Business news

Consumer & Gadgets

How the cost of living crisis and games industry turmoil could hurt Sony's PlayStation 5 Pro release

In late November 2020, I was one of those people standing in line—or rather, refreshing my browser—hoping to snag a PlayStation 5 during a restock. The pandemic was in full swing, and with most of the world locked indoors, ...

Business

UK govt buys semiconductor facility key to defense

The UK government announced on Friday that it had acquired a key semiconductor factory after fears its imminent closure would hamper a crucial supply chain to Britain's armed forces.

Business

Amazon's $4 billion partnership with AI startup Anthropic gets UK competition clearance

Britain's competition watchdog said Friday that it's clearing Amazon's partnership with artificial intelligence company Anthropic because the $4 billion deal didn't qualify for further scrutiny.

Business

Meta hit with $102 million privacy fine from European Union over 2019 password security lapse

Meta was punished Friday with a fine worth more than $100 million from the social media giant's European Union privacy regulator over a security lapse involving passwords for Facebook users.

Business

OpenAI discusses giving Altman 7% stake in for-profit shift

OpenAI is discussing giving Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman a 7% equity stake in the company and restructuring to become a for-profit business, people familiar with the matter said, a major shift that would mark the first ...

Business

EasyJet founder makes life hard for 'brand thieves'

Daring to prefix a company or even a pop group's name with "easy" could land you with legal action, as the founder of British airline easyJet relentlessly tackles alleged trademark breaches.

Business

'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future

From disinformation campaigns to soaring skepticism, plummeting trust and economic slumps, the global media landscape has been hit with blow after blow.

Business

Regulating artificial intelligence: From BRICS to beyond

Researchers from the Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA) program recently participated in a seminar inviting expert dialogue on the role of BRICS competition authorities in the fast-maturing era of artificial intelligence (AI) ...

Business

Google CEO says antitrust trials could drag on for years

Alphabet Inc. Chief Executive Officer Sundar Pichai said it will take many years to resolve Google's antitrust battles, downplaying the idea that they pose an immediate threat to the company's business.

Business

Can cryptocurrencies ever be green?

Cryptocurrencies have been condemned over their environmental record at a time when traditional investments have been rapidly moving towards greener environmental, social and governance (ESG) values. So how long will it be ...

Business

Lufthansa made to pay $775 mn in US flight refunds

The US Department of Transportation said Monday that three airlines including German carrier Lufthansa have been made to pay over $900 million in passenger refunds due to pandemic-related flight cancellations or changes.

Business

Nvidia boss unveils AI products ahead of Taiwan expo

Nvidia on Sunday unveiled new products and plans to accelerate the advance of artificial intelligence, with the AI hardware titan's CEO telling a packed stadium in Taipei that "the next industrial revolution has begun".

Hardware

Foxconn eyes 40 percent global AI server market share

Taiwanese tech giant Foxconn said Friday its global market for artificial intelligence servers is expected to increase to 40 percent this year, with AI products being the main driver for growth.

Business

African tech startups cater to continent's needs

African startups, addressing overlooked needs, are putting the spotlight on a burgeoning tech scene, despite challenges like inequality and limited digitalization.

Business

Geneva auto show closes shop after 119 years

The more than century-old Geneva International Motor Show will be cancelled for good following waning interest from automakers in what was once an unmissable industry event, organizers said Friday.

Consumer & Gadgets

'Ring' has a new mission: 'Hey, there's raccoons in my backyard'

For years, "Ring" touted its crime-fighting bona fides, selling smart doorbells that let homeowners remotely monitor their residences—and sometimes share what they recorded with local police. Now the Amazon.com Inc. unit ...

Business

Meta removes AI-generated influence campaigns in China, Israel

Meta Platforms Inc. removed hundreds of Facebook accounts associated with covert influence campaigns from China, Israel, Iran, Russia and other countries, some of which used artificial intelligence tools to generate disinformation, ...

Business

OpenAI says state-backed actors used its AI for disinfo

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, said Thursday it has disrupted five covert influence operations over the past three months that sought to use its artificial intelligence models for deceptive activities.