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OAKLAND, Calif., Dec 19 (Reuters) - Mark Zuckerberg considered saying in a 2017 speech that Facebook was looking into "organizations like Cambridge Analytica," according to details from a deposition of him by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Zuckerberg in the deposition also acknowledges asking colleagues in January 2017 to assess Cambridge's claims about its influence in elections. Media reports in March 2018 suggested that Cambridge kept leveraging Facebook data, prompting government investigations related to data protection practices that Facebook settled in the United States for at least $5.1 billion. In the draft obtained by the SEC, Zuckerberg proposed saying: "We are already looking into foreign actors including Russian intelligence, actors in other former Soviet states and organizations like Cambridge Analytica." Zamaan Qureshi, policy advisor for consumer advocacy group The Real Facebook Oversight Board, said the deposition should increase users' doubts of Meta.

Some 19 of the 50 U.S. states have now at least partially blocked access on government computers to TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. Jamf Holding Corp (JAMF.O), which sells software to organizations to enable filtering and security measures on iPhones and other Apple (AAPL.O) devices, said its government customers have increasingly blocked access to TikTok since the middle of this year. TikTok on Monday reiterated a statement, saying the company was "disappointed that so many states are jumping on the political bandwagon to enact policies based on unfounded falsehoods about TikTok that will do nothing to advance the national security of the United States." West Virginia State Auditor JB McCuskey said he did the same for his agency. U.S. officials and TikTok have been in talks for months about a national security pact that would address the concerns about China's access to data on TikTok's more than 100 million U.S. users.

Three sources briefed on OpenAI's recent pitch to investors said the organization expects $200 million in revenue next year and $1 billion by 2024. OpenAI was most recently valued at $20 billion in a secondary share sale, one of the sources said. The startup has already inspired rivals and companies building applications atop its generative AI software, which includes the image maker DALL-E 2. OpenAI has also attracted attention as an AI provider and potential Google search competitor, with ChatGPT answering queries for more than 1 million users so far. OpenAI warns users, ChatGPT "may occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content."

Ahmad Abouammo had been found guilty by a jury in August following a trial in federal court in San Francisco. Abouammo's attorneys had asked U.S. District Judge Edward Chen for a probationary sentence at his home in Seattle with no prison time. The case focused on Abouammo's efforts to look up information on two Twitter users, a $42,000 watch he received from a Saudi official and a pair of $100,000 wire transfers. Twitter, recently acquired by Elon Musk, and the Saudi Embassy in Washington also did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The attorneys also said Abouammo's actions paled in comparison to those of Ali Alzabarah, another ex-Twitter employee, who was accused of accessing thousands of Twitter accounts on behalf of Saudi Arabia.

☆ Elon Musk was booed in Tesla's backyard. It shows how the Twitter mess has eroded his support among some of his biggest fans.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-13 | by ( Jake Swearingen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Business InsiderIn 2015, Elon Musk got applause for Tesla. After Colbert called Musk "the real Tony Stark," and Musk got a round of applause for the Tesla, Colbert asked Musk whether he was "sincerely trying to save the world." It's dangerous to extrapolate the overall public sentiment towards Musk from a single comedy crowd at one event in San Francisco. As Musk becomes less of a hometown hero, that could in turn alienate some of Tesla's biggest and most dedicated customers. And it's less clear by the day what, exactly, Elon Musk is.

☆ What recession? Luxury homes have never been more expensive — see the 30 priciest ZIP codes in America
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Zoe Rosenberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Property Shark has released its annual ranking of the most expensive ZIP codes in the US. Property Shark has released its annual list of the country's most expensive ZIP codes based on their median sold home price. The report found that of the 128 ZIP codes included in the top 100 in 2022 — the extra 28 ZIP codes are ties — 86% were even pricier than last year. A whopping 14 ZIP codes on the list now have a median sold home price of $4 million or more. Read on for this year's top 30 ZIP codes, and see how it's changed since 2020 while you're at it.

"The issue with Google Ad Manager has been resolved and ad serving has now been restored for the affected users,” Google said in a tweet on Thursday evening. “We apologize for the inconvenience.”News websites such as the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times were being affected by the issue, one of the sources said. The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times and Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ad Manager has about 90% share of the U.S. market for ad-serving software, which publishers embed on their websites, according to an ongoing antitrust lawsuit Texas and other states have been pursuing against the tech giant. The lack of competition has left publishers with few back-up options to Google Ad Manager, the sources said, and lawmakers in the U.S. and elsewhere are pursuing legislation to curb Google's market power.

The iPhone maker said that though it was not aware of breaches to iCloud servers or iMessage exchanges, hacking attempts are increasing. U.S. users will be able to activate the free Advanced Data Protection for iCloud storage by the end of the year. When turned on, Apple cannot help users recover photos, notes, voice memos and about 20 other types of data if they forget their password. The option to require plugging a security fob into a new device to access an Apple account is expected to roll out next year. Users can manually verify their communication is secure by matching up security codes, too.

☆ Police arrest California man who allegedly punched fast food worker, causing her to lose an eye
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Mirna-Alsharif-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Mirna Alsharif | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Police in Antioch, California arrested a man on Monday who allegedly punched a fast food restaurant employee in the face, causing her to lose an eye, authorities said. Responding officers found that an employee at the restaurant had been punched in the face multiple times "after protecting an individual with an intellectual disability from being bullied." "The victim lost her right eye because of the incident," police said. The Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office, who did not immediately return requests for comment, will be prosecuting this case. In a statement, the Antioch Police Department expressed their "support and gratitude to the victim for helping a community member in need."

☆ Exclusive: Musk’s Neuralink faces federal probe, employee backlash over animal tests
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Rachael Levy | Thomson Reuters | Award-Winning Journalist Covering Corporate Governance. Her Reporting Has Prompted Federal Investigations | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

Reuters could not determine the full scope of the federal investigation or whether it involved the same alleged problems with animal testing identified by employees in Reuters interviews. Musk has pushed hard to accelerate Neuralink’s progress, which depends heavily on animal testing, current and former employees said. Delcianna Winders, director of the Animal Law and Policy Institute at the Vermont Law and Graduate School, said it is “very unusual” for the USDA inspector general to investigate animal research facilities. In September, the company responded to employee concerns about its animal testing by holding a town hall to explain its processes. “We’re extremely careful,” he said, to make sure that testing is “confirmatory, not exploratory,” using animal testing as a last resort after trying other methods.

“I was just so thirsty to get a BBL,” Velasco said. 7Q Spa also has positive reviews on Yelp and Google, where it averages a 4.5 star rating. The front door of 7Q Spa is side-by-side with Vitality Medical Center, which, according to California business registration documents, has the same CEO as 7Q Spa. After the surgery, Velasco said she felt great and, at first, she couldn’t feel her stitches at all. The California Medical Board revoked her license as part of the settlement, but stayed the revocation and granted her a 35-month probation.

☆ This California city asked where its recycling went. The answer wasn’t pretty.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Saqib Rahim | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

In recent years the global plastic trade has shrunk amid new controls by rich and developing countries alike. U.S. plastic waste exports to Asia fell to 330 million pounds in 2021, according to government data, half their 2017 level. But even these reduced volumes, environmental groups charge, can overwhelm developing countries that lack the facilities to manage them. In May, city staff asked to divert some of Palo Alto’s waste streams to facilities in Louisiana and Southern California. The second lesson, City Manager Ed Shikada said, is that Palo Alto can’t transform the global recycling system alone.

☆ Elon Musk says expects Neuralink to begin human trials in six months
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 30 (Reuters) - Elon Musk said on Wednesday a wireless device developed by his brain chip company Neuralink is expected to begin human clinical trials in six months. The company is developing brain chip interfaces that it says could enable disabled patients to move and communicate again. He then said at a conference in late 2021 that he hoped to start human trials this year. Neuralink has repeatedly missed internal deadlines to gain U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to start human trials, current and former employees have said. It received U.S. regulatory clearance for human trials in 2021 and has completed studies in four people in Australia.

The new allegations underscore the issues that Meta's planned system would counter. "Addressing fairness in ads is an industry-wide challenge and we’ve been collaborating with civil rights groups, academics and regulators to advance fairness in our ads system," the company said. "There’s no reason that job ads should be sent to a fraction of those numbers on a routine basis," he said. But the charge cites three ads for which Meta let advertisers select age-restricted audiences, an option it promised to block for job ads in 2019. If Meta is struggling to identify job ads, it may likewise face difficulties applying the planned variance reductions, Romer-Friedman said.

Meta on Thursday said it was reviewing the complaint and did not provide immediate comment on it or the status of the planned changes. Real Women in Trucking's complaint lists about 80 ads from Meta's public archive that show skewed audiences. "There’s no reason that job ads should be sent to a fraction of those numbers on a routine basis," he said. But the charge cites three ads for which Meta let advertisers select age-restricted audiences, an option it promised to block for job ads in 2019. If Meta is struggling to identify job ads, it may likewise face difficulties applying the planned variance reductions, Romer-Friedman said.

☆ Elon Musk has criticized Apple for years. Apple has mostly ignored him.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Kif Leswing | Lora Kolodny | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +9 min

This week, Musk claimed in a tweet that Apple had mostly stopped advertising on the Twitter platform. Apple is not alone in reducing its campaigns on the social media platform since Musk took over. If the so-called “Apple Car” ever came to market, Tesla and Apple would be direct competitors. Cook and MuskHave Apple CEO Tim Cook and Musk ever spoken in depth? Around 2016, according to the book, Musk and Cook spoke about Apple potentially acquiring Tesla.

This week, Musk claimed in a tweet that Apple had mostly stopped advertising on the Twitter platform. Apple is not alone in reducing its campaigns on the social media platform since Musk took over. Whether accurate or not, Musk's allegation that Apple has "threatened to withhold" Twitter from its App Store may resonate with other developers. One of the most notable people to switch sides was Doug Field, who started at Apple, joined Tesla and then rejoined Apple. In case anybody missed the reference to Apple's App Store, which Apple maintains as the exclusive way to distribute apps to its devices, Musk then faked a cough and said, "Apple."

Akin to lengthy nutrition labels, Amazon's so-called AI Service Cards will be public so its business customers can see the limitations of certain cloud services, such as facial recognition and audio transcription. The goal would be to prevent mistaken use of its technology, explain how its systems work and manage privacy, Amazon said. The cards would address AI ethics concerns publicly at a time when tech regulation was on the horizon, said Kearns. Amazon chose software touching on sensitive demographic issues as a start for its service cards, which Kearns expects to grow in detail over time. In 2019, Amazon contested a study saying the technology struggled to identify the gender of individuals with darker skin tones.

☆ U.S. warns California cities to prepare for possible water cuts and fourth year of drought
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Emma Newburger | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Houseboats on Lake Oroville during a drought in Oroville, California, U.S., on Monday, Oct. 11, 2021. Federal water managers on Monday warned California cities and industrial users receiving water from the Central Valley Project to prepare for a fourth year of drought and possibly "extremely limited water supply" during 2023. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, an agency of the Interior Department that oversees water resource management, said drought conditions in California have persisted despite early storms this month, and warned of looming water conservation actions. The agency said water storage is near historic lows in the reservoirs it oversees in the state, which irrigate more than 3 million acres of land in central California and supply major urban centers in the Greater Sacramento and San Francisco Bay areas. The project's water provides supplies for approximately 2.5 million people per year.

☆ Another tech bubble bursts: 2022 has been brutal for Silicon Valley workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +28 min

Gem: 100A maker of recruiting software, the startup cut a third of its workforce Nov. 1, The Information reported. HealthCare.com: 149The health insurance marketplace announced the job cuts Aug. 3, Miami Inno reported, citing state regulatory filings. Fabric: 120The robotics startup said July 13 that it was layoffing off 40% of them, TechCrunch reported, citing company confirmation. It affected about 300 people, the Silicon Valley Business Journal reported, citing company confirmation. Policygenius: 170The online insurance company cut about 25% of its staff, Axios reported June 6, citing company confirmation.

☆ New San Francisco clubhouse represents a milestone moment for executive women in tech
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-26 | by ( Jennifer Elias | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Executive women platform Chief opened a new clubhouse in San Francisco this week. ‘Sense that this is a first'On the opposite coast, a counterpart executive clubhouse just opened in San Francisco and it holds great meaning beyond its four walls. Chief's San Francisco clubhouse includes a full-service bar. A month after the San Francisco Chief club's opening, women say they already see it as a milestone moment that represents more than just a new building. “It’s interesting coming full-circle and it feels long overdue.”Executive women platform Chief opened a new clubhouse in San Francisco this week.

☆ They Loved the Diversity of Oakland. Could They Find a House They Loved There, Too?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Mark Kreidler | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

“The Seattle experience really solidified that thought for us, that this was something we all needed,” said Ms. Meredith, 43, an author and freelance writer. The younger Mr. Meredith spent his formative years in Jackson, Miss., and later did graduate work at the University of San Diego. “We loved the grittiness, the sunshine, and the diversity,” Ms. Meredith said. “Initially I think we were dumbstruck — awe-struck,” Ms. Meredith said. And they were willing to exhaust the Oakland market before they considered looking anywhere else.

☆ VC firm IVP warns startups to 'surgically pare down expenses' with a looming recession. Here's the deck it shared with execs.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Melia Russell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

In a new presentation, the VC firm IVP tells startup leaders to batten down the hatches. Insider has exclusive access to the firm's deck, titled, "Thriving in a Bear Market: A CFO's Guide." That has ripple effects for venture-backed, private companies that rely on outside investment to operate and grow. In the first half of 2022, venture firms raised $83 billion in new funds — the highest amount over a six-month period for the industry, according to a recent report by Silicon Valley Bank. "The market environment is definitely going to favor companies with real market differentiation," Vashee said.

Workers at Google and other big tech companies in recent years have clashed and protested over politics and racial and gender equity. "We've always been proud to host external speakers at Google, as they provide great opportunities for learning and connection for our employees," Google spokesman Ryan Lamont told Reuters. Rivals such as Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) also have policies for inviting speakers. At Google, speakers have included then-U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama, celebrity chef Ayesha Curry and former basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. At least one of the critics suggested inviting for balance Rajiv Malhotra, according to an internal message.

Investors have questioned the wisdom of that decision as Meta's core advertising business has struggled this year, more than halving its stock price. In his remarks to employees, Zuckerberg played down how much the company was spending in Reality Labs, the unit responsible for its metaverse investments. About 20% of Meta's budget was going to Reality Labs. About 40% of Reality Labs' budget went toward virtual reality, while about 10% was spent on futuristic social platforms such as the virtual world it calls Horizon. Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth, who runs Reality Labs, said AR glasses need to be more useful than mobile phones to appeal to potential customers and meet a higher bar for attractiveness.

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