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The intensifying military cooperation between Russia and Niger is central to the dispute between the US and the Nigerien junta, officials said. Russia and Niger agreed to strengthen their military ties in January, Russia’s Defense Ministry said at the time. If the US were forced to withdraw, counterterrorism efforts across the region could take a hit, officials said. In return, Russia is profiting off the region’s natural resources, another official said, including the gold mines in Niger. Several European countries shared this goal, offering a measure of support to the junta, the official noted.

Persons: Michael Langley, Celeste Wallander, Col, Maj, Amadou Abdramane, Langley, Matthew Miller, ” Miller, what’s, Nusrat al, “ Organizations: CNN, US Africa Command, Air Base, American, Nigerien, Russia’s Defense, EU, Pentagon, Kremlin, West, Russian Federation, National Council, Wagner, US Locations: Africa, Russia, Africa . Niger, Niger, United States, America, Nigerien, Sahel, stoking, China, Russian, Central Africa, ”, Niamey, US, Agadez, Mali, Burkina Faso, Abdramane, Western Africa, Northwest Africa

NIAMEY, Niger (AP) — Niger's junta said Saturday the U.S. military presence in the country is no longer justified, making the announcement on state television after holding high-level talks with U.S. diplomatic and military officials this week. He said Niger was suspending military cooperation with Washington and added that U.S. flights over the country’s territory in recent weeks were illegal. The U.S. has also invested years and hundreds of millions of dollars in training Niger's military. Photos You Should See View All 60 ImagesThe Niger junta spokesman said the U.S. tone was condescending and threatened Niger's sovereignty. The U.S. military had some 650 personnel working in Niger in December, according to a White House report to Congress.

Persons: — Niger's, Maj, Amadou Abdramane, Niger's, Mohammed Bazoum, Molly Phee, Michael Langley, Phee, Jessica Donati Organizations: U.S, Washington, European Union, military's, Command, Niger, Associated Press Locations: NIAMEY, Niger, U.S, Africa's Sahel, Agadez, Niamey, Washington, Africa, France, Dakar, Senegal

☆ It might be time to rethink the smartphone — for real this time
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Why do phones need apps? At this year's Mobile World Congress, the future of the smartphone and how we connect were firmly under the microscope. Deutsche Telekom and Brain.ai demoed one such instance at MWC: a smartphone with no apps. It's just an idea for now, but it's prompting an interesting question: Why assume the smartphone of the future has apps at all? But the smartphone industry is slumping, and there's a "need to invigorate the upgrade cycle," Milanesi told BI.

Persons: —, Sam Altman, There's, Altman, Jony, Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, Carolina Milanesi, Milanesi, Tom Butler, I'm, Butler, Lenovo's Butler, it's Organizations: Service, Congress, MWC, Las, CES, Deutsche Telekom, Brain.ai, Qualcomm, Bloomberg Locations: Carolina, PAU, AFP

☆ Top websites block Google from training AI models on their data. Nowhere near as much as OpenAI, though.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google launched a new tool that lets publishers opt out of training Google's AI models. It turns out that all this content has been stored in datasets that are the foundation for training powerful AI models, including those from OpenAI, Google, Meta, and others. Part of Google's response has been to launch a new tool that lets websites block the company from using their content for training AI models. BI asked Originality.ai CEO Jonathan Gillham why Google-Extended is being used less than other AI training data-blockers. It's unclear if the company will launch this fully in the future, or how much different it will be from the traditional Google search engine.

Persons: —, There's, Robots.txt, Jonathan Gillham, Gillham, Axel Springer Organizations: Google, Service, New York Times, CNN, BBC, Business Locations: Chicago

☆ Google employees just learned they're getting smaller pay bumps this year
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-14 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Googlers are finding out how much of a pay bump they're getting this year. AdvertisementIt's the time of year when Google employees discover how much of a pay bump they're getting. Google has reduced the size of the compensation packages it's handing out to staff this year, with some employees even seeing a reduction in their overall pay, they learned this month. Compensation packages are made up of base salary, bonuses, and equity grants. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, Google, Business

There, at a yet-to-be-announced location along the Gaza shore, they will build and begin to operate a floating dock to receive the aid. Off shore, the Army will build a large floating platform where ships can unload large containers of aid. The brigade’s commander, Army Col. Sam Miller, said about 500 of his soldiers will participate in the mission. The last time the 7th Transportation Brigade did a similar mission to construct a large pier was in Haiti in 2010. Miller said a larger Maritime Sealift Command ship will also be leaving Virginia in the coming days, and will be carrying some of the bigger equipment and more of the steel pier segments.

