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☆ Biden and UK's Sunak sign 'Atlantic Declaration,' pledging agreements on A.I. and critical minerals
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Matt Clinch | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

President Joe Biden and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak arrive for a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House on June 08, 2023 in Washington, DC. Despite a U.S.-U.K. trade deal remaining very much elusive, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President Joe Biden signed a new "Atlantic Declaration" aiming to bolster economic security in the face of threats coming from Russia and China. The agreement, announced Thursday at a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House, is a series of mini deals looking artificial intelligence, critical minerals, clean energy and security. He highlighted £14 billion ($17.5 billion) of new U.S. investment that has been committed into the U.K., with the two sides also undertaking joint research in areas like quantum, semiconductors and AI. The same document said Biden would ask Congress to label Britain as a "domestic source" within the U.S. Defense Production Act, giving suppliers in the country more favorable terms.

Persons: Joe Biden, United Kingdom Rishi Sunak, Rishi Sunak, Biden Organizations: White House, British, White, U.S . Defense Locations: United Kingdom, Washington , DC, U.S, Russia, China, Britain, People's Republic of China

☆ Marc Andreessen Has a Plan to Use 'AI to Save the World'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Marc Andreessen writes that AI can "make everything we care about better" in a new blog post. He believes AI companies should be able to build fast and aggressively without regulation. The current AI wave wouldn't be complete without a pithy missive from famed venture-capitalist and entrepreneur Marc Andressen. To help avert those risks, Altman recommended to lawmakers that a new agency should be created to police AI projects, particularly ones that operate at higher levels of capabilities. He also says his firm is eager to fund AI startup founders.

Persons: Marc Andreessen, Marc Andressen, Andreessen Horowitz, he's, Andreessen, Sam Altman, Altman, Andreeseen, Catalyst, Nat Friedman Organizations: OpenAI Locations: China, Coactive, London

☆ AI hypocrisy: OpenAI, Google and Anthropic won't let their data be used to train other AI models, but they use everyone else's content
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-02 | by ( Alistair Barr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft-backed OpenAI, Google and Anthropic ban the use of their content to train other AI models. Microsoft-backed OpenAI, along with Google, and Google-backed Anthropic have for years been using online content created by companies to train their generative AI models. However, these big tech companies won't let their own content be used to train other AI models. In April, Elon Musk accused Microsoft, the main backer of OpenAI, of illegally using Twitter's data to train AI models. The current way AI models are trained 'breaks' the webOne former Microsoft executive believes something is wrong here.

Persons: Claude, Anthropic's, OpenAI, Steve Huffman, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Steven Sinofsky, couldn't Organizations: Microsoft, Google, Services, . Publishers, News Corp

☆ What's in the debt ceiling deal struck by Biden and McCarthy?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the bipartisan budget agreement in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on May 28, 2023. A cap on discretionary spendingThe deal would suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until Jan. 1, 2025, allowing the U.S. government to pay its bills. Increased defense spendingThe deal would boost total defense spending to $886 billion, in line with Biden's 2024 budget spending proposal. Covid ClawbackBiden and McCarthy agreed to claw back much of the unused Covid relief funds as part of the budget deal. White House officials said some funds would be retained, including items related to vaccine funding, housing assistance and support for Native Americans.

[1/3] U.S. President Joe Biden hosts debt limit talks with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2023. Here's what we know so far:A CAP ON DISCRETIONARY SPENDINGThe deal would suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until January of 2025, allowing the U.S. government to pay its bills. Republicans have told their members that non-defense discretionary spending would be cut to 2022 levels, apart from veterans' healthcare, which would remain fully funded. The U.S. government will spend $936 billion on non-defense discretionary spending in 2023. However, other sources say the deal codifies relief from student loan payments while Biden's executive action providing up to $20,000 of debt relief per borrower is under review by the Supreme Court.

