Tag: Artificial Intelligence

Competition Commission of India initiates market study on Artificial Intelligence and competition

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Competition Commission of India (CCI) announced on Monday the launch of a comprehensive market study focusing on the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) and competition.

This initiative comes as part of the Commission’s mandate under the Competition Act, 2002, to promote and sustain competition while safeguarding consumer interests and ensuring freedom of trade in Indian markets.

The transformative potential of AI has been widely acknowledged, but concerns regarding its impact on competition have also emerged. The proposed market study aims to delve deep into the dynamics of AI development ecosystems, exploring both the pro-competitive aspects and potential competition issues arising from AI utilisation.

Outlined in the press release, the objectives of the study include:

• • Understanding key AI systems and associated markets/ecosystems, including stakeholders, value chains, and market structures.
  • Examining emerging and potential competition issues within these markets/ecosystems.
  • Analysing the scope and nature of AI applications, assessing associated opportunities, risks, and competition implications.
  • Studying the existing regulatory frameworks governing AI systems in India and other major jurisdictions.
  • Engaging with relevant stakeholders to gain insights into the intersection of AI and competition.
  • Identifying trends and patterns in AI adoption and determining enforcement and advocacy priorities for the Commission.

Proposals are invited from agencies and institutions for conducting the study, with a submission deadline of June 3 at 5 pm.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Google to combine its Android software and Pixel hardware divisions to more broadly integrate AI

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Google will combine the software division responsible for Android mobile software and the Chrome browser with the hardware division known for Pixel smartphones and Fitbit wearables, the company said Thursday. It’s part of a broader plan to integrate artificial intelligence more widely throughout the company.

In a letter to employees, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said the changes will “turbocharge the Android and Chrome ecosystems” while helping to spur innovation.

The decision will place both operations under the oversight of Rick Osterloh, a Google executive who previously oversaw the company’s hardware group. Not long ago, Google insulated Android development from the hardware division, saying it wanted to avoid giving its phone designers an unfair advantage over the other major smartphone makers who used Android — including Samsung and Motorola, as well as Chinese companies such as Oppo and Xiaomi.

Then a few years ago, Google started to position the Pixel as a flagship for demonstrating what AI could accomplish and leaned heavily into developing features that could demonstrate its potential. That meant more integration of AI hardware and software to power those features on mobile devices.

In an interview with The Verge, a tech publication, Osterloh noted that AI is the primary reason for bringing together Google’s consumer hardware and software engineers. He argued that phone technology is already growing more dependent on AI, citing the development of the Pixel camera, which among other things uses the technology for features that enhance nighttime photos or automatically choose the best of several closely timed shots.

Combining the teams, Osterloh added, is a way for Google to move even faster on infusing AI into its features. Designing the Pixel camera several years ago, he said in the interview, required deep knowledge of not just the complex hardware and software systems involved, but also the then-early AI models used for image processing.

“That hardware-software-AI integration really showed how AI could totally transform a user experience,” Osterloh said. “That was important. And it’s even more true today.”

“What you’re now starting to see Google do is flex its core AI innovation engines,” said Chirag Dekate, an analyst with Gartner. “Google wants to dominate the AI, the commanding heights of the emerging AI economy, both on the consumer side as well as on the enterprise side, essentially by infusing AI everywhere and by connecting it.”

Meanwhile, the chief of Google’s software division, Hiroshi Lockheimer, is left without a title and, according to Pichai’s letter, will be starting some other unnamed projects. Lockheimer did join Osterloh for the Verge interview, though, and the two men insisted the changes weren’t the result of a power struggle.

Google is also reorganising its AI research and responsibility groups, although those changes mostly won’t directly affect consumer products — at least not for now.

Also Read: DeepMind CEO says Google will spend more than $100 billion on AI

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Infosys is committed to ethical and responsible use of AI, says CEO Salil Parekh

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Infosys CEO Salil Parekh said that the company is committed to the ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI).  He was speaking during a media briefing after the IT major announced its January-March quarter results.

Parekh highlighted the progress Infosys has made in AI-driven initiatives, showcasing the substantial traction gained among clients for generative AI endeavours.

“We are working with market-leading open access and closed large language models. As an example in software development, we have generated over three million lines of code using one of the generative AI large language models in the public domain,” he said.

Moreover, Infosys has tailored its AI solutions by training these large language models with client-specific data, showcasing a nuanced approach to project execution.

Parekh underscored the integration of generative AI into Infosys’ service offerings, highlighting the development of comprehensive playbooks for each service category.

