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☆ California's Death Valley could top 130 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend – the hottest temperature recorded on Earth
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-15 | by ( Tasmin Lockwood | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

California's Death Valley could top 130 degrees Fahrenheit this weekend – the hottest ever on Earth. Excessive heat warnings and heat advisories now cover over 100 million people in the US, per National Weather Service. California's Death Valley could topple the hottest temperature recorded this weekend amid what the US National Weather Service dubbed "sweltering and dangerous heat." John Locher/APSummer temperatures in the infamously dry national park often top 120 Fahrenheit, according to the National Parks Service. Heat could surpass 130 Fahrenheit this weekend, the record for the hottest temperature ever reliably measured on Earth, according to the Scientific American.

Persons: John Locher, Petteri Taalas Organizations: Service, World Meteorological Organization, Weather Service, National Weather Service, National Parks Service, Scientific American, Guardian, Meteorological Organization Locations: West, Phoenix , Arizona, Europe, Turkey, Morocco, Argentina, Patagonia, Iraq

☆ The brain drain at tech companies is already bad and as Elon Musk's poaching of AI experts shows, it's only going to get worse
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A brain drain among tech companies brain is underway right now, driven by the popularity of AI. Tech firms are pretty obsessed with AI right now. Even before ChatGPT's launch, Google workers seemed fed up and decided to jump ship to OpenAI to help launch ChatGPT. Meanwhile, Musk's somewhat modest ambition for his new AI company to "understand the true nature of the universe" could prove alluring to tech bros who think that's what AI should be used to accomplish. Tech firms will want to ensure their AI projects make them the top pick.

Persons: Elon, xAI, Elon Musk, Google –, Igor Babuschkin, Manuel Kroiss, Guodong Zhang, Yuhuai Wu, Zihang Dai, Christian, Kyle Kosic, chatbot Bard, OpenAI's, haven't, Shona Ghosh, isn't, there's Organizations: Workers, Elon Musk's, Morning, Tech, Google, ChatGPT, Microsoft Locations: Silicon, America

☆ Authors sue OpenAI, allege their books were used to train ChatGPT without their consent
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Two authors filed a lawsuit against OpenAI last week alleging that their copyrighted books were used to train the company's artificial intelligence chatbot, ChatGPT, without their consent. They allege the summaries are "only possible" if ChatGPT was trained on their books, which would be a violation of copyright law. OpenAI doesn't reveal what precise data was used for training ChatGPT, but the company said it generally crawled the web, including the use of archived books and Wikipedia. The complaint references exhibits of the summaries that ChatGPT generated, and it notes that the chatbot gets some things wrong. "At no point did ChatGPT reproduce any of the copyright management information Plaintiffs included with their published works," the complaint said.

Persons: OpenAI, Paul Tremblay, Mona Awad, ChatGPT, Tremblay, Awad, Sam Altman Organizations: Microsoft, San Locations: San Francisco, San Francisco federal

☆ AI classes at Stanford have doubled over the past five years — showing just how fast the tech is taking over. Here's what students and professors are talking about on campus.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Stanford students say interest in generative AI has already surpassed the crypto hype. Now, since OpenAI released ChatGPT in November, interest in AI on campus has surged, more than a dozen Stanford students and faculty told Insider. By the 2022-2023 school year, that number jumped to 140, with 14 courses that specifically touched on "generative AI." Sid SharmaSiddharth Sharma, a sophomore majoring in computer science, said those doubts haven't yet swept through campus. Bryan Chiang, a senior majoring in computer science, recently built an AI-powered monocle called RizzGPT.

Persons: Stanford, OpenAI, Rishi Bommasani, Sophie Fujiwara, Sophie Fuji, Isabelle Levent, Levent, ChatGPT, Ben Margot, Bryant Lin, Lin, Peter Norvig, —, Norvig, Siddharth Sharma, Sid Sharma Siddharth Sharma, Bryan Chiang, Chiang Organizations: Morning, Stanford University, Stanford, Big Tech, Google, Yahoo, Stanford Center for Research, brunch, CS 224N, Stanford Daily, Stanford's Institute for, Twitter, Microsoft Locations: Silicon Valley, —

☆ Startup studio Fractal created 130 companies in 3 years. Founders say the deal structure has led VCs to 'blacklist' them.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Melia Russell | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

www.fractalsoftware.comOf the dozens of Fractal startups that have raised a seed round of funding, about half had Bienville Capital lead the deal, according to people familiar with the matter. Others say they knew what they were getting into with a venture studio, where a large ownership position is standard. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty ImagesThe biggest draw for some Fractal founders was its plug-and-play approach. The founder of one Fractal startup remembered a time when his company was struggling to grow its customer base. That firm is raising a new $325 million fund to provide additional funding to Fractal companies exclusively, according to a person familiar with the effort.

