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☆ Verizon, AT&T to get full C-Band use, extend some 5G safeguards - letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Last year, Verizon and AT&T voluntarily agreed to delay some C-Band 5G usage until July as air carriers worked to retrofit airplane altimeters. Reuters first reported in February that the FAA, Verizon and AT&T were in talks to reach a new agreement that sought to extend some voluntary mitigations beyond July 1. Verizon said Friday it "agreed to final voluntary commitments that will allow our company to fully use our C-band spectrum for 5G by the previously agreed to deadline of July 1." The FAA said Friday it continues "to work closely to ensure a safe co-existence in the U.S. 5G C-band environment." UScellular said the "agreement results from collaboration and coordination with the FAA, FCC, and our industry partners to ensure UScellular can deploy our C-band spectrum without delay."

House lawmakers tore into top U.S. bank regulators Wednesday, questioning their competency and saying examiners were asleep at the wheel, at a second day of congressional hearings this week about how Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed practically overnight on March 10 and March 12. "We need competent financial supervisors, but Congress can't legislate competence," House Financial Services chairman Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., told top officials at the Federal Reserve, Treasury and FDIC at the beginning the hearing. "The light touch cautions from the Fed to SVB management are clearly not what Congress intended for bank supervision," said Waters. Republican Rep. Bill Huizenga, Mich., demanded raw, confidential supervisory information about the banks, available to regulators ahead of the collapses. Members of the Republican majority House challenged many of the decisions made by regulators in the hours and days after SVB collapsed and Signature Bank followed 48 hours later.

☆ UK bans TikTok on government devices following U.S. move
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The U.K. plans to ban TikTok on government phones following similar moves in the U.S. and European Union. LONDON — The United Kingdom on Thursday announced plans to ban the use of Chinese-owned video app TikTok on government corporate devices. "The security of sensitive government information must come first, so today we are banning this app on government devices. The TikTok ban begins with immediate effect, according to Dowden, who noted that the move was "precautionary." "We have begun implementing a comprehensive plan to further protect our European user data, which includes storing UK user data in our European data centres and tightening data access controls, including third-party independent oversight of our approach."

☆ Microsoft tries to justify AI's tendency to give wrong answers by saying they're 'usefully wrong'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

On Tuesday, Google announced it was bringing AI-powered chat technology to Gmail and Google Docs, letting it help composing emails or documents. On Thursday, Microsoft said that its popular business apps like Word and Excel would soon come bundled with ChatGPT-like technology dubbed Copilot. But this time, Microsoft is pitching the technology as being "usefully wrong." Microsoft chief scientist and technical fellow Jaime Teevan said that when Copilot "gets things wrong or has biases or is misused," Microsoft has "mitigations in place." "I studied AI for decades and I feel this huge sense of responsibility with this powerful new tool," Teevan said.

☆ Microsoft adds OpenAI technology to Word and Excel
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( Jonathan Vanian | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Photographer: Charles Pertwee/Bloomberg via Getty ImagesMicrosoft is bringing generative artificial intelligence technologies like the popular ChatGPT chatting app to its Microsoft 365 suite of business software. features, dubbed Copilot, will be available in some of the company's most popular business apps like Word, PowerPoint and Excel. The Copilot technology is built upon a type of artificial intelligence software known as a large language model, or LLM. Microsoft executives demonstrated some of the capabilities of its Copilot tool on Thursday during an online presentation. In February, Microsoft debuted a new version of its Bing search engine that included a chatbot powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 language technology.

