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☆ CEOs of OpenAI, Google and Microsoft to join other tech leaders on federal AI safety panel
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Washington CNN —The US government has asked leading artificial intelligence companies for advice on how to use the technology they are creating to defend airlines, utilities and other critical infrastructure, particularly from AI-powered attacks. The Department of Homeland Security said Friday that the panel it’s creating will include CEOs from some of the world’s largest companies and industries. The list includes Google chief executive Sundar Pichai, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, but also the head of defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman and air carrier Delta Air Lines. It also includes federal, state and local government officials, as well as leading academics in AI such as Fei-Fei Li, co-director of Stanford University’s Human-centered Artificial Intelligence Institute. The US government already uses machine learning or artificial intelligence for more than 200 distinct purposes, such as monitoring volcano activity, tracking wildfires and identifying wildlife from satellite imagery.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Sam Altman, Northrop Grumman, ”, Alejandro Mayorkas, Fei Li, Joe Biden Organizations: Washington CNN, Department of Homeland Security, Google, Microsoft, Delta Air Lines, DHS, “, Amazon Web Services, IBM, Cisco, ’, Civil, Stanford, Intelligence, Safety, Security

☆ Oklahoma Was a Legal Marijuana Utopia. Then Came the Mass Murder
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-29 | by ( Matt Stroud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +32 min

Fourteen months after the murders, the garage of the abandoned marijuana farm on prairie tableland northwest of Oklahoma City sits frozen and dark. Broadway Avenue in Kingfisher, Oklahoma, about 30 miles south of where Wu Chen, 47, executed four people at a marijuana farm. When Oklahoma legalized medical marijuana, the only real requirement was that Oklahoma residents had to be involved in marijuana growing and selling. But Oklahoma required 75% of any marijuana business to be owned by an Oklahoma resident. Deputies from the Kingfisher County Sheriff's Office were the first to arrive at the scene of a quadruple homicide at an abandoned marijuana farm.

Persons: Wu Chen, Mike Simons, Kevin Stitt, Sean Hannity's, Dan Newhouse, Liu, Chen, Yi Fei Lin, Mark Woodward, —, OBN, Adria Berry, BI Adria Berry, I'm, Barb Miuccio, Jeremy Grable, Jeremy, Barb, she's, Barbara Miuccio, Treez, Matt Stacy, Stacy, Stitt, Jeremy they'd, he'd, OMMA, didn't, Barb didn't, Barbara, Stacy —, she'd, Stacy hadn't, BI Jonathan Riedlinger, Riedlinger, Lin, Qirong Lin, Hechun Chen, Qiang Chen, Fang Lee —, Wenbo Lin, Wu Chen —, Wenbo Lin didn't, Reidlinger, Jed Green, Matthew Alan Stacy, Barb —, — he's, He'd, Woodward, Helen Carillo, He's, Kevin Pham, Pham, BI Pham, ProPublica, recriminations, Green, It's, they're, I'd, Ken Thompson, Thompson, Chen didn't, He'll, Jonathan Riedlinger, Kiki, I've Organizations: Oklahoma City, Broadway, BI, Marijuana, Oklahoma, Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, Republican, Sean Hannity's Fox, Fox News, Chen Inc, Narcotics, BI Adria, Oklahoma's Army National Guard, OBN, Business, Oklahoma State Bureau of, Sheriff's, Prosecutors, CSI Accounting Services, Whitney Economics, NBC, Cannabis, Virginia Slim, Florida . Police Locations: Oklahoma, Kingfisher County , Oklahoma, Ames , Oklahoma, Kingfisher , Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, California, Arkansas, Republican Washington, China, Kingfisher County, Dallas, Moore , Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, Afghanistan, Iraq, Ukraine, He's, Moore, Kingfisher, Hennessey , Oklahoma, OMMA, Mexico, Edmond, Tulsa, Russia, Bulgaria, Armenia, Steakhouse, Virginia, Florida, Miami Beach, Miami

☆ Jensen Huang is about to give AI believers a glimpse of the future
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-17 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewThere's a running gag that Jensen Huang is to AI fanboys what Taylor Swift is to Swifties. Nvidia's GTC event, starting on Monday, should answer that. AdvertisementMatt Bryson, an analyst at Wedbush, expects Nvidia to lift the lid on the B100, the next-generation version of its H100 GPU. Can AI models eventually reason? Of course, industry watchers will look for any sign that the Nvidia and AI mania might be about to slow down.

