AI @ Noon | May 8

Princeton Digital Group secured a $280 million green loan to help finance a $1.5 billion data center it’s building in southern Malaysia, a first for the Asian infrastructure operator as it aims to get that complex operational by June.

Amazon plans to spend $9 billion expanding its cloud computing infrastructure in Singapore, the latest global tech company to boost investment in Southeast Asia.

TikTok sues to challenge law forcing sale or ban: Politico reports the filing claims the law violates First Amendment rights of TikTok and its users, and says the government hasn’t shown proof of national security risks.

TikTok sues to block US ban: WSJ reports the Chinese-controlled app claims new federal law violates First Amendment and unlawfully singles out company for punishment.

Thousands of UK troops hit in suspected Chinese hack on defense ministry: Politico reports Defense Secretary Grant Shapps briefed the House of Commons Tuesday afternoon — but is avoiding publicly pointing the finger at Beijing.

Belgium to police Telegram under new EU tech law: Politico reports the platform claims to have more than 800 million monthly active users globally.

Saudi Arabia AI fund would divest from China if US asked, CEO says: Bloomberg reports: “So far the requests have been to keep manufacturing and supply chains completely separate, but if the partnerships with China would become a problem for the US, we will divest,” said Amit Midha, the chief executive officer of Alat, an investment firm backed by $100 billion in capital from the Public Investment Fund.

A new diplomatic strategy emerges as artificial intelligence grows: The new US approach to cyberthreats comes as early optimism about a “global internet” connecting the world has been shattered. NYT

Congresswoman battling brain disorder delivers House speech using a text-to-voice app: Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), whose ability to speak, hear and move has been affected by a degenerative brain condition, uses assistive technology to help her navigate life on the Hill. WP

AP: Brad Parscale helped Trump win in 2016 using Facebook ads. Now he’s back, and an AI evangelist

+ “You’re going to see some of the most amazing new technology in artificial intelligence that’s going to replace polling in the future across the country.” -- Brad Parscale

+ Parscale says his company, Campaign Nucleus, can use AI to help generate customized emails, parse oceans of data to gauge voter sentiment and find persuadable voters. It can also amplify the social media posts of “anti-woke” influencers

AP: Nervous about falling behind the GOP, Democrats are wrestling with how to use AI

+ So far, Democrats said they are primarily using AI to help them find and motivate voters and better identify and overcome deceptive content.

+ ″Candidates and strategists are still trying to figure out how to use AI in their work. People know it can save them time — the most valuable resource a campaign has,” said Betsy Hoover, director of digital organizing for President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign and co-founder of the progressive venture capital firm Higher Ground Labs. “But they see the risk of misinformation and have been intentional about where and how they use it in their work.”

Anatomy of a scroll: Inside TikTok’s AI-powered algorithms: Israel or Palestine? What users see in their social media feeds related to the Middle East crisis and other global political events is determined by opaque AI-powered online content curation systems. Politico

Wayve, a maker of artificial intelligence software for autonomous vehicles, raised $1 billion in new funding, led by SoftBank, Microsoft, and Nvidia.

Defense think tank MITRE to build AI supercomputer with Nvidia: WP reports the $20 million AI “sandbox” will allow federal agencies from the Pentagon to the IRS to test cutting-edge technologies.

Are Microsoft and OpenAI becoming full-on frenemies? Fortune

OpenAI says it can now detect images spawned by its software—most of the time: WSJ reports the startup’s new tool detects 98% of pictures generated by its text-to-image generator DALL-E 3, but success drops if the images are altered.

Bloomberg: OpenAI is readying a search product to rival Google, Perplexity

Bloomberg: Meta will let advertisers create campaigns using new generative AI tools

Apple unveils ‘outrageously powerful chip for AI’ in latest iPads: FT reports the new hardware signals iPhone maker’s growing focus on running artificial intelligence features on mobile devices.