[1/3] U.S. President Joe Biden hosts debt limit talks with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2023. REUTERS/Leah MillisWASHINGTON, May 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Saturday reached an agreement in principle to lift the debt ceiling that would trim some U.S. federal spending. Here's what we know so far:A CAP ON DISCRETIONARY SPENDINGThe deal would suspend the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling until January of 2025, allowing the U.S. government to pay its bills. In exchange, non-defense discretionary spending would be capped at current year levels in 2024 and increased by only 1% in 2025. INCREASED DEFENSE SPENDINGThe deal is expected to boost defense spending to around $885 billion, in line with Biden's 2024 budget spending proposal.

☆ Here’s what’s in the debt ceiling deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Tami Luhby | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Here’s what we know about the deal, based on a fact sheet circulated by House Republicans and a source familiar with the negotiations. Raises the debt ceiling: The agreement would increase the debt limit for two years. The House GOP fact sheet says veterans’ medical care would be fully funded. The GOP fact sheet says it would apply to those up to age 55. Work requirements would not be introduced in Medicaid, which House Republicans had called for in their debt ceiling bill.

☆ Factbox: What's in the debt ceiling deal Biden, McCarthy are negotiating?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-26 | by ( Jarrett Renshaw | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy are nearing a deal to lift the debt ceiling that would trim some U.S. federal spending. Here's what we know so far:A CAP ON DISCRETIONARY SPENDINGThe deal under consideration would lift the debt ceiling in exchange for holding non-defense discretionary spending around current year levels. INCREASED DEFENSE SPENDINGThe deal under consideration could boost defense spending to around $885 billion, in line with Biden's 2024 budget spending proposal. COVID CLAWBACKBiden and McCarthy are expected to agree to clawback unused COVID relief funds as part of the budget deal, including funding that had been set aside for vaccine research and disaster relief. ENERGY PERMITTINGA plan to make it easier for energy projects - including fossil-fuel based ones - is expected to be part of any budget deal.

☆ Nvidia's big break has been a long time coming, Jim Cramer says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Julie Coleman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Wall Street may be shocked by Nvidia 's record-breaking move on Thursday, but not CNBC's Jim Cramer. Cramer said Huang has been ahead on the value of generative artificial intelligence since the jump, buying up a valuable kind of graphics card — the H100 processor — early on. "If you have enough Nvidia cards put together, you can enable all of this incredible artificial intelligence stuff that everybody's so excited about now. Cramer said Huang showed him the power of ChatGPT when he visited Nvidia headquarters months ago, well before it saw mainstream popularity. "And had the cards ready for all who wanted them when Wall Street finally came around to generative artificial intelligence.

Persons: Jim Cramer, Cramer, he's, Jensen Huang, Huang, Andy Reid, Reid, Paul Cezanne, " Cramer, Jensen, Wall, We're Organizations: Nvidia, Kansas City Chiefs, Oracle, Microsoft, Meta, Intel Locations: Washington

☆ Future wars are going to be catastrophic and robotic, and militaries have to 'come to grips' with that, former general says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Ryan Pickrell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Mick Ryan, the author and a strategist, says militaries need to "come to grips" with what is coming. The scene comes from a new novel, "White Sun War: The Campaign for Taiwan," written by a former military officer. "That is especially the case when the ratio of humans to autonomous systems in militaries is going to flip," Ryan told Insider. "We are not at the point yet where robotic systems are able to match humans in decision making," Ryan said. And these autonomous systems will have many similar flaws. "

☆ Want to Fix Your Mind? Let Your Body Talk.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Daniel Bergner | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

In explaining our psychological troubles, van der Kolk highlights the role of what can loosely be labeled the primal regions of the brain, along with that of the body. The book has a certain kind of romantic appeal; it restores us to the natural world, to the animal kingdom. But while van der Kolk’s readership is vast, he is probably not the most essential figure in the somatic therapy movement. And beyond modern credit for its concepts, somatic therapy owes a debt to timeless practices like mindfulness and meditation.) Van der Kolk’s best-seller-dom and Levine’s legion of new practitioners speak to a current yearning for the holistic.

