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☆ EU and US to pledge joint action over China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Philip Blenkinsop | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRUSSELS, May 13 (Reuters) - Washington and the EU will pledge joint action to tackle concerns focused on China about non-market practices and coordinate their export controls on semiconductors and other goods at a meeting this month, a draft statement showed. Brussels says it considers China a partner in some fields, an economic competitor and a strategic rival. The European Union plans to recalibrate its China policy, recognising coordination with a more hawkish United States is essential. Highlighting the medical devices sector in China, the document said the transatlantic partners are "exploring possible actions" over the threat posed by non-market policies and practices. The two sides also said they were committed to working with the G7 to coordinate action to counteract acts of economic coercion, such as the trade restrictions the EU says China has imposed on EU member Lithuania.

Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal’s advertising chief, was preparing to interview Elon Musk, Twitter’s owner, onstage at a conference last month when she received an email from a peer in the advertising industry. Rob Norman, a former executive at the ad giant WPP, wanted to know if Ms. Yaccarino had seen the op-ed he wrote after Mr. Musk bought Twitter last year. Ms. Yaccarino said that she had and that she planned to raise such concerns, Mr. Norman said. Mr. Musk said on Friday that he had selected Ms. Yaccarino, 60, to become the company’s chief executive. Hours earlier, NBCUniversal announced that Ms. Yaccarino was leaving, effective immediately.

☆ Goldman Sachs CIO says it's important to decide who in a firm to 'superhumanize' with AI technology
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Paige Hagy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Goldman Sachs' Marco Argenti told a conference how he assesses AI's return on investment. Firms can use AI to "superhumanize" talent, Argenti said. The top financial services firms, like Goldman Sachs, are looking to use artificial intelligence to "superhumanize" their talent. Generative artificial-intelligence will enhance productivity and efficiency across financial services, according to Marco Argenti, chief information officer at Goldman Sachs. Within Goldman Sachs, Argenti said the bank is looking to apply generative AI to data management, data classification, and workflow creation.

☆ US government is testing avian flu vaccines for birds, but ending the historic outbreak isn’t that simple
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Jen Christensen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Eradication and vaccinationAs of April 26, the CDC says, nearly 58.8 million poultry have been affected by avian flu since January 2022. The virus has been detected in at least 6,737 wild birds, and the number is likely to be much higher. Vaccinated birds would be protected, but with this highly infectious disease, they still could shed some virus that could infect unprotected birds. Partial protection means more birds will be spreading the virus,” Gallardo said. The US has the largest poultry industry in the world, with 294,000 poultry farms.

☆ Social media raises bank run risk, fueled Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse, paper says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Tanaya Macheel | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

After the sudden end of Silicon Valley Bank in March, market participants were quick to point out the role social media played in the velocity of its failure. "Communication and coordination pose a risk to banks, especially when many of the deposits in the bank are uninsured," the academic paper says. "The amplification of bank run risk via Twitter conversations is a unique opportunity to observe communication and coordination that shapes a critically important economic outcome − distress in banks." One called it a "hysteria-induced bank run caused by VCs." "Open communication by depositors via social media increased the bank run risk for other banks that were ex ante exposed to such discussions in social media."

☆ Researchers used AI to determine if someone had a cold from the tone of their voice
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-09 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Researchers used AI to detect whether someone had a cold based on the tone of their voice. The researchers, led by electronic engineer Pankaj Warule, hypothesized that a cold could upset this regular pattern. The study was able to detect cold correctly about 70% of the time. Last year, a research group was able to use AI to detect Parkinson's through the breathing patterns of patients. Depression and several forms of cancer may also be detected with the use of AI-trained analysis of vocal patterns.