Persons: James, Joe Biden, Sam Miller, Miller, “, ” Miller, Frank S, Besson, — Organizations: WASHINGTON, U.S . Army, Base, Gaza Health Ministry, U.S, Army, Pentagon, Officials, 7th Transportation Brigade, Defense, Biden, Maritime Sealift Command Locations: Virginia, Gaza, U.S, Eustis, Israel, Matamoros, USAV Monterrey, Haiti, Saturday

☆ US wants to reopen embassy in Libya
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The United States wants to reopen an embassy in Libya - a decade after suspending operations there – as Russia maintains an influential foothold in the country. A State Department official said Monday that the US is in “active negotiations for an interim facility that would provide appropriate security and staffing support” in the capital city of Tripoli. The move to reopen a US diplomatic compound in Libya comes as Moscow holds significant influence in the country. Ambassador J. Christopher Stevens and three other Americans were killed in that attack. The US continues to advise citizens not to travel to Libya “due to crime, terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, and armed conflict.”CNN’s Haley Britzky contributed reporting.

Persons: Michael Langley, Antony Blinken, J, Christopher Stevens, ” CNN’s Haley Britzky Organizations: CNN, Facility, State Department, Russian Federation, ”, Corps, US Africa Command, Diplomatic Security Locations: United States, Libya, Russia, Malta, Tripoli, ”, Moscow, Russian, Maghreb, Morocco, Pacific, Eastern Caribbean, Libyan, Benghazi

“Queen!”It was a Friday night in January, and Snoop Dogg had just rolled into a cocktail party hosted by Donna Langley, NBCUniversal’s chief content officer and studios chairwoman. His shouted greeting, paired with a jaunty deferential dance, seemed to leave her a bit embarrassed. “We’re here to celebrate filmmakers and films,” Langley told the room a few minutes later. Like it or not, this moment in Hollywood history is very much about her. Nolan started his acceptance speech for best director by saying, “Donna Langley — thank you for seeing the potential in this.”

Persons: Snoop Dogg, Donna Langley, “, ” Langley, Langley, Christopher Nolan, “ Oppenheimer, Nolan, “ Donna Langley —, ” Organizations: ”

☆ New AI and 5G advancements will usher in the era of edge computing on smartphones, autonomous cars, and more
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-11 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The AI boom is breathing life into edge computing, which moves data processing away from the cloud. Artificial intelligence is driving us into the era of edge computing — two words you should expect to hear more in the coming months and years. Now they're expanding to edge computing, which refers to moving more of the computation closer to the user (the "edge" of the network). Amazon had eyed edge computing as a billion-dollar business, Business Insider previously reported. Jillian Kaplan, the head of global 5G at Dell, said during an MWC panel that edge computing will be a "huge energy saver."

Persons: —, Jim Poole, Poole, Aly Song, MediaTek, Tom Butler, I'm, Jillian Kaplan, Kaplan Organizations: Service, Tech, 5G, Business, Mobile, Congress, MWC, China, Lenovo, Google, Dell Locations: Barcelona, Equinix, Shanghai

☆ Israel Hamas War: Latest Updates
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Victoria Kim | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Distribution of humanitarian aid from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA, in Rafah, Gaza, earlier this week. But aid workers say that the maritime project is not ambitious enough to alleviate the humanitarian disaster unfolding as Israel continues to bombard the Gaza Strip. The floating pier, General Ryder said, would be built and assembled alongside an Army ship off the Gaza coast. Israeli officials have denied they are hampering the flow of aid, saying the United Nations and aid groups are responsible for any backlogs. “We want to see the amount of aid going via land increase significantly,” General Ryder said.