Persons: Fractal's, he'd, they'd, Andreessen Horowitz, Mike Furlong, Nate Baker, Bienville, —, Brendan Smialowski, Founders, Angela Lee, Furlong, Baker, Ezra Shaw, who'd, who's, It's, Lee, She's, 8VC, Bain, Jeff Greenberg, Omri Bloch, who've, didn't, Stephanie Palazzolo, Melia Russell Organizations: Flatiron Health, Bienville, Insight Partners, Bienville Capital, Getty, Columbia Business School, Alpha, Midwest, Science, Olympic Club, Tiger Global, Craft Ventures, Founders, Vertical Venture Partners, Zag, Crew Capital, Bain Capital, Universal, Foundation, Fifth Locations: Bienville Capital, New York, Bienville, Indio, AFP, Santa Monica , California, Miami, San Francisco, GreenSpark, Columbia, Barti, Aktos, Bessemer, 8VC

☆ While Musk and Zuck escalated their playground squabbles, the adults at Apple, Google, and Microsoft met Modi at the White House
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-23 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

This week, the tech billionaires discussed cage fighting as a way to settle their disputes. They did so as the CEOs of Apple, Google, and Microsoft met Narendra Modi at the White House. The CEOs of Apple, Google, and Microsoft attended a White House dinner with India's prime minister, Narendra Modi, on Thursday as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg escalated their beef with each other. Modi's visit to the US this week has been a crucial one for Biden, as the White House looks to build closer ties with India. On Thursday, the same day the White House dinner took place, Musk tweeted "let's go full MMA," suggesting that his fight with Zuckerberg should involve the style of combat seen in UFC bouts.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Narendra Modi, Tim Cook, Sundar Pichai, Satya Nadella, Joe Biden's, Modi, Ralph Lauren, James Murdoch, Mukesh Ambani, Modi's, Biden, Zuckerberg, Musk, let's Organizations: Apple, Google, Microsoft, White, Morning, Elon, Bloomberg, Twitter, Meta Locations: Washington, India, China, Taiwan

☆ Google CEO Sundar Pichai is excited about Apple's Vision Pro, says efficiency drive will continue
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Thomas Maxwell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he's excited about Apple's Vision Pro but hasn't tried it yet. He said cost cuts and sharpened focus are "enduring work" and Google will continue to seek efficiency. Google CEO Sundar Pichai says he's excited about the potential of technology like Apple's Vision Pro to create more immersive computing experiences. Asked about further cuts at Google, the CEO said that the company will continue to try and make itself more efficient. Going back to 2o14, the company released a virtual reality headset made out of cardboard that a smartphone would slide into and serve as a display.

Persons: Sundar Pichai, hasn't, Pichai, OpenAI, Mark Zuckerberg, Satya Nadella's Organizations: Google, Bloomberg, Morning, VR, Microsoft Locations: 2o14

☆ The decision to split Sequoia Capital into 3 entities puts to bed any questions of a power struggle at the VC powerhouse
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

VC powerhouse Sequoia Capital announced Tuesday that it is splitting into three entities. One of those entities, Sequoia China, known locally as HongShan, will operate as a distinct firm. The mighty Sequoia Capital is dropping branches. The decision puts to bed any question of a power struggle at one of Silicon Valley's most respected firms. And unlike some other global firms that had veto power over investments overseas, according to Bloomberg, Sequoia China had full autonomy to strike its own deals.