☆ Elon Musk appears to offer $1 million bounty to 'convict' those responsible for Twitter 'botnets'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-02 | by ( Ryan Hogg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk appeared to offer a $1 million bounty to help find the source of "botnets" on Twitter. The user said by taking control of several accounts, botnets were able to suppress certain accounts by mass blocking, unfollowing, and reporting them. Blogger Jane Wong pointed out that Twitter's algorithm specifically labels if Musk wrote a tweet. He plans to allow only the tweets of verified accounts and those users follow on the For You feed. "Legacy verified accounts," those verified by Twitter before Musk's takeover for free largely on the basis of noteworthiness, will begin to lose their verification marks this weekend, according to Twitter.

☆ At SXSW, OpenAI cofounder Greg Brockman tried to quell misinformation fears around ChatGPT and says he's still 'optimistic' about the future of AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Madeline Renbarger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Greg Brockman, OpenAI president and cofounder, said he's still optimistic about the future of AI. Brockman spoke to a large crowd in one of the kickoff panels at South By Southwest in Austin. Despite concerns around misinformation and sentience, he thinks that AI will be a force for good. Musk, who severed ties with the company in 2018, is putting together a team to build a rival, "anti-woke" AI chatbot, The Information reported. Greg Brockman, the cofounder of OpenAI, speaks at SXSW in Austin, Texas.

☆ Fed-up Tesla owners say they're so sick of Elon Musk's antics that they're ditching their cars
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Some Tesla owners are done with the electric-car brand over Elon Musk's antics. We spoke to three Tesla owners who say Musk has made them rethink their relationship with the brand. Perkowitz is one of many Tesla owners rethinking their allegiance to the brand as Elon Musk becomes an increasingly erratic and polarizing figure online. "Elon was a really good reason to buy the car," Perkowitz told Insider. "I've been kind of stalling waiting for Elon to come to his senses and say something that makes sense," Perkowitz said.

☆ A fake tweet spurred an anti-vaccine harassment campaign against a doctor
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Brandy-Zadrozny-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Brandy Zadrozny | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +8 min

When Dr. Natalia Solenkova woke up Monday morning, she was greeted with a flood of Twitter notifications on her phone. It was what misinformation researchers call a “cheap fake,” a term for a piece of fake media such as an image or video that takes little effort to produce. Someone had clumsily altered one of Solenkova’s posts to portray a blind, even deadly, zealotry for Covid vaccines and a vilification of anti-vaccine activists. “And then disinformation became rampant.”Despite the overwhelming success of the covid vaccines — which have prevented millions of severe infections and deaths — an aggressive and politicized anti-vaccine community has persevered. There were obvious tells that the tweet attributed to Solenkova was a fake, likely fabricated with what’s known as a tweet generator.

☆ America's democracy survived Trump in 2022. But what about 2023?
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( Tara Setmayer | Tara Setmayer Is A Resident Scholar At The University Of Virginia Center For Politics | A Senior Adviser At The Lincoln Project. She Is A Former Gop Congressional Communications Director. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

That led hundreds of election deniers to run for offices across the country in 2022. But in 2022, American democracy became an issue outside the political norm for voters’ consideration. But it wasn’t just the outcome of the election that signaled that our democracy was still holding on in 2022. Thankfully, the majority of them did, with the exception of professional election deniers like Kari Lake, who lost the Arizona governor’s race to Katie Hobbs. Not since the tumultuous political climate of the 1930s has American democracy faced such a perilous era.

☆ 2022 was the year the Overconfidence Man fell back to earth
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Maureen Tkacik | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +22 min

Naturally, Elon Musk, the platonic ideal of the peculiar self-aggrandizing, self-parodying personality type that thrived during the Trump years and peaked during the pandemic, tops this list. By 2022, the media had pronounced him variously the next Warren Buffett, J.P. Morgan and Charles Koch. "bye bye @trussliz Congrats to lettuce", tweeted Putin's one-time stand-in Dmitry Medvedev, to which Elon Musk could not resist replying, "pretty good troll tbh." Elon Musk speaks at the 2020 Satellite Conference and Exhibition in March 2020. Elon MuskIt's weird to recall now that Elon Musk once seemed like, graded on the billionaire curve anyway, a net positive for a cursed American society.