Persons: —, Jensen Huang, Taylor Swift, Sam Altman, Mark Zuckerberg, hasn't, Bojan Tunguz, Huang, Matt Bryson, Blackwell, It'll, Zuckerberg, he'll, JOSH EDELSON, Brad Lightcap, Arthur Mensch, Christian Szegedy, Elon Musk's, Aidan Gomez, Stanford's Fei, Fei Li, Wedbush's Bryson Organizations: Service, Nvidia, GPU Technology Conference, Business, Apple, Tech, Meta, Microsoft, Google, AMD Locations: San, Woodstock

KINGFISHER, Okla. (AP) — A man was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to killing four workers at an Oklahoma marijuana farm in 2022. As part of a plea agreement, Wu was sentenced to life in prison without parole for each of the murder counts and given a 20-year prison term for the assault charge. Wu, 47, was arrested in Florida two days after the shooting and was later extradited to Oklahoma. Killed in the attack were Quirong Lin, Chen He Chun, Chen He Qiang and Fang Hui Lee, court documents show. “This case should serve as a reminder of the dangers surrounding illegal marijuana activity in Oklahoma,” said Kingfisher County District Attorney Tommy Humphries, according to The Oklahoman.

Persons: Chen Wu, Wu, Wu Chen, Quirong Lin, Chen, Chun, Qiang, Fang Hui Lee, Yi Fei Lin, ”, Tommy Humphries Organizations: Prosecutors, Oklahoma City, Authorities Locations: Oklahoma, Hennessey, Florida, Kingfisher

☆ Race for China’s EV market could last 3 years, BYD says, claiming it wants to work with Tesla
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Chinese automaker BYD had one of the biggest stands at the IAA show in Munich, Germany in 2023. BEIJING — Competition for China's electric car market will continue to heat up in the next two to three years, according BYD , which claimed it wants to work with Tesla to grow the market. Chinese battery and electric car maker BYD has grown rapidly in recent years, with total vehicle production in 2023 surpassing that of Elon Musk's Tesla. Fierce competition in China's electric car market in the last two years has resulted in the lowest prices for the vehicles globally, Yunfei Li, general manager of branding and public relations at BYD, told reporters Monday. Government subsidies and license plate restrictions have helped boost new energy car sales, while startups and traditional automakers have incorporated flashy new tech to attract buyers.

Persons: BYD, Tesla, Elon Musk's Tesla, Li Organizations: IAA, BEIJING —, CNBC Locations: Munich, Germany, BYD, China

☆ AI experts are roasting the NYT list of 'who's who' in AI for having zero women
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The New York Times list of "who's who" in AI has been slammed for featuring zero women. "Godmother of AI" Fei-Fei Li criticized the list, writing, "It's not about me, but all of us in AI." AdvertisementThe New York Times' profile of "who's who" in AI, published Sunday, has drawn criticism for featuring zero women. "You literally erased all the heavy hitting women of AI and but included people who are more 'influencers,'" wrote Daneshjou. AdvertisementThe New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: Fei, Fei Li, —, Kara Swisher, Li, It’s, recup, asha, Dane, Wale, ari, Hass, Hoff, lon Musk Organizations: New York Times, Service, ust, ctu, rit, emi Locations: usk

Eventually, China wants the schemes to be integrated into national emissions trading and generate credits that can offset emissions by industrial polluters, government plans show. PERSONAL CARBON TRADINGChina's carbon inclusion ambitions have been in gestation since 2015, when the southeastern province of Guangdong published rules on how to convert low-carbon activity into credits. Guangdong also allows enterprises to meet 10% of carbon reduction obligations through carbon inclusion credits. And there are worries the carbon inclusion schemes could let industrial polluters off the hook by shifting the burden of emission cuts to households. China climate official Su Wei told local media the green transformation of China would "inevitably involve profound changes in people's daily habits and consumption patterns", but he said carbon inclusion schemes would remain voluntary.