“We became the first IT services company globally to achieve the ISO 42,001-2023 certification, testifying to our commitment to excellence in AI management,” he added.

All of Infosys’ efforts in AI are part of its Topaz offering and capability. Topaz is an AI-first set of services, solutions and platforms that helps enterprises accelerate business value using generative AI technologies.

On April 10, Infosys announced its partnership with US chipmaker Intel wherein it will adopt Intel-based solutions, including Intel Xeon processors, Intel Gaudi accelerators, Intel Core Ultra processors, software, and future-generation products, to enable customers to integrate Generative AI into their businesses and adhere to the emerging guardrails of AI.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 Managing Editor Shereen Bhan on the sidelines of the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) 2024 at Davos in January, Parekh said that Infosys has positioned itself as an AI-first company.

“We have AI assistants now for each of our functions, whether you look at HR, recruiting, sales delivery, so that is a transformation inside. We have 100,000 employees trained on generative AI, different large language models, and various ways to look at the data architecture, which is going to become the key,” he said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

DeepMind CEO says Google will spend more than $100 billion on AI

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The chief of Google’s AI business said that over time the company will spend more than $100 billion developing artificial intelligence technology — another sign of the investing arms race that has gripped Silicon Valley.

Google DeepMind Chief Executive Officer Demis Hassabis was asked at a TED conference in Vancouver on Monday about a potential $100 billion supercomputer dubbed “Stargate,” being planned by Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI, according to a report in the Information last month.

“We don’t talk about our specific numbers, but I think we’re investing more than that over time,” Hassabis replied, without giving details on the spending. He also said that Alphabet Inc. has superior computing power to rivals including Microsoft. Hassabis co-founded DeepMind in 2010 before it was acquired by Google a decade ago.

“That’s one of the reasons we teamed up with Google back in 2014, is we knew that in order to get to AGI we would need a lot of compute,” he continued, referring to artificial general intelligence — a debated threshold that can mean machines which perform better than humans on a wide array of tasks.

“That’s what’s transpired,” he said. “And Google had and still has the most computers.”

The global interest sparked by OpenAI’s ChatGPT showed Hassabis that the public was ready to embrace AI systems, he said, even if they were still flawed and prone to errors.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Microsoft invests $1.5 billion in UAE’s top artificial intelligence firm G42, gets board seat

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Microsoft Corp. will invest $1.5 billion in the United Arab Emirates’ top artificial intelligence firm, G42, bolstering the Abu Dhabi-based company’s commitment to scale back its presence in China.

As part of the accord, Microsoft President Brad Smith will join G42’s board, and G42 will use the US software maker’s Azure cloud for its AI applications. The agreement, an expansion of an existing partnership between the two companies, was developed in consultation with the UAE and US governments, Smith and G42 Chief Executive Officer Peng Xiao said in an interview.

“Microsoft got strong encouragement from the US government to move forward in this process,” Smith said. “That reflects a recognition by the US government of the importance of the relationship between the two countries and the importance of continuing to encourage responsible companies like G42 and Microsoft really be at the forefront, not only of the technology itself, but of world-leading security and safety and responsible AI standards.”

The partnership follows behind-the-scenes negotiations between the US government and the Middle Eastern firm, in which G42 agreed to divest from China and pivot to American technology. G42 held talks with the US Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security and came to an understanding last year, according to people familiar with the discussions. Under the arrangement, G42 agreed to pare back its presence in China or face potentially punitive measures from Washington, they said.

G42, which has been a leader in the UAE’s push into AI, has businesses spanning everything from cloud computing to driverless cars. It’s part of the $1.5 trillion empire of UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The investment gives Microsoft a minority stake in G42, said Xiao, who declined to disclose financial terms or say how much G42 would spend on Microsoft’s cloud services. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft and G42 will also set up a $1 billion fund for developers.

In a later stage of the deal, Microsoft will host some of its own applications in G42’s data centres and use the relationship as a way to reach customers in Africa and Central Asia, Smith said.

“There are markets today where Microsoft and really no American technology company has a real data centre presence,” he said. “This is the kind of partnership that can really bring the cloud and AI to the global south probably a decade faster than would otherwise be the case.”

The investment agreement, signed when Smith visited Abu Dhabi earlier this month, is the product of a year’s worth of talks that included coordination with government officials in both countries. In February, G42’s Xiao said in an interview that the company would reduce its presence in China, and pledged to invest in key Western markets.

