Daily Archives: May 2, 2023

As St. Pete and the entire Tampa Bay Area continue to grow as a hub for tech companies, one of the industrys leading local organizations is hosting a festival in St. Pete to capitalize on that explosive growth. Tampa Bay Tech announced the return of the PoweredUP Tech Festival, taking place on Wednesday, May 17 from 11 am 6 pm at the Mahaffey Theater.

This half-day event will bring together the local tech community, businesses, startups, and entrepreneurs for a day of education, inspiration, and networking. Tickets are available now, and for a limited time, I Love the Burg readers can get $10 off with the Eventbrite promo code TBTBURG. Attendance is free for students.

The festival is headlined by keynote speaker Sandy Carter, COO of Unstoppable Domains, a leading voice in technology, social media, and the metaverse. With her extensive experience working with tech giants and nonprofits, she will be sharing her insights on the future of tech in her keynote speech titled, The Metaverse Mindset of Web3, AI and the Future of Business.

Attendees will have the opportunity to connect with industry leaders and tech enthusiasts, as well as take a deep dive into the latest trends and technologies in areas like artificial intelligence, blockchain, cybersecurity, digital identity, and tech in all areas from sports to healthcare.

There will also be interactive sessions and panel discussions, as well as a live Hack the Box Capture the Flag competition for attendees to participate in throughout the day, as well as food trucks to keep attendees fueled up.

We are very excited for our 5th Annual PoweredUP Tampa Bay Tech Festival and the opportunity to get the tech community here in Tampa Bay Radically Connected, said Meghan OKeefe, Executive Director of Tampa Bay Tech. This event cant come at a better time with all the exciting new innovations in technology that are rapidly happening, and the continued growth of tech we are seeing here in Tampa Bay. We hope that through the content and speakers, like Sandy Carter, we are able to continue our mission to improve tech advancement, create career development opportunities, and strengthen partnerships in our community to continue to grow Tampa Bay as a tech hub.

The PoweredUP Tech Festival promises to be a unique and valuable event for anyone interested in the future of technology and its impact on different industries. Learn more and get tickets here.

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PoweredUP Tech Festival brings St. Pete's biggest-ever tech ... - I Love the Burg

A promotional image provided by Naver Webtoon.

SEOUL, May 2 (Korea Bizwire) Foreign tech giants are entering the webtoon market, indicating a possible paradigm shift in the Korean-dominated industry.

Last month, Amazon.com, Inc. launched Amazon Fliptoon, a webtoon service, on the Kindle Store. Additionally, Apple Books, an e-book platform powered by Apple Inc., launched a vertical reading manga column.

South Korean webtoonproduction companies such as Kidari Studio andLezhin Comics are currently supplying content to Amazon Fliptoon, while Kenaz is working with Apple Books for web comics.

This indicates that worldwide readers are becoming familiar with the South Korean webtoon system.

South Korea is, in fact, the birthplace of webtoons.

Content-wise, South Koreanweb-based comics have wider channels to engage with Japanese readers. However, the country may lose dominance in the webtoon platform industry.

Unlike K-pop or K-drama, webtoons and their platforms have primarily been led by South Korean companies in the global market.

Nevertheless, the industry is more or less unaffected by the incoming big-tech challengers.

Kim Joon-ku, CEO of Naver Webtoon, stated in an open seminar last month that big-tech companies like Apple and others will struggle to compete with South Korean companies, adding that they already have a large pool of webtoon creators and readers.

South Korean companies have invested considerable time in pooling local creators and have already become the worlds largest platform for both creators and readers.

H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)

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Foreign Tech Giants Challenge S. Korea's Dominance in Webtoon ... - The Korea Bizwire

The European Commission is forcing 19 tech giants including Amazon, Google, TikTok and YouTube to explain their artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms under the Digital Services Act. Asking these businesses platforms and search engines with more than 45 million EU users for this information is a much-needed step towards making AI more transparent and accountable. This will make life better for everyone.