☆ U.S. govt clears F-35 engine deliveries after safety concerns addressed
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Raytheon Technologies Corp (RTX.N) said on Friday the U.S. government has cleared its Pratt and Whitney unit to resume deliveries of its F-135 engine for the F-35 fighter jet, after a halt was put in place in December following the discovery of a safety concern. The F-35 Joint Program Office said in a statement its engineers worked alongside Pratt & Whitney and Lockheed Martin (LMT.N) to develop "mitigations for a rare system phenomenon involving harmonic resonance to develop a path forward for safe operation of the F135 in flight". "The actions the government and industry team are taking will ensure incorporation of mitigation measures that will fully address/resolve this rare phenomenon in impacted F135 engines," it added. The JPO also said the government was working on drawing up instructions for safely resuming flight operations for impacted and new production aircraft. Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in BengaluruOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ The FAA is taking action after multiple serious safety incidents among US airlines: 'Now is the time'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Taylor Rains | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Billy Nolen, the Federal Aviation Administration's acting administrator, is creating a safety review committee. The group will assess recent incidents and determine if there are any emerging trends. "Recent events remind us that we must not become complacent. According to the FAA, the CAST has been a vital group in proactively identifying aviation safety risks and addressing them before an accident occurs. Three weeks later, a FedEx Boeing 767 nearly landed on top of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 in Austin, Texas.

It was created by OpenAI, a private company backed by Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O), and made available to the public for free. Its ubiquity has generated fear that generative AI such as ChatGPT could be used to spread disinformation, while educators worry it will be used by students to cheat. A second congressional aide described the discussions as focusing on the speed of changes in AI and how it could be used. In an interview with Time, Mira Murati, OpenAI's chief technology officer, said the company welcomed input, including from regulators and governments. "The whole value proposition of these types of AI systems is that they can generate content at scales and speeds that humans simply can't," he said.

☆ Exclusive: Many airlines will not meet U.S. 5G upgrade deadline -IATA
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-06 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The world's biggest airline trade body warned many airlines will be unable to meet looming U.S. deadlines to retrofit airplane altimeters to ensure they are not susceptible to 5G wireless interference and warned it could impact the summer international travel season. The FAA last month said it was proposing a requirement that passenger and cargo aircraft in the United States have 5G C-Band-tolerant radio altimeters or approved filters by early 2024. The Transportation Department did not comment while the FAA said in response to request for comment on the letter "the FAA has made its position clear." The FAA, Verizon and AT&T are now negotiating to reach a new agreement that seeks to extend some voluntary mitigations beyond July 1, sources told Reuters. Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK set for biggest strike action in years as teachers, civil servants walk out
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Michael Holden | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

On Wednesday, about 300,000 teachers will take action, along with 100,000 civil servants from more than 120 government departments, and tens of thousands of university lecturers and rail workers. 'MOST DAYS LOST FOR 30 YEARS'Between June and November, more days were lost to industrial action than in any six months for over 30 years, according to official data. An Ipsos poll released on Wednesday suggested the public was divided on the multiple strike action, with 40% supporting the action and 38% opposed. It put the estimated impact of the teachers' strikes at about 20 million pounds a day. ($1 = 0.8130 pound)Reporting by Michael Holden, Alistair Smout and William Schomberg; editing by Jonathan OatisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ College professors are considering creative ways to stop students from using AI to cheat
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Some professors say students are using new tech to pass off AI-generated content as their own. Some professors say students are using OpenAI's buzzy chatbot, ChatGPT, to pass off AI-generated content as their own. The issue has led to professors considering creative ways to stamp out the use of AI in colleges. Blue books and oral exams"I'm perplexed about how to handle AI going forward," Aumann told Insider. Bartel agreed that students could get away with using AI very easily.

☆ Teachers are adapting to concerns about a powerful new AI tool
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Samantha Murphy Kelly | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Some teachers said they’ve also heard of students being required to film short videos that elaborate on their thought process. Public schools in New York City and Seattle, meanwhile, have already banned students and teachers from using ChatGPT on the district’s networks and devices. Reid, the professor at Coastal Carolina University, believes teachers should work with ChatGPT and teach best practices in the classroom. Reid said teachers could encourage students to plug an assignment question into the tool and have them compare that result to what they personally wrote. “Like with other new technologies, this could be a tool instructors use to help students express their ideas,” she said.

