(CNN) — Calvin Lawrence has dedicated his career to artificial intelligence. But even after decades of experience in computer engineering, he said one thing remains incredibly rare.

“I’ve worked on many AI projects over the last 25 years, not more than two [of my colleagues] looked like me,” Lawrence, who is Black, said.

Artificial intelligence holds the promise of rapidly reshaping our society, but with that promise, Lawrence said, comes the challenge of confronting and dismantling biases that can be encoded into emerging technology.

Lawrence is the author of the book, “Hidden in White Sight,” which examines how AI contributes to systemic racism.

AI is informed by the data it’s built upon and at times that data can be racist, sexist and flawed.

In August, a Black mom in Detroit sued the city after she says she was falsely arrested while eight months pregnant because officers linked her to a crime through facial recognition technology. Detroit’s police chief later blamed “poor investigative work.”

A 2022 study found a robot trained by AI was more likely to associate Black men with being criminals, or women with being homemakers. The team of researchers concluded the continued use of such technology risked “amplifying malignant stereotypes” that fuel racism and misogyny.

In New York City, the local health department recently expanded a coalition challenging clinical algorithms that adjust for race because they say the outcomes are often harmful to people of color. These algorithms have been shown to overestimate a person of color’s health, according to a statement from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which can cause a delay in treatment.

In a statement shared with CNN, a spokesperson for OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT and other artificial general intelligence (AGI) models, said bias is a significant issue across the industry and OpenAI is dedicated to “researching and reducing bias, and other risks, in our models.”

“We are continuously iterating on our models to reduce bias and mitigate harmful outputs,” the company said in a statement, adding that for every new model released, OpenAI publishes research on how they are working to achieve those goals.

The best way to ensure AI reflects the experiences of people of color, Lawrence said, is to make sure they’re employed and engaged in every step of the process.

“You certainly don’t have a lot of Black folks or data scientists participating in the process of deploying and designing AI solutions,” he said. “The only way you can get them to have seats at the table, you have to educate them.”

Increasing diversity

Studies have found that the lack of diversity and representation in technology fields begins well before college. Students of color generally have less access to foundational computer science courses in high school, a 2023 report by the Code.org Advocacy Coalition found.

While 89% of Asian students and 82% of White students had access to these courses respectively, 78% of Black and Hispanic and 67% of Native American students had this same privilege.

“These opportunities are not evenly distributed, and that is a problem,” said Andres Lombana-Bermudez, a faculty associate at the Harvard University Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society.

 
That disparity in access can also lead to fewer people of color studying computer science and artificial intelligence at the collegiate level, Lombana-Bermudez said.

In 2022, more than two-thirds of all doctorates in computer science, computer engineering or information in the United States were awarded to non-permanent U.S. residents for whom no ethnicity is available, according to the 2022 Computing Research Association’s Taulbee Survey.

Nearly 19% of degrees went to White doctoral candidates and 10.1% were awarded to Asian candidates, as compared with only 1.7% for Hispanic graduates and 1.6% for Black graduates.

Lawrence said he believes diversifying the field of artificial intelligence could make the technology safer and more ethical.

Lawrence said he started the nonprofit, AI 4 Black Kids, which works to educate Black children about artificial intelligence and machine learning from a young age, with the hope of one day increasing representation in the field.

“AI is trained on so few historical points of view … the goal for me is, having more Black people involved in that process,” he said.

The nonprofit offers mentorship programs to kids aged 5 to 19, as well as scholarships and college counseling, Lawrence said.

Combating bias in AI requires not only increasing racial diversity, but a diversity of thought as well, Lombana-Bermudez said. He encourages employing sociologists, lawyers, political scientists and other types of humanities-oriented academics to help contribute to the conversation around AI and ethics.

Lombana-Bermudez said his hope is that future generations may alleviate some of the problems of bias and inaccessibility because they’re growing up alongside the technology.

“I am hopeful that this will change and in the future, we will have better technologies,” he said. “But it’s a struggle, and it’s not easy. It is complex.”

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New York (CNN) — Apple on Thursday posted its fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year sales declines as the iPhone maker continues to struggle with slower device sales amid an uncertain economic environment.

