regulation

EU strikes deal on landmark AI law

BY RAZIYE AKKOC

  • - Penalties for violations - One of the main stumbling blocks during negotiations was how to regulate general-purpose AI systems such as ChatGPT.  Some member states feared too much regulation would hurt the growth of European champions like Germany's Aleph Alpha or France's Mistral AI. French digital minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France would "carefully analyse the compromise" agreed and ensure that it "preserves Europe's capacity to develop its own artificial intelligence technologies".
  • EU member states and lawmakers clinched a deal on Friday on how to draft "historic" rules regulating artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT -- after 36 hours of negotiations.
  • - Penalties for violations - One of the main stumbling blocks during negotiations was how to regulate general-purpose AI systems such as ChatGPT.  Some member states feared too much regulation would hurt the growth of European champions like Germany's Aleph Alpha or France's Mistral AI. French digital minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France would "carefully analyse the compromise" agreed and ensure that it "preserves Europe's capacity to develop its own artificial intelligence technologies".
EU member states and lawmakers clinched a deal on Friday on how to draft "historic" rules regulating artificial intelligence models such as ChatGPT -- after 36 hours of negotiations.
Meeting in Brussels, negotiators nailed down curbs on how AI can be used in Europe, which they said would not hurt innovation in the sector nor the prospects for future European AI champions.
"Historic! With the political deal on the AI Act sealed today, the EU becomes the first continent to set clear rules for the use of AI," declared the EU's internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton.
"The AI Act is much more than a rulebook -- it's a launchpad for EU startups and researchers to lead the global race for trustworthy AI," he added.
The "AI Act" has been rushed through the European Union's legislative process this year after the chatbot ChatGPT, a mass-market gateway to generative AI, exploded onto the scene late 2022.
Although ChatGPT's ability to create articulate essays and poems was a dizzying display of AI's rapid advances, critics worry about how the technology can be misused.
Generative AI software, which also includes Google's chatbot Bard, can quickly produce text, images and audio from simple commands in everyday language.
Other examples of generative AI include Dall-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, which can create images in nearly any style on demand.
Negotiators initially failed to agree after marathon talks that began on Wednesday lasted 22 hours and ended with only a deal to resume talks the next day.
Exhausted negotiators then restarted talks at 0800 GMT on Friday.
There had been no real deadline but senior EU figures were desperate to secure a deal before the end of the year.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, first proposed the law in 2021 to regulate AI systems based on risk assessments of the software models.
The higher the risk to individuals' rights or health, for example, the greater the systems' obligations. 
The law will still need to be formally approved by member states and the parliament, but Friday's political agreement was seen as the last serious hurdle.
"The AI Act is a global first. A unique legal framework for the development of AI you can trust," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said in a social media post, welcoming the deal.
"And for the safety and fundamental rights of people and businesses. A commitment we took in our political guidelines - and we delivered. I welcome today's political agreement."
The EU is not alone in its worries over AI. 
US President Joe Biden issued an executive order on AI safety standards in October and, while Europe is on track for the first broad law covering the sector, Chinese legislation specifically regulating generative AI came into force in August this year.

Penalties for violations

One of the main stumbling blocks during negotiations was how to regulate general-purpose AI systems such as ChatGPT. 
Some member states feared too much regulation would hurt the growth of European champions like Germany's Aleph Alpha or France's Mistral AI.
French digital minister Jean-Noel Barrot said France would "carefully analyse the compromise" agreed and ensure that it "preserves Europe's capacity to develop its own artificial intelligence technologies".
The agreement includes a two-tier approach, with transparency requirements for all general-purpose AI models and tougher requirements for the more powerful models.
Another sticking point had been over remote biometric surveillance -- basically, facial identification through camera data in public places. Governments wanted exceptions for law enforcement and national security purposes.
While the agreement has a ban on real-time facial recognition, there will be a limited number of exemptions.
But not everyone was happy with the agreement.
"Regrettably speed seems to have prevailed over quality, with potentially disastrous consequences for the European economy," said Daniel Friedlaender, Europe chief at CCIA, one of the main tech lobbying groups.
"It might even end up chasing away the European champions that the EU so desperately wants to empower," said CCIA Europe's policy manager, Boniface de Champris.
The EU will be able to monitor and sanction those who violate the law through a new body called the EU AI office that will be attached to the commission.
The office will have the power to slap a fine worth seven percent of a company's turnover or 35 million euros, whichever is larger.
aro-raz/dc/leg

AI

Learn to forget? How to rein in a rogue chatbot

BY JOSEPH BOYLE

  • With scientific research in its infancy and regulation almost non-existent, Brian Hood -- who is a fan of AI despite his ChatGPT experience -- suggested we were still in the era of old-fashioned solutions.
  • When Australian politician Brian Hood noticed ChatGPT was telling people he was a convicted criminal, he took the old-fashioned route and threatened legal action against the AI chatbot's maker, OpenAI. His case raised a potentially huge problem with such AI programs: what happens when they get stuff wrong in a way that causes real-world harm?
  • With scientific research in its infancy and regulation almost non-existent, Brian Hood -- who is a fan of AI despite his ChatGPT experience -- suggested we were still in the era of old-fashioned solutions.
When Australian politician Brian Hood noticed ChatGPT was telling people he was a convicted criminal, he took the old-fashioned route and threatened legal action against the AI chatbot's maker, OpenAI.
His case raised a potentially huge problem with such AI programs: what happens when they get stuff wrong in a way that causes real-world harm?
Chatbots are based on AI models trained on vast amounts of data and retraining them is hugely expensive and time consuming, so scientists are looking at more targeted solutions.
Hood said he talked to OpenAI who "weren't particularly helpful".
But his complaint, which made global headlines in April, was largely resolved when a new version of their software was rolled out and did not return the same falsehood -- though he never received an explanation.
"Ironically, the vast amount of publicity my story received actually corrected the public record," Hood, mayor of the town of Hepburn in Victoria, told AFP this week.
OpenAI did not respond to requests for comment.
Hood might have struggled to make a defamation charge stick, as it is unclear how many people could see results in ChatGPT or even if they would see the same results.
But firms like Google and Microsoft are rapidly rewiring their search engines with AI technology.
It seems likely they will be inundated with takedown requests from people like Hood, as well as over copyright infringements.
While they can delete individual entries from a search engine index, things are not so simple with AI models.
To respond to such issues, a group of scientists is forging a new field called "machine unlearning" that tries to train algorithms to "forget" offending chunks of data. 