Persons: David Kirton, China's, Xie Zhenhua, Banks, Benjamin Sovacool, Li, Zhang Xin, people's, Yaqiu Wang, Su Wei, David Stanway, Sonali Paul Organizations: REUTERS, China, Communist, China Academy of Sciences, People's Bank of, Boston University, Environmental Studies, New, Thomson Locations: Pingshan district, Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, SHENZHEN, Dubai, Guangdong, People's Bank of China, Quzhou, Finland, British, Singapore, New York, Shanghai, Beijing

☆ Analysis-China Turns to Households in Fight to Slash Carbon Emissions
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-26 | by ( Nov. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +7 min

Eventually, China wants the schemes to be integrated into national emissions trading and generate credits that can offset emissions by industrial polluters, government plans show. PERSONAL CARBON TRADINGChina's carbon inclusion ambitions have been in gestation since 2015, when the southeastern province of Guangdong published rules on how to convert low-carbon activity into credits. Other countries have toyed with the idea of personal carbon trading, with pilot schemes set up in Finland and Australia's Norfolk Island. Guangdong also allows enterprises to meet 10% of carbon reduction obligations through carbon inclusion credits. And there are worries the carbon inclusion schemes could let industrial polluters off the hook by shifting the burden of emission cuts to households.

Persons: David Stanway, David Kirton, China's, Xie Zhenhua, Banks, Benjamin Sovacool, Li, Zhang Xin, people's, Yaqiu Wang, Su Wei, Sonali Paul Organizations: Communist, China Academy of Sciences, People's Bank of, Boston University, Environmental Studies, New Locations: China, Shenzhen, Dubai, Guangdong, People's Bank of China, Quzhou, Finland, British, Singapore, New York, Shanghai, Beijing

☆ A Tech Pioneer Focused on Making AI a Force for Good
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-03 | by ( Emily Bobrow | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Fei-Fei Li , a renowned pioneer in artificial intelligence, says a conversation with her mother changed the course of her career. She notes that her parents, who brought her to the U.S. from China when she was 15 with hopes for a better life, had always been supportive of her work. That feat is now widely credited with helping to spawn the “deep learning” revolution in AI. Her mom was intrigued but unmoved. “What,” she pointedly asked, “can AI do to help people?”

Persons: Fei, Fei Li, “ Fei, Li, ” Li, ” Locations: China

☆ What Is the Government’s Role in Developing—and Regulating—AI?
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Commerce Department’s Alan Davidson, center, and Stanford’s Fei-Fei Li, right, at WSJ Tech Live. Li said it’s still an uphill battle for women and people of color trying to make a mark in the AI field. Photo: Nikki Ritcher for the Wall Street JournalAs AI develops, it becomes more of a critical issue in politics. How important is it in our competition with China? Does the field have enough diverse voices?

Persons: Alan Davidson, Stanford’s Fei, Fei Li, Li, it’s, Nikki Ritcher, Wells, Fei Organizations: WSJ Tech, Wall, Stanford Institute for, Intelligence, Commerce Department, Tech Locations: China

A Baidu search for the question "should China be more responsible for climate change? ", or variations of it, did not produce any articles critical of China's climate policy in the first few dozen results. Instead, the results, many from state media outlets, focused on China's leadership in the fight against climate change and calls for developed countries to take more responsibility. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this story, but government spokespeople have long defended China's record on climate change and press freedom. Despite the extreme weather, China has reinforced its message about energy security rather than climate change in recent months, said CREA's lead analyst, Lauri Myllyvirta.