Apple plays up AI potential in new iPads: The Cupertino, Calif., company has steadily ramped up comments on its AI work, with Tim Cook saying AI will be “transformative.” WP

The iPad lost. Smartphones won. Steve Jobs predicted iPads could become as widespread as cars. Instead, they’re a niche. Shira Ovide

7 everyday work problems AI helps me solve: It’s hard to get your head around all the things artificial intelligence will do, someday. So instead focus on how it can make your life better right now. WSJ

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | May 7

Four start-ups lead China’s race to match OpenAI’s ChatGPT: Zhipu AI, Moonshot AI, MiniMax, and 01 dot ai are striving to rival the success of US counterparts. FT

Quantum computing breakthroughs draw investment back to sector: Australia’s $620mn deal with US start-up signals new hope for building commercially viable quantum computer. FT

Biden administration rolls out international cybersecurity plan: The State Department’s international cyber strategy is aimed at setting goals for the US in leading on cyber norms at the United Nations, on AI issues, and in countering China. Politico

There's a messy battle over AI going on in DC — and there's no end in sight: The battle over AI isn't just happening in Silicon Valley among tech giants. It's also happening within the halls of Congress and the White House as lawmakers try to figure out how to rein in the technology without stalling progress. Business Insider

+ Trump and Biden's "executive orders have contributed to a bipartisan consensus that AI ought to be trustworthy," said Jason Green-Lowe, the Center for AI Policy's executive director.

+ "The ideal solution would be to empower some kind of office or regulator to update the laws as they go forward," Green-Lowe, from the Center for AI Policy, said.

+ He added that failing to implement a formal way of regulating the sector would effectively let companies play by their own rules, something he and the Center for AI Policy don't purport to be the best course of action.

If AI wrecks democracy, we may never know: Propaganda doesn’t need to go viral to sway elections anymore. That makes AI’s impact more insidious and harder to detect. Parmy Olson

Disinformation is on the rise. How does it work? Understanding it will lead to better ways to fight it. Economist

US to fund ‘digital twin’ projects for chips with $285 million: Bloomberg reports digital twin technology can leverage artificial intelligence to optimize semiconductor manufacturing, National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie E. Locascio said on a call with reporters.

Today: Apple hosts a product launch event called Let Loose with the usual secrecy around the device being unveiled, though many expect a new iPad tablet.

Apple is developing AI chips for data centers, seeking edge in arms race: WSJ reports the company is leaning on its long history of chip development in the effort, code-named Project ACDC.

Qualcomm’s smartphone future looks brighter with AI: WSJ reports AI-enabled smartphones and PCs should help the maker of wireless chips, which remains among the cheapest in semiconductor stocks.

The thingification of AI: The broken-gadget era is upon us. The Atlantic

AI’s trust problem: Twelve persistent risks of AI that are driving skepticism. Bhaskar Chakravorti

The AI music era is here. Not everyone is a fan: AI songwriting has gotten shockingly good — with big implications for the music world. Bloomberg

CNBC: AI could drive a natural gas boom as power companies face surging electricity demand

Big tech’s great AI power grab: Alphabet, Amazon, and Microsoft are on the hunt for new energy sources. Economist

How bad is AI for the climate? Tech giants are building power-hungry data centers to run their artificial intelligence tools. The costs of that demand surge are becoming clearer. DealBook

TikTok tells advertisers it won’t back down as US ban looms: WSJ reports the app’s NewFronts presentation to digital media buyers could be its last unless its owner finds a buyer—or lands a big win in court.

