James Farrell – SiliconANGLE

A man is playing video games again after Neuralink’s second successful brain implant surgery

James Farrell — Fri, 23 Aug 2024 01:36:24 +0000

Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company, Neuralink Corp., announced today a successful surgery in what is now its second human implant. This follows the first success back in January this year, a milestone for Neuralink, which has been talking about hooking human brains up with computers since it was founded in 2017. Hundreds of millions of […]

The post A man is playing video games again after Neuralink’s second successful brain implant surgery appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Google inks controversial deal with California’s lawmakers to fund local news

James Farrell — Thu, 22 Aug 2024 02:20:15 +0000

Google LLC and the state of California have agreed to a deal under which the tech giant will commit $172.5 million to fund local journalism over the next five years while some of the money will be set aside for artificial intelligence development in the state. The deal comes after months of dispute between lawmakers […]

The post Google inks controversial deal with California’s lawmakers to fund local news appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

US judge blocks FTC’s ban on noncompete clauses

James Farrell — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 02:10:27 +0000

A federal judge in Texas today derailed the Federal Trade Commission’s ban on noncompete agreements, blocking the ban from taking effect in September as planned. In a 27-page opinion, District Judge Ada Brown said that the FTC didn’t have the authority to make such decisions, calling the rule “arbitrary and capricious.” Brown added that the […]

The post US judge blocks FTC’s ban on noncompete clauses appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

ALS sufferer ‘speaks’ for first time in years with groundbreaking brain implant

James Farrell — Fri, 16 Aug 2024 01:00:19 +0000

Scientists at the University of California at Davis have helped a man to speak again using a brain chip that can interpret his brain signals to read them aloud using artificial intelligence to mimic the man’s real voice. In 2023, Casey Harrell was diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disorder amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The disease […]

The post ALS sufferer ‘speaks’ for first time in years with groundbreaking brain implant appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

X slammed for lack of guardrails on Grok image generation

James Farrell — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 01:31:49 +0000

As Elon Musk’s xAI Corp. debuted two new language models today, they’re already under the spotlight for appearing to push the limits of freedom of speech. Though Musk announced today that Grok is “the most fun AI in the world!”, the image generator, available only to paid subscribers of X, has caused something of a […]

The post X slammed for lack of guardrails on Grok image generation appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

EU Commissioner just warned Elon Musk over dangerous content and it backfired badly

James Farrell — Wed, 14 Aug 2024 00:44:45 +0000

EU Commissioner Thierry Breton shared words with X Corp. owner Elon Musk yesterday, reminding him that Musk and X have a responsibility to adhere to the EU’s Digital Services Act, or DSA. Breton’s strongly worded missive to Musk sent yesterday was sent in response to what he called the “risk of amplification of potentially harmful […]

The post EU Commissioner just warned Elon Musk over dangerous content and it backfired badly appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Advertising coalition disbands after lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s X

James Farrell — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 01:29:17 +0000

The coalition of advertisers described by X Corp. owner Elon Musk as a “cabal” has shut down after X hit it with a lawsuit earlier this week. The group, the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, or GARM, was formed in 2019 by the World Federation of Advertisers, or WFA, in an effort to encourage boycotts […]

The post Advertising coalition disbands after lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s X appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

UK government clashes with X’s Elon Musk over hate speech and misinformation

James Farrell — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 02:05:06 +0000

Following protests and riots on the streets of England this week, officials in the British government have condemned X Corp. and its owner Elon Musk for stoking the flames of discontent. In an interview with The Times newspaper published today, Peter Kyle, Britain’s secretary of science, innovation, and technology, said Musk “is accountable to no […]

The post UK government clashes with X’s Elon Musk over hate speech and misinformation appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

X goes to war with advertisers over boycott

James Farrell — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 02:18:47 +0000

Elon Musk’s X Corp., which has long felt that the pulling away of advertisers from the platform over hate speech concerns is unfair, today fought back and launched a lawsuit against a number of firms. The lawsuit claims that certain members of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, or GARM, have breached antitrust laws by […]

The post X goes to war with advertisers over boycott appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

X is leaving San Francisco but will stay in Silicon Valley

James Farrell — Tue, 06 Aug 2024 01:37:46 +0000

Elon Musk’s X Corp. is closing down its flagship office in San Francisco, although the new location for the office won’t be quite as far as Texas, as Musk had threatened last month. In July, after California Governor Gavin Newsom enacted the SAFETY ACT, legislation designed to protect LGBTQ+ students, Musk announced that this was the […]

The post X is leaving San Francisco but will stay in Silicon Valley appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Entertainment industry gets behind new bill that will outlaw AI deepfakes

