• More than 1,000 academics, tech researchers and executives signed an open letter published by the nonprofit Future of Life Institute calling for a six-month pause on the development of artificial intelligence systems like ChatGPT in order to temporarily stop what they fear is an “out-of-control race to develop and deploy ever more powerful digital minds that no one — not even their creators — can understand, predict or reliably control.” Signatories on the letter include Elon Musk, a leading funder of the Future of Life Institute; co-founders of Apple Inc. and Pinterest Inc.; and founders of AI startups Stability AI and Character.ai. (Financial Times)
• Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, told reporters that a potential ban of TikTok is still a possibility despite a growing number of Democratic lawmakers who oppose such a restriction. Democratic Reps. Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (Minn.) have all voiced opposition to an outright ban on TikTok and have instead called for industrywide standards and regulations that would address the data privacy concerns of American-owned social media platforms, as well. (The Hill)
• U.S. District Judge James Donato ruled that Alphabet Inc.’s Google ignored a court order requiring the company to preserve records of employee chats and instead allowed nearly 360 workers to set their communications to be automatically deleted, destroying potential evidence that may be relevant in ongoing antitrust challenges over Google Play app store policies. Google will be required to reimburse the attorneys’ fees of the plaintiffs in the case and will face an additional non-monetary penalty. (Bloomberg)
• Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority said it will investigate Broadcom Inc.’s proposed $61 billion acquisition of VMware Inc. after the U.S.-based chipmaker failed to address concerns over how the purchase would affect the server market. The investigation can take up to six months and will examine concerns that the transaction will drive up the cost of computer parts and software for servers. (Reuters)

Happening today: 

• Axios will host its What’s Next Summit, with a focus on artificial intelligence, space travel, the metaverse and the future of work. Guests include NASA Administrator Bill Nelson; YouTube Chief Executive Neal Mohan; and Box Inc. co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie.
• The Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity will receive testimony on enterprise cybersecurity to protect the Department of Defense information networks from DOD Chief Information Officer John Sherman and Defense Information Systems Agency Director Robert Skinner.

Companies Developing Artificial Intelligence Are Scoring Early Wins With Consumers

Morning Consult

Google Search is adding new ‘Perspectives’ and ‘About this author’ features to help users verify info

Aisha Malik, TechCrunch

Google is introducing new ways for users to verify information on Search, the company announced on Tuesday. The search giant is launching new features called “Perspectives” and “About this author,” while also expanding some of its current tools, including “About this result.”

Google scores partial victory in Android antitrust case in India

Arpan Chaturvedi, Reuters

An Indian tribunal on Wednesday gave partial relief to Alphabet Inc’s Google by setting aside four of 10 antitrust directives in a case related to the dominant market position of its Android operating system.

EU patent body to be involved in tech-standard patent royalties -EU draft rule

Foo Yun Chee, Reuters

The European Union patent body will oversee a new process to set fair royalties on patents for technology widely used in products like cellphones, according to a draft EU regulation that seeks to reduce litigation over royalty disputes.

German antitrust watchdog probes Microsoft’s market power

Guy Chazan and Javier Espinoza, Financial Times

Berlin is at the vanguard of European attempts to restrict the dominance of Big Tech.

Microsoft offers to change cloud practices to ward off EU antitrust probe -source

Foo Yun Chee, Reuters

Microsoft Corp has offered to change its cloud computing practices to settle antitrust complaints filed by smaller rivals, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday, a move that will stave off an EU investigation.

Microsoft, OVH Prepare to Settle Cloud Complaint to EU

Jillian Deutsch et al., Bloomberg

Microsoft Corp. is close to a settlement with a trio of cloud providers to suspend their antitrust complaints to the European Commission, people familiar with the matter said. 

Meta, Google defend Brazilian law on Internet platform responsibility for content

Anthony Boadle, Reuters

Meta Platforms Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google defended before the Supreme Court on Tuesday a Brazilian law that holds Internet platforms are not responsible for content posted by users unless they are subject to a court order.

Spanish competition watchdog opens disciplinary case against Google

Tiago Brandao, Reuters

Spain’s competition watchdog CNMC has opened a disciplinary case against Google for alleged anti-competitive practices affecting publishers and Spanish news agencies, the regulator said on Tuesday.

Google Partners with AI Startup Replit to Take on Microsoft’s GitHub

Dina Bass, Bloomberg

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is striking a partnership to combine its artificial intelligence language models with software from startup Replit Inc. that helps computer programmers write code, a bid to compete with a similar product from Microsoft Corp.’s GitHub and OpenAI.

With ChatGPT hype swirling, UK government urges regulators to come up with rules for A.I.

Ryan Browne, CNBC

The U.K. government on Wednesday published recommendations for the artificial intelligence industry, outlining an all-encompassing approach for regulating the technology at a time when it has reached frenzied levels of hype.

AI computing startup Cerebras releases open source ChatGPT-like models

Jane Lee, Reuters

Artificial intelligence chip startup Cerebras Systems on Tuesday said it released open source ChatGPT-like models for the research and business community to use for free in an effort to foster more collaboration.

Microsoft introduces an A.I. chatbot for cybersecurity experts

Jordan Novet, CNBC

Microsoft on Tuesday announced a chatbot designed to help cybersecurity professionals understand critical issues and find ways to fix them.

AI Regulation Faces Test on Life Insurance in Colorado

Lucy Papachristou, Bloomberg

The life insurance industry could become one of the first sectors to be subjected to strict rules around the use of algorithms and models powered by artificial intelligence as regulators seek to protect consumers from discrimination and bias.