Persons: Roelof Botha, Neil Shen, Forbes, Alex Konrad, Doug Leone, Instagram, Bytedance, Botha, Shen, Julian Bek, Elon Musk's Organizations: Sequoia Capital, Sequoia, XV Partners, YouTube, Bloomberg, Shen, Sequoia China, Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Accel, Elon, Twitter, Fidelity Locations: Sequoia China, China, Europe, HongShan, India, Southeast Asia, Sequoia, Sequoia Capital China, Asia, Silicon Valley, London, FTX

☆ JPMorgan upgrades this regional bank stock with limited exposure to commercial real estate, sees 25% gain
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Brian Evans | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

JPMorgan thinks there's a buying opportunity in regional bank Valley National. The bank upgraded Valley National Bancorp to overweight from neutral Monday with a $10 per share price target. Analyst Steven Alexopoulos noted that Valley National's exposure to the commercial real estate market is reasonably below peers which could shield the firm from loan headwinds. Valley National shares have tanked more than 29% in 2023. The stock dropped with the broader regional banking space after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank earlier this year.

Persons: Steven Alexopoulos, Alexopoulos, —, Michael Bloom Organizations: JPMorgan, Bancorp, Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank Locations: Silicon

☆ Jack Dorsey is backing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — an anti-vaxxer who called Anthony Fauci a fascist — for president
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Twitter's co-founder Jack Dorsey has endorsed Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for president. Dorsey tweeted that Kennedy "can and will" beat both Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis in the 2024 race. One Twitter user posted a comment asking whether Dorsey was endorsing Kennedy, or "just predicting." Kennedy, the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, filed his statement of candidacy on April 4, officially challenging President Joe Biden for the Democratic candidate nomination. Representatives of Kennedy and Dorsey did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: Twitter's, Jack Dorsey, Robert F, Kennedy Jr, Dorsey, Kennedy, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Anthony Fauci, —, Harris Faulkner, John F, Joe Biden, Kennedy's, Anne Frank, Kerry Kennedy, Bobby, Insider's Alia Shoaib, Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, PayPal's, Musk, Thiel, DeSantis Organizations: Service, Florida Gov, Fox News, Trump, DeSantis, Democratic, Center, Children's Health Defense, Facebook, National Institute of Allergy Locations: COVID, Washington, Hitler's Germany, Switzerland

☆ Apple is ready to enter its metaverse era with a mixed reality headset. The rest of the world might not be.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Apple is on the cusp of revealing its future post-iPhone with a big bet on the metaverse. Tim Cook is expected to unveil a new mixed reality headset at WWDC in his riskiest move yet. Apple has the tough task of convincing the world the metaverse is still the future as interest dips. But emerging signs suggest Apple would have a seriously tough time shipping units for its metaverse bet. "If you believe there's something beyond a smartphone then it's probably the metaverse," Munster said.

Persons: Tim Cook, that's, Mark Zuckerberg's Meta, it's, Zuckerberg, Palmer Luckey, —, ChatGPT, Gene Munster, he's, Siri, That's, Apple, Munster, Bill Gates, Apple's Cook Organizations: Apple, Developers, Bloomberg, Meta, Deepwater Asset Management, Microsoft Locations: Cupertino

Nvidia chips have been at the heart of major tech tends from video games to self-driving cars, to cloud computing, and now AI - artificial intelligence. Born in Taiwan, Huang moved to the United States as a child, earning engineering degrees at Oregon State University and Stanford University. Its first big hits were specialized chips to power high-intensity motion graphics for computer games called graphics processing units (GPUs). Even then, Huang did not think of Nvidia as just a chip company. "Computer graphics is one of the most complex parts of computer science," Huang told an audience in Silicon Valley in 2021 while receiving a lifetime achievement award.

Persons: Jensen Huang, I've, Huang, grunting, Inc's, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs, ChatGPT, Stanford University . Huang, selfies, Curtis Priem, Chris Malachowsky, Andrew Ng, Yuvraj Malik, Samrhitha, Stephen Nellis, Ben Blanchard, Matthew Lewis, Sonali Paul, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Nvidia Corp, Apple Inc, Oregon State University, Stanford University, Nvidia, Valley's Sequoia Capital, BET, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Intel, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, United States, Taipei, Silicon Valley, Bengaluru, San Francisco

May 30 (Reuters) - Jensen Huang, the chief of chipmaker Nvidia Corp (NVDA.O), has joined an elite list of tech executives to head a company worth $1 trillion. Nvidia shares have been on a tear, rising on stellar sales projections from a boom in artificial-intelligence workloads and components. Huang was born in Taiwan but moved to the United States as a child, earning engineering degrees at Oregon State University and Stanford University. In 1993 he founded Nvidia along with Curtis Priem and Chris Malachowsky, securing backing from Silicon Valley's Sequoia Capital and others. As companies further adopt AI, Nvidia could be one of the key beneficiaries.