AI is expected to affect every aspect of our lives from healthcare, to education, to what we look at and listen to, and even how how well we write. But AI also generates a lot of fear, often revolving around a god-like computer becoming smarter than us, or the risk that a machine tasked with an innocuous task may inadvertently destroy humanity. More pragmatically, people often wonder if AI will make them redundant.

We have been there before: machines and robots have already replaced many factory workers and bank clerks without leading to the end of work. But AI-based productivity gains come with two novel problems: transparency and accountability. And everyone will lose if we dont think seriously about the best way to address these problems.

Of course, by now we are used to being evaluated by algorithms. Banks use software to check our credit scores before offering us a mortgage, and so do insurance or mobile phone companies. Ride-sharing apps make sure we are pleasant enough before offering us a drive. These evaluations use a limited amount of information, selected by humans: your credit rating depends on your payments history, your Uber rating depends on how previous drivers felt about you.

But new AI-based technologies gather and organise data unsupervised by humans. This means that it is much more complicated to make somebody accountable or indeed to understand what factors were used to arrive at a machine-made rating or decision.

What if you begin to find that no one is calling you back when you apply for a job, or that you are not allowed to borrow money? This could be because of some error about you somewhere on the internet.

In Europe, you have the right to be forgotten and to ask online platforms to remove inaccurate information about you. But it will be hard to find out what the incorrect information is if it comes from an unsupervised algorithm. Most likely, no human will know the exact answer.

If errors are bad, accuracy can be even worse. What would happen for instance if you let an algorithm look at all the data available about you and evaluate your ability to repay a credit?

A high-performance algorithm could infer that, all else being equal, a woman, a member of an ethnic group that tends to be discriminated against, a resident of a poor neighbourhood, somebody that speaks with a foreign accent or who isnt good looking, is less creditworthy.

Research shows that these types of people can expect to earn less than others and are therefore less likely to repay their credit algorithms will also know this. While there are rules to stop people at banks from discriminating against potential borrowers, an algorithm acting alone could deem it accurate to charge these people more to borrow money. Such statistical discrimination could create a vicious circle: if you must pay more to borrow, you may struggle to make these higher repayments.

Even if you ban the algorithm from using data about protected characteristics, it could reach similar conclusions based on what you buy, the movies you watch, the books you read, or even the way you write and the jokes that make you laugh. Yet algorithms are already being used to screen job applications, evaluate students and help the police.

Besides fairness considerations, statistical discrimination can hurt everyone. A study of French supermarkets has shown, for instance, that when employees with a Muslim-sounding name work under the supervision of a prejudiced manager, the employee is less productive because the supervisors prejudice becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Research on Italian schools shows that gender stereotypes affect achievement. When a teacher believes girls to be weaker than boys in maths and stronger in literature, students organise their effort accordingly and the teacher is proven right. Some girls who could have been great mathematicians or boys who could have been amazing writers may end up choosing the wrong career as a result.

When people are involved in decision making, we can measure and, to a certain extent, correct prejudice. But its impossible to make unsupervised algorithms accountable if we do not know the exact information they use to make their decisions.

If AI is to really improve our lives, therefore, transparency and accountability will be key ideally, before algorithms are even introduced to a decision-making process. This is the goal of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. And so, as is often the case, EU rules could quickly become the global standard. This is why companies should share commercial information with regulators before using them for sensitive practices such as hiring.

Of course, this kind of regulation involves striking a balance. The major tech companies see AI as the next big thing, and innovation in this area is also now a geopolitical race. But innovation often only happens when companies can keep some of their technology secret, and so there is always the risk that too much regulation will stifle progress.

Some believe the absence of the EU from major AI innovation is a direct consequence of its strict data protection laws. But unless we make companies accountable for the outcomes of their algorithms, many of the possible economic benefits from AI development could backfire anyway.

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Tech giants forced to reveal AI secrets heres how this could make life better for all - The Conversation Indonesia

Image Credits: Leon Neal / Getty Images

Users of ChatGPT in Europe can now use web forms or other means provided by OpenAI to request deletion of their personal data in order to stop the chatbot processing (and producing) information about them. They can also request an opt-out of having their data used to train its AIs.