The company reported $89.5 billion in sales for the three months ended September 30, down 1% from the same period in the prior year and essentially in line with the $84.3 billion Wall Street analysts had expected. Despite the sales dip, Apple’s net income from the quarter grew nearly 11% year-over-year to $22.96 billion, beating analysts’ projections.

Apple (AAPL) shares fell more than 1% in after-hours trading following the report.

“During the September quarter, we continue to face an uneven macroeconomic environment,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an analyst call Thursday. “We’ve continued to invest in the future … We’ve adapted continuously to circumstances beyond our control, while being thoughtful and deliberate on spending.”

Revenue from Apple’s products segment dipped more than 5% year-over-year during the September quarter, driven in particular by declines in Mac and iPad sales. (CFO Luca Maestri noted on the analyst call that the product segment faced a difficult comparison with the year-ago quarter, when the company fulfilled a large number of orders that had been backed up due to an earlier supply disruption.)

iPhone revenue, however, ticked up by 3% from the year-ago quarter to $43.8 billion, marking a September quarter iPhone sales record.

Apple also hit a record number of installed devices actively in use across all of its products and geographic segments, Maestri said on the analyst call.

The sales numbers may provide an early indication of the performance of the iPhone 15, following concerns from analysts that consumers would have fewer incentives to upgrade because the new lineup featured only minimal improvements. However, the iPhone 15 lineup went on sale only eight days before the end of the September quarter, so its real impact likely won’t be felt until Apple reports for the crucial holiday quarter. The company also announced upgrades to its laptops and desktop computers earlier this week.

“We believe this precarious macro [economic] environment, combined with a mature market, will lead to an uninspiring iPhone 15 cycle,” Brian White, an analyst at Monness Crespi Hardt said in a research note ahead of Apple’s Thursday earnings report.

Cook said Thursday that “it’s really too early to call the iPhone [15] cycle … it’s really too early to tell what the upgrade rates will be and what the switcher rates will be.”

Analysts also pointed to the 2.5% year-over-year dip in Apple’s China sales during the September quarter as a sign that the iPhone maker could be losing ground in that crucial market.

“Apple’s worrying China sales figures indicate demand for its high-end iPhones is slowing more than expected in the face of rising competition from local companies, including Huawei,” Investing.com senior analyst Jesse Cohen said in an emailed statement following Thursday’s report.

Cook, however, told analysts that Apple faced a difficult foreign exchange rate in China, and that iPhone sales in fact hit a September quarter record in mainland China. He said the sales dip in the region was largely caused by declines in Mac and iPad revenue, similar to the company’s overall results.

Sales growth in Apple’s services segment, however, continues to partially offset the declines in device revenue growth. Revenue from the services unit, which includes Apple’s subscription products like Apple TV+, notched more than 14% year-over-year gains in the September quarter, hitting an all-time quarterly record of more than $22 billion.

And the company could see an additional boost from the services business in the December quarter after Apple last month hiked the prices of its Apple TV+, Apple Arcade and Apple News subscriptions by $2 or $3 per month each.

Apple expects total company revenue in the December quarter to be essentially flat from the prior year, Maestri said, adding that the 2023 December quarter is a week shorter than it was a year ago.

Cook on Thursday also teased the launch of its Vision Pro mixed reality headset, which is expected to be available to consumers early next year. He said developers have been working with the product in select developer labs Apple set up around the world to build apps, and “there’s some real blow away kinds of things that are coming out.” Cook added that the Vision Pro will initially be sold only in Apple stores, so the company can educate consumers about how to use them.

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(CNN) — Apple’s MacBook Pro lineup and colorful iMacs just got even faster.

At an event livestreamed on Monday night, the company introduced its next-generation family of custom-made processors – the M3, M3 Pro and M3 Pro Max – and along with it, a handful of new computers.

The event’s tagline — “scary fast” — was an apparent nod to the unveiling of the next-generation silicon chip series, as well as the Halloween holiday Tuesday. In the beginning of the pre-recorded presentation, CEO Tim Cook appeared wearing all black within a dimly lit spot inside Apple’s Cupertino, California-based headquarters, standing in front of an apparent smoke machine.

