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☆ How the Google Antitrust Ruling May Influence Tech Competition
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-06 | by ( Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In 2000, a ruling in a U.S. antitrust case against Microsoft helped set the rules of competition for the digital giant of its day. At the time, a federal judge said Microsoft had abused the monopoly power of its Windows operating system and ordered that the company be split up. More than two decades later, a ruling in a Google antitrust case similarly promises to shape new rules for the tech industry. Judge Amit P. Mehta of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found on Monday that Google had violated antitrust laws by stifling rivals in internet search to protect its monopoly. The Google ruling, and potential remedies to be decided by Judge Mehta, are likely to weigh heavily on those cases, including a second lawsuit against Google over ad technology, which is scheduled to go to trial next month.

Persons: Judge Amit P, Mehta, Apple, Judge Mehta Organizations: Microsoft, U.S, District of Columbia, Google Locations: U.S

☆ A.I. Can Write Poetry, but It Struggles With Math
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-23 | by ( Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But curiously, these learners — artificially intelligent chatbots — often struggle with math. Chatbots like Open AI’s ChatGPT can write poetry, summarize books and answer questions, often with human-level fluency. These systems can do math, based on what they have learned, but the results can vary and be wrong. chatbots have difficulty with math because they were never designed to do it,” said Kristian Hammond, a computer science professor and artificial intelligence researcher at Northwestern University. The world’s smartest computer scientists, it seems, have created artificial intelligence that is more liberal arts major than numbers whiz.

Persons: ”, Kristian Hammond Organizations: Northwestern University

☆ These employees moved across the country for work, then Disney canceled the project. Now they’re suing.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-19 | by ( Natasha Chen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Two employees are suing the Walt Disney Company, saying the company moved their jobs from California to Florida, only for Disney to cancel the project and move them back, hurting them financially and emotionally. But in May 2023, after CEO Bob Iger returned, the company canceled the $1 billion Lake Nona office complex amid a legal and political battle with Republican Gov. The plaintiffs, Maria De La Cruz and George Fong, both work for Disney’s product design division. The complaint alleges that Disney misrepresented and concealed its true plans for the Lake Nona project, hurting – financially and otherwise – at least 250 employees who had made the move from California to Florida. De La Cruz, Mr. Fong and many others dutifully moved to Florida because they love their jobs, they love the people they work with, and they love Disney,” Attorney Jason Lohr said.

Persons: They’re, Bob Chapek, Bob Iger, Ron DeSantis, Maria De La Cruz, George Fong, De La Cruz, Fong, Lohr Ripamonti, Disney, –, Disney “, De, Ms, Jason Lohr Organizations: CNN, Walt Disney Company, Disney, Republican Gov, Lohr, Superior Court of, Lake, Florida Locations: California, Florida, Nona, Superior Court of Los Angeles, De La, Southern California, Central Florida

☆ How A.I. Is Revolutionizing Drug Development
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-17 | by ( Steve Lohr | Spencer Lowell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The laboratory at Terray Therapeutics is a symphony of miniaturized automation. Robots whir, shuttling tiny tubes of fluids to their stations. Scientists in blue coats, sterile gloves and protective glasses monitor the machines. Every interaction is recorded, millions and millions each day, generating 50 terabytes of raw data daily — the equivalent of more than 12,000 movies. The lab, about two-thirds the size of a football field, is a data factory for artificial-intelligence-assisted drug discovery and development in Monrovia, Calif. It’s part of a wave of young companies and start-ups trying to harness A.I.

Organizations: Terray Therapeutics Locations: Monrovia, Calif

☆ Etsy is trying to recreate pandemic-era sales. Here's where it's having trouble
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-19 | by ( Natalie Rice | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

E-commerce artisan marketplace Etsy is at a crossroads as it tries to balance declining gross merchandise sales, a tumbling stock price and high inflation with the needs of its 7 million sellers. Etsy CEO Josh Silverman attributed the tough quarter to consumers' continued reduction in discretionary spending. The Covid pandemic brought Etsy new customers and a massive sales boost; its stock price reached an all-time high of $296.91 on Nov. 24, 2021. The number of active users on Etsy's platform has increased almost 70% since 2019, but purchases haven't followed. As of the first quarter, the site had 91.6 million active buyers and 7 million active sellers.

Persons: Jason Helfstein, Etsy's, Josh Silverman, Chiarra Lohr Organizations: Oppenheimer, Co, GMS, Indie Sellers

☆ Robert Dennard, IBM Inventor Whose Chip Changed Computing, Dies at 91
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-16 | by ( Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Robert H. Dennard, an engineer who invented the silicon memory technology that plays an indispensable role in every smartphone, laptop and tablet computer, died on April 23 in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y. The cause of death, at a hospital, was a bacterial infection, said his daughter, Holly Dennard. Mr. Dennard’s pioneering work began at IBM in the 1960s, when the equipment to hold and store computer data was expensive, hulking — often room-size machines — and slow. He was studying the emerging field of microelectronics, which used silicon-based transistors to store digital bits of information. His discovery opened the door to previously unimaginable improvement in data capacity, with lower costs and higher speeds all using tiny silicon chips.