James Farrell — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 02:14:31 +0000

The entertainment industry today came out in support of a new bill designed to prevent people from using artificial intelligence to recreate a person’s voice or likeness without that person’s consent. The bipartisan bill, “Nurture Originals, Foster Art, and Keep Entertainment Safe Act of 2024” or the “NO FAKES Act,” was introduced by senators Chris […]

The post Entertainment industry gets behind new bill that will outlaw AI deepfakes appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Senate passes controversial bills designed to protect children online

James Farrell — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 01:36:35 +0000

The Senate today unanimousl passed two children’s online safety bills in a rare show of bipartisan support. One of the bills, the Kids Online Safety Act, or KOSA, was introduced in 2022 following mounting criticism against Big Tech for what experts and politicians said was companies focusing much more on the bottom line than the […]

The post Senate passes controversial bills designed to protect children online appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Putting pressure on Google, Apple Maps is now available on the web

James Farrell — Thu, 25 Jul 2024 02:13:20 +0000

Google LLC might be feeling the heat today after Apple Inc. announced that Apple Maps is now available as a public beta on the web. Right now, it’s available only in English, though Apple said it will support other languages soon. The service is compatible with Safari and Chrome on Mac and iPad, and Chrome […]

The post Putting pressure on Google, Apple Maps is now available on the web appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

FTC will launch probe into AI-driven surveillance pricing

James Farrell — Wed, 24 Jul 2024 02:21:24 +0000

The Federal Trade Commission today announced it’s seeking information from eight companies that use artificial intelligence to set prices based on customers’ behavior and characteristics. It’s known as “surveillance pricing,” in which the companies’ third-party AI systems leverage mountains of personal data to effectively ascertain a person’s ability to pay for something. The systems sift […]

The post FTC will launch probe into AI-driven surveillance pricing appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

White House task force releases first-of-its-kind online safety report aimed at protecting kids

James Farrell — Tue, 23 Jul 2024 01:31:25 +0000

The White House’s Task Force on Kids Online Health and Safety today released a report featuring a number of strategies to protect American children online. The topic of what too much time online is doing to the mental well-being of children in the U.S. has become a big deal over the last few years, leading […]

The post White House task force releases first-of-its-kind online safety report aimed at protecting kids appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Co-founders of Andreessen Horowitz give full support to Trump campaign

James Farrell — Thu, 18 Jul 2024 01:26:48 +0000

Billionaires Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz, co-founders of Silicon Valley’s largest venture capital firm, have announced their support for Donald Trump’s reelection bid, stating they will make hefty donations to his campaign. “The future of our business, the future of new technology, and the future of America is literally at stake,” Horowitz (pictured) said during […]

The post Co-founders of Andreessen Horowitz give full support to Trump campaign appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Elon Musk is moving X and Space X to Texas, claiming it’s over a new California gender law

James Farrell — Wed, 17 Jul 2024 02:53:20 +0000

Elon Musk today announced that he’s taking the X Corp. and Space X Corp. headquarters out of California following the state governor’s signing of a bill that prohibits school districts from disclosing students’ gender identity. Governor Gavin Newsom (pictured) enacted the SAFETY ACT on Monday, legislation designed to protect LGBTQ+ students in the state. The […]

The post Elon Musk is moving X and Space X to Texas, claiming it’s over a new California gender law appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Uber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts to get minimum pay, other benefits in $175M settlement

James Farrell — Fri, 28 Jun 2024 02:01:09 +0000

Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. today settled a lawsuit with the attorney general in Massachusetts, which will include the companies agreeing to pay their drivers a minimum wage. The $175 million settlement comes with a slew of benefits for drivers other than the $32.50 per hour minimum during driving time. The drivers will also […]

The post Uber and Lyft drivers in Massachusetts to get minimum pay, other benefits in $175M settlement appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

AI beats students in UK university exams, fooling human educators

James Farrell — Thu, 27 Jun 2024 01:44:53 +0000

Researchers at the University of Reading in the U.K. have aired concerns about the integrity of tests after they surreptitiously submitted unedited artificial intelligence-generated exam answers, fooling exam markers and beating most of the human students. In the study, the researchers created 33 fake student identities and used ChatGPT-4 to answer 63 questions in legitimate […]

The post AI beats students in UK university exams, fooling human educators appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Waymo scraps the waitlist and makes robotaxis available to everyone in San Francisco

James Farrell — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 05:42:20 +0000

After some mishaps, it’s now full steam ahead for Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo LLC, which today said its driverless taxi service is available to anyone in San Francisco who has downloaded the app. The company has been operating in the city since 2009. It introduced fully autonomous cars in 2022, but people wanting to experience a […]

The post Waymo scraps the waitlist and makes robotaxis available to everyone in San Francisco appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is returning to Australia a free man

James Farrell — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 02:06:37 +0000

After spending years in a British prison, the former Australian hacker and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange has left the U.K., reportedly having agreed to a plea deal with authorities in the U.S. Assange (pictured) had been wanted by U.S. authorities after famously publishing hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, […]

The post Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is returning to Australia a free man appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

New York signs bill to counteract social media addiction in the young

James Farrell — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 02:30:06 +0000

New York Governor Kathy Hochul today signed a bill that would give parents the ability to block their children from seeing posts suggested by a social media platform’s algorithm, a move that addresses a years-long concern around the negative effects of social media on the nation’s youth. A second bill will address the problem of […]

The post New York signs bill to counteract social media addiction in the young appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Amazon’s first labor union partners with the Teamsters

James Farrell — Wed, 19 Jun 2024 02:02:37 +0000

Members of the Amazon Labor Union, the one and only unionized Amazon warehouse, have voted to join forces with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Workers at Amazon.com Inc.’s JFK8 fulfillment center in Staten Island voted to unionize in 2022, becoming the first and still the only Amazon warehouse to make such a decision. At the […]

The post Amazon’s first labor union partners with the Teamsters appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

US Surgeon General thinks social media should come with tobacco-style warning labels

James Farrell — Tue, 18 Jun 2024 02:55:43 +0000

One of the United States’ most senior health officials, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, today said in an op-ed for the New York Times social media platforms should have warning labels regarding the potential mental health harms they could create in the young. “The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency – and […]

The post US Surgeon General thinks social media should come with tobacco-style warning labels appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Former NSA Director Paul Nakasone joins OpenAI board

James Farrell — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 01:12:44 +0000

Paul M. Nakasone, a retired general of the U.S. Army and a former director of the National Security Agency, NSA, has just been added to OpenAI’s board of directors, it was reported today. Nakasone stepped down as NSA director earlier this year after becoming head under the Trump administration. He also served as leader of […]

The post Former NSA Director Paul Nakasone joins OpenAI board appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Waymo issues another recall after driverless taxi crash

James Farrell — Thu, 13 Jun 2024 01:08:40 +0000

Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo LLC is reportedly pulling in its robotaxis for software updates after one of its vehicles hit a telephone pole last month. The incident happened in Phoenix, Arizona, when the Jaguar I-Pace EV driverless car was on its way to pick up a passenger. It hit the pole at just 8 mph, causing […]

The post Waymo issues another recall after driverless taxi crash appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Elon Musk drops lawsuit that claimed OpenAI abandoned its founding mission

James Farrell — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 01:42:02 +0000

Elon Musk, Tesla Inc.’s chief executive and co-founder of OpenAI, today dropped his lawsuit against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman that had accused the company of a breach of contract for abandoning its founding mission of creating artificial general intelligence to benefit humanity. Musk filed the lawsuit in a San Francisco court in February. He claimed […]

The post Elon Musk drops lawsuit that claimed OpenAI abandoned its founding mission appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Meta faces backlash in Europe over training AI with Facebook and Instagram data

James Farrell — Fri, 07 Jun 2024 00:54:50 +0000

Noyb, the European Center for Digital Rights, today filed complaints in 11 European countries to prevent Meta Platforms Inc. from going ahead with its plan to train its artificial intelligence products on personal posts and images taken from the Facebook and Instagram accounts of its European user base. Meta will use public and nonpublic posts, […]

The post Meta faces backlash in Europe over training AI with Facebook and Instagram data appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

Major cyberattack causes chaos at London’s NHS hospitals

James Farrell — Thu, 06 Jun 2024 00:52:36 +0000

The former head of British cybersecurity said today that Russian hackers are believed to be behind a major ransomware attack that disrupted work at London hospitals and led to the cancellation of operations. The incident, labeled “critical,” affected seven hospitals run by the National Health Service Trust after Synnovis, a provider of lab services, was […]

The post Major cyberattack causes chaos at London’s NHS hospitals appeared first on SiliconANGLE.

X updates policies to allow some sexually explicit content and AI-generated porn

James Farrell — Tue, 04 Jun 2024 00:23:17 +0000

Elon Musk’s X Corp. may have rattled a few people today when it updated its policies to formally allow various kinds of sexually explicit content on the platform, including AI-generated prurience. X, which was formerly Twitter Inc., has always been home to NSFW, or “not safe for work” content, although the company has never been […]

The post X updates policies to allow some sexually explicit content and AI-generated porn appeared first on SiliconANGLE.