'Cool tool'

One expert in the field, Meghdad Kurmanji from Warwick University in Britain, told AFP the topic had started getting real traction in the last three or four years.
Among those taking note has been Google DeepMind, the AI branch of the trillion-dollar Californian behemoth.
Google experts co-wrote a paper with Kurmanji published last month that proposed an algorithm to scrub selected data from large language models -- the algorithms that underpin the likes of ChatGPT and Google's Bard chatbot.
Google also launched a competition in June for others to refine unlearning methods, which so far has attracted more than 1,000 participants.
Kurmanji said unlearning could be a "very cool tool" for search engines to manage takedown requests under data privacy laws, for example.
He also said his algorithm had scored well in tests for removing copyrighted material and fixing bias.
However, Silicon Valley elites are not universally excited.
Yann LeCun, AI chief at Facebook-owner Meta, which is also pouring billions into AI tech, told AFP the idea of machine unlearning was far down his list of priorities.
"I'm not saying it's useless, uninteresting, or wrong," he said of the paper authored by Kurmanji and others. "But I think there are more important and urgent topics."
LeCun said he was focused on making algorithms learn quicker and retrieve facts more efficiently rather than teaching them to forget.

'No panacea'

But there appears to be broad acceptance in academia that AI firms will need to be able to remove information from their models to comply with laws like the EU's data protection regulation (GDPR).
"The ability to remove data from training sets is a critical aspect moving forward," said Lisa Given from RMIT University in Melbourne Australia.
However, she pointed out that so much was unknown about the way models worked -- and even what datasets they were trained on -- that a solution could be a long way away.
Michael Rovatsos of Edinburgh University could also see similar technical issues arising, particularly if a company was bombarded with takedown requests.
He added that unlearning did nothing to resolve wider questions about the AI industry, like how the data is gathered, who profits from its use or who takes responsibility for algorithms that cause harm. 
"The technical solution isn't the panacea," he said. 
With scientific research in its infancy and regulation almost non-existent, Brian Hood -- who is a fan of AI despite his ChatGPT experience -- suggested we were still in the era of old-fashioned solutions.
"When it comes to these chatbots generating rubbish, users just need to double check everything," he said.
jxb/rl

games

Epic Games, Lego join forces for latest 'Fortnite' game

  • While the setting resembles that of the original Fortnite game, first launched in 2017, the playable space in the Lego version is 19 times as big.
  • Toy giant Lego and videogame leader Epic Games joined forces Thursday to launch "Lego Fortnite" in a bid to grow a platform already used by hundreds of millions of people.
  • While the setting resembles that of the original Fortnite game, first launched in 2017, the playable space in the Lego version is 19 times as big.
Toy giant Lego and videogame leader Epic Games joined forces Thursday to launch "Lego Fortnite" in a bid to grow a platform already used by hundreds of millions of people.
The game, which like prior Fortnite offerings is free to download, features the colorful animated landscape familiar to gamers but with figures who come from the Danish company's distinct universe.
While the setting resembles that of the original Fortnite game, first launched in 2017, the playable space in the Lego version is 19 times as big.
In the original Fortnite "Battle Royale," players win by eliminating competitors and remaining the sole survivor on the island.
The Lego game has two options, with the "survival" mode pitting contestants against skeletons and menacing wolf-life figures and the more innocuous "sandbox" option lacking such threats and geared towards younger users.
Thursday's announcement marks the first significant project between Lego and Epic since the company announced in April 2022 that it, along with Sony, would invest $2 billion in the North Carolina company.
The game's designers ensured that all the settings and characters who appear in the game could be built in the real world with Lego pieces.
"We are starting to build a real bridge between the physical and the digital world, which in a way ... has never been done before," said Julia Goldin, chief product and marketing officer at Lego.
Lego also sees an opportunity to "invite a lot more committed digital players to experience the physical world of Lego bricks," Goldin said.
Adam Sussman, president of Epic Games, predicted broad interest for the game. 
"This is really a product that is going to attract lots of kids but we also think it will attract teens and adults as well," Sussman said.
Lego Fortnite will compete with massively popular videogames such as Minecraft or Animal Crossing.
"For the industry, it's great to have many hits, not a single hit," Sussman said. "When something is very popular, like this particular genre, the walls are very wide, (and) there's massive opportunities for innovation."
tu-jmb/des

regulation

EU to resume negotiations on world's first AI law on Friday

  • Even if the negotiators seal a deal on Friday, the law would not come into force until 2026 at the earliest.
  • The European Union failed to clinch a deal Thursday on a sweeping law on artificial intelligence after nearly 24 hours of negotiations, but vowed to continue talks the next day.
  • Even if the negotiators seal a deal on Friday, the law would not come into force until 2026 at the earliest.
The European Union failed to clinch a deal Thursday on a sweeping law on artificial intelligence after nearly 24 hours of negotiations, but vowed to continue talks the next day.
Brussels wants to approve the world's first comprehensive AI law before the end of 2023 after the issue took on greater urgency when the ChatGPT bot dazzled the world last year, showcasing AI's rapid advances.
ChatGPT surprised many with its ability to produce eloquent essays and poems within seconds from simple user prompts.
Despite the technology's potential to transform labour and healthcare, critics point to the rising risks of disinformation and misuse from AI including deepfake images.
Negotiators from the European Parliament and EU member states began discussions on Wednesday afternoon, with ambitious hopes that they would finalise an agreement in the early hours of Thursday at the latest.
"Lots of progress made over past 22 hours on the AI Act. Resuming work with EU Parliament and Council tomorrow at 9:00 AM (0800 GMT). Stay tuned!" the EU's internal market commissioner, Thierry Breton, said on social media.
There is no real deadline, but senior EU figures have invested a lot of political capital in finalising the legal text by Thursday morning.
Even if the negotiators seal a deal on Friday, the law would not come into force until 2026 at the earliest.
There are two areas of division between the member states and parliament.
The first sticking point is over how to regulate so-called foundation models -- designed to perform a variety of tasks -- with France, Germany and Italy calling for theses systems to be excluded from the tougher parts of the law.
Some member states agree that regulation must limit the damage that can result from the misuse of AI but still want to encourage innovation, especially since they want their own European champions, like US-based ChatGPT's creator OpenAI.
Another sticking point is remote biometric surveillance -- basically, facial identification through camera data in public places.  
The EU parliament wants a full ban on "real time" remote biometric identification systems, but some member states want exceptions to allow the technology to be used for law enforcement.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, first proposed an AI law in 2021 that would regulate systems based on the level of risk they posed. For example, the greater the risk to citizens' rights or health, the greater the systems' obligations.
Tech titans, including Google and Meta, are also seeking a slice of the AI pie.
The EU is not alone in its concerns over the impact and influence of AI.
US President Joe Biden issued an executive order in October to regulate AI in a bid to mitigate the technology's risks.
China also put into force regulations on artificial intelligence-generated content in August this year.
raz/dc/rl