☆ Elon Musk says a controversial new feature is coming to Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Last month, Musk said Twitter’s “new” policy is “freedom of speech, not freedom of reach,” echoing an approach that is something of an industry standard. Musk on Friday shared Weiss’ thread in a tweet and added, “The Twitter Files, Part Duex! The release of internal documents from Twitter’s prior leadership comes as Musk attempts to reshape the platform in his image. But Musk has also said he doesn’t want Twitter to “become a free-for-all hellscape” and plans to moderate content in a way that appears largely consistent with Twitter’s prior policies. “Freedom of speech,” the blog post stated, “not freedom of reach.”

☆ Skyrocketing slurs, racism, and antisemitic content on Twitter may encourage domestic terrorists, report warns: 'Violence is inevitable'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-04 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Tweets with slurs, antisemitic, and racist content have skyrocketed since Elon Musk's takeover. Federal officials have warned that Twitter posts will translate to real-world acts of violence. Musk claims the total number of impressions on tweets containing hate speech are down. The New York Times reported antisemitic posts referring to Jews or Judaism soared more than 61 percent in the first two weeks while accounts supporting ISIS came roaring back. Researchers have consistently found that online rhetoric feeds real-world behavior, with hate speech online being linked to increases in violence toward minorities, "including mass shootings, lynchings, and ethnic cleansing," according to the nonpartisan think tank Council for Foreign Relations.

Despite police, county executives and national pundits falsely labeling bail reform a disaster, in the few places like New York state that have tried it, bail reform has been a win for freedom. Bail reform has been a win for fiscal responsibility, saving taxpayers millions of dollars by avoiding the costs of unnecessary mass detention. Laura Gillen, a Democrat and fierce opponent of bail reform who lost her Long Island congressional race, took to Twitter to argue that bail reform was a reason Democrats lost control of the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrats lost because they ran from the truth about bail reform, amplifying lies instead of championing what should have been their policy win. The truth about bail reform isn’t just a political game — it is a moral imperative.

Black users have long been one of Twitter’s most engaged demographics, flocking to the platform to steer online culture and drive real-world social change. But a month after Elon Musk took over, some Black influencers are eyeing the exits just as he races to shore up the company’s business. And while there is no hard data on how many Black users have either joined or left the platform over that period, some prominent influencers say they’re actively pursuing alternatives. Some signs indicate a slowdown among Black Twitter users that predates Musk. “It’s crippling to the economies of cities when Black folks leave, platforms when Black folks leave, entertainment sites when Black folks leave,” she said.

☆ The EU warns Elon Musk that Twitter could be banned if it doesn't comply with content moderation laws: FT
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Musk told Breton repeatedly that he thought the EU's Digital Services Act was "very sensible." Breton told Musk Twitter must comply with a list of rules, including doing away with an "arbitrary" approach to reinstating banned accounts, the FT reported. The regulations refer to the EU Digital Services Act which came into force on November 16. Breton told Musk Twitter faces an EU-wide ban if it doesn't comply with the law, the FT reported. Per the law, Twitter could also be fined up to 6% of its global turnover for any breaches.

☆ A 26-story pig skyscraper in China will slaughter 1 million animals a year, report says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Hannah Williams | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

China's skyscraper pig farm aims to tackle the country's growing pork demands, The Guardian reports. The Guardian reported the new tower in China is the largest "single-building pig farm in the world." Statements on the company's WeChat account analyzed by The Guardian reveal the farm-in-the-sky will house more than 600,000 animals. Animals are automatically fed via buttons in a central control room, and the pigs' waste is used to generate heating and power. Hubei Zhongxin Kaiwei Modern Farming, the company behind the development, has already sent 3,700 sows to the farm, The Guardian reported.