Persons: Robert H, Holly Dennard, Dennard’s, Dennard Organizations: IBM Locations: Sleepy Hollow

☆ A Jobs Program Broke the Rules to Succeed. Now the Rules May Change.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-14 | by ( Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Pursuit, a nonprofit job-training program in Queens, was in trouble. “It felt like staring into the abyss.”While small, Pursuit has a track record of success, helping to lift low-income workers into good-paying jobs as software engineers. Experts say it is at the forefront of emerging trends in upward mobility programs for low-income Americans. Its model of coursework, mentorship and financing does not look like a traditional school. Its technical instruction is constantly updated to meet employers’ needs and tailored to individual learners.

Persons: ”, Jukay Hsu, Pursuit’s Organizations: New York State Department of Education Locations: Queens

☆ The Judge Deciding Google’s Fate
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Steve Lohr | More About Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

One of Amit P. Mehta’s first cases after becoming a federal judge in late 2014 proved to be a crash course in antitrust. Sysco, the nation’s largest distributor of food to restaurants and cafeterias, was trying to buy the rival US Foods, and the Federal Trade Commission had sued to block the $3.5 billion deal, arguing that it would stifle competition. Judge Mehta told lawyers on both sides that he would need help educating himself. After the trial in 2015, Judge Mehta wrote a comprehensive, closely reasoned 128-page opinion and ordered a temporary halt to the deal. Within days, Sysco abandoned its acquisition plan.

Persons: Amit P, Mehta’s, Judge Mehta, Sysco Organizations: US Foods, Federal Trade Commission

☆ How One Tech Skeptic Decided A.I. Might Benefit the Middle Class
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-01 | by ( Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

David Autor seems an unlikely A.I. But Mr. Autor is now making the case that the new wave of technology — generative artificial intelligence, which can produce hyper-realistic images and video and convincingly imitate humans’ voices and writing — could reverse that trend. Mr. Autor’s stance on A.I. Modern A.I., Mr. Autor said, is a fundamentally different technology, opening the door to new possibilities. And if more people, including those without college degrees, can do more valuable work, they should be paid more, lifting more workers into the middle class.

Persons: David Autor, Autor, A.I, Mr Organizations: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, National Bureau of Economic Research, Mr

☆ Generative A.I.’s Biggest Impact Will Be in Banking and Tech, Report Says
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A new generation of artificial intelligence is poised to turn old assumptions about technology on their head. For years, people working in warehouses or fast food restaurants worried that automation could eliminate their jobs. But new research suggests that generative A.I. — the kind used in chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT — will have its biggest impact on white-collar workers with high-paying jobs in industries like banking and tech. “There’s no question the workers who will be impacted most are those with college degrees, and those are the people who always thought they were safe,” said Matt Sigelman, president of the Burning Glass Institute.

Persons: “, ”, Matt Sigelman Organizations: Burning Glass, Society for Human Resource Management, Glass Institute

☆ How a Diversity Initiative Changed Course With the Times
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-22 | by ( Steve Lohr | More About Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

OneTen has helped its members rewrite job descriptions for hundreds of roles to remove unnecessary degree requirements and clearly state the skills sought and needed. The organization has helped to design apprenticeship programs for enterprises like Delta and the Cleveland Clinic, tailored for different fields. Lawsuits have been filed threatening businesses like a fund in Atlanta focused on backing Black female entrepreneurs. And the resignation of Claudine Gay, a Black woman, as president of Harvard has been celebrated by opponents of D.E.I. initiatives in academia and business who claimed she was a diversity hire.

Persons: “, OneTen, ”, Kenneth Frazier, Claudine Gay Organizations: Cleveland Clinic, Merck, “, Harvard Locations: Delta, Florida, Texas, Atlanta

☆ Big Companies Find a Way to Identify A.I. Data They Can Trust
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-30 | by ( Steve Lohr | More About Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Greater clarity and more information about the data used in A.I. “This is a step toward managing data as an asset, which is what everyone in industry is trying to do today,” said Ken Finnerty, president for information technology and data analytics at UPS. In one poll of corporate chief executives, a majority cited “concerns about data lineage or provenance” as a key barrier to A.I. And a survey of data scientists found that they spent nearly 40 percent of their time on data preparation tasks. The data initiative is mainly intended for business data that companies use to make their own A.I.