bitcoin

Bitcoin rally shines spotlight on investor risks

BY LUCIE LEQUIER

  • Bitcoin this week reached above $44,000 for the first time since April last year, yet still remains far from a record-peak of almost $69,000 in 2021. 
  • A much-anticipated US approval of wider bitcoin trading has helped the world's biggest cryptocurrency reach 20-month heights, risking however pain for new investors unaccustomed to its volatility.
  • Bitcoin this week reached above $44,000 for the first time since April last year, yet still remains far from a record-peak of almost $69,000 in 2021. 
A much-anticipated US approval of wider bitcoin trading has helped the world's biggest cryptocurrency reach 20-month heights, risking however pain for new investors unaccustomed to its volatility.
Bitcoin this week reached above $44,000 for the first time since April last year, yet still remains far from a record-peak of almost $69,000 in 2021. 
The recent surge has been driven by speculation around the creation of a so-called exchange-traded fund for the asset, which would directly track the price of bitcoin.
Spot bitcoin ETF would allow more of the general public to invest in the cryptocurrency without having to directly buy it.
"The introduction of bitcoin ETFs has the potential to improve market accessibility for institutional and non-professional investors, by providing (them) with a regulated path," Jeff Billingham, director of strategic initiatives at crypto group Chainalysis told AFP.

New investors

While bitcoin and rival digital tokens are attracting new younger investors, the Pew Research Center in March reported that overall, only 17 percent of US adults had invested in or used cryptocurrency.
This was largely unchanged compared with the previous two years.
When looking at young adults, they appear to hold a greater interest in cryptocurrency compared with traditional investors, according to French data.
A total 54 percent of new retail investors in France own cryptocurrency compared with 25 percent of traditional ones, according to a study published last month by French financial watchdog AMF.
Simon Peters, market analyst for eToro, said that while he could not comment on rival platforms, his company has witnessed a recent "uplift in crypto activity".
It appears some investors have not been put off by recent scandals within the sector, notably the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX empire, which sent prices crashing at the end of last year.
"There are no more scandals in crypto than in traditional finance," said Thomas, a 36-year old worker in logistics.
The problem lies in a "professional market made open to amateurs" attracted by "hype" and "unable to master the technical side", he told AFP.
Christian, a 30 year-old marketing consultant, said it was like "playing the lottery" when he "made all the mistakes" on entering the crypto arena in 2021.
He recalled investing in about 30 cryptocurrencies ahead of their launch and "without really knowing what it was all about".
Only a minority of them actually saw the light of day and Christian said he ended up losing "a five-figure sum".
Molly White, founder of the "Web3 is going just great" blog where she documents wrongdoing in the crypto industry, said more awareness on crypto's volatility is needed. 
"There are some companies that are selling cryptocurrencies with absolutely no disclosures to investors."
White said that with crypto "there's really no asset. There's no underlying product or service or feature there that is driving the price. It's really just the hype and the attention". 
Some analysts said crypto has gained popularity as the dollar weakens on expectations of cuts to US interest rates next year.
Bitcoin has won support also ahead of "halving" due in April, when the amount of tokens rewarded from mining drops by 50 percent.
For White, talk of crypto is "not so much describing something that is happening or has happened, but it's actually just an attempt to convince people that they need to get in now to get crypto before they're too late".
lul-bcp/rl

China

Bitzlato founder pleads guilty to running 'criminal' US crypto exchange

  • "Legkodymov's guilty plea today confirms that he was well aware that Bitzlato, his cryptocurrency exchange, was being used like an open turnstile by criminals eager to take advantage of his lax controls over illicit money transactions," US Attorney Breon Peace said.
  • The Russian founder of the Bitzlato cryptocurrency exchange pleaded guilty on Wednesday to operating a money transfer business that accepted illicit funds.
  • "Legkodymov's guilty plea today confirms that he was well aware that Bitzlato, his cryptocurrency exchange, was being used like an open turnstile by criminals eager to take advantage of his lax controls over illicit money transactions," US Attorney Breon Peace said.
The Russian founder of the Bitzlato cryptocurrency exchange pleaded guilty on Wednesday to operating a money transfer business that accepted illicit funds.
Anatoly Legkodymov, 41, also known as "Gandalf," faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, the Justice Department said in a statement.
As part of his plea agreement, Legkodymov agreed to dissolve Hong Kong-based Bitzlato and renounce any claim to $23 million in seized assets.
"Bitzlato advertised a safe haven for fraudsters, thieves, and other criminals to launder illicit proceeds -— but their business model didn't account for federal law enforcement," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said.
According to court filings, Bitzlato required minimal identification from its users and became a "haven for criminal proceeds and funds intended for use in criminal activity."
"Legkodymov's guilty plea today confirms that he was well aware that Bitzlato, his cryptocurrency exchange, was being used like an open turnstile by criminals eager to take advantage of his lax controls over illicit money transactions," US Attorney Breon Peace said.
According to the Justice Department, Bitzlato received millions of dollars worth of proceeds from ransomware.
Its largest partner for transactions was Hydra Market, an anonymous, illicit online marketplace on the "darknet" that was shut down by the US and German authorities last year.
The secret "darknet" includes websites that can be accessed only with specific software or authorizations, ensuring anonymity for users.
Users of Hydra Market exchanged more than $700 million worth of cryptocurrency with Bitzlato, according to US officials.
Legkodymov, who lived in Shenzhen, China, was arrested in Miami in January as part of an international operation that also included arrests, mainly of Russian and Ukrainian nationals, in Spain, Portugal and Cyprus.
cl/dw