Her death, first reported by local news outlets in North Carolina and Black-centered blog sites, was heart-wrenching to Black social media users. Now, less than a month later, her family, social media users and experts are acknowledging the power of Black social media support, saying it was crucial keeping attention on her case. Black social media is extremely powerful.”Social media users have also used the #SayHerName hashtag when amplifying Robinson’s story. This isn’t the first time Black social media users have used their platform to draw attention to injustice. The professor, Ijeoma Opara, wanted to support the child’s interest in science, and social media users made it possible.

☆ Apple AirPods Could Help You Hear Better
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Dominique Mosbergen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Live Listen feature on the AirPods Pro allows users to use another Apple device to tune out background noise and hear conversations. A $249 pair of Apple Inc. earphones might help some people hear almost as well as hearing aids that cost many times more. A study published Tuesday in the journal iScience found that a sound amplification feature on Apple’s AirPods Pro helped adults with mild-to-moderate hearing loss hear speech nearly as well as two prescription hearing aids. The study compared two kinds of Apple earphones to two hearing aids from other companies.

☆ AirPods Pro Amplify Speech as Well as Some Hearing Aids
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Dominique Mosbergen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

☆ 'Twitter as we know it is dead': Why Elon Musk's plans risk more scams and misinformation
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-06 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

He has announced plans to make verified users pay $8 a month for blue checks. Social media experts warned the plans could risk allowing more scams and misinformation on Twitter. But his push to improve Twitter's finances has prompted social media experts to warn he risks allowing more scams and disinformation on the platform. There is no other example of a mainstream social media company that's owned and controlled by one person." "Social media is rife with coded language, false accounts set up to spread disinformation, and cunning use of free-speech to misdirect and derail honest debate."

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Even as global central banks rapidly tightened financial conditions this year, U.S. households, banks and businesses have so far been able to adapt, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard said as the Fed released its semiannual report on financial stability. More than half of those participating in the survey cited market liquidity and stress as a "salient risk," an issue not mentioned at all in the Fed's May financial stability report. TREASURY MARKET CONCERNS REVISITEDThe report noted deteriorating liquidity in the Treasury market, but said that overall it had functioned smoothly over the last few months. Liquidity conditions were particularly poor for older vintages of bonds - so-called "off the run" securities - and for Treasury Inflation Protected Securities, the report found. The Inter-Agency Working Group on Treasury Market Surveillance - comprising officials from the Fed Board, Treasury, New York Fed, Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission - is expected to provide an update on its progress toward enhancing the resilience of the Treasury market, the Fed said, though it did not provide a timeline for that.

☆ Will Musk break Trump and satire accounts like mine out of Twitter jail?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Kyler Geoffroy | Kyler Geoffroy Is A Freelancer Whose Writing Has Appeared On Vice | Other Publications. He Focuses On Lgbtq Politics | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

As Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter begins, he must make several important decisions that will determine the future of the social media platform millions use for their newsgathering. I got involved in political satire after watching Trump fire off several conspiracy-theory-laden posts to his over 4 million followers on Truth Social daily. I got involved in political satire after watching Trump fire off several conspiracy-theory-laden posts to his over 4 million followers on Truth Social daily. “After careful review, we determined your account broke the Twitter Rules,” read the notification from Twitter Support. But political parody accounts, even bad ones like mine, should be protected on Twitter.

☆ Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she does not trust Elon Musk running Twitter, lambastes social-media companies for 'making money off' violence
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( Katie Balevic | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Sen. Amy Klobuchar said she does not trust Elon Musk as the new owner of Twitter. "No, I do not," Klobuchar replied before rebuking social-media companies for "making money" off of amplifying "stuff that's a bunch of lies." I just don't think people should be making money off of passing on this stuff that's a bunch of lies," Klobuchar said on Sunday. They are making money off of this violence," Klobuchar said. Klobuchar added that social-media companies bear some responsibility in staving off political violence, referencing the attack on Paul Pelosi on Friday.

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