Healthcare AI start-up Hippocratic AI has raised $50m in seed funding to build language models for the healthcare industry. Large language models can mine big data and provide summaries and even generate content, and Hippocratic AI hopes to distinguish its model by training it with deep medical knowledge and having healthcare professionals provide human feedback. The company plans to focus on non-diagnostic tasks, with the model aiming to obtain certification across several areas of healthcare while using understanding and empathy when communicating with patients. The funding round was co-led by General Catalyst and Andreessen Horowitz.
The US Justice Department will announce the first enforcement actions undertaken by its innovative technology task force on Tuesday, according to the US Attorney's Office. The group was set up as a joint venture between the Justice Department and the Commerce Department to protect US technology from foreign hacking and other threats to national security.
Companies need to shift their focus towards three key elements of a new mindset, rather than simply concentrate on environmental, social and governance objectives, according to Sir Ian Davis, and Daniel Litvin. The societal challenges that companies must face will lead to the reshaping of traditional structures, more favourable geopolitical situations, the consolidation of new technologies and the strengthening of democratic support. Definitions of ESG can be too broad and push companies from outside to satisfy stakeholders' expectations. Sir Ian Davis suggests a new strategy based on focused goals, CEO-driven strategy, and working with governments to tackle issues that may cripple specific sectors of society. He advocates oil and gas majors, for example, tackling climate change by lobbying state-owned oil firms to reduce production output while major tech companies should develop stronger industry norms of behaviour, collaborating with regulators to "head off potential societal strains and disasters from new innovations."
U.S. forms team to set national strategy on flying air taxis
Reuters
23-05-16 13:24
The Biden administration has created an interagency team comprised of several federal agencies to develop a national strategy on electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, popularly known as flying taxis. This step comes as eVTOL companies have been gaining widespread interest from investors, bolstered by recent IPOs. The group includes the Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Communications Commission, Transportation Security Administration, and NASA.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will testify before the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law regarding the risks of artificial intelligence (AI) and the need for rules to avoid them. The move follows calls by Senator Richard Blumenthal, chairman of the committee, for "rules and safeguards" to be put in place to address the potential benefits and "pitfalls" associated with AI. Other tech industry representatives being called on include IBM CPO Christina Montgomery and Gary Marcus from New York University.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified before Congress about the risks and benefits of AI, and called for regulation and a new government agency tasked with creating standards for the field. Altman acknowledged the potential for "significant harm" caused by technology such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, including disinformation and emotional manipulation, but maintained that the company's "iterative deployment" of AI models allowed institutions to understand the associated safety risks. Lawmakers from both parties expressed a willingness to listen to Altman's regulatory proposals, with some suggesting a new government agency to regulate AI, but past attempts to create such an agency have struggled to gain traction in Congress.
The US Department of Commerce and Federal Bureau of Investigation have assembled a “technology strike force” to target countries deemed a threat to US national security. Officials are specifically targeting opaque networks channeling technology and goods from the US through international middlemen to undermine American sanctions or technological restrictions, and are tracing global movements of funds, goods, and data. The move follows the announcement on Tuesday that the Biden administration had brought charges as part of five cases of sanctions evasion and technology espionage involving Russia, China, and Iran. Oleg Patsyula and Vasilii Besedin were charged under accusations of supplying aircraft parts to Russia, contravening sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A further case targeted Chinese companies which had secured the confidential technology of rival firm Apple, including in relation to its autonomous vehicle. In addition, a California-based engineer is accused of coordinating theft of source code for military aircraft and submarine parts to sell to Chinese companies.
The University of Cambridge ranks fourth and the University of Oxford fifth in the Centre for World University (CWU) Rankings, with Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Stanford in the top three spots. In total, 93 UK universities feature in the rankings, but nearly 60% of UK institutions have slipped down the list. While universities in China have risen in the rankings by 96%, several UK universities have fallen back, including options from the Russell Group of leading UK universities.
US authorities have charged a former Apple engineer with stealing technology relating to self-driving cars in one of five cases launched targeting the alleged illicit acquisition of US technology by foreign nations. Wei Bao Wang, 35, who formerly lived in Mountain View, California, accessed a large quantity of proprietary data days before he resigned from Apple to take up a job in the Chinese self-driving car industry in 2017. Federal agents discovered the data after Wang boarded a plane to China following a search of his home in June 2018. Two of the five cases launched involve Russia and officials said two procurement networks were created to obtain sensitive technology for military and intelligence services.