children

Lawsuit says Meta exposes children to exploitation

  • "Facebook and Instagram are a breeding ground for predators who target children for human trafficking, the distribution of sexual images, grooming, and solicitation," the suit argued.
  • The US state of New Mexico filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Facebook and Instagram of being a "breeding ground" for predators who target children.
  • "Facebook and Instagram are a breeding ground for predators who target children for human trafficking, the distribution of sexual images, grooming, and solicitation," the suit argued.
The US state of New Mexico filed a lawsuit Wednesday accusing Facebook and Instagram of being a "breeding ground" for predators who target children.
The new suit comes less than two months after dozens of US states accused Facebook and Instagram owner Meta of profiting "from children's pain," damaging their mental health and misleading people about the safety of its platforms.
In total more than 40 states are suing Meta, though some opted to file in local courts rather than join in the federal case.
"Our investigation into Meta's social media platforms demonstrates that they are not safe spaces for children but rather prime locations for predators to trade child pornography and solicit minors for sex," New Mexico attorney general Raul Torrez said in a statement.
Children can easily evade Facebook and Instagram age constraints by lying about how old they are, the suit charged, detailing examples.
Once on the social networks, children are targeted by Meta software that not only strives to keep them engaged but directs inappropriate material their way, according to the filing.
"Facebook and Instagram are a breeding ground for predators who target children for human trafficking, the distribution of sexual images, grooming, and solicitation," the suit argued.
The complaint cited the example of a 12-year-old who opened a Facebook account by giving a bogus birthdate and was quickly recommended content related to masturbation, nudity, bondage and fetishism.
"Child exploitation is a horrific crime and online predators are determined criminals," a Meta spokesperson said in response to an AFP inquiry.
Meta's fight against predators includes using sophisticated technology, employing child safety experts, reporting content to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and sharing information with other companies and law enforcement agencies, the spokesperson added.
Meta disabled more than 500,000 accounts in August alone for violating its child safety policies, according to a task force at the company dedicated to the effort.
Child victims of abuse online are a hot-button issue for regulators and tech companies are eager to show they are taking adequate measures to protect kids and teens.
Big tech companies, including Meta and Google, said last month they would team up in a new program to fight online child sexual abuse or exploitation.
In the new program, called Lantern, companies will share signs of activity that violate their policies on child exploitation so that platforms can move more quickly to detect, take down and report problematic content.
The announcement of Lantern came on the same day that a former Meta senior engineer told a Senate hearing in Washington that top executives, including Mark Zuckerberg, ignored his warnings that teens were unsafe on the company's platforms.
Zuckerberg is named as a defendant in the suit filed by New Mexico.
gc/arp

technology

Google looks to take generative AI lead with Gemini

BY GLENN CHAPMAN

  • Google in September integrated Gmail, YouTube and other tools into its Bard chatbot as tech giants seek to persuade users that generative AI is useful and not dangerous or just a fad.
  • Google on Wednesday infused its Bard chatbot with a new-generation artificial intelligence model called Gemini, which it touts as being able to reason better than ChatGPT and other rivals.
  • Google in September integrated Gmail, YouTube and other tools into its Bard chatbot as tech giants seek to persuade users that generative AI is useful and not dangerous or just a fad.
Google on Wednesday infused its Bard chatbot with a new-generation artificial intelligence model called Gemini, which it touts as being able to reason better than ChatGPT and other rivals.
The search engine juggernaut is aiming to take the generative AI lead from ChatGPT-maker OpenAI as that company deals with the aftermath of a boardroom coup that saw chief executive Sam Altman fired and then rehired within a matter of days.
Google has for years discreetly developed AI powers but was caught off guard when OpenAI late last year released ChatGPT and teamed up with Microsoft to make its capabilities available to users worldwide.
"This is incredible momentum, and yet, we're only beginning to scratch the surface of what's possible," Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said in a release.
"This new era of models represents one of the biggest science and engineering efforts we've undertaken as a company."
It is the first AI model to outperform human experts in certain benchmarks involving problem solving, math, physics, history, law, medicine and ethics, Google DeepMind vice president of product Eli Collins said during a briefing.
A demonstration showed Gemini recognizing what it was shown, from a person acting out a "Matrix" movie scene to someone drawing a duck and then holding up a rubber duck.
Gemini commented on what it was shown, making comparisons, drawing conclusions, and offering suggestions.
Performance of an "Ultra" version of Gemini "far exceeds" that of other state-of-the-art models in 30 benchmark tests measuring capabilities such as image understanding or mathematical reasoning, according to Collins.
A "Pro" version of Gemini built into Bard is designed to handle a wide range of tasks. A "Nano" version is tailored for smartphones, coming first to Google's top-of-the-line Pixel 8 handset.
Google raced out its own Bard chatbot earlier this year, continually updating the chatbot based on people's feedback, according to Bard vice president Sissie Hsiao.
"All of that rapid innovation is bringing us to what we see as a truly transformative moment," Hsiao said during the briefing.
"With Gemini, Bard is getting its biggest upgrade yet."

AI collaborator

Bard will use Gemini for more advanced reasoning, planning, and understanding capabilities, a demonstration showed.
It will be available in English in more than 170 countries and territories, with more languages added soon, according to Hsiao.
Gemini-infused Bard will be expanded to be "multi-modal," meaning it will be able to work with auditory and visual input as well as text prompts, executives said.
"With Gemini we are one step closer to our vision of bringing you the best AI collaborator in the world," Hsiao said.
Gemini ramps up the quality of Bard's performance, whether in writing poetry or computer code to shopping queries or research projects, according to Hsiao.
The "Ultra" version of Gemini designed to handle highly complex tasks will be released early next year, Google said.
"I'm in awe of what it's capable of," Collins said of Gemini.
"This is the start of a new era for us at Google as we continue to rapidly innovate and advance the model's capabilities."
Google in September integrated Gmail, YouTube and other tools into its Bard chatbot as tech giants seek to persuade users that generative AI is useful and not dangerous or just a fad.
Those capabilities closely match offerings from Microsoft that infuse its Office 365 apps with AI powers, though those come at an extra cost to customers and are not available through the chatbot on its search engine Bing.
The staying power of generative AI chatbots, once the initial excitement has faded, is yet to be confirmed.
Moreover, integration of the OpenAI-based chatbot into Microsoft's search engine earlier this year failed to make an impact on Google's overwhelming dominance of search.
Governments and tech companies however insist that generative AI is technology's next big chapter and have ramped up spending on new products, research, and infrastructure.
gc/arp/mlm

internet

Twitch to shut down in SKorea over 'seriously' high fees

  • "The cost of running Twitch in South Korea is currently seriously high," said the statement.
  • US-based streaming platform Twitch said Wednesday it would stop its service in South Korea in February because of "seriously high" network costs, dealing a blow to millions of users in one of the heartlands of e-sports.
  • "The cost of running Twitch in South Korea is currently seriously high," said the statement.
US-based streaming platform Twitch said Wednesday it would stop its service in South Korea in February because of "seriously high" network costs, dealing a blow to millions of users in one of the heartlands of e-sports.
The Amazon-owned company said in a statement signed by CEO Dan Clancy that costs were 10 times higher than most other countries, making it impossible to continue operating.
South Korea allows internet service providers to charge data-heavy companies like Twitch extra fees, which has already led to a long dispute with Netflix. 
Big telecom firms in Europe have pushed for a similar deal, which they call "fair share", but an EU consultation concluded in October that the idea was not popular. 
Twitch said it had tried to lower its costs by reducing the maximum video quality but it was still losing money and would pull out of the country on February 27.
"The cost of running Twitch in South Korea is currently seriously high," said the statement.