Persons: Doksuri, Tingshu Wang, Li Shuo, We're, Su, Fang Kecheng, Pan Zhongdang, Xi Jinping, Li, Lauri Myllyvirta, David Stanway, Barbara Lewis Organizations: REUTERS, Greenpeace, Weibo, Baidu, Chinese University of Hong, Communications, University of Wisconsin, Environmental Studies, New, Centre for Research, Energy, Clean, Thomson Locations: Zhuozhou, Hebei province, China, BEIJING, Beijing, Hebei, Chinese University of Hong Kong, United States, Madison, New York, Shanghai Campus, Shanghai

☆ Oracle is betting its AI future on a company called Cohere. Here's why this little-known startup is becoming OpenAI's chief rival.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Julie Bort | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Oracle is offering generative AI to its customers based on tech from a startup called Cohere. Oracle will be embedding Cohere's generative AI technology into a bunch of its products and Cohere will be using Oracle's cloud to train, build, and deploy its generative AI models, Oracle chairman and CTO Larry Ellison said. One is that Cohere is designed for enterprise customers, meaning companies can use their own data to train their AI models, without sharing that data. But at the moment, Cohere is the only partner Oracle announced to power its generative AI services for customers, though this could change one day. He was a research intern at Google Brain in 2017 when he co-authored a paper on a way of training AI models to improve their abilities to understand language.

Persons: Cohere, Geoffrey Hinton, Fei, Fei Li, Pieter Abbeel, Larry Ellison, That's, Ellison, OpenAI, ChatGPT, Salesforce, Aidan Gomez, cofounders, Nick Frosst, Ivan Zhang, Gomez Organizations: Oracle, Morning, NVIDIA, Salesforce Ventures, New York Times, Microsoft, Wall, Nvidia, Google, Cohere Locations: Cohere, OpenAI, Toronto

☆ AI startup Cohere in talks to raise funding at $6 bln plus valuation -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( Krystal Hu | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Generative AI aims to make human-like creations through computer code that has processed vast amounts of data. FOCUS ON NLPFocusing on training natural language processing (NLP) models, Cohere competes with a group of foundation model providers such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Gomez said the company differentiates itself by focusing on serving enterprise users, and Cohere has been talking to companies from marketing, consulting and tech to help them incorporate generative AI. Cohere is powering some consumer applications including Hyperwrite, which helps people write faster and generate articles using AI. Other foundation model providers such as Anthropic is also in talks to raise funding at multi-billion valuations, investor sources said.

☆ Man demanded $300K before killing 4 Chinese nationals at Oklahoma pot farm, prosecutors say
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Marlene Lenthang | Marlene Lenthang Is A Breaking News Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

A man accused of killing four people at an illegal Oklahoma marijuana farm last month opened fire after demanding employees give him $300,000 as a return for his “investment” in the illegal operation, prosecutors said. He is accused of killing Chinese nationals Quirong Lin, Chen He Chun, Chen He Qiang and Fang Hui Lee and injuring Yi Fei Lin, according to charging documents. Police respond to a crime scene where four people were found dead in Kingfisher County, Oklahoma, on Nov. 21, 2022. The marijuana farm has since been seized by law enforcement, the filing stated. Law enforcement officials have reported a rise in black market operators using suspected human trafficking victims, including Chinese nationals, to grow and trim marijuana sold in legal dispensaries.

☆ Elon Musk, who runs four other companies, will now be Twitter CEO
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Musk, who also runs rocket company SpaceX, brain-chip startup Neuralink and tunneling firm the Boring Company, fired Twitter's previous chief, Parag Agrawal, and other top company officials last week. Musk had previously changed his Twitter bio to "Chief Twit" in an allusion to his planned move. Twitter on Monday declined comment on how long Musk might remain CEO or appoint someone else. In another filing on Monday, Musk revealed that he became the sole director of Twitter as a result of the takeover. Last week, Musk's takeover of the social media company for $44 billion concluded a months-long saga.

☆ Elon Musk has dissolved Twitter's 9-person board of directors and become its sole director
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk has scrapped Twitter's board of directors. Musk had himself tried to join Twitter's board in the spring before clashing with then-CEO Parag Agrawal. When first outlining his plans for his ownership of Twitter, Musk said he would need to take the company private to make his desired changes. The same evening, Musk also ousted CFO Ned Segal, chief legal officer Vijaya Gadde, and general counsel Sean Edgett, sources told Insider. Musk had himself been set to join Twitter's board before he offered to buy the company, but u-turned after clashing with Agrawal over text.

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