Persons: ”, Ken Finnerty Organizations: UPS, “, Google, Microsoft

☆ How Microsoft’s Legal Legacy Shapes the Antitrust Case Against Google
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Steve Lohr | More About Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Antitrust trials are full of long stretches of detailed, often tedious testimony punctuated by telling moments. In the two-month Google antitrust trial that is nearing its conclusion, one of those moments came in a brief exchange in October. The barriers to competition in search today, Mr. Schmidtlein said, are less daunting than Microsoft’s stranglehold on personal computer software. “Let’s move on,” said Judge Amit P. Mehta, who wrote in an opinion earlier in the year that he would use the Microsoft case as a guiding framework. “I think I can figure out what the Microsoft case was about.”The antitrust fight against Microsoft in the 1990s has loomed over the government’s showdown with Google.

Persons: John Schmidtlein, Google’s, Schmidtlein, “, ”, Amit P, Mehta Organizations: Justice Department, Microsoft, Google

Since Sept. 12., the Department of Justice and a group of state attorneys general have questioned more than 30 witnesses as they try to prove that Google broke antitrust laws, in a landmark monopoly trial that may affect the power of the technology industry. The government is now wrapping up its side in the case — U.S. et al. v. Google — setting the stage for the internet giant to mount its defense starting this week. Two prime threads have emerged from the government’s case: what it said Google did to illegally maintain its search and search ads monopolies and how those practices harmed consumers and advertisers. How Google kept its online search dominance goingGoogle paid Apple billions of dollars to crush competitionOn the first day of the trial, the Justice Department said Google had paid Apple and other tech platforms more than $10 billion a year to make itself the default search engine on the iPhone and other devices.

Organizations: Department of Justice, Google, Justice Department, Apple

☆ Idina Menzel says ‘interracial aspect’ played into her marriage to Taye Diggs ending
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-20 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Idina Menzel has shared about some of the “very complicated” reasons she and Taye Diggs split in 2013. Menzel told Ferguson that while they have always been supportive of each other, being in an interracial relationship brought the them outside pressures. “The thing that came into play more, I would say, and he’s talked about it too, is the interracial aspect of it,” she said. “I think he had his own stuff to deal with, with that,” she said of Diggs. So I took that on, too.”Diggs talked their split with Redbook in a 2014 interview.

Persons: CNN — Idina Menzel, Taye Diggs, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, ” Ferguson, Menzel, Diggs, Walker, Ferguson, he’s, ”, it’s, “, ” Diggs, “ I’d, ” Menzel, Aaron Lohr Organizations: CNN

☆ An Industry Insider Drives an Open Alternative to Big Tech’s A.I.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-19 | by ( Steve Lohr | More About Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Ali Farhadi is no tech rebel. The Allen Institute has begun an ambitious initiative to build a freely available A.I. In an industry process called open source, other researchers will be allowed to scrutinize and use this new system and the data fed into it. The stance adopted by the Allen Institute, an influential nonprofit research center in Seattle, puts it squarely on one side of a fierce debate over how open or closed new A.I. Would opening up so-called generative A.I., which powers chatbots like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, lead to more innovation and opportunity?

Persons: Ali Farhadi, Farhadi, Google’s Bard Organizations: University of Washington, Apple, Allen Institute, AI, Google Locations: Seattle

☆ In Antitrust Trial, Google Argues That Smart Employees Explain Its Success
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-18 | by ( Steve Lohr | More About Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In its antitrust confrontation with the government, the pillar of Google’s defense has been that innovation — not restrictive contracts, backed by billions in payments to industry partners — explains its success as the giant of internet search. Its competitive advantage, it says, is brilliant people, working tirelessly to improve its products. Pandu Nayak, Google’s first witness in the antitrust trial that began last month, is the face of that defense. Mr. Nayak, a vice president of search, was raised in India and graduated at the top of his class at one of that nation’s elite technical schools. He came to America, earned his Ph.D. in computer science at Stanford University and then spent seven years as a research scientist on artificial intelligence projects at NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley.

Persons: —, Pandu Nayak, Google’s, Nayak Organizations: Stanford University, NASA’s Ames Research Locations: India, America, Silicon Valley

☆ IBM Tries to Ease Customers’ Qualms About Using Generative A.I.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-28 | by ( Steve Lohr | More About Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Plenty of companies are experimenting with the technology, called generative A.I., but they are worried about how confidential data will be handled, the accuracy of A.I.-generated answers and potential legal liability. IBM on Thursday announced its campaign to ease customers’ qualms. The company said it would indemnify companies against copyright or other intellectual property claims for using its generative A.I. IBM will also publish its data sets — the underlying data that is used to build or “train” the A.I. system — which is not standard practice among commercial providers of generative A.I.