Although unveiling a new processor may not sound sexy, it will serve as the backbone to Apple’s latest products, enabling faster speeds and more capabilities than ever. For example, Apple said the M3 speeds are now up to 2.5x faster than on the M1 family of chips, and its core processing performance is up to 50% faster. The chips are built with 3 nanometer technology, which can support advanced graphics and artificial intelligence.

“It will bring a whole new level of graphics to the Mac,” an Apple executive said during the event. “They are the most advanced chips ever built for a personal computer.”

During the presentation, Apple showed how an analysis could be conducted on an M3 device for complex tasks such as DNA/RNA sequencing, which can help detect early-stage cancers or help prevent pandemics, from anywhere in the world.

The new 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro laptops will sport the M3 Pro and M3 Pro Max chips. Although the models look the same as their predecessors, they will come in a new “space black” color, replacing space gray. The MacBook Pro option with the M3 Pro Max processor comes with up to 8 TB of storage, 128 GB of memory and is about 11 times faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Pro line, according to Apple.

The models also promise 22 hours of battery life and a display that’s 25% brighter than its previous version. The 14-inch MacBook starts at $1,599; the 16-inch laptop will start at $2,499.

Meanwhile, Apple is also adding M3 chips to its 24-inch iMac line. The model still features the same 4.5K retina display as before and is available in up to seven colors but the company says is now 2 times faster than the first-generation M1 iMac. The new M3-powered iMac starts at $1,299 and starts shipping next week.

Over the past several years, the progression of Apple Silicon — the company’s custom-made silicon chip — has emerged as a significant storyline for Apple, culminating in the transition away from Intel chips. It’s also turned heads with the chips’ impressive performance in terms of processing, thermal efficiency and battery life.

The new products come at a time when it’s gaining substantial ground in the traditional PC and laptop market. At the same time, Mac sales have been down this year amid weaker demand, excess inventory and a worsening macroeconomic climate.

Last month, Apple unveiled its iPhone 15 devices with a slimmer design, a more-advanced main camera system, a customizable Action button, and USB-C charging.

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New York (CNN) — In a radical rebranding, Twitter owner Elon Musk has replaced Twitter’s iconic bird logo with X.

Musk made the shock announcement of his plans early Sunday. By Monday morning US time, he tweeted that X.com now points to Twitter.com.

“Interim X logo goes live later today,” he wrote, shortly before sharing a photo of Twitter’s headquarters lit up by a giant new X.

The Twitter website now features the same logo, while the familiar blue bird is gone.

Previously, Musk said he was bidding “adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.”

Twitter (TWTR), founded in 2006, has used its vivid, globally recognized blue bird emblem for more than a decade.

The renaming could be seen as something of a brand overhaul “Hail Mary” for the company: Musk in recent months has repeatedly warned that Twitter, facing steep losses in ad revenue, was on the edge of bankruptcy.

Increasing the pressure, earlier this month rival social media platform Threads launched from Facebook (FB) parent Meta. It surpassed 100 million user sign-ups in its first week.

Twitter had 238 million active users prior to being taken private by Musk in October 2022.

Spats, mass layoffs

One of the world’s richest men, Musk was once best known for his innovative efforts through companies SpaceX and Tesla (TSLA) to launch rockets and build electric cars.

Now, many of the headlines he makes are for his eccentric remarks on his personal Twitter account – often sharing conspiracy theories and getting into public spats on the social media platform.

Musk overhauled the site after acquiring it for $44 billion in late October, then followed with mass layoffs, disputes over millions of dollars allegedly owed in severance and Musk’s note to employees that remaining at the company would mean “working long hours at high intensity.” He wrote: “Only exceptional performance will constitute a passing grade.”

The upheaval prompted organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League, Free Press and GLAAD, to pressure brands to rethink advertising on Twitter.

The groups pointed to the mass layoffs as a key factor in their thinking, citing fears that Musk’s cuts would make Twitter’s election-integrity policies effectively unenforceable, even if they technically remain active.

Musk also began overseeing controversial policy changes which led to frequent service disruptions at Twitter and upended his own reputation in the process.

‘A second chance’

In June, Musk named Linda Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal marketing executive, CEO of the company.

She commented on the name change on Twitter Sunday afternoon: “It’s an exceptionally rare thing – in life or in business – that you get a second chance to make another big impression. Twitter made one massive impression and changed the way we communicate. Now, X will go further, transforming the global town square.”