'Stellar player'

Twitch, acquired by Amazon in 2014 for close to $1 billion, gained significant traction among gamers in South Korea.
The firm does not publish user numbers but it was widely reported in 2021 to have six million users in South Korea, more than four percent of its global total.
The country is known for its passionate, competitive, and dedicated gaming community, as well as its megastar Faker -- a gamer hailed as the Michael Jordan of e-sports.
"We would like to reiterate that this was a very difficult decision, and one that all of us at Twitch are deeply saddened by," the company's Wednesday statement said.
"South Korea has always been a stellar player in the global e-sports community and will continue to do so."
Shares in South Korean video streaming service Afreeca TV, Twitch's competitor, soared almost 30 percent in afternoon trading in Seoul.
Some of the country's Twitch users were devastated by the news.
One streamer, yummy_2 said: "It feels like losing my job right now."

Biden vs Trump

Netflix was the first major international firm to cry foul over South Korea's rules on network fees, getting entangled in lawsuits with SK Broadband, one of South Korea's biggest internet service providers.
However, the two firms announced in September they would drop the legal cases and would now instead "collaborate as partners for the future".
While the usage fees are a boon to telecom companies, they are bitterly opposed by tech platforms around the world.
European lawmakers and digital rights activists also argue such an arrangement could break rules on net neutrality, whereby telecoms firms are barred from selling faster internet speeds to particular companies.
The issue has been at the heart of a years-long dispute in the United States with former President Donald Trump rolling back net neutrality rules and his successor Joe Biden struggling to restore them.
cdl-jxb/rl

strike

Washington Post staff to strike on Thursday

  • The labor action at the Post follows a strike earlier this year at America's largest newspaper publisher, Gannett, and a 24-hour action by New York Times staff a year ago.
  • Hundreds of staff at The Washington Post, one of America's most storied newspapers, will walk off the job for 24 hours Thursday, their union announced, slamming the company for refusing to negotiate a contract "in good faith."
  • The labor action at the Post follows a strike earlier this year at America's largest newspaper publisher, Gannett, and a 24-hour action by New York Times staff a year ago.
Hundreds of staff at The Washington Post, one of America's most storied newspapers, will walk off the job for 24 hours Thursday, their union announced, slamming the company for refusing to negotiate a contract "in good faith."
The strike comes after 18 months of failed talks to reach a new deal over pay, remote work, and other conditions -- and after the daily, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, warned more layoffs were possible.
Labor unions are galvanized in America's tight labor market, with everyone from Hollywood writers and actors to auto workers to baristas taking their grievances to the picket line in recent months.
"Taking this historic action is not a decision we came to lightly," the Washington Post Guild said in a letter to readers announcing the work stoppage.
It said management had "refused to bargain in good faith and repeatedly -- and illegally -- shut down negotiations over key issues" including pay, mental health support for staff and buyouts.
"The Post cannot stay competitive, retain the best talent or produce the kind of elite journalism you rely on without giving its staff a fair deal."
The Post Guild represents about 1,000 staff -- both newsroom and commercial employees, according to its website. In October, a Post report about plans for 240 voluntary buyouts said the company had roughly 2,500 employees.
The union did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the specific number of staff expected to join the picket line. 
The New York Times reported on December 1 that more than 700 members had so signed the strike pledge.
Traditional US media have struggled in recent years as readers turn to social media platforms and advertising revenues have plummeted.
The labor action at the Post follows a strike earlier this year at America's largest newspaper publisher, Gannett, and a 24-hour action by New York Times staff a year ago.
Workers at the Associated Press staged a "short break" last month over their lack of contract. Their guild has rejected a two percent raise offered by management.
sst/dw

hacking

23andMe says hackers saw data from millions of users

  • Of the 6.9 million accounts hacked, 5.5 million contained information on genetic matches and may have also included birth dates and locations if provided by users, according to 23andMe. An additional 1.4 million of the hacked accounts had limited access to some DNA profile information as part of the "Family Tree" feature, the spokesperson said. 23andMe was founded in 2006 and is based in Mountain View, California, where Google also has its headquarters. gc/md
  • Personal genetics firm 23andMe on Tuesday confirmed that hackers using stolen passwords accessed the personal information about 6.9 million of its members.
  • Of the 6.9 million accounts hacked, 5.5 million contained information on genetic matches and may have also included birth dates and locations if provided by users, according to 23andMe. An additional 1.4 million of the hacked accounts had limited access to some DNA profile information as part of the "Family Tree" feature, the spokesperson said. 23andMe was founded in 2006 and is based in Mountain View, California, where Google also has its headquarters. gc/md
Personal genetics firm 23andMe on Tuesday confirmed that hackers using stolen passwords accessed the personal information about 6.9 million of its members.
While the hackers were only able to get into about 14,000 accounts, or 0.1 percent of its customers, they were able to see information shared by genetically linked relatives at 23andMe, a spokesperson said in reply to an AFP inquiry.
23andMe is in the process of notifying affected customers and has hardened account security by requiring users to reset passwords and set up a second authentication method such as sending a temporary code to a mobile phone, according to the spokesperson.
In early October, 23andMe detected that data thieves had gotten into accounts safeguarded by login details recycled from other websites that had been compromised, the company said.
"We do not have any indication that there has been a breach or data security incident within our systems, or that 23andMe was the source of the account credentials used in these attacks," the spokesperson said. 
Of the 6.9 million accounts hacked, 5.5 million contained information on genetic matches and may have also included birth dates and locations if provided by users, according to 23andMe.
An additional 1.4 million of the hacked accounts had limited access to some DNA profile information as part of the "Family Tree" feature, the spokesperson said.
23andMe was founded in 2006 and is based in Mountain View, California, where Google also has its headquarters.
gc/md