The secret weakness of TikTok’s all-powerful algorithm John Herrman

Chris Dixon’s campaign to overhaul crypto’s grifty reputation: Silicon Valley’s most powerful crypto investor on why the industry needs a new poster boy—who happens to be him. Bloomberg

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | May 6

China has a controversial plan for brain-computer interfaces: China's brain-computer interface technology is catching up to the US. But it envisions a very different use case: cognitive enhancement. Wired

Can Elon Musk’s Tesla keep straddling the US and China? The EV maker has agreed a deal over driving technology with a leading Chinese internet company just as Washington is on edge about data security. FT

Ukraine unveils AI-generated foreign ministry spokesperson: Victoria Shi is modeled on Rosalie Nombre, a singer and former contestant on Ukraine’s version of the reality show The Bachelor. Guardian

AI’s future is being forged by the US and the UAE: The deal between Microsoft and G42 is just one step in the race to realize the technology’s potential — and limit its harm. Yousef Al Otaiba

+ Yousef Al Otaiba is the ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the US.

An AI-controlled fighter jet took the Air Force leader for a historic ride. What that means for war: Artificial intelligence marks one of the biggest advances in military aviation since the introduction of stealth in the early 1990s. “We have to have it,” Secretary Frank Kendall says. Politico

Warren Buffett warns the AI genie is ‘out of the bottle’: The legendary investor predicted that AI scams will be the biggest ‘growth industry of all time’, as Berkshire Hathaway revealed its stake in Apple had fallen. The Times

Warren Buffett fears AI has ‘enormous potential for harm’: The Berkshire Hathaway CEO compares artificial intelligence to the development of nuclear weaponry, even as the company begins to use it in some businesses. WSJ

Reuters: Stanford AI leader Fei-Fei Li building 'spatial intelligence' startup

ElevenLabs is building an army of voice clones: A tiny start-up has made some of the most convincing AI voices. Are its creators ready for the chaos they’re unleashing? The Atlantic

Bloomberg: Elon Musk’s X to summarize news events using Grok AI

Nick Bostrom made the world fear AI. Now he asks: What if it fixes everything? Philosopher Nick Bostrom popularized the idea superintelligent AI could erase humanity. His new book imagines a world in which algorithms have solved every problem. Wired

Facebook parent company Meta plans $800M data center in Montgomery: WSFA reports Alabama will be the only state in the union with two Meta data centers when the facility is completed.

Bloomberg: Apple’s new iPad Pro turns device into true laptop replacement

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | May 3

Japan’s Kishida unveils a framework for global regulation of generative AI AP

+ “Generative AI has the potential to be a vital tool to further enrich the world.” But “we must also confront the dark side of AI, such as the risk of disinformation.”

US official urges China, Russia to declare only humans, not AI, control nuclear weapons: State Department arms control official Paul Dean told an online briefing that Washington had made a "clear and strong commitment" that humans had total control over nuclear weapons, adding that France and Britain had done the same. Reuters

Can investment from TSMC, Infineon, and others revive Europe's chip dreams? Skeptics say more government subsidies, skilled workers and end customers are needed. Nikkei

Judge grills US and Google on antitrust claims: WP reports Judge Amit Mehta tried poking holes in the closing arguments of a landmark monopoly case as he weighed a ruling that could reshape tech. 

Meet the woman who showed President Biden ChatGPT—and helped set the course for AI: Arati Prabhakar has the ear of the US president and a massive mission: help manage AI, revive the semiconductor industry, and pull off a cancer moonshot. Wired

‘Splintered’ AI regulations could harm pursuit of advancements, understanding of where the guardrails lie Fortune

Spot the deepfake: The AI tools undermining our own eyes and ears: Affordable and accessible generative AI tools have led to a rise in false video, images, and audio on social media. Can you spot the difference? Politico

The dos and don’ts of campaigning with AI WP

Fortune: AI boom still running hot as SK Hynix says its already sold majority of its 2025 allotment of high-bandwidth memory chips

CoreWeave, an Nvidia-backed AI cloud-computing start-up, nearly tripled its valuation to $19 billion in a new fund-raising round.

Qualcomm jumps as AI sparks rebound in Chinese smartphone market: Reuters reports Qualcomm shares rose 4% in premarket trading on Thursday after the smartphone-focused chipmaker signaled an AI-fueled rebound in demand, especially in China, after a two-year slump.