☆ U.S. FAA proposes requiring 5G safeguards on planes by early 2024
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Octavio JonesWASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said Monday it is proposing a requirement that passenger and cargo aircraft in the United States have 5G C-Band-tolerant radio altimeters or install approved filters by early 2024. The proposed airworthiness directive, which would take effect in February 2024, is similar to one that took effect in December 2021, prohibiting passenger and cargo flight operations in the vicinity of 5G C-Band wireless transmitters unless the FAA specifically approved them. Some international airlines have privately expressed reluctance to install filters absent a legal requirement from the FAA, officials told Reuters. FAA acting Administrator Billy Nolen in October sought a delay in some 5G C-Band transmissions from smaller operators over aviation safety concerns. A deal struck shortly before a 2022 deadline did not prevent dozens of foreign carriers from canceling international flights to the United States.

New York City's Department of Education announced a ban on the wildly popular chatbot ChatGPT — which some have warned could inspire more student cheating — from its schools’ devices and networks. It was not immediately clear if the ban applied to the City University of New York system. In New York public schools, ChatGPT can still be made available upon request to classes studying artificial intelligence. In an email statement responding to the New York City public schools ban, a spokesperson for OpenAI said the company "doesn't want ChatGPT to be used for misleading purposes in schools or anywhere else." We’ve always called for transparency around the use of AI-generated text," the spokesperson said.

☆ Southwest Airlines chaos sparks new calls to make airlines pay passengers when flights are delayed or canceled
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Stephanie Stacey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

US airlines aren't legally required to offer any compensation for delayed or canceled flights. Lawmakers are pushing for change, spurred in part by the recent chaos involving Southwest Airlines. The chaos has sparked fresh calls for legally binding protection for passengers, as well as mandatory compensation for any travelers facing lengthy delays. Southwest has promised to pay for alternative travel, food and hotel stays for all stranded passengers, but it's not legally required to do so. Further, there are "no federal laws requiring airlines to provide passengers with money or other compensation when their flights are delayed or cancelled," per the Department of Transportation.

☆ Boeing resumes 777X flight testing after recent engine issue -planemaker
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Boeing Co (BA.N) said on Thursday it has resumed flight testing of its 777X after an issue with a GE9X engine prompted a halt following an inspection. "We’re supporting GE Aerospace as they continue to assess a recent GE9X engine issue," Boeing said. "We have resumed airplane testing following our comprehensive safety process and appropriate mitigations while our supplier and technical teams continue their work." GE (GE.N) said last month it was reviewing a technical issue that occurred during GE9X post-certification engineering testing of the plane that is formally as the 777-9. Reporting by David Shepardson Editing by Chris ReeseOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Inside the life of a deep sea saturation diver, one of the most dangerous and isolated jobs in the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Britney Nguyen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Chris Lemons was a saturation diver for 10 years working on oil fields on the North Sea floor. "They all seemed like enigmas a little bit," Lemons said about seeing saturation divers emerge from their chamber. For eight years, Lemons was required to work as an air diver to gain experience for saturation diving courses, which he eventually did in Marseille, France, before spending 10 years as a saturation diver. Life in the pressurized chamberLemons joked that the most important skill for being a saturation diver isn't diving, but being personable enough to live in the pressurized chamber. Now, Lemons publicly speaks about his career as a saturation diver, and talks about the incident to promote safety and share what he learned from the experience.

☆ Investing in Space: Starship on deck
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Michael Sheetz | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Starship prototype #24 conducts a test firing of six of its Raptor engines at the company's facility near Brownsville, Texas on Sept. 8, 2022. CNBC's Investing in Space newsletter offers a view into the business of space exploration and privatization, delivered straight to your inbox. The race between SpaceX and NASA to get their monster rockets into space tipped in the government's favor this week, with the Space Launch System (SLS) finally thundering off the launch pad – putting more pressure on Elon Musk's company to get Starship off the ground. Hours before SLS took off, NASA announced an additional Starship award under the lunar Artemis program. It's been more than two years since Musk declared Starship the company's top priority, and he's repeatedly set ambitious goals for the rocket's development.