As the new venture begins, it faces challenges. Musk recently disclosed that the platform still has a negative cash flow due to a 50% drop in advertising revenue and heavy debt loads.

Criticizing the exit, or pause, of such Twitter advertisers as General Mills (GIS), Macy’s (M) and some car companies that compete with Tesla, Musk has called himself a “free speech absolutist” and said he wanted to buy Twitter to bolster users’ ability to speak freely on the platform.

Musk explained his approach to free speech by saying: “Is someone you don’t like allowed to say something you don’t like? And if that is the case, then we have free speech.”

He added that Twitter would “be very reluctant to delete things” and that the platform would aim to allow all legal speech. Many users have worried that could mean a rise in hate speech.

Meanwhile, the initial frenzy around rival Threads appears to have come back to earth, especially as it has been plagued with spam and lacks several user-friendly features Twitter, or, now X, offers.

Adam Mosseri, who is overseeing the Threads launch for Meta, has hinted at plans to add features such as a desktop version of the app, a feed of only accounts a user follows and an edit button.

Its ability to draw advertising support is, as yet, unproven.

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New York (CNN) — TikTok on Monday filed a suit against Montana over a bill that would ban the popular short-form video app in the state starting early next year.

TikTok alleges that the ban violates the US Constitution, including the First Amendment, as well as other federal laws, according to a complaint filed in Montana District Court. The company also claims concerns that the Chinese government could access the data of US TikTok users – which are a key motivation behind the ban – are “unfounded.”

The bill was signed by Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte last week, and would impose a fine of $10,000 per day on TikTok or app stores for making the app available to personal devices in the state starting on January 1, 2024.

“We are challenging Montana’s unconstitutional TikTok ban to protect our business and the hundreds of thousands of TikTok users in Montana,” TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said in a statement. “We believe our legal challenge will prevail based on an exceedingly strong set of precedents and facts.”

Emily Flower, a spokesperson for Montana’s Attorney General, told CNN: “We expected legal challenges and are fully prepared to defend the law that helps protect Montanans’ privacy and security.”

The Montana law stems from growing criticism of TikTok over its ties to China through its parent company, ByteDance. Many US officials have expressed fears that the Chinese government could potentially access US data via TikTok for spying purposes, though there is no evidence that the Chinese government has ever done so. Some federal lawmakers have also called for a ban.

Montana’s ban went a step beyond other states that have restricted TikTok from government devices. But legal and technology experts say there are challenges for Montana, or any state, to enforce such a ban. Even if the law is allowed to stand, the practicalities of the internet may make it impossible to keep TikTok out of the hands of users.

TikTok said in the complaint that the app is used by “hundreds of thousands” of people in Montana to “communicate with each other and others around the world on an endless variety of topics, from business to politics to the arts.”

“This unprecedented and extreme step of banning a major platform for First Amendment speech, based on unfounded speculation about potential foreign government access to user data and the content of the speech, is flatly inconsistent with the constitution,” TikTok said in the complaint.

TikTok is seeking for the court to invalidate and permanently enjoin Montana from enforcing the ban.

The legal challenge by TikTok is an indicator of the hurdles that Montana and other lawmakers could face in attempting to restrict the platform in the United States. A group of TikTok creators also sued Montana last week over the state’s ban, saying it violates their First Amendment rights.

– CNN’s Brian Fung contributed to this report.

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Local Media Association is pleased to announce the 16 news organizations selected to participate in the fourth cohort of its Lab for Journalism Funding. The lab will help these local news organizations develop and execute strategies to fund essential local journalism via philanthropy. The six-month intensive lab runs from May through November 2023.

The lab, a program of Local Media Foundation, is operated by LMA with continued support from the Google News Initiative. Since its launch in September 2020, the lab has trained and coached 70 publishers, helping them raise more than $17.7 million to fund community service journalism. LMA published a 42-page report, Pathways to Philanthropy, to share lessons learned and best practices with the news industry. 

“We are excited by the diverse set of local journalism projects this cohort seeks to fund,” said Frank Mungeam, chief innovation officer at LMA and LMF. “Their commitment to serving their communities is clear, and we are excited to share the learnings from our fundraising lab to enable them to grow and sustain their journalism.” 