Apple sales fall on sluggish iPhone, China businesses: WSJ reports  Apple revenue fell 4%, the fifth decline in six quarters, amid new competition from phone rivals in China. It authorized $110 billion in share buybacks and forecast a return to revenue growth this quarter.

WP: Apple at a crossroads: Quarterly profit falls slightly, but Cook is ‘bullish’ about generative AI

Apple is behind in AI and killed its self-driving car project. What’s next? Quarterly profit fell slightly at Apple, but CEO Tim Cook said the company is “bullish” about generative AI. WP

+ @spectatorindex: BREAKING: Apple announces $110 billion share buyback, the biggest in history.

Microsoft, Google, and Meta bet on fake data to build AI models: Bloomberg reports top artificial intelligence companies are experimenting with a different approach to meet their insatiable need for data. 

The AI-generated population is here, and they’re ready to work: AI that can predict how specific humans will look, act and feel could do the jobs of fashion models, focus group members and clinical trial participants. WSJ

AI-voiced audiobooks top 40,000 titles on Audible: Bloomberg reports while authors appreciate the new revenue stream, audiobook listeners are complaining about the influx of new material.

Will GM regret kicking Apple CarPlay off the dashboard? The uneasy relationship between Detroit and Cupertino is on display in a flawed rollout of GM’s new software. Bloomberg

WP: UnitedHealth CEO apologizes for hack that ‘could cover a substantial portion’ of Americans

Tech - Ones to watch: These are the startup founders, Big Tech managers, low-key investors—and even a bureaucrat— who could play a bigger role than you realize in shaping tech’s future. Bloomberg

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | May 2

China is using TikTok to ‘spy on’ Americans, say 46% of people polled: The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that Republicans were more likely than Democrats to think China was using the app to sway US opinions.

Japan weighs regulating AI developers, following US and EU: Tokyo faces challenge of balancing safety and innovation. Nikkei

Fortune: Japan has had so many bear attacks in the past year it’s turning to AI to act as a warning system

Bloomberg: Microsoft’s CEO adds AI for Thailand on southeast Asia tour

+ OpenAI backer to set up Azure data center in kingdom

+ Global tech firms jockey for position in fast-growing region

Why the military can’t trust AI: Large language models can make bad decisions—and could trigger nuclear war. Max Lamparth + Jacquelyn Schneider

+ When they tested LLMs from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta in situations like simulated war games, the pair found the AIs suggested escalation, arms races, conflict — and even use of nuclear weapons — over alternatives.

+ "It is practically impossible for an LLM to be taught solely on vetted high-quality data," Schneider and Lamparth write.

+ The Space Force paused use of generative AI in September 2023.

The tech billionaires who helped ban TikTok want to write AI rules for Trump: The tech moguls and defense contractors behind the Hill and Valley Forum aim to expand their impact, prepping an executive order that would dismantle the Biden administration’s rules on artificial intelligence. WP

ICYMI: Yesterday, Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced the Secure Artificial Intelligence Act of 2024, which aims to enhance the tracking and processing of security and safety incidents and risks associated with artificial intelligence.

The Center for AI Policy (CAIP) wholeheartedly endorses Senator Warner's and Senator Tillis' proposed legislation.

Please note a quote from CAIP's executive director was included in the press release announcing the Secure Artificial Intelligence Act of 2024.

"AI security is too big of a task for any one company to tackle alone," said Jason Green-Lowe, Executive Director of the Center for AI Policy. "AI developers have much to learn from each other about how to keep their systems safe, and it's high time they started sharing that information. That's why the Center for AI Policy is pleased to see Congress coordinating a standard format and shared database for AI incident reporting. We firmly support Senator Warner and Tillis's new bill."

You can access the full press release and information on the proposed bill here.

How AI is testing the boundaries of human intelligence: Welcome to AI v the Mind, a new series from the BBC that will explore the limits of artificial intelligence by pitting it against the most powerful thinking machines on the planet – the human brain. BBC

Most brain monitors sold to consumers don't keep your data private: New Scientist reports a survey found data privacy problems with the vast majority of 30 companies that sell neurotechnology devices to consumers. New US state laws aim to change that.

