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A.I. Is About to Get a Whole Lot Worse Under Trump

Slate

Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. On Thursday evening, President-elect Donald Trump announced on his Truth Social platform that he would be appointing David O. Sacks--the "PayPal Mafia" alum, longtime venture capitalist, All-In Podcast co-host, Elon Musk pal, and rock-ribbed Silicon Valley conservative--as the "White House A.I. & Crypto Czar." In his statement, Trump wrote that "Sacks will focus on making America the clear global leader" in artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency, which he deemed to be "two areas critical to the future of American competitiveness." In addition, Sacks will "safeguard Free Speech online," "steer us away from Big Tech bias and censorship," and "lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology." For his first-ever Truth Social post, the incoming czar responded to Trump with gratitude and claimed that he "looks forward to advancing American competitiveness in these critical technologies."


Is this the end of Google? This new AI tool isn't just competing, it's winning

ZDNet

It feels like every time I read the news, someone has Google in their crosshairs. The US Department of Justice is considering breaking up the company, potentially splitting its search engine from Android, Chrome, and Google Play services. My mother didn't raise a snitch, but if I were Google, my defense would be…. "But look at Apple and Amazon!" I would point across the room and everything.


Reddit's latest AI update makes finding the answers you want much easier

ZDNet

Reddit continues to grow in popularity as a search engine alternative, with millions of Redditors contributing answers, perspectives, and summaries on the hottest topics. Now, the social platform is making it easier to find the insights you need with help from artificial intelligence (AI). Also: OpenAI's Sora AI video generator is here - how to try it Starting today, we're rolling out a limited test in the U.S. of Reddit Answers--an AI-powered way to get the information, recommendations, and hot takes you only go to Reddit for. Users can then visit the full conversation from where the answers were generated using the inline footnotes or the area beneath the answer. Reddit shares that this experience is part of a longer-term vision to improve the Search experience on the platform, making it "faster, smarter, and more relevant."


S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: How a Ukrainian video game hit by war is breaking records

Al Jazeera

A Ukrainian video game is shattering records since its release on November 20, despite many delays and its being a target of a Russian disinformation operation. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl is the latest edition of a game series that started in 2007 with S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chornobyl, developed by GSC Game World, a Ukrainian video games studio. The game surpassed one million downloads and 117,000 concurrent players within 48 hours of its release, making it the most successful Ukrainian-developed title to date. Yet, that landmark achievement in the country's gaming industry was bittersweet. Former GSC Game World developer Volodymyr Yezhov, who worked on S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 and was known by the nickname "Fresh", was killed in combat near Bakhmut in December 2022, while serving in the Ukrainian military.


KDDI to build AI data center on Sharp's LCD plant site

The Japan Times

Sharp has announced an agreement with mobile phone carrier KDDI to build an artificial intelligence center on the site of the electronics maker's halted liquid crystal display panel plant in the city of Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. According to the Monday announcement, KDDI will start construction of the data center within fiscal 2024, which ends next March, after acquiring the land, buildings and electrical facilities for the plant. KDDI aims to fully launch its operations in fiscal 2025. Sharp said in June that it had started talks on building an AI data center with KDDI and Tokyo-based system integrator Datasection. They initially planned to procure equipment including AI servers from California-based Super Micro Computer.


Tesla lobbied UK to strengthen rules on carbon emissions from cars and lorries

The Guardian

Tesla lobbied the UK government to strengthen rules on carbon emissions from cars and lorries, according to documents that also show the electric carmaker continued to push for increased taxes on fossil fuel cars. The US carmaker, which is run by Elon Musk, pushed for the British government to strengthen its zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) mandate for cars and introduce equivalent rules for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), in a letter to Lilian Greenwood, the Labour roads minister. Musk has launched a public feud with Labour, but his company has been more complimentary. A Tesla vice-president wrote in July that "we applaud the Labour party's strong position to decarbonisation of the energy system by 2030, growth and net zero". The letter was obtained under freedom of information laws by the Fast Charge newsletter and shared with the Guardian.


China launches investigation into US chipmaker Nvidia

Al Jazeera

Taipei, Taiwan – China has launched an antitrust investigation into chip giant Nvidia in what appears to be Beijing's latest act of retaliation against Washington's sanctions on Chinese tech companies. Chinese state media said on Monday that the California-based chipmaker was being investigated by the State Administration for Market Regulation for potentially violating China's antimonopoly laws. Regulators will also review the company's 6.9bn acquisition of Mellanox Technologies, an Israeli-American supplier specialising in computer networking products, state media reports said, without providing further details. Chinese regulators approved the deal in 2020 with several restrictive conditions, including a provision that Nvidia would not discriminate against Chinese suppliers. Nvidia, which designs advanced chips used to power artificial intelligence (AI), is one of the world's most valuable companies, with a market capitalisation of more than 3.4 trillion.


US lawmakers ask feds to help investigate mysterious drones over New Jersey

FOX News

'Fox & Friends Weekend' co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy opens up about seeing drones outside her home. U.S. lawmakers from New Jersey joined in many residents' frustrations over dozens of reports of drones being flown near sensitive sites like a military research facility in recent weeks, and they are now calling on federal agencies to immediately help investigate and address the escalating issue. Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., joined law enforcement leaders in his district on Monday on Long Beach Island, having been one of the key figures leading efforts to investigate the source and possible risks associated with the drone activity. "I have been speaking with Ocean County Sheriff Mike Mastronardy, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, and national security officials located in the area to discuss the widespread reports of unidentified drone activity across my central New Jersey congressional district and across our state," Smith said in a statement. "Understandably, New Jersey residents are very alarmed at this significant and reoccurring phenomenon – and the tepid response from our state and federal agencies so far is totally unacceptable. As we saw with the Chinese spy balloon last year, our fiercest adversaries will stop at nothing to surveil our homeland and threaten our national security."


Trump's Musk-led efficiency drive may spur defense-tech partnerships

The Japan Times

President-elect Donald Trump's planned U.S. government efficiency drive involving billionaire Elon Musk could lead to more joint projects between big defense contractors and smaller tech firms in areas such as artificial intelligence, drones and uncrewed submarines, according to interviews with company executives. Musk has indicated that Pentagon spending and priorities will be a target of the efficiency initiative, spreading anxiety at defense heavyweights such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics. Smaller military technology companies such as AI software firm Palantir and drone-maker Anduril have been buoyed by the prospect of Musk further loosening the grip that defense giants have held on the Pentagon's budget for many decades.


Hershey shares jump on Cadbury owner buyout report

BBC News

Hershey shares jump on Cadbury owner buyout report Getty ImagesMondelez has reportedly made a preliminary approach to the maker of the iconic Hershey's milk chocolate bar Shares in US chocolate maker Hershey have jumped by more than 10% after a report that Mondelez International, which owns UK-based Cadbury, has approached the firm about a potential buyout. A deal could create a snack food giant with combined sales of almost 50bn ( 39.2bn) a year. Both Mondelez and Hershey declined to comment on the report when contacted by BBC News. In 2016, Hershey rejected a 23bn takeover offer from Mondelez. The approach is still in the preliminary stages and it is not certain that talks will lead to a deal, according to Bloomberg.