Persons: Biden, Biden’s, Pat Ryder, General Ryder, Sigrid Kaag, “, Israel, ” General Ryder, “ We’re, ” Organizations: United Nations Relief, Works Agency, Pentagon, U.S ., 7th Transportation Brigade, Base, Army, Defense, U.S . Army, . Security Council, Israel ., United Nations, ” Locations: Rafah, Gaza, Eustis, Va, Norfolk, Egypt, Kerem, Israel, United, U.S, ”

☆ What happened to the extra copies of the Voyager mission's golden records
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-09 | by ( Ana Altchek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Elon Musk posted on X that he has a Voyager golden record. Two golden records went to space on the twin Voyager spacecraft. AdvertisementBut his post had me wondering: Who has the original golden records? When I started looking into the golden records, I noticed conflicting numbers for how many originals were created. While the golden records on the Voyager spacecraft are expected to last over a billion years, Lomberg said the probes will probably crash on another planet or star eventually.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Musk, Carter, U.N, General Waldheim, Carter couldn't, Jon Lomberg, Lomberg, Carl Sagan, wasn't, Sagan, Calla Cofield, Cofield Organizations: NASA, Service, SpaceX, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, Propulsion Laboratory, Space Center Kennedy Space Center Glenn Research Center Langley Research Center Goddard Space Flight, National Air & Space Museum, Smithsonian The, United Nations, Langley Research Center, Sotheby's

Ryder also said the construction of the pier and causeway will likely require as many as 1,000 US military personnel to complete. The initiative will aim to augment a maritime corridor that the US, the European Commission, the United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, and the UK, have been working to open to deliver assistance directly. The pier will allow ships to offload aid, which will then be transported across a causeway into Gaza that will also be constructed by the US military, officials said. “We are committed to supporting the maritime corridor which is planned by Fogbow,” the official said. The US president and vice president each said Israel had “no excuses” not to ramp up the aid allowed into Gaza.

Persons: Patrick Ryder, Ryder, Biden, Joe Biden, Sigrid Kaag, “ We’re, ” Ryder, Fogbow, “ I’m, ” Biden, “, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel, ” Kaag, ” Organizations: CNN, Pentagon, European Commission, United Arab, US, United Nations, United States Air Force, UN, Navy, Army, military’s, 7th Transportation Brigade Expeditionary, Base Langley, USAID, CIA, Blue, Qatari, European Union, Administration, “ Locations: Gaza, United Arab Emirates, Cyprus, United, Base Langley Eustis, Virginia, American, Qatar, Israel

☆ Meta's Facebook Messenger hit with layoffs amid ongoing 'efficiency' push
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Kali Hays | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Meta's ongoing efficiency drive has resulted in another round of layoffs. Messenger, the popular Facebook app, was hit this week with cuts. Messenger, the popular direct messaging app within Facebook, was hit with a round of layoffs this week, according to two people familiar with the company. The cuts at Messenger come after a similar layoff affected some employees working at Instagram, as Business Insider reported. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers.

Persons: —, Instagram, Messenger Organizations: Service, Meta, Facebook, Business, BI Locations: Instagram, Meta

☆ There are growing calls for Google CEO Sundar Pichai to step down
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-01 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The slip-up was so bad it sent the company's stock tumbling, and had CEO Sundar Pichai address the troops, calling the situation "completely unacceptable." The debacle has strengthened the narrative that Google is suddenly behind in the AI race, and now there's a growing chorus of voices calling for CEO Sundar Pichai to be replaced. Pichai, who was appointed CEO of Google in 2015, and Alphabet in 2019, has proven a strong peace-time CEO for the company. He's been an effective and steady hand who protects Google's prized search business and deals diplomatically with regulators. Responding to a tweet by Color Health CEO Othman Laraki, who said Google as facing an "unsolvable problem," Mayer defended Google somewhat.

Persons: —, Sundar Pichai, Ben Thompson, Googlers, Mark Shmulik, chatbot, He's, Pichai, Aravind Srinivas, Sundar, Srinivas, Marissa, Marissa Mayer, Othman Laraki, Mayer, They've, Hugh Langley Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Color, Gartner Locations: Silicon Valley

☆ Google is starting to feel like any other business, and staging a comeback won't be easy
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. In today's big story, we're looking at how Google has gone from the tech industry's vanguard of cool to just another boring company . AdvertisementGoogle has long stayed atop Silicon Valley's volatile popularity contest — but the best place to work in tech is starting to feel like any other business , Business Insider's Hugh Langley and Lara O'Reilly write. Bureaucracy, an aversion to risk, and deference to Wall Street over employees — things Google long eschewed — have become the norm. The latest example is the debacle surrounding Gemini — its flashy new AI model that faced backlash for being too "woke."