Bloomberg: Microsoft boosts responsible AI team from 350 to 400 personnel

+ Tech companies are under pressure to make sure AI is safe

+ Company disclosed headcount in new AI transparency report

AI startup Anthropic debuts Claude chatbot as an iPhone app: Bloomberg reports the OpenAI rival is pushing more aggressively to make its chatbot available to users no matter where they are.

Five myths about generative AI that leaders should know: Experts from Wharton and the “Magnificent Seven” tech companies debunk five misconceptions about gen AI that could stand in the way of implementation. K@W

AI is helping automate one of the world’s most gruesome jobs: Bloomberg reports advances in computer vision and machine learning allow robots to perform some of the high precision tasks required to butcher beef and chicken.

Bloomberg: AI to reduce, alter staffing at 1 of 4 Texas firms, survey shows

+ About 11% of firms say AI to reduce employment: Dallas Fed

+ Workers in low- and mid-skill jobs will see biggest impact

The last stock photographers await their fate under generative AI: Digital photography ravaged the business of taking and licensing commercial photos. Some fear AI will kill it off entirely. WSJ

The Financial Times’ deal with OpenAI highlights an uneasy future for both media and tech: The nontransparent nature of the licensing agreements could spell bad news for smaller publications. FC

Amazon gets more fuel for AI race: Capital spending will go up ‘meaningfully,’ but record operating margins driven by retail, cloud and advertising ease the pain. WSJ

Fortune: For AI startups, a billion-dollar dilemma: Why lofty valuations could be a hurdle in the race for talent

+ @tomfgoodwin: Good joke from the FT comments today: What's an AI startup?  It's a data center with a liar standing in front of it. The AI hype bubble seems absolutely nuts now, it’s like the whole world is an episode of Silicon Valley.

Microsoft to power data centres with big Brookfield renewables deal: FT reports the purchase of 10.5GW of electricity highlights rising energy needs of AI and cloud computing.

+ The energy expenditure of data centers by 2026 is expected to equal Japan’s total electricity usage.

Intel is betting $28 billion on making Ohio a global chips capital: The stagnating chipmaker is attempting a comeback with massive spending on new factories and lots of help from the Biden administration. Bloomberg

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | May 1

Why China is so bad at disinformation: China’s state-sponsored disinformation campaign has been running at a massive scale for seven years—but no one is looking at it. Wired

TikTok, Tesla show US-China battle over data is just beginning Bloomberg

+ Data fight threatens to reshape US-China trade relations

+ Electric vehicles, healthcare, drones all facing scrutiny

Self-driving Teslas can’t duck the US-China silicon curtain: Elon Musk’s decision to tie up with search giant Baidu makes sense. It’s an admission that he needs to pool expertise with rivals in order to keep pace. David Fickling

Why Musk now needs China more than it needs him: China used Elon Musk’s trip to promote its message that it is open to American businesses, despite rising tensions with the US. WSJ

Second global AI safety summit faces tough questions, lower turnout: Reuters reports  Last year, a who’s who of world leaders, corporate executives, and academic experts gathered at Britain’s Bletchley Park for the world’s first global AI Safety Summit, hoping to reach consensus on the regulation of a technology some warned posed a threat to humanity. Six months later, the second AI Safety Summit, a primarily virtual event co-hosted by Britain and South Korea, will take place as hype around artificial intelligence’s potential gives way to questions over its limitations.

Microsoft to invest $1.7 billion in AI infrastructure in Indonesia: WSJ reports Microsoft said the investment would help its goal of training 2.5 million people across the region in AI skills.

EU to probe Meta over handling of Russian disinformation: FT reports European Union regulators are expected to open a probe into Meta Platforms over concerns that the company is failing to do enough to counter disinformation from Russia and other countries.