games

'Bad buzz': How video games learnt to embrace diversity

BY YASSINE KHIRI

  • Grand Theft Auto has often been a lightning rod for criticism but the wider industry has hardly been a beacon of light. 
  • The most notorious, violent and often sexist video game "Grand Theft Auto" is finally dropping a playable woman character into its testosterone-fuelled world, capping a wider trend towards more inclusivity in the gaming industry. 
  • Grand Theft Auto has often been a lightning rod for criticism but the wider industry has hardly been a beacon of light. 
The most notorious, violent and often sexist video game "Grand Theft Auto" is finally dropping a playable woman character into its testosterone-fuelled world, capping a wider trend towards more inclusivity in the gaming industry. 
The pressure is coming from players demanding wider representation and from a new generation of game designers sensitive to the issue.
The result is "Lucia", who featured in a trailer released on Tuesday for the "Grand Theft Auto VI" game that will be released in 2025.
Grand Theft Auto has often been a lightning rod for criticism but the wider industry has hardly been a beacon of light. 
Major sex-harassment scandals engulfed video gaming companies Activision Blizzard and Ubisoft in recent years. 
And activists have long complained of a lack of diversity among staff at gaming companies and often stereotyped depictions of minorities within games.
The industry, however, has listened and change is coming. 
Ashley Reed, lead writer at Respawn Entertainment for the "Apex Legends" game, said the industry was "becoming more aware" of how women in particular were objectified.
She said: "A lot of the people who are working in games now are people who grew up with video games, saw that and said: 'That doesn't appeal to me'."
- 'Inclusive hairstyles' -  
Studios desperate to avoid public shaming have begun to employ sensitivity readers to make sure content is respectful to different cultures –- though critics regard them as akin to censors.  
The studios are also hiring inclusion managers to promote recruitment from diverse backgrounds and inject more knowledge into their creative teams -- Ubisoft began this in 2021.
"My role is really to explain to them how their ideas will be perceived, and how they can avoid falling into traps that can create stereotypes," says Jennifer Lufau, a French video game inclusion consultant. 
Lufau, who is also founder of Afrogameuses, an association advocating for better representation of black women in the video game industry, said the major studios are asking themselves real questions about inclusivity. 
"The trigger comes mainly from the players," she said. 
She cites as an example the "bad buzz" around "Animal Crossing", Nintendo's social interaction game, which rocketed in popularity during Covid lockdowns.
A woman from Denver in the US, Taniesha Bracken, launched an online petition in 2020 when she noticed her black character could not choose to have afro hair. 
Tens of thousands joined her and eventually Nintendo changed their options.
"I can't believe it, but Nintendo listened to us," wrote Bracken at the time. "We got more inclusive hairstyles! I cried when I found out."

'Find our difference'

 
Although big studios have the money and resources, the impetus for change is often felt earlier in the smaller, independent studios. 
"You can't compete with the very big studios on their home turf," said Oskar Guilbert of the French studio Don't Nod. 
His studio caused a sensation in 2015 with the "Life is Strange" series for its groundbreaking representation of LGBTQ+ characters. 
"We have to find our difference, and that's how we found it," he said. 
He said the game was rejected repeatedly before Japanese publisher Square Enix took a chance. 
Native languages and indigenous peoples are also highlighted by Don't Nod. 
Alaskan Tlingit people feature in the game "Tell Me Why" and one of the actors in "Banishers" took lessons in Scots Gaelic to make sure he got the pronunciations right. 
But not everyone is happy with the greater sensitivity in games. 
British YouTuber HeelvsBabyface went viral in September with a rant about Starfield, a game that allows players to choose their gender and their pronoun. 
He accused the game-makers of dragging players away from the immersive world with "pronouns, gender ambiguity" and "current Californian bullshit".
yk/jxb/bc

games

'Grand Theft Auto VI' trailer drops, flagging 2025 release

BY GLENN CHAPMAN

  • The video, released earlier than scheduled after a version leaked online, racked up more than 60 million views on YouTube within 12 hours, smashing the site's record for views of a non-music video. 
  • Millions of video game fans got their first glimpse Tuesday of "Grand Theft Auto VI", after a trailer landed on YouTube promising the first woman lead character and a 2025 release date for the latest instalment of one of the world's biggest entertainment franchises. 
  • The video, released earlier than scheduled after a version leaked online, racked up more than 60 million views on YouTube within 12 hours, smashing the site's record for views of a non-music video. 
Millions of video game fans got their first glimpse Tuesday of "Grand Theft Auto VI", after a trailer landed on YouTube promising the first woman lead character and a 2025 release date for the latest instalment of one of the world's biggest entertainment franchises. 
Fans have waited a decade for news of a follow-up to 2013's GTA V, an industry phenomenon that has sold 190 million units and become the second-biggest game of all time after Minecraft. 
The GTA VI trailer focused on a character named Lucia, freshly freed from prison in a Florida-like setting -- making her the first playable woman character in a franchise long criticized for its depiction of women, minorities and LGBTQ people. 
The video, released earlier than scheduled after a version leaked online, racked up more than 60 million views on YouTube within 12 hours, smashing the site's record for views of a non-music video. 
"Our trailer has leaked so please watch the real thing," Rockstar Games, the studio behind GTA posted late on Monday on X, formerly Twitter. 
The trailer features an alligator walking into a corner store, a woman twerking on the roof of a moving car, and the usual police raids and criminal goings-on that the game has long depicted.
"I feel like this GTA will lean much more into the absurdity of America, much more than GTA V did," wrote a user on a fan forum on the Reddit platform.
And the forums lit up after the trailer hinted that Lucia will go on a crime spree with a male partner.
"Major Bonnie and Clyde vibes," a Reddit user posted, referencing the bank-robbing couple who revelled in their notoriety in the 1930s.

'Grotesque caricatures'

The GTA franchise has sold a mammoth 410 million units since its launch in 1997, according to Rockstar parent company Take-Two Interactive.
GTA V and its online multiplayer version have brought in nearly $10 billion in revenue, estimated analyst Nick McKay at Wedbush Securities, figures that seal its place as one of the most profitable entertainment franchises in the world.
But its wild success has brought waves of controversies.
From the start, critics have accused the series of glorifying violence and encouraging players to engage in criminal behavior -- allegations Take-Two executives have denied.
GTA V players can sell drugs, fight and steal to their hearts' content, with gameplay options also including assaulting prostitutes and going to strip clubs. 
GTA V included transgender characters, but "they were sex workers that were grotesque caricatures of transgender women," said Blair Durkee, associate director of gaming at nonprofit LGBTQ advocacy organization GLAAD.
Videos of players beating trans characters with baseball bats in the game can readily be found online, according to Durkee.
"We certainly hope that GTA VI will reflect a more inclusive attitude toward LGBTQ characters and players," Durkee said.
The game has also been hit particularly hard with leaks and hacks. 
Some 90 pieces of footage of GTA VI as well as some of the code were stolen and leaked online last year in one of the industry's biggest hacks.
This week, the game makers were keen to stick to the technical achievements rather than controversies, Take-Two announcing in a statement the sixth episode would be the "most immersive evolution of the Grand Theft Auto series yet".
The game will take place in the state of Leonida, Take-Two said, home to the "neon-soaked streets" of Vice City -- a stand in for Miami and the main setting of a previous episode of the game.
"Grand Theft Auto VI continues our efforts to push the limits of what's possible in highly immersive, story-driven open-world experiences," Rockstar founder Sam Houser said in a statement.
gc-arp/jxb/rox

