• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked an attempt by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to fast-track a bill that would have allowed TikTok to be banned in the United States and said “every accusation of data gathering that has been attributed to TikTok could also be attributed to domestic big tech companies.” Paul accused Republicans of trying to “emulate” China’s speech bans by restricting the app and warned that his party would “continuously lose elections for a generation” should it pass the TikTok ban. (Reuters)
• In a conversation with Reuters, Amit Zavery, vice president of Alphabet Inc.’s Google Cloud, accused Microsoft Corp. of anti-competitive behavior in its cloud computing practices, claiming Microsoft’s licensing terms are at issue and urging E.U. antitrust regulators to investigate. In response, a spokesperson for Microsoft said the company is “committed to the European Cloud Community and their success.” (Reuters)
• The Center for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Policy plans to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission urging the regulator to stop future commercial deployment of artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT and to take action to “ensure the establishment of necessary guardrails to protect consumers, businesses, and the commercial marketplace.” FTC Chair Lina Khan previously said that her agency is watching the AI industry to ensure it doesn’t become dominated by major tech firms. (Bloomberg)
• Meta Platforms Inc. will allow European users of Facebook and Instagram to opt out of most personalized advertising based on their in-app activity and instead choose to receive ads based on broad categories such as age and location, according to people familiar with the planning. The new advertising option, which comes in response to a European Union privacy order, will require users to submit a form objecting to Meta’s targeted advertisements, the people said, which currently serves ads based on videos watched and content interacted with on the company’s platforms. (The Wall Street Journal)

Happening today: 

• Fortune will kick off its Global Tech Forum in Guangzhou, China, with a theme of “New Frontiers” and a focus on technological innovations in a post-pandemic world. 
• The Center for Democracy and Technology will host its Summit for Democracy 2023. Speakers include Arati Prabhakar, director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy; and Margrethe Vestager, executive vice president of the European Commission.

OpenAI tech gives Microsoft’s Bing a boost in search battle with Google

Reuters

Apple announces its big annual conference, where it could reveal its new headset

Kif Leswing, CNBC

Apple announced on Wednesday that its annual developer’s conference, WWDC, will begin on June 5 and run through June 9. Apple holds a launch event led by CEO Tim Cook on the first day of the conference and typically unveils new iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, and Mac software.

US battery sourcing guidance to cut some EV tax credits -official

David Shepardson, Reuters

The U.S. Treasury Department’s long-awaited guidance on battery sourcing requirements for electric vehicle tax credits due out by Friday will result in fewer vehicles getting full or partial credits, a U.S. official told Reuters.

Ericsson’s board rebuked by shareholders at AGM for second year in a row

Johan Ahlander, Reuters

Ericsson shareholders voted against discharging the CEO and most of the board members of liability for the tech company’s actions during 2022 at the group’s annual general meeting on Wednesday.

S.Korea, Taiwan chipmakers express concern about US subsidy criteria

Joyce Lee and Ben Blanchard, Reuters

The criteria for new U.S. semiconductor subsidies is worrying companies such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and SK Hynix Inc, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Thursday, a concern shared by the world’s leading contract chipmaker in Taiwan.

Top Republican: China wants to use AI to perfect “Orwellian” surveillance state

Zachary Basu, Axios

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.), chair of the House China select committee, told Axios that Beijing views artificial intelligence as an “instrument or weapon with which to perfect its Orwellian techno-totalitarian surveillance state.”

Alphabet’s Google and DeepMind Pause Grudges, Join Forces to Chase OpenAI

Jon Victor and Amir Efrati, The Information

Software engineers at Google’s Brain AI group are working with employees at DeepMind, an AI lab that is a sibling company within Alphabet, to develop software to compete with OpenAI, according to two people with knowledge of the project. Known internally as Gemini, the joint effort began in recent weeks, after Google stumbled with Bard, its first attempt to compete with OpenAI’s chatbot.

Microsoft’s Bing chatbot is getting more ads

Jay Peters, The Verge

It was inevitable, but Microsoft has confirmed that more ads are coming to Bing’s AI-powered chatbot. Microsoft corporate vice president Yusuf Mehdi said in a blog on Wednesday that the company is “exploring placing ads in the chat experience,” and when we asked for more details, a Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the change.

This Uncensored Chatbot Shows What Happens When AI Is Programmed To Disregard Human Decency

Pranav Dixit, BuzzFeed News

FreedomGPT, the newest kid on the AI chatbot block, looks and feels almost exactly like ChatGPT. But there’s a crucial difference: Its makers claim that it will answer any question free of censorship. 

Free AI Programs Prone to Security Risks, Researchers Say

Dina Bass, Bloomberg

Companies rushing to adopt hot new types of artificial intelligence should exercise caution when using open-source versions of the technology, some of which may not work as advertised or include flaws that hackers can exploit, security researchers say.

Google reshuffles virtual assistant unit with focus on Bard A.I. technology

Jennifer Elias, CNBC

Google is reshuffling the reporting structure of its virtual assistant unit — called Assistant — to focus more on Bard, the company’s new artificial intelligence chat technology.

Generative AI Is Already Changing White-Collar Work as We Know It

Gretchen Tarrant, The Wall Street Journal

As ChatGPT and other generative artificial intelligence programs infiltrate workplaces, white-collar jobs are transforming the fastest.

SES, Intelsat Near Deal to Form $10 Billion Satellite Giant

Thomas Seal et al., Bloomberg

SES SA is in talks to combine with rival Intelsat SA to create a satellite giant that can better compete with billionaire Elon Musk. 