Bloomberg: Apple’s iPad hit by EU’s digital dominance crackdown

+ Company has six months to comply with raft of new rules

+ Apple’s mobile iOS, App Store and Safari already targeted

Military is the missing word in AI safety discussions: Government attempts to regulate the technology must look at its use on the battlefield. Marietje Schaake

+ Marietje Schaake is the international policy director at Stanford University’s Cyber Policy Center and special adviser to the European Commission

AI supercharges intelligence analysis, but mitigating bias is key Val Dockrell

AI on the Hill: Senators are now working toward holding a markup on “a number” of AI bills in May.

Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) joined Punchbowl News on Tuesday for a wide-ranging conversation on the top issues dominating Washington and the future of artificial intelligence. You can watch the full video here.

NIST launches a new platform to assess generative AI: NIST GenAI will release benchmarks, help create “content authenticity” detection (i.e. deepfake-checking) systems and encourage the development of software to spot the source of fake or misleading AI-generated information. TC

+ Department of Commerce announces new actions to implement President Biden’s executive order on AI

+ DOE announces new actions to enhance America’s global leadership in artificial intelligence

There’s an AI lobbying frenzy in Washington. Big Tech is dominating Time

+ From 2022 to 2023, the number of groups lobbying the US government on AI skyrocketed from 158 to 451, according to OpenSecrets data.

8 major newspapers join legal backlash against OpenAI, Microsoft: The Chicago Tribune, New York Daily News and six other dailies accused the tech companies of taking their work to train AI algorithms. WP

8 daily newspapers sue OpenAI and Microsoft over AI: The suit, which accuses the tech companies of copyright infringement, adds to the fight over the online data used to power artificial intelligence. NYT

+ @OpenAI: We’ve partnered with FT to enhance news content in ChatGPT and collaborate on new AI experiences for FT readers.

Eric Schmidt and Yoshua Bengio debate how much AI should scare us: Two top artificial intelligence experts—one an optimist and the other more alarmist about the technology’s future—engaged in a spirited debate at the TIME100 Summit. YouTube

‘Eugenics on steroids’: The toxic and contested legacy of Oxford’s Future of Humanity Institute: Founded in 2005 and lauded by Silicon Valley, the Nick Bostrom’s centre for studying existential risk warned about AI but also gave rise to cultish ideas such as effective altruism. Guardian

Recruiters are going analog to fight the AI application overload: Indeed and LinkedIn are incorporating more generative AI to improve the recruiting and job-hunting processes. Some recruiters are still unconvinced. Wired

Sam’s Club says its AI tech allowing customers to exit without receipts is in 20% of its stores, with plans to expand to all locations by year-end.

Apple targets Google staff to build artificial intelligence team: FT reports the iPhone maker has also created a secretive Zurich lab as it prepares fightback against rivals.

Apple is expected to unveil an iPad Pro with an M4 chip at an event on May 7. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman believes Apple will market the new iPad Pro as "its first truly AI-powered device."

Amazon sales surge as company focuses on AI: Chief Executive Andy Jassy said artificial-intelligence capabilities are reaccelerating growth in the company’s cloud business. WSJ

Amazon cloud sales growth accelerates as it prepares for more AI spending: FT reports the e-commerce company’s operating income more than triples as Amazon Web Services and adverts provide a boost.

Fortune: Elon Musk says any company that isn’t spending $10 billion on AI this year like Tesla won’t be able to compete

Microsoft's motivation for investing heavily and partnering with OpenAI came from a sense of falling badly behind Google, according to an internal email released Tuesday as part of the Justice Department’s antitrust case against the search giant.

Big Tech is pouring hundreds of billions into AI. Should it also get to decide if the technology is ‘safe’?  Fortune

FFX Now: Google to invest $1 billion to expand data centers in Northern Virginia

Binance founder Changpeng Zhao was ordered to spend four months in prison for failures that allowed cybercriminals and terrorist groups to freely trade on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.