games

Grand Theft Auto VI: What we learned from the trailer

BY QASIM NAUMAN

  • This is a fictional version of Miami, Florida, where the 2002 hit "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" was based.
  • Fans around the world exploded with excitement Monday when Rockstar Games released the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI -- the most hotly anticipated game of the decade.
  • This is a fictional version of Miami, Florida, where the 2002 hit "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" was based.
Fans around the world exploded with excitement Monday when Rockstar Games released the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI -- the most hotly anticipated game of the decade.
The first look at the next instalment in the blockbuster series follows years of feverish speculation about the setting, characters and atmosphere of GTA VI.
What does the game look like?
The trailer shows Vice City, in the state of Leonida, in breathtaking detail -- a major upgrade from the graphics in GTA V, released 10 years ago.
This is a fictional version of Miami, Florida, where the 2002 hit "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City" was based.
Set to "Love Is a Long Road" by Tom Petty, the video contains all that people across the globe have come to love -- or hate -- about GTA: high-octane chases in fast cars, a vast open world rendered in rich detail, scantily clad women, and numerous references poking fun at social media culture.
Sam Houser, Rockstar's founder, said GTA VI "continues our efforts to push the limits of what's possible in highly immersive, story-driven open-world experiences".
What is the biggest change?
For the first time, a GTA game will feature a woman as one of the protagonists. Front and centre of the trailer is Lucia, introduced at what appears to be a prison in an orange inmate jumpsuit.
She is later shown partnering with a man -- unnamed in the trailer. The duo are seen breaking into stores wearing masks, and racing away in their car from pursuers.
The introduction of Lucia -- and the focus on her in the trailer -- follows decades of criticism against Rockstar over its depiction of women in its games, in particular the lack of agency and the violence and denigration they suffer.
"From what we can tell at this stage... It is a noteworthy decision, and one that other game companies haven't necessarily made in the past when there's an option between gendered protagonists," Esther Wright, a games historian at Cardiff University, told AFP.
"That said, it instantly looks like the GTA people know and love... this is still very comfortably in Rockstar's wheelhouse," she added.
"We'll have to wait and see whether commitment to the GTA branding, and players' expectation of it, leaves enough space to meaningfully engage with a different perspective."
Who will get to play GTA VI, and when?
If gamers were thrilled by what they saw of GTA VI, they were left slightly frustrated by the release date revealed at the end of the trailer: 2025.
The game will be released on Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X and Series S consoles, Rockstar said.
It did not mention a PC version.
How did fans react?
There appeared to be near-universal praise from fans on social media, and the trailer swiftly became one of the hottest topics online.
"Gave me goosebumps," commented @sachinbhujel909 on YouTube. "We (have) all been waiting for a good part of our life... RIP to the ones who never made it to see this."
In just over 10 hours, the trailer racked up more than 54 million views on YouTube.
It led to speculation that it might challenge for the record number of views in the first 24 hours -- reportedly more than 100 million for the "Butter" music video by K-pop superstars BTS.
GTA VI and related topics became the top trends worldwide on X, formerly Twitter, soon after the trailer was released, inspiring a flood of memes.
Some poked fun at how long they will have to wait to play the game, including users who posted videos of people switching to a healthier lifestyle to survive until 2025.
Wasn't the trailer due on Tuesday?
Rockstar had announced that the trailer would be released at 1400 GMT on Tuesday.
But someone leaked the video nearly a day earlier on X. The account was suspended swiftly but the leak forced the company to share the trailer ahead of schedule.
Some online joked about the fate of the leaker, speculating about how Rockstar -- a famously secretive company -- could punish them.
X user @vidsthatgohard shared an image of an explosion at a house, with the caption: "NOOOOO they got the gta leaker."
AFP has contacted Rockstar for details about the leak.
qan/sco

YouTube

US YouTuber who staged plane crash jailed for six months

BY HUW GRIFFITH

  • The YouTuber told officials he did not know where the plane had gone down.
  • A daredevil YouTuber who deliberately crashed his plane to boost the number of viewers on his channel and then lied about it to investigators has been jailed for six months after reaching a plea deal, US authorities said Monday.
  • The YouTuber told officials he did not know where the plane had gone down.
A daredevil YouTuber who deliberately crashed his plane to boost the number of viewers on his channel and then lied about it to investigators has been jailed for six months after reaching a plea deal, US authorities said Monday.
In a video of the event entitled "I crashed my airplane," Trevor Jacob appears to experience engine trouble while flying over southern California in November 2021.
The dramatic footage, viewed millions of times on YouTube, shows Jacob, now 30, ejecting from the single-engine plane -- selfie stick in hand -- and parachuting into the dense vegetation of Los Padres National Forest. 
Cameras placed all over the aircraft show its out-of-control descent into the forest, and its eventual crash landing.
Jacob, a former Olympic snowboarder, films himself hiking to the wreckage where he appears dismayed to discover the water he packed has disappeared.
He does, however, have the presence of mind to recover the footage from cameras.
He then documents an apparently arduous trek through undergrowth to reach safety.
In the weeks after the incident, investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) launched a probe into the crash, and Jacob was ordered to preserve the wreckage.
The YouTuber told officials he did not know where the plane had gone down.
"In fact, on December 10, 2021, Jacob and a friend flew by helicopter to the wreckage site," the US District Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said Monday.
"There, Jacob used straps to secure the wreckage, which the helicopter lifted and carried to Rancho Sisquoc in Santa Barbara County, where it was loaded onto a trailer attached to Jacob's pickup truck."
The remains of the single engine plane were cut into small pieces and dumped in trash bins in and around Lompoc City Airport, in a bid to hide evidence of the crash.
The FAA, the body that regulates flying in the United States, yanked Jacob's pilot's license in April 2022.
When investigators closed in, Jacob cut a deal and agreed to plead guilty to one count of destruction and concealment with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation.
"Jacob lied to federal investigators when he submitted an aircraft accident incident report that falsely indicated that the aircraft experienced a full loss of power," the US District Attorney's Office said in a statement.
"[Jacob] most likely committed this offense to generate social media and news coverage for himself and to obtain financial gain," federal prosecutors said.
"Nevertheless, this type of 'daredevil' conduct cannot be tolerated."
Jacob's original video, along with several others he posted after the escapade, have now been removed from YouTube, but a copy can be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41iOvFuKsyY
Pilots and aviation experts have been immensely critical of Jacob in the almost two years since the video was initially published.
Many noted that Jacob had failed to take even elementary steps to restart his plane's apparently troubled engine.
Others pointed out that he could easily have safely glided the plane to a landing spot, and that wearing a parachute while flying a small aircraft was highly unusual.
hg/amz/nro