Satellite Internet Plans from SpaceX and Others Deserve a Pinch of Salt

Becky Peterson, The Information

If satellite internet providers like SpaceX’s Starlink have their way, the skies are going to get a lot more crowded with their orbiting antennas in the coming years—so crowded that it’s worth exercising a bit more skepticism about how many will actually get off the ground.

Comcast touts its Xfinity Communities Wi-Fi

Linda Hardesty, Fierce Wireless

Comcast and Charter are two of the largest providers of Wi-Fi in the U.S. At last count, Comcast had about 22 million Wi-Fi hotspots, and Charter recently said that over 11 million homes were using its Advanced Wi-Fi product.

iPhone 15 Pro Low-Energy Chip to Allow Solid-State Buttons to Work When Device is Off or Out of Battery

Tim Hardwick, MacRumors

The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max will use a new ultra-low energy microprocessor allowing certain features like the new capacitive solid-state buttons to remain functional even when the handset is powered off or the battery has run out, according to a source that shared details on the MacRumors forums.

Microsoft Patched Bing Vulnerability That Allowed Snooping on Email and Other Data

Robert McMillan, The Wall Street Journal

Microsoft Corp. patched a dangerous security issue in Bing last month just days before it launched a new artificial intelligence-powered version of the search engine.

Central and Oakland Catholic among schools across Pennsylvania to receive ‘computer-generated swatting calls;’ FBI and state police investigate

Heather Lang, CBS Philadelphia

Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a series of hoax phone calls made to 911 centers on Wednesday that prompted numerous schools across the state to enter lockdowns or go into evacuation mode.

Google Expands Visibility Into Who’s Behind Its Ads

Davey Alba, Bloomberg

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is launching a tool to make its advertising service more transparent, following rivals like Meta Platforms Inc. and Twitter Inc. that years ago released public, searchable archives of the ads that run on their digital platforms.

Exxon’s Climate Opponents Were Infiltrated by Massive Hacking-for-Hire Operation

Christopher M. Matthews, The Wall Street Journal

In the midst of perpetrating what federal prosecutors say was a massive corporate hacking campaign, Israeli private detective Aviram Azari in 2017 received welcome news.

WiFi protocol flaw allows attackers to hijack network traffic

Bill Toulas, Bleeping Computer

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a fundamental security flaw in the design of the IEEE 802.11 WiFi protocol standard, allowing attackers to trick access points into leaking network frames in plaintext form.

Donald Trump is back on social media, and nobody knows what happens next

Jonathan Vanian, CNBC

Now that Donald Trump has his Twitter and Facebook back, the social media platforms have to decide how much they’re willing to take.

Twitter announces new API pricing, including a limited free tier for bots

Karissa Bell, Engadget

Twitter has finally confirmed some of the details and pricing for the new version of its API. The company had previously delayed the changes after confirming that it was banning third-party clients as part of a larger shakeup of its developer features.

Meta bosses look at political ads ban in Europe

Javier Espinoza and Cristina Criddle, Financial Times

Facebook parent concerned how it will police social networks in wake of new EU regulations.

YouTube Looking Into Gandhi’s Claim Political Videos in India Suppressed

Newley Purnell, The Wall Street Journal

YouTube’s chief executive said in an email that the company is looking into a claim by Indian opposition leader Rahul Gandhi that the Alphabet Inc. unit is suppressing his videos criticizing India’s ruling party and a billionaire who controls a conglomerate accused of wide-ranging fraud.

Twitter Wins Order for GitHub to Share Code-Leak Culprit Data

Malathi Nayak, Bloomberg

Twitter Inc. moved closer to finding the individual responsible for leaking parts of its proprietary source code after a California federal court granted its request to subpoena GitHub, the social media site where the information was posted.

East Europe governments urge tech firms to fight disinformation

Jan Lopatka and Jason Hovet, Reuters

Ukraine and seven other central and eastern European nations have called on the world’s top tech firms to act to fight disinformation on their social media platforms by hostile powers which they say undermine peace and stability.

Can Mastodon seize the moment from Twitter?

Nilay Patel, The Verge

CEO Eugen Rochko on running — and growing — a decentralized social network.

Tech Sector H-1B Employees’ Spouses Can Work in US, Judge Says

Bob Van Voris, Bloomberg

Big technology companies won a major court victory in Washington, where a judge dismissed a suit challenging the rights of highly skilled H-1B visa holders’ spouses to work in the US.

Electronic Arts Says It Is Laying Off 6% of Workforce

Sarah E. Needleman, The Wall Street Journal

Electronic Arts Inc. said it is laying off about 6% of its workforce and reducing its office-space footprint to focus its spending on the best growth opportunities in the videogame industry.

Ex-Tesla worker testifies that race bias made him ‘feel less than a man’

Daniel Weissner, Reuters

A Black former elevator operator at Tesla Inc’s flagship California assembly plant became emotional testifying at a trial on Wednesday about the psychological toll exacted on him by a torrent of racial slurs, threats and other workplace incidents.

Twilio’s CEO Backs Remote Work as Tech Peers Push Return-to-Office

Brody Ford, Bloomberg

Twilio Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Lawson said the company is sticking with remote work, even as many tech peers push employees to return to the office. 

Layoff Uncertainty at Meta Makes 2023 a Year of Distraction

Sylvia Varnham O’Regan, The Information

Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg has branded 2023 the “year of efficiency” for his employees. But rolling layoffs and restructuring aimed at streamlining the company are proving to be a major distraction for many anxious employees.