Tesla shares jumped 15%, posting their best day in three years as investors react to Elon Musk’s quick and unannounced visit to China.    

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | April 30

France and Germany sign deal to co-develop 'tank of the future': Le Monde reports the French and German defense ministers agreed to jointly develop a new battle tank platform with cutting-edge AI and laser weapons technology.

Musk wins China’s backing for Tesla’s driver-assistance service: Beijing gives tentative approval for carmaker’s tech in its second-biggest market. WSJ

Tesla clears Beijing’s strict data rules, paving way for self-driving cars: The Times reports Elon Musk also agrees deal for Chinese road-mapping licence.

Tesla to work with Baidu in push to offer self-driving tech in China: Nikkei reports the US carmaker clears regulatory obstacles but timetable still unclear.

Elon Musk’s Tesla strikes deal with China’s Baidu for driver assistance: FT reports the US electric-vehicle maker moves closer to rolling out more autonomous driving features in world’s biggest auto market.

Bloomberg: Musk leaves China with Tesla driving software hurdles cleared

+ Carmaker to partner with tech giant Baidu on maps, navigation

+ Musk sought clearance from Beijing for potential revenue boost

The United States had every right to force a TikTok sale Tim Wu

US has little to fear from Chinese AI, for now: The country is still far off from catching up with its rival on artificial intelligence. Parmy Olson

Bloomberg: Microsoft CEO to meet Indonesian president during regional tour

+ Nadella to also visit countries such as Thailand and Malaysia

+ Apple’s Cook also met Widodo as tech firms eye Southeast Asia

How the right US chip strategy can keep Taiwan free Dmitri Alperovitch

Politically motivated cyber attacks are on the rise, putting our elections at risk: NETSCOUT found that DDoS attacks rose 15% in the second half of 2023 compared to the first half. FC

What happens when the professional class loses out to AI? Megan McArdle

Bloomberg: AI faces its ‘Oppenheimer moment’ during killer robot arms race

+ Civilian, military, and technology leaders convene Vienna talks

+ Artificial intelligence weapons defy traditional arms control

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and the $2 trillion company powering today's AI: Jensen Huang leads Nvidia – a tech company with a skyrocketing stock and the most advanced technology for artificial intelligence. 60 Minutes

CNBC: Oracle boosts its generative AI capabilities as cloud competition heats up

+ “Generative AI is basically the talk of the town right now,” Rondy Ng, executive vice president of applications developement at Oracle, told CNBC.

An AI blood test purports to diagnose postpartum depression: Companies are using artificial intelligence to take aim at a host of health issues including this common pregnancy complication. WP

Investors are showering AI startups with cash. One problem: They don’t have much of a business: Some startups are raising hundreds of millions of dollars before having a product or revenue. WSJ

AI start-ups face a rough financial reality check: The table stakes for small companies to compete with the likes of Microsoft and Google are in the billions of dollars. And even that may not be enough. NYT

Meta’s ‘set it and forget it’ AI ad tools are misfiring and blowing through cash: The Verge reports advertisers say that costs per impressions on the automated ad platform Advantage Plus have skyrocketed and performance has dropped.

Jim VandeHei on AI-proofing the news and ignoring ‘Twitter nerds’ Benjamin Hart

The Financial Times and OpenAI strike content licensing deal: FT reports the agreement comes as Microsoft-backed start-up seeks data from reliable sources to train latest artificial intelligence models.

Friends from the old neighborhood turn rivals in big tech’s AI race: Demis Hassabis and Mustafa Suleyman, who both grew up in London, feared a corporate rush to build artificial intelligence. Now they’re driving that competition at Google and Microsoft. NYT

Darktrace’s exit for the US rocks Britain’s tech scene: The Cambridge tech firm says its $5bn sale to private equity house Thoma Bravo will be good for it and for Britain. But that may not be so for the London stock market. The Times

Nashville is booming. Locals fret about their future in Music City. As Oracle headquarters moves in, Nashvillians reckon with the pros and cons of being a boomtown. WSJ

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

AI @ Noon | April 29

Marcos deepfake fanning China tensions linked to ‘foreign actor’: Bloomberg reports a “foreign actor” is likely behind deepfake content that made Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sound like he’s urging military action against China, according to his communications office.