Software AG minority investor groups to oppose Silver Lake delisting
Reuters
23-05-16 17:28
Two associations representing minority investors in Software AG (SOWGn.DE) have announced that they will speak out against suitor Silver Lake's plans to delist the company at a shareholder meeting on Wednesday, on the grounds that smaller shareholders will be impacted significantly. The private equity firm offered to buy Software AG for 32 euros per share, valuing the German software developer at €2.37bn ($2.61bn) and said it plans to take the company private. Despite a higher non-binding bid from Bain-backed Rocket Software of 34 euros, Software AG has backed the Silver Lake offer.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, testified before Congress on 16 May, pressuring the US government to regulate AI more thoroughly, citing dangers including spreading election misinformation and manipulating individuals' views. Altman appeared alongside IBM’s chief of privacy and trust Christina Montgomery and AI expert Dr Gary Marcus, who all agreed that new regulation is necessary in order to keep pace with technology development. Both Altman and Marcus suggested the creation of an agency that would issue licenses to AI technologies and revoke them if they didn't comply with safety standards.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has been accused of sparking anti-Semitic sentiment after likening George Soros to the Jewish X-Men villain Magneto and alleging that the billionaire philanthropist "hates humanity". His comments attracted criticism, including from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which said Soros was often "held up by the far-right, using anti-Semitic tropes, as the source of the world’s problems”. Documents filed last week revealed that Soros Fund Management had sold its entire $16m allocation of Tesla shares in Q1 2023.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has defended its decision to police the cryptocurrency industry via individual enforcement actions rather than through formal rulemaking. The commission dismissed a petition by exchange Coinbase to implement rules governing securities trading with digital assets. In a filing with the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals, Coinbase argued that the SEC had refused to respond to its July 2022 petition asking for rules. But the SEC responded that it was reviewing potential rules and the petition did not set a deadline for a response. Critics of the SEC insist that its enforcement action has failed to provide adequate guidelines to legitimate cryptocurrency companies.
The European Union (EU) is seeking deeper ties with India amid pressures to reduce economic dependence on China. While Brussels is not looking to cut off ties with Beijing altogether, it intends to diversify its supply chains by reducing its reliance on China. This where India comes into play. During the first meeting of the EU-India Trade and Technology Council, the word “de-risk” was mentioned several times by both sides, indicating their shared goal to reduce economic dependence on China. The EU has plans to increase cooperation with India on quantum and high-performance computing while making their digital public services more compatible. "India has a population of 1.4 billion. So, we are an economy of scale, and the EU is an economy of skill — it's natural that these two power centers should come together," according to Swasti Rao, an associate fellow at the Indian government-funded think tank, the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is going to change investment management, writes Andrew Allentuck in The Globe and Mail. The increased adoption of AI will lead to more time for solving problems, thinking of new methodologies and fewer man-hours spent on data by asset managers and quants. By contrast, it will be bad news for stockbrokers and their business in "high-priced 'investments de jour'," which are more likely to be replaced by robo-advisers.
Weibo Wang, a former Apple engineer, has been charged with stealing proprietary self-driving car technology from the tech company. The Department of Justice has accused him of taking thousands of confidential files while secretly working for a Chinese company. He allegedly stole hardware components and Apple's entire autonomous source code. Wang had signed a confidentiality agreement about the project and left Apple in April 2018, but he had already accepted a job at another company developing self-driving cars in China five months earlier. Two other ex-Apple employees have been charged with stealing trade secrets in similar cases involving China.
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, the company behind the human-like chatbot ChatGPT, told a US Senate hearing that the creation of a U.S. or global agency that could provide licences for the most powerful AI systems would be vital to mitigating the risks of advancing AI. The agency would also be tasked with ensuring compliance with safety standards, and be able to withdraw licences. Altman's comments expanded on earlier concerns over cyber-cheating mechanisms, to reflect a wider range of concerns ranging from misinformation to breaching copyright protections and job dislocation. Altman's proposals echo initiatives under way in Europe.
The CEO of AI firm OpenAI, Sam Altman, has called for the creation of a licensing body for the world's most powerful AI algorithms. Speaking at a hearing of the US Senate this week, Altman said that, as AI became more advanced, people were understandably anxious about its power and how it could change human lives. He recommended that a new agency should ensure compliance with safety standards for use of AI, including its ability to generate misleading and false statements. The proposed agency could license the most powerful AI systems and withdraw that licence where any risks were identified.
Stellantis, which makes cars under brands including Vauxhall, Fiat, Citroen and Peugeot, has warned that Brexit trade rules threaten the UK's automotive sector. The company said it had invested in the UK because it was meeting the strict criteria of the post-Brexit trade deal. However, it is no longer able to meet new rules on where parts are sourced, causing costs to rocket. To cut costs, the firm plans to move production out of the UK unless rules are revised by December. In 2024, 45% of EV components must come from either the UK or the EU to qualify.
Cryptocurrencies should be regulated as gambling, according to a report by a UK parliamentary committee. Bitcoin, ether and other digital currencies can pose risks to consumers and be used by fraudsters, said the report, which added that existing rules only require them to comply with anti-money laundering safeguards. As cryptocurrencies are not backed by currencies or assets and offer high risk volatility, they present a high risk of investors losing all the money they put into them, it said. About one in 10 UK adults has invested in cryptocurrency, according to official figures.