☆ US senator introduces bill to create a federal agency to regulate AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Washington CNN —Days after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testified in front of Congress and proposed creating a new federal agency to regulate artificial intelligence, a US senator has introduced a bill to do just that. On Thursday, Colorado Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet unveiled an updated version of legislation he introduced last year that would establish a Federal Digital Platform Commission. And for the most significant platforms — companies the bill calls “systemically important” — the bill would create requirements for algorithmic audits and public risk assessments of the harms their tools could cause. The debate over whether the US government should establish a separate federal agency to police AI tools may become a significant focus of those efforts following Altman’s testimony this week. Altman suggested in a Senate hearing on Tuesday that such an agency could restrict how AI is developed through licenses or credentialing for AI companies.

☆ Eastern Orthodoxy Gains New Followers in America
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Francis X. Rocca | Photographs Alyssa Pointer For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Michelle Jimenez was captaining an oil tanker in the Gulf of Mexico in early 2020 when she heard about a Bible-study group organized by a crew member. Though she had been baptized a Catholic in infancy, she was never raised in that or any other faith. She had experimented with New Age beliefs and Zen Buddhist meditation, but hadn’t found a spiritual home. Her new encounter with Christianity eventually led her to an Eastern Orthodox liturgy.

of OpenAI, for three hours in what appeared to be a genuine effort to understand the growing importance, and the dangers, of artificial intelligence. The central question in the discussion was how Washington should regulate A.I. — and, perhaps surprisingly, Altman and lawmakers from both parties agreed on more than they disagreed. (Another unexpected nugget: Altman says he has no equity in the sensationally growing A.I. Altman proposed creating a new government body that issues licenses for developing large-scale A.I.

☆ Sam Altman says a government agency should license AI companies — and punish them if they do wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that a government agency should be formed to oversee AI safety. Such an agency could give licenses to companies for advanced AI work — and revoke them. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told a Senate panel on Tuesday that there should be an agency to police AI projects that operate "above a certain scale of capabilities." "I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong," Altman said during in the hearing. Altman, 38, is one of its founders, along with Elon Musk, who has since parted ways with the organization.

☆ Here's what happened during OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's first hearing on artificial intelligence
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman testifies before a Senate Judiciary Privacy, Technology & the Law Subcommittee hearing titled 'Oversight of A.I. : Rules for Artificial Intelligence' on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 16, 2023. The hearing came after Altman met with a receptive group of House lawmakers at a private dinner Monday, where the CEO walked through risks and opportunities in the technology. After the hearing, Blumenthal told reporters that comparing Altman's testimony to those of other CEOs was like "night and day." "Some of the Big Tech companies are under consent decrees, which they have violated.

☆ The Baby Boomer Retirement Surge Will Spark a Forever Labor Shortage
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( Aki Ito | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

We're entering what is shaping up to be the Forever Labor Shortage. So what does the Forever Labor Shortage mean for workers in the years ahead? But perhaps the biggest change prompted by the labor shortage won't be how employers hire — it will be who they hire. In the Forever Labor Shortage, all labor is going to be in demand. That means the Forever Labor Shortage will be more an ongoing battle than an enduring peace.

☆ Listen to the Mother of All Playlists
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Listen along on Spotify as you read. Kacey Musgraves: “Mother”The shortest, sparsest song on Kacey Musgraves’s 2018 album, “Golden Hour,” is also the most emotionally piercing. “I’m just sitting here, thinking ’bout the time that’s slipping and missing my mother,” the country renegade sings with heartbreaking plaintiveness, before zooming out a generation and imagining that her own mother is probably doing the same. Musgraves has said that “Mother” is one of the “Golden Hour” songs she wrote while tripping on LSD — but don’t tell her mom that part. Merle Haggard: “Mama Tried”“Instead of life in prison I was doing one-to-15 years,” Merle Haggard once admitted of the slight embellishment as to how he spent his 21st birthday in one of his most famous (and semi-autobiographical) songs.