Persons: —, Rebecca Zisser, Hugh Langley, Lara O'Reilly, Alistair Barr, Sundar Pichai, Hugh, Lara, Mateusz Wlodarczyk, BI's Peter Kafka, it's, David Rosenberg, Gary Shilling, Snowflake's Frank Slootman, Ozgur Hakan Aslan Toyota, Boxabl, Elon Musk, Tesla, Hewlett Packard, Dan DeFrancesco, Hallam Bullock, Jordan Parker Erb Organizations: Service, Google, Business, Gemini, Meta, Big Tech, OpenAI, Corporations, Nvidia, SEC, Universal Music Group, Universal, BI Locations: —, New York, London

☆ How Google lost its way
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Hugh Langley | Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +17 min

Just two months after Google launched Gemini, its flashy new AI model, the company revealed that it had already built a better version. AdvertisementThen, days later, Google scrambled to explain why its image generation tool spit out racially inaccurate depictions of historical figures. Users have long bemoaned — and researchers recently found — a decline in the quality of Google Search results. The fact that Google is not far and away the self-driving-car leader, it's, like, a total joke," the former Google director said, adding that the problem of Google's lost supremacy is "maybe impossible to solve, frankly." Google now is reminiscent of the Steve Ballmer-era Microsoft, which missed the smartphone, search, and cloud waves and was overtaken by Apple, Google, and Amazon.

Persons: OpenAI, Sora, Sam Altman, Sundar Pichai's, Pichai, —, Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Lea Suzuki, Getty Brin, Page, Google, Googlers, Axel Springer, Diane von Furstenberg, Giovanni Giannoni, Michael Avrukin, Vuk Valcic, wouldn't, Patrick Mork, Eric Lehman, Lehman, ChatGPT, Caesar Sengupta, Sengupta, Alexa, Google's, Steve Ballmer, Satya Nadella, Hugh Langley, Lara O'Reilly Organizations: Google, Hollywood, Industry, San Francisco Chronicle, Business, Penske Media, Microsoft, Amazon, The New York Times, Oracle, YouTube, Apple, IBM, Meta Locations: Silicon Valley, Silicon, —

☆ The smart ring era is here and tech companies are fighting for your finger. Will you wear one?
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The smart ring era is here. Honor, the mobile business spun out of Huawei, also announced this week that it's working on a smart ring. Avi Greengart, president and lead analyst at Techsponential, told Business Insider at MWC that Samsung's Galaxy Ring "validates the smart ring category." Rumors of an Apple smart ring have been simmering for over a decade — mostly due to a string of patents the company has filed for. There's another good reason tech companies are eyeing smart rings right now, according to IDC analyst Francisco Jeronimo: subscriptions.

Persons: —, Prince Harry, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Dorsey, Jennifer Anniston, Jimmy Kimmel, Smart, they've, Oura, Avi Greengart, Apple, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, Jeremy Liew, Liew Apple, Greengart, Francisco Jeronimo, Jeronimo Organizations: Samsung, Service, Mobile, Congress, MWC, Huawei, IDC, Apple, Venture, Business Locations: Barcelona, Cupertino

☆ Google chief says the company got it wrong after Gemini's responses sparked a bitter backlash. Read the full memo.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says the company got it wrong after its flagship AI system Gemini showed bias, which sparked backlash from some users. In a memo sent to employees, which Business Insider obtained, Pichai acknowledged the recent controversy over Gemini. Pichai said in the memo: "I want to address the recent issues with problematic text and image responses in the Gemini app (formerly Bard). Pichai appeared to acknowledge some of this criticism in the memo sent to staff. Read the full memo that Pichai sent to staffers:

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Pichai, Semafor, Bard, Elon Musk, Adolf Hitler, Gemini, Hitler Organizations: Google, BI, Tesla, Business

☆ Google chief says the company got it wrong after Gemini gave 'completely unacceptable' responses and sparked a bitter backlash
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Google CEO Sundar Pichai says the company got it wrong as controversy swirls over its Gemini AI. Pichai made the comments in a memo sent to staff and obtained by Business Insider. Google faced backlash after users complained Gemini was generating historically inaccurate images. AdvertisementGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai says the company "got it wrong" after its flagship AI system Gemini showed bias, which sparked backlash from some users. In a memo sent to employees, which Business Insider obtained, Pichai acknowledged the recent controversy over Gemini.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, Pichai, Gemini, —, Semafor, Bard Organizations: Gemini, Business, Google, Service

☆ As AI takes hold of your smartphone, the end of the app era could be in sight
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Smartphone makers flooded Mobile World Congress to show off new AI features. More AI tools are moving on to devices, which would make them faster and cheaper to run. Now, as the industry looks to capitalize on the AI boom and galvanize a stagnating mobile market, phone makers want the AI tools to run locally on the phone itself. The company attended MWC to tout how it's helping phone makers such as Samsung and Honor run more AI tools on their phones. Samsung was also there, previewing some of the AI tools it's begun to roll out on its phones, including a nifty live-translation feature.