☆ U.S. aviation sector calls for 5G wireless deadline extension
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A letter signed by Airlines for America, Boeing (BA.N) Airbus (AIR.PA), Embraer (EMBR3.SA), aviation unions and others backed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) request to mandate an extension of mitigation by wireless carriers as airlines retrofit radio altimeters. FAA acting Administrator Billy Nolen urged a delay in some 5G C-Band transmissions from smaller operators over aviation safety concerns. The aviation industry letter said that since January "the FAA has documented over 100 FAA incidents of potential 5G interference ... The FAA and White House did not immediately comment. The aviation letter Tuesday said "inter-agency government progress appears to be at a stalemate, while stakeholders are doing their part to address these issue."

☆ Factbox: What are the new BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 coronavirus variants, and why it matters
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Julie Steenhuysen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The following describes the new coronavirus subvariants and how they may impact people. WHAT ARE BQ.1 AND BQ.1.1? In early July, BA.5 became the dominant subvariant of the coronavirus circulating in the United States, but in October it started giving way to BQ.1 and BQ.1.1. A study of blood from three dozen adults showed the shot increased neutralizing antibodies against the BA.4/BA.5 Omicron subvariants by fourfold compared with the original shot after one month. read moreIt is not yet clear whether that will translate into higher protection against the BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 subvariants, but their close relationship to BA.5 may work in the booster's favor.

☆ EXCLUSIVE FAA sees aviation safety risks without U.S. telecom agency mandate -- letter
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Oct 25 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wants the U.S. telecommunications regulator agency to ensure a delay in some 5G C-Band transmissions from smaller operators. Acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen said the agency wants the Federal Communications Commission to mandate voluntary mitigations that AT&T (T.N) and Verizon agreed to earlier this year mandated for 19 smaller telecoms and other spectrum holders. In a previously unreported letter dated Friday, Nolen cited industry data established "aviation safety would be compromised if the U.S. government does not codify certain additional operating limits in the 5G C-Band environment." Reporting by David ShepardsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Exclusive: FAA warns of aviation safety risks without U.S. mandate on 5G limits
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Oct 25 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wants the U.S. telecommunications regulatory agency to ensure a delay in some 5G C-Band transmissions from smaller operators. The letter was sent to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel was copied. The NTIA, FAA and FCC did not immediately comment. The FAA letter said the voluntarily mitigations by AT&T and Verizon "have resulted in the safe deployment of more than 50,000 wireless antennas across the nation." Nolen's letter seeks near-term conversations at senior levels between the NTIA, FAA and FCC.

☆ ASOS warns on outlook as consumers feel inflation pain
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

ASOS and rival Boohoo (BOOH.L) were early pandemic winners as locked-down consumers shopped online but they have struggled as people returned to stores. The group said it needed to address problems with its supply chain, refresh its culture and the offer made to customers. The group said the move to "right-size" its stock portfolio in the first half would result in a non-cash write-off of 100- 130 million pounds. Capital expenditure is expected to be 175-200 million pounds, down from the previously guided 200-250 million pounds. ($1 = 0.8851 pounds)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by James Davey; editing by Sarah YoungOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ SpaceX's Texas expansion plans hit by a fourth FAA delay over environmental concerns
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-30 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The FAA has delayed issuing its review of SpaceX's proposed expansion at its Texas launch site. Getting the FAA's sign-off is key to SpaceX's plans to launch its huge Starship rocket into orbit. The company can only begin orbital launches of its huge Starship rocket once the FAA's assessment is complete. SpaceX's expansion plans hit another hurdle last month as the US Army Corps of Engineers wanted more information on the environmental impact of the plans on local endangered species and surrounding areas. It is not clear whether the repeated delays have impacted the likelihood of an orbital Starship launch.

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