☆ Ukraine says it routs Russia brigade, Kremlin admits campaign 'very difficult'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The unit's claim appeared to back up comments by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private army, who on Tuesday said the Russian brigade had abandoned its positions. "We managed to beat up the Ukrainian military machine quite a bit," said Peskov, citing Russian missile strikes in Ukraine. His comments did not address claims that Russia's 72nd Separate Motor-rifle Brigade had abandoned positions on the southwestern outskirts of Bakhmut. Prigozhin's report about the flight of Russia's 72nd Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade from near Bakhmut and the '500 corpses' of Russians left behind is true." A Russian brigade is typically formed of several thousand troops.

☆ Warren Buffett: Other people doing dumb things is what creates good opportunities
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWarren Buffett: Other people doing dumb things is what creates good opportunitiesBerkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett and Vice Chairman Charlie Munger preside over the 2023 Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. Buffett and Munger explain how they envision value investing in this new age.

☆ Frankfurt to Dubai in 90 minutes? Europe enters the hypersonic plane race
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Maureen O'Hare | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

In recent years, numerous pretenders to the throne – supersonic, hypersonic, hydrogen-powered, with anti-boom technology – have been whizzing round, conceptually at least, but many of these projects promising seamless super-fast travel have instead stalled, sputtered out or hit delays. The Destinus concept is hydrogen-powered flight at five times the speed of sound, cutting flight duration to less than a quarter of current commercial air travel. Its first two prototypes have made successful test flights and are about to start testing hydrogen-powered flight. Hydrogen-powered aviation is still in its infancy, with hydrogen jet engines yet to enter commercial use. The upcoming prototype, Destinus 3, will be supersonic and the hope is for it to achieve supersonic hydrogen-powered flight in 2024.

☆ After Pornhub shut down its site in Utah, Google searches for VPN access jumped
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

After Pornhub blocked access to its site in Utah, Google searches for VPN access spiked statewide. The pornography site pulled the plug on Monday in protest of a new Utah age-verification law. Other related topics — everything from different types of VPNs to "what is a VPN" — also saw spikes in search, according to Google data. Utahns' increased interest in virtual private networks comes after Pornhub revoked access to its site for state residents on Monday. 287, which passed in March and went into effect Wednesday, Pornhub published a video statement on its site.

☆ Pornhub blocks access in Utah over age verification law
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Some of the internet’s biggest adult websites, including Pornhub, are now blocking access to Utah users over a new age verification law that takes effect on Wednesday. Pornhub and other adult sites controlled by its parent, MindGeek, began blocking visitors with Utah-based IP addresses this week. Pornhub, which says it receives 130 million visitors a day, is still available in Louisiana despite the age verification law. But it is unclear whether that system is currently equipped to perform online age verification. MindGeek also owns a separate age verification company known as AgeID, which is currently in use in Germany, though it does not currently operate in the United States.

☆ Bipartisan bill would require parental consent for minors to use social media
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Lauren Feiner | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A new bipartisan bill unveiled Wednesday would require parental consent for anyone under 18 to use social media. It would also create a pilot program for a new age verification credential that could be used to enroll on social media platforms. In addition to parental consent to use social media, the bill requires such companies to "take reasonable steps beyond merely requiring attestation" to verify users' ages. The bill says that "existing age verification technologies" should be taken into account and that information collected for age verification purposes shouldn't be used for anything else. WATCH: Tiktok hearing was an 'unmitigated disaster' for social media app, says Stanford's Jacob Helberg

☆ Facebook's former security chief calls Elon Musk's blue check marks saga a 'historical self-own'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Grace Kay | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Ex-Facebook exec Alex Stamos said Elon Musk's blue check saga was a "historical self-own." Last week, Musk took away blue check marks from some legacy accounts, only to return some of them. Facebook's former security chief, Alex Stamos, said Elon Musk's blue check mark saga last week was a "historical self-own." The billionaire initially agreed to give blue check marks solely to users who subscribed to Twitter Blue for $8 per month, but many celebrities and news organizations made a point of refusing to pay for the service. Stamos, who has been critical of Musk in the past, was previously Facebook's chief security officer until 2018.

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