That came after a key US lawmaker urged the Commerce Department to consider trade restrictions on the firm over its ties to Beijing, following allegations made in a New York Times story. G42 denied the report, and said the company has “pursued a commercial strategy since 2022 to fully align with our US partners and not to engage with Chinese companies.”

That pivot came against the backdrop of broader US pushback on entities perceived to have close ties with Beijing. Officials in President Joseph Biden’s cabinet were reviewing more than half a dozen acquisitions, people familiar with the matter said last year, including deals from Mubadala Investment Co., which owns a stake in G42.

G42’s partnerships include one with artificial intelligence developer OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, which is teaming up with the Gulf firm as part of an expansion within the UAE and the broader region. San Francisco-based OpenAI — whose biggest investor is Microsoft — has held discussions with G42 to raise funding for a new chip venture, Bloomberg reported last year, but the current status of those talks is unclear.

G42 isn’t looking for more investments, but it is seeking additional partnerships, Xiao said. “Through this anchor relationship with Microsoft, we will be able to work with a lot more global partners in the AI and cloud-computing domain.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Meta launches limited testing of Meta AI integration on WhatsApp

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, has reportedly initiated limited testing of Meta AI integration on the messaging platform in different countries.

According to WhatsApp tracker WABetaInfo, the feature enables users to interact with Meta AI directly through the WhatsApp search bar. It first appeared on the WhatsApp beta for Android 2.24.7.14 update.

This feature is designed to streamline user interaction with Meta AI, offering suggestions and prompts within the search interface itself, eliminating the need for manual navigation to the Meta AI chat.

Meta starts limited testing of Meta AI on WhatsApp in different countries!

Some users in specific countries can now experiment with the Meta AI chatbot, exploring its capabilities and functionalities through different entry points.https://t.co/PrycA4o0LI pic.twitter.com/BB2axOGnEj

— WABetaInfo (@WABetaInfo) April 12, 2024

The testing phase, which is currently underway, sees Meta experimenting with different entry points for users across various countries. As part of the initial rollout, select users in specific countries, primarily those with their app language set to English, are gaining access to Meta AI integration within the search bar.

Additionally, users in India are being provided with an alternative entry point via a dedicated icon located within the top app bar.

It is important to highlight that the integration of Meta AI operates independently from the privacy of private conversations within WhatsApp. User interactions within the search bar remain confidential, and information is not shared with Meta AI unless specifically prompted by the user. Furthermore, suggested topics generated by Meta AI are randomised and do not rely on user-specific data.

Despite the introduction of Meta AI integration, the primary functionalities of the WhatsApp search bar remain intact, enabling users to search for chats, messages, media, and contacts with the same level of privacy. Additionally, the end-to-end encryption of personal messages and calls remains unchanged, ensuring the privacy and security of user communications.

While the testing phase is currently limited, Meta hints at the possibility of expanding access to Meta AI integration to more users in the coming months. Those interested in exploring the enhanced functionalities can do so by updating to the latest versions of WhatsApp for iOS and Android from their respective app stores.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Apple plans to overhaul entire Mac line with AI-focused M4 chips

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Apple Inc., aiming to boost sluggish computer sales, is preparing to overhaul its entire Mac line with a new family of in-house processors designed to highlight artificial intelligence.

The company, which released its first Macs with M3 chips five months ago, is already nearing production of the next generation — the M4 processor — according to people with knowledge of the matter. The new chip will come in at least three main varieties, and Apple is looking to update every Mac model with it, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans haven’t been announced.

The new Macs are underway at a critical time. After peaking in 2022, Mac sales fell 27% in the last fiscal year, which ended in September. In the holiday period, revenue from the computer line was flat. Apple attempted to breathe new life into the Mac business with an M3-focused launch event last October, but those chips didn’t bring major performance improvements over the M2 from the prior year.

Apple also is playing catch-up in AI, where it’s seen as a laggard to Microsoft Corp., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and other tech peers. The new chips are part of a broader push to weave AI capabilities into all its products.

Apple is aiming to release the updated computers beginning late this year and extending into early next year. There will be new iMacs, a low-end 14-inch MacBook Pro, high-end 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pros, and Mac minis — all with M4 chips. But the company’s plans could change. An Apple spokesperson declined to comment.

Apple shares climbed 4.3% to $175.04 on Thursday in New York, the biggest single-day gain in 11 months. They had been down 13% this year through Wednesday’s close.

The move will mark a quick refresh schedule for the iMac and MacBook Pro, as both lines were just updated in October. The Mac mini was last upgraded in January 2023.