“The Google News Initiative works to support a thriving local news ecosystem, and we are excited for this fourth cohort of news publishers in the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding to develop new, sustainable funding sources for their essential local journalism,” said Chrissy Towle, head of Associations and Ecosystems, Americas at Google.

The 16 newsrooms accepted into the fourth cohort include a diverse set of organizations in small and large markets, across varied media platforms, with a strong representation of family-owned outlets and publishers who focus on traditionally underserved audiences. These news outlets share a commitment to civic journalism. LMA asked leaders at these news outlets to share their goals for participating in the lab.

What the lab participants say

“The days of supporting our news operations with advertising and circulation revenue are coming to an end. I am hoping to develop an expert on our staff who can help us fund our project to expand our coverage to better include underserved surrounding areas, and then moving forward, to endow our newsroom, ensuring Northwest Philadelphia will benefit from a team of independent local newsgathering and reporting professionals in perpetuity.”

— John Derr, publisher, Chestnut Hill Local

“We have a strong revenue team in general, but we have struggled with raising funding for discrete, tangible journalism projects. Based on what we’ve seen in other newsrooms, we’re betting a lot of senior leadership time on the belief that LMA Lab for Journalism Funding can fill this hole for us and bring even more accountability journalism to Connecticut.”

— Bruce S. Putterman, chief executive officer / publisher, CT Mirror

“We’ve been inspired by The Seattle Times, The Sacramento Bee and others that are leading the way in fundraising for local news. LMA’s program is the next step we need to improve our skills and better serve Detroit.”

— Anjanette Delgado, executive editor, Detroit Free Press

“This lab will give us the tools to add philanthropy into our long-range goal of keeping community-based journalism alive in rural Oregon.”

— Heidi Wright, publisher/chief operations officer, The Bulletin | EO Media Group 

​​”We are very excited to participate in the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding to learn best practices on how to create opportunities to fund our high quality journalism through philanthropy.”

— Hilda Gurdian, publisher, La Noticia

“During a time of racial discord and conflict in much of America, a vibrant Black Press is needed now more than ever. We believe the LMA Lab will help us acquire the tools and resources needed to bolster our foundation and, ultimately, advance our mission of providing empowering information that helps our readers live happier, healthier and more productive lives.”

— Gregory J. Huskisson, vice-president / content and audience,
Equal Access Media Inc. | Los Angeles Wave

“We were thrilled to be selected to participate in this next Lab cohort. We are eager to introduce philanthropy as a new revenue stream to Masthead Maine, the state’s largest media network. Collaborating with the cohort publishers and learning from the experienced team of advisors and coaches at the LMA, we’re ready to build a playbook that will enable us to fund more important local news in service to our communities.”

— Lisa DeSisto, chief executive officer, Masthead Maine

“Participation in the lab will line up perfectly with our company’s latest endeavor, The Democracy Project. This is a forward-looking initiative that seeks to enhance our journalism’s impact on communities. Through this program, we aspire to promote democratic principles, foster social equity, encourage civic participation, and elevate journalism’s credibility. We see philanthropy playing a critical role in our ability to provide our trustworthy journalism to underserved areas. We are thrilled to participate in the lab and discover innovative ways to overcome internal distractions and prioritize our community’s requirements.”

— Kelly Montague, vice president marketing, communications and subscriptions, Metroland/Torstar

“Our approach to funding journalism projects over the past few years has been overly reactive and grounded in a figure-it-out-as-we-go philosophy. We’re looking forward to learning with the experts at LMA and the other publishers in the cohort so we can be more strategic, proactive and structured in our approach to funding journalism projects.” 

— Levi Rickert, editor and publisher, Native News Online

“As a news organization committed to local reporting and keeping our audiences informed, we think this is a groundbreaking opportunity to not only develop strategies to acquire philanthropic support, but also connect with a cohort of like-minded journalists, who are also committed to serving their communities.”

— Terri Cope Walton, vice president and general manager, WJXT/WCWJ

“As a nonprofit news organization, we are thrilled to have access to such a valuable resource for engaging with philanthropic communities. We recognize the success of this cohort and believe it will bring greater success to our company. This formal opportunity will allow us to address an important need within our organization.”