Persons: Jensen Huang, Huang, Inc's, Jeff Bezos, ChatGPT, Curtis Priem, Chris Malachowsky, Andrew Ng, Yuvraj Malik, Samrhitha, Stephen Nellis, Matthew Lewis Organizations: Nvidia Corp, Nvidia, Oregon State University, Stanford University, Valley's Sequoia Capital, BET, INTEL, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, Intel Corp, Logic Corp, Devices Inc, Alphabet Inc, Baidu Inc, HK, San, Thomson Locations: Taiwan, United States, Taipei, Bengaluru, San Francisco

☆ 'Market instability' possible before last-minute debt ceiling deal, JPMorgan says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Jesse Pound | In Jesse-Pound | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The looming potential of a federal debt default could soon cause a sharp increase in fear in the stock market, according to JPMorgan Chase. "Our base case remains that the debt ceiling ultimately does get lifted/suspended though the journey to that end could be at the eleventh hour and drive significantly higher market instability than appreciated by the market currently," Lakos-Bujas wrote. as a consequence of partial/comprehensive debt ceiling deal and/or Federal budget negotiation in the fall of this year," Lakos-Bujas wrote. One way for investors to guard against a sharp move in stocks is to buy call spreads on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) , often called Wall Street's fear index. .VIX 1Y mountain The Cboe Volatility Index is trading near its lowest level of the past year.

☆ Even Apple will have a hard time making the metaverse cool
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Apple must do what no other tech company has done: make the metaverse cool. The iPhone maker is widely expected to debut its mixed-reality headset next month. The company's making a risky move as the tech world retreats from the metaverse and fixates on AI. In other words, Apple has more to lose by not making a wager on a mixed-reality headset than if it did. "If you believe there's something beyond a smartphone then it's probably the metaverse," Munster said.

☆ AI startup cloud deals by Microsoft, Google and Amazon ring 'accounting alarm bells' across Silicon Valley over revenue 'round-tripping'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Eugene Kim | Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Some investors question whether these arrangements are artificially juicing cloud revenue growth. When Microsoft announced a multibillion-dollar investment in OpenAI earlier this year, the deal made Azure the ChatGPT-maker's "exclusive cloud provider." There's another deal in the works with similar attributes involving Runway AI and a major cloud company. But they are drawing more scrutiny lately because they could artificially inflate cloud revenue, a key driver of growth for Microsoft, Google, and Amazon, according to Ted Mortonson, managing director of financial-services firm Baird. Is OpenAI a regular cloud customer that is getting no investment money from Microsoft?

☆ Autonomous agents are Silicon Valley's latest AI obsession. Here's why pizza-ordering bots may be coming to a computer near you soon.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Stephanie Palazzolo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

"Autonomous AI agents" are AI bots that can plan and prioritize to achieve user-provided goals. However, the rise of AI agents has sparked concerns around safety and the potential for AGI. From assistants to digital friendsHowever, AI doomsdayers don't have to be too worried yet — the performance of these AI agents have often been less than stellar. Without the proper guardrails, AI agents with unrestricted access to the Internet may similarly take unanticipated steps to complete its goals, like transferring money from a bank account. And sometimes, the misuse of AI agents is intentional, rather than accidental.

☆ Wellness travel is rising among a particularly weary group of travelers — parents
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Monica Pitrelli | Morgan Awyong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

But a new survey shows parents increasingly want in on a trend that isn't often aimed at families: wellness travel. The data showed an emerging picture of family travel — one in which parents may be starting to prioritize their own needs alongside those of their children. Traveling for physical health is up eight points among parents since last year, said Lindsey Roeschke, travel and hospitality analyst at Morning Consult. Planning a wellness family vacationThough some wellness resorts only allow adults, places like The Farm at San Benito welcome guests of all ages. Planning your own wellness tripRather than a resort stay, parents can plan their own wellness trips based on their interests.

☆ Dedrone: 2023 CNBC Disruptor 50
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Cnbc.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Dedrone, a Sterling, Virginia.-based airspace security specialist, is on the frontlines of this battle, detecting and countering opposition drones. In the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, military drones are seen as a super weapon, increasingly being used to detect threats in conflict zones. Ramping up, Dedrone and several rivals, including DroneShield, D Fend Solution and 2023 No. In the fast-escalating and consolidating commercial market, Dedrone sealed a partnership with building smart-tech maker Johnson Controls to detect unauthorized drones. Dedrone also partnered with security technology solutions maker Axis Communications to integrate its surveillance cameras.

☆ 10 Things in Tech: Androids v. iPhones in ‘Succession,’ AI tools besides ChatGPT, and a check signed by Steve Jobs
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Diamond Naga Siu | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It's reportedly frustrating customers who are prompted to add a tip when they haven't interacted with the people they're tipping. Before I begin discussing eradicating tipping culture (and replacing it with a living wage for workers), let's dive into today's tech. But the hype cycle around generative AI — that started with ChatGPT — threw them a lifeline. AI tools — besides ChatGPT — to boost your productivity. A $175 check signed by Steve Jobs is up for sale.

☆ Silicon Valley's Hail Mary moment
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-07 | by ( Linette Lopez | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Silicon Valley has entered the Hail Mary phase of its business cycle — a desertic part of a tech-industry downturn where desperation can turn into recklessness. Don't fear the robotsTo understand the Hail Mary moment, it's important to understand the actual capabilities of technology these tech titans are touting. Again, what Musk is describing is AI general intelligence — something much more advanced than the generative AI OpenAI is building on at the moment. During the pandemic when governments were handing out cash and people were stuck at home, the world bought everything Silicon Valley was selling. But those are exactly the types of workers getting laid off in Silicon Valley right now.

This is an important moment not to cede leadership in any emerging technologies," Panchanathan said. The NSF is a federal agency that funds a big portion of science and engineering, including research at universities. TIP is the agency's first new directorate in more than 30 years and would help identify research, a lot of it already funded by the NSF, that can become technology products, he said. The directorate would help build up an ecosystem of academics, corporates, venture capitalists, and others to help researchers and startups get off the ground. Panchanathan and Khanna met nearly two dozen venture capitalists, startup CEOs, and some big tech firm executives in Santa Clara, California to discuss the CHIPS and Science Act.

☆ Inside OpenAI's Sam Altman's fixation on death and the apocalypse
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Melia Russell | Julia Black | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, spends a lot of time thinking about risk, especially as it relates to AI. One investor friend told Insider that Altman became even more fixated on delaying death when his father died in 2018. One investor friend told Insider that Altman "says we vastly underestimate risk in society." The investor friend told Insider that urgency grew when Altman's father, a real-estate developer, died in 2018. "I don't think anyone can lose your dad young and wish he didn't have more time with him," Altman told Insider.

☆ Tech's hottest trends: what's cool and what's not among Silicon Valley's elite
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-26 | by ( Lakshmi Varanasi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

San FranciscoThe AI boom is helping to bring San Francisco back after the pandemic. Dan Kurtzman/Getty ImagesDuring the pandemic, the San Francisco metro area ceded some of its dominance over the tech industry to growing hubs in cities like Miami and Austin. The neighborhood of Hayes Valley, in particular, has become such a hotspot for new AI startups that it's jokingly been renamed "Cerebral Valley." Their overall consensus is that working from home is on its way out and working from the office is back in. Security card swipe data also shows that office occupancy in the San Francisco metro area has increased since the beginning of the year.

☆ ChatGPT users can now turn off their chat history, OpenAI announces
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Ashley Capoot | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

OpenAI began rolling out new controls Tuesday that will allow ChatGPT users to turn off their chat history. Any conversations that take place while chat history is disabled will not be used to train OpenAI's models or appear in the "history" sidebar, the company wrote in a blog post. "We hope this provides an easier way to manage your data than our existing opt-out process," OpenAI wrote in the post. The company added that users can change their chat history settings at any time. OpenAI also announced a new option Tuesday that will make it easier for users to export their conversations and learn which information is stored in ChatGPT.

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