Apple is then planning to follow up with more M4 Macs throughout 2025. That includes updates to the 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air by the spring, the Mac Studio around the middle of the year, and the Mac Pro later in 2025. The MacBook Air received the M3 chip last month, while the Mac Studio and Mac Pro were updated with M2 processors last year.

The M4 chip line includes an entry-level version dubbed Donan, more powerful models named Brava and a top-end processor codenamed Hidra. The company is planning to highlight the AI processing capabilities of the components and how they’ll integrate with the next version of macOS, which will be announced in June at Apple’s annual developer conference.

The Donan chip is coming to the entry-level MacBook Pro, the new MacBook Airs and a low-end version of the Mac mini, while the Brava chips will run the high-end MacBook Pros and a pricier version of the Mac mini. For the Mac Studio, Apple is testing versions with both a still-unreleased M3-era chip and a variation of the M4 Brava processor.

The highest-end Apple desktop, the Mac Pro, is set to get the new Hidra chip. The Mac Pro remains the lower-selling model in the company’s computer lineup, but it has a vocal fan base. After some customers complained about the specifications of Apple’s in-house chips, the company is looking to beef up that machine next year.

As part of the upgrades, Apple is considering allowing its highest-end Mac desktops to support as much as a half-terabyte of memory. The current Mac Studio and Mac Pro top out at 192 gigabytes — far less capacity than on Apple’s previous Mac Pro, which used an Intel Corp. processor. The earlier machine worked with off-the-shelf memory that could be added later and handle as much as 1.5 terabytes. With Apple’s in-house chips, the memory is more deeply integrated into the main processor, making it harder to add more.

The big focus for Apple this year is to add new artificial intelligence features across its products. The company is planning to preview a slew of new features at its June developer conference. A large swath of those features are designed to run on the devices themselves — rather than in remote servers — and speedier chips will help drive those enhancements. Apple is also planning to make AI-focused upgrades to this year’s iPhone processor.

The company’s switch to in-house chips was part of a long-running initiative known as Apple Silicon. The tech giant started using its own semiconductors in the original iPad and iPhone 4 in 2010, before bringing the technology to the Mac in 2020. The goal has been to better unify its hardware and software with underlying components and move away from processors made by Intel.

So far, the effort has been a success, helping boost performance and ease the redesign of devices such as the latest MacBook Air, iMac and MacBook Pro. Apple’s Mac chips are based on the same underlying Arm Holdings Plc architecture as the processors in the iPhone and iPad, enabling thinner products with better battery life and less need for cooling fans.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

OpenAI’s Sam Altman pitches global AI coalition on trip to Middle East

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman has been working to build a global coalition among government and industry leaders to support boosting the supply of chips, energy and data center capacity needed to develop artificial intelligence technology, according to multiple people familiar with the discussions.

Altman met with investors and government officials in the United Arab Emirates this week to discuss how the private sector can work with countries to support costly, large-scale infrastructure for AI, said the people, who requested anonymity to share private discussions. Altman has also spoken with officials in a number of Western countries and is holding meetings in Washington later this week, one of the people said. It’s not yet clear what form this effort will take.

The meetings, which have not previously been reported, mark Altman’s latest attempt to address concerns that the supply of chips and other key infrastructure won’t be able to keep pace with the rapid deployment of AI. Altman has been working to raise billions of dollars from global investors for a chip venture, aiming to use the funds to set up a network of factories to manufacture semiconductors, Bloomberg has reported.

Altman’s engagement with officials around the world represents a more sprawling outreach than was previously known. The CEO’s current discussions also go beyond chip production to include other resources such as energy and data center capacity, several people familiar with the discussions said. It’s not yet clear what form this effort will take.

“As previously reported, OpenAI is having ongoing conversations about increasing global infrastructure and supply chains for chips, energy and data centers,” a spokesperson for OpenAI said in a statement. “We look forward to sharing more details at a later date.”

The ChatGPT maker views the need for vast amounts of energy to power AI systems as one of the biggest infrastructure challenges facing the tech industry, according to a person familiar with the company’s thinking. Altman has previously talked about the need for an energy “breakthrough” to support the incredibly power-hungry technology, and suggested cheaper solar power or nuclear fusion could fuel AI development.

While in the UAE this week, Altman met with Martina Strong, the US ambassador to the country, one person said. (A representative for Strong at declined to comment.) Altman will also be traveling to Washington on Thursday, according to the person, to take meetings on Capitol Hill and with members of the US national security and intelligence communities. The meetings are part of ongoing discussions about how the US and its allies can continue to lead on AI, and ensure access to AI infrastructure.