— Janis Ware, publisher, The Atlanta Voice

“I am thrilled to be part of the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding. This opportunity opens a new chapter for The Kansas City Defender. I am eager to learn, share, and implement innovative strategies for fundraising that align with our mission and values. Not only will it help us become financially sustainable, but it will also provide us with the tools to maintain our growth and continue delivering award-winning content. Our participation in the Lab marks a significant step towards our goal of becoming a longstanding pillar in the landscape of Black digital news.”

— Ryan A. Sorrell, founder and editor-in-chief, The Kansas City Defender

Through participation in the lab, The St. Louis American is seeking to fund coverage of individuals, organizations and policy advocates involved in protecting voters’ rights working to enfranchise African American communities, and increase voter participation leading up to the 2024 elections and beyond.

— The St. Louis American

“Our education is never complete. Joining the LMA Lab is an exciting opportunity to expand my knowledge as I venture into journalism funding and build upon my experience in fundraising and partnerships.” 

— Harmony Trevino, director of development,
SE Region, McClatchy | The State, The Island Packet and The Sun News

“Being in publishing for more than 30 years, my quest for knowledge thrives. Today in the media, it is about evolution and sustainability. It is my hope to learn more about this new revenue source for local media through corporate foundations. For newspapers/media to survive, you have to be open to evolve. You have to look for alternative revenue sources. You have to be open to learning new things. LMA is positioned to teach us how to efficiently collaborate to reach sustainability.”

— Leo Cusimano, publisher, Dallas Voice | OUT North Texas

“We are thrilled to participate in the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding. Media outlets in New Jersey have been reducing their coverage of local news for many years and TAPinto has stepped into that void to enable local news to bloom in the news deserts left behind. More than 125 municipalities in New Jersey now have a TAPinto local news platform in their community, providing original local news reporting every day. Our franchise model for local news is now sustainable, scalable and profitable. Unfortunately, recently there has been a significant reduction in statehouse news reporting in the Garden State as well as virtual elimination of coverage of New Jersey’s congressional delegation. Like we have done on the local level in New Jersey, we believe TAPinto can help fill the void in coverage of the Statehouse and we have concluded that such journalism can best be funded long-term through philanthropy. We are excited to join the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding to help make meaningful New Jersey Statehouse reporting, provided through TAPinto’s platform to our large local audience, a reality.” 

— Michael Shapiro, founder and chief executive officer, TAPinto Local

Newsrooms will receive one-on-one coaching from our team of coaches, including Joaquin Alvarado, Joanne Heyman, Sam Johnston and Jennifer Preston. Frank Mungeam will once again lead the lab.The fourth cohort of the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding will run from May through November, with fundraising to be completed by December 31, 2023. LMA will publish case studies on publisher lessons and successes from the lab that can be applied across the news industry.

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(CNN) — Microsoft is rolling out the new AI-powered version of its Bing search engine to anyone who wants to use it.

Nearly three months after the company debuted a limited preview version of its new Bing, powered by the viral AI chatbot ChatGPT, Microsoft is opening it up to all users without a waitlist — as long as they’re signed into the search engine via Microsoft’s Edge browser.

The move highlights Microsoft’s commitment to move forward with the product even as the AI technology behind it has sparked concerns around inaccuracies and tone. In some cases, people who baited the new Bing were subject to some emotionally reactive and aggressive responses.

“We’re getting better at speed, we’re getting better at accuracy … but we are on a never-ending quest to make things better and better,” Yusuf Mehdi, a VP at Microsoft overseeing its AI initiatives, told CNN on Wednesday.

Bing now gets more than 100 million daily active users each day, a significant uptick in the past few months, according to Mehdi. Google, which has long dominated the market, is also adding similar AI features to its search engine.

In February, Microsoft showed off how its revamped search engine could write summaries of search results, chat with users to answer additional questions about a query and write emails or other compositions based on the results.

At a press event in New York City on Wednesday, the company shared an early look at some updates, including the ability to ask questions with pictures, access chat history so the chatbot remembers its rapport with users, and export responses to Microsoft Word. Users can also personalize the tone and style of the chatbot’s responses, selecting from a lengthier, creative reply to something that’s shorter and to the point.