The Jobs Most Exposed to ChatGPT

Lauren Weber and Lindsay Ellis, The Wall Street Journal

Accountants are among the professionals whose careers are most exposed to the capabilities of generative artificial intelligence, according to a new study. The researchers found that at least half of accounting tasks could be completed much faster with the technology.

A Campaign Aide Didn’t Write That Email. A.I. Did.

Shane Goldmacher, The New York Times

The swift advance of artificial intelligence in politics is already blurring the boundaries between fact and fake.

Amazon sellers are using ChatGPT to help write product listings in sprawling marketplace

Annie Palmer, CNBC

Amazon sellers are turning to the AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT to automate some of the tasks associated with running their online businesses.

Lumen expects to pick up its fiber build pace in 2024

Diana Goovaerts, Fierce Telecom

Lumen Technologies is hoping to grease the wheels on its fiber build in 2023 after pressing pause on its work late last year and is aiming to exit the year having achieved a quarterly build pace that will allow it to exceed 500,000 new passings in 2024.

T-Mobile asks for temporary authority to use its new 2.5 GHz spectrum

Linda Hardesty, Fierce Wireless

Although T-Mobile paid $304 million for 7,156 licenses of 2.5 GHz spectrum in last summer’s auction, it now finds itself in the awkward position of not being able to deploy this spectrum. The reason is because Congress recently allowed the FCC’s auction authority to lapse. And the FCC says it cannot issue licenses for the 2.5 GHz spectrum to T-Mobile until its auction authority is reinstated.

Amazon Opens ‘Sidewalk’ Wireless Network to Outside Developers

Theo Wayt, The Information

Amazon said Tuesday that it’s opening the low-bandwidth, long-range wireless network used to power some of its own devices such as Ring doorbells and Echo speakers to outside developers. The company also published a coverage map showing that the network, called Sidewalk, reaches 90% of the U.S. population.

Apple Pay Later is finally launching

Emma Roth, The Verge

The buy now, pay later service is only available on iPhones and iPads — and not everyone can use it yet.

Meta, Italy’s Mediaset sign deal against online piracy

Federico Maccioni, Reuters

Italy’s top commercial broadcaster MFE-Mediaforeurope said on Wednesday its unit Mediaset had partnered up with Facebook owner Meta Platforms to fight online piracy. Under the multi-year partnership, Mediaset will work with Meta to implement a set of tools and systems to protect its unit Reti televisive Italiane (RTI)’s copyrighted content, including live broadcasts.

Cyberattack on debt-buying giant exposes sensitive info on nearly 500,000 people

Jonathan Greig, The Record

Nearly half a million people had their sensitive financial information leaked during a cyberattack on NCB Management Services – a company that purchases debt.

US to withhold nuclear data from Russia in escalation of tensions

James Politi and Max Seddon, Financial Times

Move comes after Moscow suspended its participation in New Start treaty.

Facial recognition is helping Putin curb dissent with the aid of U.S. tech

Lena Marsi, Reuters

A Reuters review of more than 2,000 court cases shows how Russia uses facial recognition to identify and sweep up the Kremlin’s opponents.

North Korean Hackers Posed as NY Times, Voice of America Staff

Jeff Stone, Bloomberg

Suspected North Korean hackers are posing as journalists and trying to gather intelligence about international officials’ approach to nuclear security policy and Kim Jong Un’s government, according to new research. 

China urges Apple to strengthen data security

Ella Cao and Meg Shen, Reuters

China has urged Apple to strengthen its data security and personal privacy protection, the country’s state planner said in a statement on Tuesday.

What’s Hot on TikTok? Defending Its C.E.O.

Sapna Maheshwari and Kalley Huang, The New York Times

After lawmakers grilled TikTok’s chief executive last week, the app’s users argued that the platform should not be banned in the United States over national security concerns.

One Way to Actually Make Money on YouTube and TikTok: Get Behind the Camera

Kailyn Rhone, The Wall Street Journal

First came the social-media influencer. Now some aspiring influencers are finding it more profitable to assist others in the industry.

Your favorite influencer is thinking about life after TikTok

J.D. Capelouto and Diego Mendoza, Semafor

If TikTok is banned in the U.S., where would you go? It’s a question influencers and others in the social media creator industry are starting to ponder, as politicians grow increasingly skeptical of the app and consider banning it in the U.S.

TikTok ban backup plan? ByteDance-owned Instagram rival Lemon8 hits the US App Store’s Top 10

Sarah Perez, TechCrunch

As U.S. lawmakers move forward with their plans for a TikTok ban or forced sale, the app’s Chinese parent company ByteDance is driving another of its social platforms into the Top Charts of the U.S. App Store. ByteDance-owned app Lemon8, an Instagram rival that describes itself as a “lifestyle community,” jumped into the U.S. App Store’s Top Charts on Monday, becoming the No. 10 Overall app, across both apps and games.

EV Startup Lucid Cuts 18% of Workforce, Including Some Executives

Sean McLain, The Wall Street Journal

Lucid Group Inc. plans to lay off approximately 1,300 employees, or 18% of its workforce, as the electric-vehicle startup looks to cut operating expenses and preserve cash ahead of releasing a second model next year.

Big Tech companies cut AI ethics staffers raising safety concerns | Financial Times

Cristina Criddle and Madhumita Murgia, Financial Times

Microsoft, Amazon and Google among those to cut ‘responsible AI’ teams as part of broader reductions.

Disney Eliminates Its Metaverse Division as Part of Company’s Layoffs Plan

Robbie Whelan and Joe Flint, The Wall Street Journal

Walt Disney Co. has eliminated its next-generation storytelling and consumer-experiences unit, the small division that was developing metaverse strategies, according to people familiar with the situation, as part of a broader restructuring that is expected to reduce head count by around 7,000 across the company over the next two months.