Spotify

Spotify cuts around 1,500 jobs as growth slows

BY PIA OHLIN

  • Ek said the company now finds itself in a very different environment, noting that "economic growth has slowed dramatically and capital has become more expensive."
  • Music streaming giant Spotify said Monday it would reduce its number of employees by around 17 percent in a bid to cut costs amid "dramatically" slower economic growth.
  • Ek said the company now finds itself in a very different environment, noting that "economic growth has slowed dramatically and capital has become more expensive."
Music streaming giant Spotify said Monday it would reduce its number of employees by around 17 percent in a bid to cut costs amid "dramatically" slower economic growth.
The announcement comes on the heels of a rare quarterly net profit of 65 million euros in October, compared to a loss of 166 million for the same period a year earlier, and following 26 percent growth in active users for the third quarter to 574 million.
Around 1,500 people will leave the company, Spotify said.
It was the latest in a series of layoffs announced in the tech industry which is cutting tens of thousands of jobs following a boom during Covid pandemic lockdowns.
"I realise that for many, a reduction of this size will feel surprisingly large given the recent positive earnings report and our performance," chief executive Daniel Ek wrote in a letter to employees, which was seen by AFP.
He said that in 2020 and 2021, the Swedish company "took advantage of the opportunity presented by lower-cost capital and invested significantly in team expansion, content enhancement, marketing and new verticals."
Ek said the company now finds itself in a very different environment, noting that "economic growth has slowed dramatically and capital has become more expensive."
"Despite our efforts to reduce costs this past year, our cost structure for where we need to be is still too big," he added.
Ek said that in 2022 and 2023, Spotify, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was "more productive but less efficient. We need to be both."
The company had "too many people dedicated to supporting work and even doing work around the work rather than contributing to opportunities with real impact."

Outlook changed to Q4 loss

Spotify said the layoffs would lead to charges of around 130-145 million euros in the fourth quarter, primarily consisting of severance-related payments.
The company also updated its fourth quarter outlook to an operating loss in the range of 93-108 million euros, compared to a previously expected profit of 37 million euros.
Spotify did not specify when it expected to see the gains of its job cuts, adding only that they would "generate meaningful operating efficiencies going forward".
Tomas Otterbeck, head of equity research at Stockholm-based investment bank Redeye, told Swedish news agency TT he had been expecting the company to make cuts, "but that they were this big surprised me".
He said he expected the layoffs to mainly hit the research and development department where the company has more than doubled its costs in recent years.
Spotify has invested heavily since its 2006 launch to fuel growth with expansions into new markets and, in later years, exclusive content such as podcasts.
It has invested over one billion dollars into podcasts alone.
In 2017, the company had around 3,000 staff members, more than tripling the figure to around 9,800 at the end of 2022.

'Substantial action' needed

The company has never posted a full-year net profit and only occasionally quarterly profits despite its success in the online music market.
In the third quarter, Spotify registered a 16 percent rise in paying subscribers, which make up the bulk of the company's revenue, to 226 million, despite price hikes.
It said it expected to exceed 600 million active users by the end of the year.
Monday's lay-off announcement was Spotify's third this year.
In January, the company announced around 600 job cuts, followed by another 200 in the podcast division in June.
"We debated making smaller reductions throughout 2024 and 2025," Ek wrote in his letter.
"Yet, considering the gap between our financial goal state and our current operational costs, I decided that a substantial action to rightsize our costs was the best option to accomplish our objectives."
Spotify joins a number of tech firms reducing staff.
British telecom group BT said in May that it will axe up to 55,000 jobs by the end of the decade.
Tech giants Meta and Microsoft have revealed plans to reduce their workforce by as many as 10,000 employees this year.
In January, online retail giant Amazon announced it was cutting over 18,000 jobs worldwide and Google parent company Alphabet announced cuts of around 12,000 people.
po/rl

bitcoin

Bitcoin soars past $40,000 on optimism for US trading approval

  • Bitcoin has also been boosted by hopes that the US Federal Reserve has wrapped up its hiking programme and may cut interest rates next year.
  • Bitcoin on Monday rose past $40,000 for the first time since May last year, boosted by hopes that the United States will soon allow broader trading of the world's biggest cryptocurrency.
  • Bitcoin has also been boosted by hopes that the US Federal Reserve has wrapped up its hiking programme and may cut interest rates next year.
Bitcoin on Monday rose past $40,000 for the first time since May last year, boosted by hopes that the United States will soon allow broader trading of the world's biggest cryptocurrency.
The digital asset has skyrocketed this year, gaining nearly 150 percent, with expectations growing that US regulators will allow the creation of exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
These would track the price of bitcoin and allow the public to invest in the currency without directly purchasing it.
"This idea that institutional money in US capital markets is going to have a legitimate, compliant avenue... the expectations are extremely high that that's really going to take bitcoin to new levels," Lucy Guzmararian, founder of Token Bay Capital, told Bloomberg.
Bitcoin was trading above $40,700 at around 0400 GMT Monday.
The currency remains well below its record value of almost $69,000 in 2020, but the rally marks a recovery following the high-profile scandals and collapses that rocked the crypto industry.
FTX, the world's second-biggest crypto exchange, dramatically went under last year, and its boss Sam Bankman-Fried faces up to 110 years in prison for what prosecutors described as "one of the biggest financial frauds in American history".
And last month, Changpeng "CZ" Zhao stepped down as CEO of Binance -- the world's biggest crypto exchange -- after he and the company pleaded guilty to sweeping money laundering violations.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is re-examining a bitcoin ETF application from asset manager Grayscale, as well as requests from other groups including BlackRock and ArkInvest.
Its first decision is expected to be on Ark Invest's application, by January 10 at the latest.
Bitcoin has also been boosted by hopes that the US Federal Reserve has wrapped up its hiking programme and may cut interest rates next year.
The asset's value has also been driven by the supply crunch expected next year because of an event called "halving".
Bitcoin is created -- or "mined" -- as a reward when powerful computers solve complex problems.
But the amount of bitcoin is limited and every four years, the reward is halved. The next "halving" is due in May 2024.
qan/dan