The wave of attention in recent months around ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI with financial backing from Microsoft, helped renew an arms race among tech companies to deploy similar AI tools in their products. OpenAI, Microsoft and Google are at the forefront of this trend, but IBM, Amazon, Baidu and Tencent are working on similar technologies. A long list of startups are also developing AI writing assistants and image generators.

Beyond adding AI features to search, Microsoft has said it plans to bring ChatGPT technology to its core productivity tools, including Word, Excel and Outlook, with the potential to change the way we work. The decision to add generative AI features to Bing could be particularly risky, however, given how much people rely on search engines for accurate and reliable information.

Microsoft’s moves also come amid heightened scrutiny on the rapid pace of advancement in AI technology. In March, some of the biggest names in tech, including Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, called for artificial intelligence labs to stop the training of the most powerful AI systems for at least six months, citing “profound risks to society and humanity.”

Mehdi said he doesn’t believe the AI industry is moving too fast and suggested the calls for a pause aren’t particularly helpful.

“Some people think we should pause development for six months but I’m not sure that fixes anything or improves or moves things along,” he said. “But I understand where it’s coming from concern wise.”

He added: “The only way to really build this technology well is to do it out in the open in the public so we can have conversations about it.”

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 (CNN) — The UK antitrust regulator has blocked Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard, threatening to thwart one of the tech industry’s biggest deals over concerns it will stifle competition in cloud gaming.

The Competition and Markets Authority said in a statement Wednesday that it was worried the deal would lead to “reduced innovation and less choice for UK gamers over the years to come.”

The acquisition, which was worth $69 billion when it was announced early last year, would make Microsoft “even stronger” in cloud gaming, a market in which it already holds a 60%-70% share globally, the regulator added.

Activision’s share price plunged more than 11% on Wednesday, while Microsoft’s stock gained 8%.

Activision Blizzard is one of the world’s biggest video game developers, producing games such as “Call of Duty,” “World of Warcraft,” “Diablo” and “Overwatch.” Microsoft, which sells the Xbox gaming console, offers a video game subscription service called Xbox Game Pass, as well as a cloud-based video game streaming service.

The deal to combine the businesses has been met with growing opposition by antitrust regulators worldwide. In December, the US Federal Trade Commission sued to block the takeover over similar competition concerns. A hearing is scheduled for August. The European Union is also evaluating the transaction.

The regulators “cooperate quite closely,” said Alex Haffner, a partner at London law firm Fladgate, who described the UK decision as “seismic,” even though it applies only to the firms’ activities in Britain.

“It has potential implications for those [other regulatory] decisions as well,” he added. “It’s hard to see how the deal would carry on without approval from all three regulators.”

In its ruling, the Competition and Markets Authority said Microsoft could seek to make Activision’s games exclusive to its own platforms and then increase the cost of a Game Pass subscription.

“The cloud allows UK gamers to avoid buying expensive gaming consoles and PCs and gives them much more flexibility and choice as to how they play. Allowing Microsoft to take such a strong position in the cloud gaming market just as it begins to grow rapidly would risk undermining the innovation that is crucial to the development of these opportunities,” it added.

“The evidence available… indicates that, absent the merger, Activision would start providing games via cloud platforms in the foreseeable future.”

Microsoft, Activision plan to appeal

Both companies plan to appeal the decision. “Alongside Microsoft, we can and will contest this decision, and we’ve already begun the work to appeal to the UK Competition Appeals Tribunal,” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick said in a statement.

Microsoft President Brad Smith added: “This decision appears to reflect a flawed understanding of the market and the way the relevant cloud technology actually works.”

Their chances of success at the tribunal may be slim, however. “It’s hard to win these appeals because you have to show it was an irrational decision,” said Haffner, the competition lawyer. “The bar is set quite high for success,” he told CNN.

The Enterprise Act 2002 gives the UK Competition and Markets Authority wide-ranging powers to block deals it deems to be harmful to competition.

It has used this authority in the past to block 21st Century Fox’s takeover of Sky News, and the sale of Asda supermarkets to rival Sainsbury’s.

The regulator, which launched an in-depth review of the blockbuster gaming deal in September, said Microsoft’s proposed remedies to its concerns had “significant shortcomings.”