Persons: —, chipmakers, it's, Morgan Stanley, Francisco Cheng, Hugh Langley, Cheng, Siri, Francisco Jeronimo, Jeronimo Organizations: Congress, Service, Mobile, Companies, Qualcomm, Samsung, Hugh Langley Qualcomm, MWC, Google, Motorola, IDC, Insider, Deutsche Telekom, Brain.ai Locations: Barcelona

☆ Google DeepMind CEO addresses the Gemini debacle and says image generator could be back in a 'couple of weeks'
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-26 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis addressed the Gemini debacle at Mobile World Conference. He said the company hopes to have the image generator online again in a "couple of weeks." download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementGoogle DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said the company hopes to relaunch its artificial intelligence image generator as soon as the next "couple of weeks." Google paused access to its image generator last week after users found that the tool would produce historically inaccurate images, including racially diverse images of the US Founding Fathers and Nazis.

Persons: Demis Hassabis, — Organizations: Google, Mobile World Conference, Service, Business

☆ Pivotal, the flying-car company backed by Google cofounder Larry Page, lays off 10% of staff
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewPivotal, the flying car company backed by Google cofounder Larry Page, announced this week it had laid off nine employees, or 10% of its staff, according to the company and a memo seen by Business Insider. It went on sale in January starting at $190,000, and the company says the units will ship in June. His early prototyping caught the attention of Page, who agreed to financially back the company and move it to Palo Alto, California in 2014. Page initially planned to merge Opener with Kittyhawk, his other flying car venture, but tensions between leaders kept the two operations apart.

Persons: —, Larry Page, Ken Karklin, Karklin, Marcus Leng, Page, Kittyhawk, Leng Organizations: Service, Business, Karklin, Kittyhawk, Boeing Locations: Canadian, Palo Alto , California, Wisk

☆ Odysseus lunar lander is sideways on the moon after historic touchdown
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-23 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —The Odysseus lunar lander is sideways on the moon, Intuitive Machines, the company that built the vehicle, said during a news conference Friday. Steve Altemus, chief executive officer and cofounder of Intuitive Machines, uses a model to represent how the Odysseus spacecraft landed on the moon. ‘A punch in the stomach’Notably, Intuitive Machines realized prior to descent that Odysseus had a faulty piece of navigation equipment. The hack ultimately worked, and the spacecraft made it to the lunar surface in operational condition. All told, Odysseus will likely be able to spend about nine days operating on the lunar surface, according to Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines’ chief technology officer.

Persons: Odysseus, Odie ”, Steve Altemus, NASA “, ” Altemus, Altemus, Joel Kearns, ” Kearns, “, Tim Crain, Odie, ”, ” Crain Organizations: CNN, Machines, NASA, NASA’s Langley Research Center, Apollo

☆ Google employees are posting internal memes poking fun at how many AI models and names the company launched
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Hugh Langley | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

Google just launched another AI model, named Gemma. Even some Google staff are losing track of all the new models and names. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . The company just announced yet another new family of AI models called Gemma. In the last three months, Google has launched Gemini, killed Bard and renamed it Gemini, launched a better version called Gemini Advanced (not to be confused with Gemini Ultra, which is the name of the model), launched another improved version called Gemini 1.5, launched Gemini for Workspace, and given employees access to an internal version of Gemini trained on Google data, named Goose.

Persons: Gemma, —, Bard Organizations: Google, Service, Gemini, Business

☆ AI isn't driving tech layoffs — but it does make a good scapegoat
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Layoffs have been sweeping the tech sector and some are blaming AI. NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. AdvertisementFears about AI leading to job cuts are increasingly common, especially as everyday usage of the technology grows. The development was causing anxiety in the ad sales departments, per the report, which later faced a round of job cuts. While AI may not simply replace workers, companies' investment in AI development may be causing cutbacks in other areas.

Persons: —, Duolingo, Hugh Langley, Fortune's Jeremy Kahn Organizations: Service, Bloomberg, Google, Business

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