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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

'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

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

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

Bitcoin miners face survival test in 'halving'

Miners of bitcoin will soon face a halving of the reward for operating the most popular cryptocurrency, in a pivotal event that is a test of survival, industry commentators say.

Business

The real battle for data privacy begins when you die

In 2012 a 15-year-old girl died in Berlin after being hit by a subway train. Her bereaved parents asked Facebook to turn over her private messages in hopes of understanding whether her death was a suicide or an accident.

Business

'World of Warcraft', other top games to return to China

"World of Warcraft" is returning to China this summer, its developer and local partner said Wednesday, more than a year after dismayed devotees saw the hugely popular video game and other titles pulled from the market in ...

Business

To understand the risks posed by AI, follow the money

Time and again, leading scientists, technologists, and philosophers have made spectacularly terrible guesses about the direction of innovation. Even Einstein was not immune, claiming, "There is not the slightest indication ...

Business

Musk vs. Brazil Supreme Court: five things to know

X owner Elon Musk is under investigation in Brazil after he accused a Supreme Court judge of censoring social networks, calling him a "dictator" and vowing to disobey rulings blocking users found to be spreading disinformation.