“Their proposals… would have replaced competition with ineffective regulation in a new and dynamic market,” explained Martin Coleman, chair of the independent panel of experts conducting the investigation.

“Microsoft already enjoys a powerful position and head start over other competitors in cloud gaming, and this deal would strengthen that advantage, giving it the ability to undermine new and innovative competitors,” Coleman continued. “Cloud gaming needs a free, competitive market to drive innovation and choice.”

The UK cloud gaming market is expected to be worth up to £1 billion ($1.2 billion) by 2026, around 9% of the global market, according to the Competition and Markets Authority.

-— Josh du Lac and Brian Fung contributed reporting.

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Khamyra Sykes, popularly known as Queen Khamyra, is a 16-year-old content creator who is making waves in the male-dominated gaming industry. Having established herself through her sketch comedy videos on various social media platforms, and now as a video game streamer, she is taking it upon herself to become a voice for the women of the world who are making their way in a massively male-dominated industry. 

Her new show, The Queen Stream, launched on March 31, 2023 on Twitch and is integrating gaming into her streams. The show airs every Friday at 5 pm and is aimed at creating a safe space for girl gamers to thrive in. As a former member of the Collab Crib, Sykes has first-hand experience of the bias women face in the video game industry. Sykes is now making her own space for female creators and helping them make money off their content. Sykes claims that brands view TikTok as essential to social media marketing and that many take into account the scale of creators’ followings and engagement rates when negotiating promotional contracts.

“This means much more than socio-politically, but economically, as well,” she said. “It’s important that not only does there need to be a safe space for female creators, but that they make money off their content as well.”

Sykes has 560,000 followers on TikTok, where she posts brief comedic skits and lifestyle videos. She makes money off the site by working with clothing companies and creating political advertisements, such as a get-out-and-vote video for the most recent midterm election.

But, with the U.S government gunning for the prohibition of TikTok in the US would result in the content creators missing out on a significant portion of their followers and potential brand collaborations. 

“A ban would affect employment opportunities for content creators who rely on TikTok for their income and would have a disastrous impact on small businesses that rely on the platform for marketing and sales,” Sykes said. 

However, the gaming industry is still massively male-dominated, and according to a report by Convertkit, an online creator marketing platform, 35% of men earn over $100,000 from their businesses compared to 19% of women. Men are also twice as likely to earn over $150,000 from their online presence. These are disparaging numbers that Sykes aims to change. 

Through The Queen Stream, Sykes is aiming to create a platform where female gamers can thrive and make money off their content. She believes that it’s important to create not just a safe space for female creators but also an economically viable space. The gaming industry has long been known to have a gender bias, and Khamyra is taking a step forward in breaking that stereotype. 

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(CNN) — The FBI is warning consumers against using public phone charging stations in order to avoid exposing their devices to malicious software.

Public USB stations like the kind found at malls and airports are being used by bad actors to spread malware and monitoring software, according to a tweet last week from the FBI’s Denver branch. The agency did not provide any specific examples.

“Carry your own charger and USB cord and use an electrical outlet instead,” the agency advised in the tweet.

While public charging stations are attractive to many when devices are running critically low on battery, security experts have for years raised concerns about the risk. In 2011, researchers coined the term “juice jacking” to describe the problem.

“Just by plugging your phone into a [compromised] power strip or charger, your device is now infected, and that compromises all your data,” Drew Paik, formerly of security firm Authentic8, explained to CNN in 2017.

The cord you use to charge your phone is also used to send data from your phone to other devices. For instance, when you plug your iPhone into your Mac with the charging cord, you can download photos from your phone to your computer.

If a port is compromised, there’s no limit to what information a hacker could take, Paik previously explained to CNN. That includes your email, text messages, photos and contacts.

“The FBI regularly provides reminders and public service announcements in conjunction with our partners,” Vikki Migoya, public affairs officer at the FBI’s Denver branch, told CNN. “This was a general reminder for the American public to stay safe and diligent, especially while traveling.”

The Federal Communications Commission also updated a blog post on Tuesday warning that a corrupted charging port can allow a malicious actor to lock a device or extract personal data and passwords.

“In some cases, criminals may have intentionally left cables plugged in at charging stations,” according to the FCC blog post. “There have even been reports of infected cables being given away as promotional gifts.”

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