It’s not “AI washing” it’s fraud, according to a US regulator. LinkedIn announces key layoffs. You might need a background check before you get that 3D printer And a financial crash brought about by AI is “nearly unavoidable” according to the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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These and more top tech stories on Hashtag Trending
I’m your host Jim Love, CIO of IT World Canada and Tech News Day in the US.
Generative AI is rapidly gaining traction in the tech industry, with many businesses eager to capitalize on its potential. However, this surge in interest has given rise to “AI washing,” where companies falsely claim to incorporate AI into their products or services.
But some regulators are taking a dim view of this. A recent lawsuit by the Federal Trade Commission highlighted this issue, where a company named Automators AI (previously Empire Ecommerce LLC) allegedly deceived consumers by promoting AI-driven business opportunities claiming to integrate AI machine learning into its automation process, boosting revenue and bolstering business success. In reality, they did nothing of the sort.
Regulators point out that this is not simply “marketing spin” – it’s fraud and in this case the defendants are accused of scamming their victims out of $22 million.
Sources: Zdnet
LinkedIn has announced its decision to lay off over 660 employees due to efficiencies generated by their use of AI. The layoffs span engineering, product, talent, and finance teams. They represent a three per cent reduction in the company’s global workforce.
This is the second major round of layoffs for LinkedIn this year, with the company previously cutting 716 jobs, not due to AI or efficiencies, but because of discontinuing its Chinese app, InCareer.
These changes come as part of a broader restructuring strategy, with a focus on optimizing the platform around artificial intelligence (AI). Recently, LinkedIn introduced several AI-driven product features, including AI-assisted candidate discovery for recruiters and AI-powered coaching for premium subscribers.
LinkedIn is one of the oldest continuing social media platforms and it remains a dominant force in the social networking space, boasting a user base of 950 million and still growing across over 200 countries.
Sources: Axios
The New York State Assembly has introduced a bill that seeks to regulate the sale of three-dimensional printers capable of producing firearms. The proposed legislation mandates that any retailer selling such 3D printers in the state must request and obtain criminal history information about the purchaser from the Division of Criminal Justice Services. The Division of Criminal Justice Services will be authorized to submit fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a national criminal background check. The bill aims to prevent individuals with felony convictions, serious offenses, or outstanding arrest warrants related to such crimes from purchasing 3D printers that can produce firearms or their components.
Sources: NYsenate
Gary Gensler, the chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has voiced concerns about the potential risks associated with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) by Wall Street. In an interview with the Financial Times, Gensler stated that it is “nearly unavoidable” for AI to cause a financial crash by the late 2020s or early 2030s. He emphasized the dangers of over-reliance on models developed by tech companies, suggesting that such dependence could lead to economic turmoil. Gensler highlighted the need for regulations that address both the AI models created by tech firms and their application by Wall Street banks. He described the situation as a “cross-regulatory challenge.” Notably, while Wall Street has been quick to integrate generative AI, with Morgan Stanley launching an AI assistant based on OpenAI’s GPT4, some banks like Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and Bank of America have restricted the use of ChatGPT.
Sources: Business Insider
Microsoft is actively seeking a team manager with expertise in robotics to spearhead the automation of its datacenter operations. This move comes shortly after the tech giant attributed an outage at its Australian facility to a lack of adequate staffing. The job listing, which appeared on Microsoft’s official site, emphasizes the role’s significance in “shaping the future of datacenter operations.” The ideal candidate should possess over three years of hands-on experience in “automation and robotics for hardware equipment.”
This push for enhanced datacenter automation might be linked to a recent incident in Australia where a power supply issue led to an Azure cloud region outage. The infrastructure failed to restart automatically, revealing a staffing shortage during the incident. Datacenter operators have been exploring robot-assisted site management for years. Rising personnel costs and a demand-supply gap for skilled staff have been concerns in the industry.
The position, while based in Microsoft’s Redmond location, offers up to 100 per cent remote work. The salary range posted is between $133,600 to $256,800 not for the robots
Sources: The Register
A groundbreaking achievement has been made by a 21-year-old computer-science student, Luke Farritor from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He has successfully read the first text inside a carbonized scroll from the ancient Roman city of Herculaneum, which had been unreadable since the volcanic eruption in AD 79 that also buried Pompeii. Farritor developed a machine-learning algorithm that detected Greek letters on the rolled-up papyrus, including the word πορϕυρας (porphyras), meaning ‘purple’. This monumental discovery could potentially unveil hundreds of texts from the only intact library from Greco-Roman antiquity. The Vesuvius Challenge, which was set up to encourage such discoveries, awarded Farritor the ‘first letters’ prize of $40,000 for his achievement.
Sources: Nature.com
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