Altman has previously indicated he believes it’s essential to work collaboratively with the US government on timing and structure for a multibillion-dollar chip venture, Bloomberg has reported. As part of that effort, he has also met with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

Pursuing foreign investment from entities in the UAE could draw scrutiny from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which has paid increasingly close attention to Middle Eastern wealth funds’ ties to China. Lawmakers have also been particularly focused on Abu Dhabi AI firm G42 over similar concerns. Bloomberg previously reported G42 was a potential investor in OpenAI’s chip venture, but the current status of the discussions is unclear.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Jack Ma promises to upend e-commerce with AI in a new memo to Alibaba employees

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Jack Ma, the founder of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, is back with a memo to the company’s employees.

The shares of Alibaba by over 5% on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The rally has added close to 8% since Ma’s first public appearance in mainland China on March 28.

The latest letter had two signals for investors to take note: the continued involvement of Jack Ma in the company as well as a bigger thrust for the company’s bets on artificial intelligence.

Is Jack Ma back in action at Alibaba?

This is the second note from the iconic founder of China’s most valuable company at one time in the last one year.

The last one came in November 2023, after a three long years of silence from Ma forced by the government of China’s crack down on the country’s technology industry.

ALSO READ: Why billionaire Jack Ma faced a crackdown from the government in China?

The stock of Alibaba has lost more than $330 billion in value compared to the peak in 2020, according to data from the South China Morning Post, before the latest rally on April 10.

Alibaba’s investments in AI

The 59-year old Jack Ma has also promised to upend e-commerce using AI. “The AI era has just arrived. Everything has just begun, and we are in the moment!” Ma reportedly said in his letter today. 

The company has invested in two AI startups this year, Moonshoot AI (valued at $2.5 billion) and Mini Max (valued at over $1 billion), this year, according to recent reports.

Both startups compete with each other in generative AI, the technology behind services like ChatGPT.

Peers like Tencent and Baidu had raced ahead in the two years that Alibaba was tangled in regulatory scruitny. Baidu, for instance, already has a ChatGPT-like platform called Ernie, which the company had built in-house.

The overhaul of Alibaba

Today’s (April 10) memo endorsed the recent overhaul in the company — which included the division of the company into six divisions — under the new chief executive officer Joe Tsai.

Ma’s last note to employees reinforced faith in the revamp that announced in March that year. “The people willing to reform for the future, and the organizations willing to pay any price and sacrifice, are the ones that are truly respected,” Ma said in November 2023.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Meta leaders say haven’t seen AI causing disinformation during elections

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Meta Platforms Inc. is under immense pressure to ensure that social media content created by artificial intelligence doesn’t cause havoc with elections this year. The company’s top leaders say they haven’t seen that happen yet on their services.

“So far, it’s been very striking how little these tools have been used on a systemic basis to try to subvert or disrupt these elections,” Nick Clegg, Meta’s president of global affairs, said at an event on the company’s AI strategy in London on Tuesday. 

There’s still time for that to change. The rapid spread of AI tools capable of generating realistic images, videos or audio clips coincides with a key global election year, with about half the world’s population headed to the polls in 2024. Experts fear that AI-generated content could mislead voters or seed disinformation on social media, citing incidents like fake audio of US President Joe Biden circulating to 20,000 voters in New Hampshire in January.

Last week, Meta announced plans to label all AI-generated content on Facebook and its other properties – even if that material isn’t generated using Meta’s own AI tools. Clegg said he was “quietly optimistic” about the technology sector agreeing on standards for moderating AI-generated media. “We should be vigilant,” he added. “But I would urge us to think of AI as a great tool to navigate this.”

On Tuesday, Clegg and other senior executives touted the company’s range of AI models, incorporated into products from Instagram to augmented Ray-Ban glasses. Meta has been a steadfast proponent of open-source AI. Releasing such technology freely, Clegg said, ensures that AI is not just kept “in the clammy hands of a small number of well-heeled companies in California.” 

A new version of Meta’s flagship model, Llama, will arrive “within the next month, hopefully less,” Clegg added. The executives also stressed Meta’s potential to weave AI chatbots into more products. “In the near future, every single one of our interactions will be mediated through an AI assistant,” Yann LeCun, Meta’s chief scientist, said on stage while donning the company’s Ray-Bans.

Meta’s labeling policy would extend to these features, according to Chris Cox, its chief product officer. Any texts with chatbots on WhatsApp would be clearly labeled as conversations with AI, he said.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow