News of the Cyber World

[kyonides]

Meta to offer ad-free Facebook, Instagram subscriptions in EU

US tech giant Meta says it will offer Facebook and Instagram users in Europe the option of paying a monthly fee for no ads on the platforms from November.

Meta announced on Monday that it is introducing the new subscription option in the European Union, the European Economic Area and Switzerland to comply with evolving European regulations. The EU is tightening regulations on how users' data is collected for the purpose of displaying ads.

Meta says people who reside in these regions will be offered the choice to continue using Facebook or Instagram for free with ads, or subscribe and stop seeing ads.

The subscription for no ads will be available for people aged 18 and older. The monthly fee for the web version will be 9.99 euros, or about 10.60 dollars.

Biden issues executive order to ensure AI safety

US President Joe Biden's administration has issued an executive order to implement safety measures on artificial intelligence systems.

The administration released the order on Monday to ensure the public's safety and security isn't adversely affected by the rapidly evolving AI technology.

The directive calls on federal agencies to set "rigorous standards for extensive red-team testing to ensure safety before public release," and requires AI developers to share safety test results and other critical information with the government.

The executive order also says companies developing any foundation model that poses a serious risk to national security and other areas must notify the federal government when training the model.

The document says the government will develop guidance for content authentication and watermarking to clearly label AI-generated content, and will expand grants for AI research in vital areas such as healthcare and climate change.

It seems like the US, especifically in California, is not the only country in the world having issues with AI-driven vehicles as of late.

Central Japan town suspends use of driverless vehicle after bicycle collision

A driverless vehicle has been taken off the roads in a town in central Japan after it collided with a parked bicycle.

The collision occurred on Sunday morning in the town of Eiheiji in Fukui Prefecture. Police and town officials say four people were in the vehicle but no one was injured.

Under a law that was revised in April, so-called Level-4 autonomous vehicles can operate on limited routes at restricted speeds.

In May, Eiheiji became the first municipality in Japan to operate this type of vehicle. It is used by tourists and local residents on a roughly two-kilometer route. The vehicle has a maximum speed of 12 kilometers per hour.

The vehicle is equipped with sensors and radar to avoid obstacles.

The operator -- a company funded by the town and private firms -- says it will determine the cause of the accident and take steps to prevent a recurrence.

Elon Musk's X valued at $19 billion one year after $44 billion purchase

The company's value was revealed based on its employee equity compensation plan, according to documents reviewed by Fortune. The value dropped by $1 billion since the last time the company offered employees stocks in March.

Employees were given access to X's equity at $45 a share.

The banks who helped Musk with the purchase expect to take a hit of at least 15%, or $2 billion, when they attempt to sell the debt. This would lead to the loss of hundreds of millions for those who hold the largest pieces of the debt, including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Barclays, and MUFG. Some involved expect the company to be rated as being at higher risk of defaulting.
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X has also cut down on staff by 80% since Musk's initial purchase. It also lost 60% of its revenue over the summer.

US tech giants eye slice of Japan's generative AI market

American IT giants Microsoft and Amazon have set their sights on winning a share of Japan's growing generative AI market. They are offering financial incentives for businesses that adopt their technologies.

Microsoft says it is setting aside 100 million dollars to support its corporate clients worldwide. About 40 percent of that is expected to benefit Japanese firms.

Microsoft will use the funds to help companies introduce its generative AI program, including costs to verify performance.
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Amazon is offering a total of 6 million dollars to assist Japanese companies that develop their own generative AI programs based on Amazon's technology.

Google CEO testifies that Chrome, not monopoly, is behind search dominance

Google CEO Sundar Pichai defended Google from allegations of dominance of the search engine market by connecting its success to the popularity of the Chrome web browser.

Pichai appeared as a witness during Google's presentation of its defense to the judge in the D.C. District Court on Monday as part of one of the most significant technology antitrust trials in a generation. The CEO defended Google from the Department of Justice's claims that Google maintains an illegal monopoly through its control of the search engine market and its agreements with mobile phone makers and web browsers to make Google the default search engine. Pichai claimed that Google's search engine prominence arose due to it investing in Chrome in the early years after its 2008 release.
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Pichai's appearance comes in the eighth week of the trial, after testimony from other executives of Google as well as executives of Apple and Microsoft.

The core of the DOJ's case has focused on whether or not Google's decadeslong partnership with Apple allowed the search engine to hold a monopoly over search, District Court Judge Amit Mehta said. If Google's deal had blocked Apple from developing its own search engine, then that would make the arrangement anti-competitive and potentially a violation of antitrust law.

The notion that search engine users have any meaningful ability to choose their search engine is "bogus," Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella testified during the trial.

His argument blows up the very moment one ask him this question: then why is Google's search engine present in other web browsers by default? Most of the time it's the primary search engine there.

UK to Introduce Artificial Intelligence ChatBot Interface for Taxes and Government Services

Continuing his push for a more digital future, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to fundamentally change how the public interfaces with the government, with his government preparing to launch an AI service dubbed “Gov.uk Chat”, The Telegraph reported.

According to the paper, a government document describes the system as a “natural language interface” that would be able to give a “human-like response” to people with inquiries about government services.

“Gov.uk Chat is designed to help users to navigate information on Gov.uk, similar to a search function, so in order to provide answers to users it needs all the data it has to provide the most accurate answer,” it stated.

The chatbot, which is currently being tested with businesses, would allow the public to ask it questions and request information about their taxes, student loans, pension benefits, and legal questions.

The Artificial Intelligence chatbot will be based on technology provided by OpenAI, the U.S.-based tech firm behind the ChatGPT chatbot...

 I just hope this won't become one of those cases where they'll blame the chatbot for any mistake it makes. Normally, you can accuse a specific official of providing false information or making you pay more than ever needed. How can you do the same with AI? The decision wouldn't be made by any human being so how can you take your case to a supervisor or manager? There's no clear resolution process you can rely on to deal with all those kinds of issues at a certain point in the (near) future.