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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

US Congress to take on TikTok ban bill—again

The US House of Representatives will again vote Saturday on a bill that would force TikTok to divest from Chinese parent company ByteDance or face a nationwide ban.

Business

Q&A: Enhancing last-mile logistics with machine learning

Across the country, hundreds of thousands of drivers deliver packages and parcels to customers and companies each day, with many click-to-door times averaging only a few days. Coordinating a supply chain feat of this magnitude ...

Business

Q&A: Legal implications of generative artificial intelligence

Maura R. Grossman, JD, Ph.D., is a Research Professor at the Cheriton School of Computer Science, cross-appointed to the School of Public Health Sciences at Waterloo, an Adjunct Professor at Osgoode Hall Law School, and an ...

Business

ASML shares dive on lower profits, orders

Shares in Dutch tech giant ASML, which supplies chip-making machines to the semiconductor industry, slumped Wednesday after the firm reported a drop in net profits and orders amid a high-tech trade spat between China and ...

Business

Apple CEO meets Indonesia leader to talk investments

Apple chief executive Tim Cook met Indonesia's president on Wednesday, as the tech giant explores ways to invest in Southeast Asia's biggest economy and diversify supply chains away from China.

Business

Tennessee VW workers hold key unionization vote

Volkswagen employees in Tennessee will begin casting ballots Wednesday in a vote that could make theirs the first foreign carmaker to unionize in the American South, expanding gains made by organized labor in the auto heartland ...

Business

EU questions TikTok over new Lite app in France, Spain

The EU gave TikTok 24 hours to provide a risk assessment on its new Lite app launched in France and Spain over concerns of its potential impact on children and users' mental health, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

Business

Boeing safety in spotlight at US Senate hearing

Boeing is expected to face a bruising once-over Wednesday as company critics testify at a US Senate hearing, including an employee who has characterized the top-selling 787 as prone to disaster.