Organizations: IBM Locations: America

☆ Biden Administration Plans to Bring Back ‘Net Neutrality’ Rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Steve Lohr | More About Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration plans to bring back open internet rules that were enacted during the Obama administration and then repealed by the Trump administration. In a speech on Tuesday, Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, declared that the repeal in 2017 put the F.C.C. “on the wrong side of history, the wrong side of the law, and the wrong side of the public.”The earlier open internet rules, known as net neutrality, prohibited broadband internet suppliers — telecommunications and cable companies — from blocking or slowing online services. It also banned the broadband companies from charging some content providers higher prices for priority treatment, or “fast lanes” on the internet. “This afternoon,” Ms. Rosenworcel said in her speech at the National Press Club in Washington, “I am sharing with my colleagues a rule making that proposes to restore net neutrality.”

Persons: Obama, Trump, Jessica Rosenworcel, “, ” Ms, Rosenworcel, ” Organizations: Biden, Federal Communications Commission, National Press Club Locations: Washington

☆ Gen Z loneliness is so bad that some young adults are spending thousands trying to make friends through gym memberships and social clubs
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Noah Sheidlower | Madison Hoff | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

In search of connection, young people are spending on gym memberships, social clubs, and art classes. Most said they spend more on social activities than pre-pandemic. All but three said they're spending more money now than they were before the pandemic on social activities such as art classes and gym memberships to make friends. The software engineer said he's increased his investment in social activities after struggling to make friends at work. Other Gen Zers told Insider they made connections through free gallery events, volunteering, and joining book clubs.

Persons: Zers, Lynette Ban, she's, Ban, Vivek Murthy, Richard Weissbourd, Weissbourd, Murthy, Rachael, Matt Schulz, William Cabell, Cabell, he's, Cabell isn't, Kazerouni, Kelly Lohr, —, Barley Vogel, there's, Rebecca Schweiger, Schweiger, Noureen Shallwani, Shallwani, Gen Zers, Zers don't, Lillian Lema, Bumble BFF, Lillian Lema Lema, BFF, She's, Margaux Duvall, Duvall, Alexandra York Organizations: Service, Soho House, Harvard Graduate School of Education, IRL, SEC, Studio Arts Dallas, Studio, The, Facebook Locations: Wall, Silicon, New York, Austin, Italy, Richmond , Virginia, Soho, Soho House's New York, Philadelphia, Maine, Portland , Maine, Ohio, Denver, nsheidlower@insider.com

☆ A Key Question in Google’s Trial: How Formidable Is Its Data Advantage?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-18 | by ( Steve Lohr | More About Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The government’s case is not that Google violated the law in becoming a search giant. Instead, the government claims that after Google became dominant, the company broke the law with its tactics to defend its monopoly. Google replies that the government’s case is an artifice of misleading theory unsupported by the facts. Those truths, according to Google, are that the company holds its leading position in search because of its technical innovation. Those contracts, Google argues, help reduce prices for smartphones and benefit consumers.

Persons: ” John Schmidtlein, Google’s, Brian Higgins, Amit P, Mehta Organizations: Google, Justice Department, Verizon

Mr. Dintzer said that the Justice Department case was “built on documents that capture exactly” what Google did. The opening statement offered clues to how the Justice Department will paint the relationship between Google and Apple. Mr. Dintzer said that Google was insistent that it would not share revenue with Apple without “default placement” on its devices. Later, Mr. Dintzer said, Google worked to make sure that Apple couldn’t redirect searches to its Siri assistant product. “They turned history off, your honor, so they could rewrite it here in this courtroom,” Mr. Dintzer said.

Persons: Kenneth Dintzer, ” Mr, Dintzer, ”, Bing, Amit P, Mehta, Achilles, Google, Siri, Sundar Pichai, “ Organizations: Justice, Google, Apple, Justice Department, Yahoo, MSN

Persons: Kenneth Dintzer, ” Mr, Dintzer, ”, Bing, Amit P, Mehta, Achilles, Google, Siri, Sundar Pichai, “ Organizations: Justice, Google, Apple, Justice Department, Yahoo, MSN

☆ Microsoft, Google and Antitrust: Similar Legal Theories in a Different Era
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Steve Lohr | More About Steve Lohr | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Justice Department argues in a federal antitrust suit that Google is a dominant tech company that has abused its market power to bully industry partners, protect its monopoly and thwart competition. v. Google goes to trial this week, the echoes of the landmark federal suit against Microsoft, a quarter-century ago, are unmistakable. In the Google case, as with Microsoft then, a tech giant is accused of using its overwhelming market power to unfairly cut competitors off from potential customers. But on the eve of the Google trial, it seems unimaginable that the case could command the widespread attention that the Microsoft proceedings did. The Microsoft trial, which began in October 1998, spanned 76 days of testimony over more than eight months.

Persons: Bill Gates Organizations: Google, Microsoft, New York Times

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Persons: Dow Jones, loewe Organizations: d46e5f67 Locations: bottega

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