as scrutiny of the Chinese-owned app over data privacy concerns grows.
Continue reading...Internet Watch Foundation reports rise in UK children aged seven to 10 manipulated into abusing themselves on camera
Internet predators have exploited a rise in online activity during lockdown to manipulate primary school age children into abusing themselves on camera, with reports of such imagery rising by more than 1,000% in the UK since 2019.
The Internet Watch Foundation received reports of 63,050 webpages containing images and videos of children aged seven to 10 sexually abusing themselves on camera last year, an increase of just over 1,000% on the year before the coronavirus pandemic.
Continue reading...Platform will also use technology from ChatGPT’s artificial intelligence firm, Open AI, to ‘inform’ brainstorming
BuzzFeed is reportedly planning to use artificial intelligence to personalize and enhance its online quizzes and content, the company announced to employees this week.
Jonah Peretti, the chief executive, announced the efforts in an internal memo.
Continue reading...The US economy expanded at a 2.9% annual pace from October through December, ending 2022 with momentum despite the pressure of high interest rates and widespread fears of a looming recession, the Associated Press reports.
Thursday’s estimate from the Commerce Department showed that the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP)— the broadest gauge of economic output — decelerated last quarter from the 3.2% annual growth rate it had posted from July through September.
Continue reading...Ex-president to be allowed back ‘in coming weeks … with new guardrails in place’ after ban that followed January 6 attack
In a highly anticipated decision, Meta has said it will allow Donald Trump back on Facebook and Instagram following a two-year ban from the platforms over his online behavior during the 6 January insurrection.
Meta will allow Trump to return “in coming weeks” but “with new guardrails in place to deter repeat offenses”, Meta’s president of global affairs Nick Clegg wrote in a blogpost explaining the decision.
Continue reading...Managers said to be covering for striking staff, though firm insists action has not disrupted activity
Workers at Amazon’s huge Coventry depot described the “stressful” conditions inside as they staged a historic strike to demand pay of £15 an hour – the first time the corporation has faced industrial action in the UK.
The local GMB organiser Amanda Gearing said the action on Wednesday was “making an impact”, despite Amazon’s insistence that work was proceeding as usual inside the high-walled warehouse.
Continue reading...National roundtable mulls safety strategies as communications minister says ‘no one law is going to fix this issue’
Background checks and ID verification systems in dating apps are among the measures being considered as governments around the country grapple with how to keep people safe while they are looking for love online.
The strategies were discussed by ministers, victim-survivors, authorities and technology companies as part of national dating app roundtable talks in Sydney on Wednesday.
In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org
Continue reading...CEO of electric carmaker says finance was ‘not an issue’ but he did not have binding commitments from investors
Elon Musk expected strong financial support when he tweeted that he would take Tesla private in 2018, but lacked specific commitments from potential backers, according to testimony he gave on his third day of questioning in a San Francisco federal court.
Musk is accused of defrauding investors by driving up the price of Tesla stock by tweeting on 7 August 2018 that he had “funding secured” to take the electric carmaker private.
Continue reading...Exclusive: eSafety commission investigating nearly 1,700 complaints and has asked social media companies to remove offensive content 500 times in a year
Online bullying among children is reaching “concerning levels”, according to Australia’s eSafety commissioner. The agency is investigating nearly 1,700 cyberbullying complaints and has asked social media companies to remove offensive content more than 500 times in a year.
The eSafety commission also revealed that it has, for the first time, used its strengthened powers to issue end user notices that can compel bullies to stop their actions or apologise to victims.
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Continue reading...Exclusive: Artificial intelligence expert questions firewall strategy, as Victoria opts to wait and see
Queensland will join New South Wales in banning access to ChatGPT in state schools, though artificial intelligence experts have questioned how effective such a strategy is.
Nine newspapers revealed on Sunday morning the NSW Department of Education would ban the technology using a firewall, as concern mounts over the use of bots to cheat in assessments.
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Continue reading...New court filing says ex-Theranos founder booked flight departing 26 January last year, shortly after fraud conviction
The disgraced founder of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, made an “attempt to flee the country” by purchasing a one-way ticket to Mexico after she was found guilty on four counts of fraud last January, according to prosecutors.
In the new filing on Thursday, prosecutors said that “contrary to defendant’s assertion that she has a ‘flawless record with US Pretrial Services’ and claim that no evidence suggests she will flee while she pursues her appeal … the incentive to flee has never been higher and defendant has the means to act on that incentive.”
Continue reading...The carmaker founder said Twitter was the most democratic way to communicate but tweets didn’t affect stock as he expected
Elon Musk testified on Friday as part of a trial over a 2018 tweet in which he claimed to have “funding secured” to take Tesla private, a tweet that shareholders allege cost them millions in trading losses.
The Tesla CEO appeared in a San Francisco federal courtroom and defended himself by saying that “just because I tweet something does not mean people believe it or will act accordingly”.
Continue reading...It is latest US tech company to announce sweeping job losses as global outlook weakens
Google’s parent company is to cut 12,000 jobs worldwide as it becomes the latest US tech major to cut staff.
Alphabet’s chief executive, Sundar Pichai, said the redundancies followed a “rigorous review” of the business. The cuts come days after Microsoft said it would cut 10,00 jobs, citing a post-pandemic shift in digital spending habits and weakness in the global economy.
Continue reading...Sector reacts to post-pandemic shift in digital spending and gloomy economic outlook for 2023
Microsoft is cutting 10,000 jobs as it cited a post-pandemic shift in digital spending habits and weakness in the global economy.
The tech group joined a list of US peers making extensive job cuts, including Facebook owner Meta, Amazon, and business software-maker Salesforce, who have scaled back on workforce expansions stoked by a pandemic-related boom in demand for their services and products that have lost momentum.
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