French government makes offer for part of Atos, Le Maire says: Bloomberg reports France’s government has sent an offer letter to Atos SE proposing to take over parts of the company that the state considers to be strategic, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Sunday. Le Maire didn’t provide an offer price for the proposed deal, which includes the company’s supercomputer, quantum computing, and cyber products operations.

The Chips Act has been surprisingly successful so far: More than halfway through its incentives spending, the US will have far greater scope to manage shocks. Chris Miller

How TikTok lost the war in Washington: Combination of coordinated efforts by its critics and missteps by the company led to the law forcing a sale or ban of the popular app. WSJ

ChatGPT maker enlists humans to win over fans in DC and beyond: OpenAI’s global influence operation doesn’t run on robots. Bloomberg

+ AI player boosted its federal lobbying tab by 30% this year

+ Ex Gore campaign aide Chris Lehane has joined OpenAI

Sam Altman and Satya Nadella tapped for US government AI security board: Bloomberg reports Delta Air Lines Inc. CEO Ed Bastian and Microsoft Corp.‘s Satya Nadella are among the corporate executives tapped Friday to help shield critical US services from artificial intelligence-powered attacks, as part of the Biden administration’s broader effort to minimize risks the technology poses to national security.

+ The board, slated to meet for the first time in May, also includes OpenAI‘s CEO Sam Altman, and leaders from Amazon.com Inc, International Business Machines Corp., and Nvidia Corp.

+ The group will recommend steps to protect US pipelines, power grids, and transportation services from adversaries using AI to disrupt them, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Friday in announcing the board.

Meet the AI expert advising the White House, JPMorgan, Google, and the rest of corporate America: Ethan Mollick at the University of Pennsylvania has become the go-to authority on the new technology. Christopher Mims

Why we may be headed for a generative AI winter: As the generative AI buzz fades, its positive effects seem spotty and anecdotal. Meanwhile, some execs may wonder if all these tools and products are really making things better. FC

Zuckerberg’s fake beard shows power of AI to shape perceptions: Bloomberg reports last week, Mark Zuckerberg posted a video of himself discussing Meta’s latest AI model. Mike Rundle, an app designer based in North Carolina, was watching the video and was struck by Zuckerberg’s new look: slightly longer hair and a chain necklace. And he thought the Meta chief executive officer would look “cooler with a beard,” he said.So, on a whim, Rundle pulled a still from the video and passed it through a “beard” filter on photo tool app FaceApp, then tossed the image on X. Bearded Zuck went quasi-viral.

Bloomberg: Apple intensifies talks with OpenAI for iPhone generative AI features

Apple renews talks with OpenAI for iPhone generative AI features, Bloomberg News reports CNA

In race to build AI, tech plans a big plumbing upgrade: The spending that the industry’s giants expect artificial intelligence to require is starting to come into focus — and it is jarringly large. NYT

The Algorithm by Hilke Schellmann — why AI really is coming for your job: Tools used by recruiters and managers to hire and fire may be doing more harm than good. FT

Technology can detect wildfires. Do humans still have to? New technology and human solutions both have pros and cons. CBC

How AI will step off the screen and into the real world Daniela Rus @ TED

Data center operator Data4 plans to create a new campus in Milan called “Mil02” in an effort to expand its Italian reach. The company purchased a 77,000-square-meter (829,000 square feet) parcel of land where it will build eight data centers, according to a press release on Saturday. The facility will be its second investment in Italy, after setting up another center that’s also close to Milan.

Who might buy TikTok? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯: Plus other burning questions about the new law that could kick TikTok out of the United States. Maybe. WP

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc