• Alphabet Inc. Chief Executive Sundar Pichai said that Google plans to add artificial intelligence features to its search engine, allowing users to ask questions in a conversational style. Pichai rejected the notion that chatbots like ChatGPT presented a threat to Google’s search business, claiming instead that the opportunity “is bigger than before.” (The Wall Street Journal)
• Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority will follow the lead of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and investigate Amazon.com Inc.’s proposed $1.7 billion acquisition of robot vacuum maker iRobot Corp. over concerns it could reduce competition in the connected device market. An Amazon spokesperson said the company is “working cooperatively with the relevant regulators in their review of the merger.” (Reuters)
• Genesis Market, a suspected Russian marketplace that sold access to 80 million stolen online accounts and passwords, was seized and 119 arrests were made in association with the takedown. The FBI, Department of Justice, Europol and police in 14 countries executed the takedown, dubbed Operation Cookie Monster, as part of an ongoing crackdown targeting cybercrime markets. (The Wall Street Journal)
• Top executives at Meta Platforms Inc., including CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Chief Product Officer Chris Cox, are spending most of their time working with artificial intelligence, according to the company’s Chief Technology Officer Andrew Bosworth. In an interview, Bosworth said that AI will benefit the metaverse and expects Meta will debut some commercial applications using AI later this year. (CNBC)

Happening today: 

• The Center for Data Innovation will host a conversation titled “What Are the Consequences of Backdoors for Online Privacy?” that will tackle attempts of law enforcement to guarantee access to end-to-end encrypted services. Panelists include Cato Institute senior fellow Patrick Eddington; Gabe Kaptchuk, research development fellow at Boston University’s Hariri Institute for Computing; National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ 4th Amendment Center Director Jumana Musa; and FBI section chief Katie Noyes.

Tesla shares slip as margin worries overshadow record deliveries

Reuters

Slain Cash App Founder Lee Remembered as a Coder Who Wowed Dorsey

Biz Carson, Bloomberg

Two memories of Bob Lee spring to mind for Block Inc. co-founder Jim McKelvey: that he recruited him to work at Square at his wedding in St. Louis, and Jack Dorsey’s effusive praise of Lee’s coding.

Qualcomm, Nvidia spar for top spot in AI chip efficiency tests

Stephen Nellis, Reuters

Artificial intelligence chips from Qualcomm Inc beat Nvidia Corp in two out of three measures of power efficiency in a new set of test data published on Wednesday, while a Taiwanese startup bested both in one category.

Four Asian Countries Lead in US Chip Diversification Move

Kevin Varley, Bloomberg

Thailand, Vietnam, India and Cambodia have emerged as early winners this year as semiconductor production begins to move away from traditional centers such as Taiwan and China.

Savvy Games buys Scopely for $4.9bn

Samer Al-Atrush, Financial Times

Latest investment by Saudi wealth fund-owned group.

Google reveals its newest A.I. supercomputer, says it beats Nvidia

Kif Leswing, CNBC

Google published details about one of its artificial intelligence supercomputers on Wednesday, saying it is faster and more efficient than competing Nvidia systems, as power-hungry machine learning models continue to be the hottest part of the tech industry.

Meta releases AI model that can identify items within images

Katie Paul, Reuters

Facebook-owner Meta published an artificial intelligence model on Wednesday that can pick out individual objects from within an image, along with a dataset of image annotations that it said was the largest ever of its kind.

ChatGPT invented a sexual harassment scandal and named a real law prof as the accused

Pranshu Verma and Will Oremus, The Washington Post

The AI chatbot can misrepresent key facts with great flourish, even citing a fake Washington Post article as evidence.

AI Is Bringing the Voice of the Dead Back to Narrate Your Audiobook

Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg, The New York Times

Apple, Google and others embrace the new technology for recording audio versions of books.

Amidst controversies, OpenAI insists safety is mission critical

Cecily Mauran, Mashable

OpenAI has addressed safety issues following recent ethical and regulatory backlash. The statement(Opens in a new tab) published on Thursday, was a rebuttal-apology hybrid that simultaneously aimed to assure the public its products are safe and admit there’s room for improvement.

Mark Zuckerberg is spending most of his time on A.I., says Meta CTO

Ashley Capoot, CNBC

Meta’s top executives including CEO Mark Zuckerberg, chief product officer Chris Cox and chief technology officer Andrew Bosworth are spending most of their time working on artificial intelligence.

OpenAI to propose remedies to Italian ban on ChatGPT

Supantha Mukherjee and Elvira Pollina, Reuters

OpenAI plans to present measures to Italian authorities on Thursday to remedy concerns that led to a ban of its ChatGPT chatbot in Italy last week, the country’s data protection authorities said.

The public loves trying to push chatbots over the edge

Ina Fried, Axios

The companies offering generative AI to the public are mostly learning the same lesson: People love using it, but they also love discovering its boundaries — and pushing past them.

India opts against AI regulation

Manish Singh, TechCrunch

India does not plan to regulate the growth of AI within the South Asian market, identifying the sector as a “significant and strategic” area for the nation. This stance arrives at a time when numerous voices are calling for increased scrutiny of the rapidly advancing technology.

Amazon Looks to Grow Diamonds in Bid to Boost Computer Networks

Ian King, Bloomberg

Amazon.com Inc. is teaming up with a unit of De Beers Group to grow artificial diamonds, betting that custom-made gems could could help revolutionize computer networks. De Beers’s Element Six division will be working on the project with Amazon Web Services’ Center for Quantum Networking, a unit that’s seeking next-generation ways to transmit data securely over longer distances.

Deutsche Telekom reaches majority stake in T-Mobile U.S. – CEO

Tom Käckenhoff, Reuters

 Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) now holds a majority in T-Mobile U.S. (TMUS.O), the chief executive of the German telecoms company said on Wednesday.

Pay Less for Wireless? No Thanks, Consumers Say

Scott Moritz, Bloomberg

Slick sales gimmicks like an AI-powered virtual guide and inflation-proof rates have failed to dislodge customers from the big national carriers where plans are more than twice as much.

China plans $500 mln subsea internet cable to rival U.S.-backed project

Joe Brock, Reuters

Chinese state-owned telecom firms are developing a $500 million undersea fiber-optic internet cable network that would link Asia, the Middle East and Europe to rival a similar U.S.-backed project, four people involved in the deal told Reuters. The plan is a sign that an intensifying tech war between Beijing and Washington risks tearing the fabric of the internet.

Samsung extends licensing agreement with AMD to use Radeon graphics on Exynos SoCs

Cho Mu-Hyun, ZDNet

Radeon graphics solutions will be adopted in more Exynos chipsets, the South Korean tech giant said.

Google Play will require that all Android apps let users delete data

Abner Li, 9to5Google

Google is continuing its work on Data safety in the Play Store by requiring that developers provide a way for users to delete their account data.

Google cracks down on predatory loan apps

Tim Bradshaw, Financial Times

Access denied to sensitive data such as debtors’ contacts and photos after borrowers report blackmail attempts by lenders.

Substack’s new short-form ‘Notes’ feed looks a lot like Twitter

Aisha Malik, TechCrunch

Substack announced today that it’s introducing a new Notes feature that is designed to let users share posts, quotes, comments, images, links and ideas. Notes shared on the platform are displayed in a dedicated short-form feed that looks a lot like Twitter. 

The New ‘Transparent’ Twitter Isn’t Very Transparent

Caroline Mimbs Nyce, The Atlantic

Elon Musk offered a rare look into the social platform’s algorithm. Experts say you shouldn’t take it too seriously.

Twitter is no longer policing Russian and Chinese state-backed media

Louise Matsakis and Bradley Saacks, Semafor

Twitter is no longer taking steps to limit the reach of Chinese and Russian state-controlled media outlets, violating the social media platform’s own stated policies.

Chinese Officials Flock to Twitter to Defend TikTok

Sapna Maheshwari and Steven Lee Myers, The New York Times

The company has tried to distance itself, but the information push shows just how deeply invested Beijing is in its fate.

Twitter’s new feature will show ‘half ads’ to Blue subscribers

Ivan Mehta, TechCrunch

Twitter is rolling out additional features for Blue subscribers including showing 50% of ads in their timeline compared to non-paid users and a visibility boost in search.

Portuguese NGO sues TikTok, says platform ‘profits from children’

Catarina Demony, Reuters

A Portugal-based European consumer protection group has sued short-video app TikTok for allegedly allowing children aged under 13 to sign up for an account without parental consent and failing to implement measures to protect them.

Brands increase TikTok spending despite threat of US ban

Hannah Murphy et al., Financial Times

Digital advertising on the Chinese-owned video app grew by 11% in March.

NPR Criticizes Twitter for Labeling Its Account as ‘State-Affiliated Media’

Alyssa Lupkat, The Wall Street Journal

National Public Radio criticized Twitter Inc. for labeling its social-media account as “US state-affiliated media,” a designation the independent public broadcaster on Wednesday said was disturbing and unacceptable.

Apple to open first company-owned retail store in India

Varun Vyas, Reuters

Apple Inc is set to open its first official retail store in India’s financial hub of Mumbai, the iPhone maker said on Wednesday.

Meta’s job cuts are gutting customer service, leaving influencers and businesses with nobody to call

Jonathan Vanian, CNBC

Meta’s two rounds of layoffs are affecting the company’s already poor customer service for users, influencers, communities and businesses.

Google and Amazon Struggle to Lay Off Workers in Europe

Benoit Berthelot et al., Bloomberg

After announcing the largest rounds of layoffs in their history, US big tech companies are now learning how difficult it is to reduce headcount in Europe.

Amazon plans to trim employee stock awards amid tough economy

Arunima Kumar, Reuters

Amazon.com Inc said it would reduce employee stock awards, a part of its compensation plan, as the e-commerce giant navigates an uncertain economy.