Why might someone not want their personal data to become fodder for AI? There is a long list of possible reasons, not least the fact OpenAI never asked permission in the first place despite privacy being a human right. Put another way, people may be concerned about what such a powerful and highly accessible technology could be used to reveal about named individuals. Or indeed take issue with the core flaw of large language models (LLMs) making up false information.

ChatGPT has quickly shown itself to be an accomplished liar, including about named individuals with the risk of reputational damage or other types of harm flowing if AI is able to automate fake news about you or people close to you.

And just imagine what a highly trained mimic of how you personally converse might be able to do to you (or to your loved ones) were such an AI model to be misused.

Another batch of issues relate to intellectual property rights. If you have a white collar job you might be worried about generative AI driving push-button commercial exploitation of a particular writing style or some other core professional expertise which could make your own labor redundant or less valuable. And, again, the tech giants behind these AI models typically arent offering individuals any compensation for exploiting their data for profit.

You may also have a non-individual concern such as the risk of AI chatbots scaling bias and discrimination and simply wish for your information not to play any part.

Or perhaps you worry about the future of competitive markets and innovation if vast amounts of data continue to accumulate with a handful of tech giants in an era of data-dependent AI services. And while removing your own data from the pool is just a drop in an ocean its one way to register active dissent which could also encourage others to do the same scaling into an act of collective protest.

Additionally, you might be uncomfortable your data is being used so opaquely before more robust laws have been passed to govern how AI can be applied. So ahead of a proper legal governance framework for safe and trustworthy usage of such a powerful technology you may prefer to hold back your data; i.e. to wait until there are stronger checks and balances applied to generative AI operators.

While there are lots of reasons why individuals might want to shield their information from big data mining AI giants there are for now only limited controls on offer. And these limited controls are mostly only available to users in Europe where data protection laws do already apply.

Scroll lower down for details on how to exercise available data rights or read on for the context.

ChatGPT has been impossible to miss this year. The virality of the ask-it-anything general purpose AI chatbot has seen the tech travelling all over the mainstream media in recent months as commentators from across the subject spectrum kick its tyres and get wowed by a simulacrum of human responsiveness which, nonetheless, is not human. Its just been trained on lots of our web-based chatter (among other data sources) to function as an accomplished mimic of how people communicate.

However the existence of such a capable-seeming natural language technology has directed attention onto the detail of how ChatGPT was developed.

Notably, the buzz around ChatPT has drawn particular attention from privacy and data protection regulators in the European Union where an early intervention by Italys data protection watchdog at the end of March, acting on powers it has under the blocs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), led to a temporary suspension of ChatGPT at the start of last month.

A major concern raised by the watchdog is whether OpenAI used peoples data lawfully when it developed the technology. And it is continuing to investigate this question.

Italys watchdog has also taken issue with the quality of information OpenAI provides about how its using peoples data. Without proper disclosures there are questions about whether its meeting the GDPRs fairness and accountability requirements, too.

Additionally, the regulator has said its worried about the safety of minors accessing ChatGPT. And it wants the company to add age verification tech.

The blocs General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) also provides people in the region with a suite of data control rights such as the ability to ask for incorrect info about them to be corrected or for their data to be deleted. And if weve learnt anything about AI chatbots over the last few months its how readily they lie. (Aka hallucinate in techno-solutionist speak).

Shortly after Italys DPA stepped in to warn OpenAI that it suspected a series of GDPR breaches, the company launched some new privacy tools giving users a button to switch off a chat history feature which logged all their interactions with the chatbot, saying this would result in conversations started when the history feature had been disabled not being used to train and improve its AI models.

That was followed by OpenAI making some privacy disclosures and presenting additional controls timed to meet a deadline set by the Italian DPA for it to implement a preliminary package of measures in order to comply with the blocs privacy rules. The upshot is OpenAI now provides web users with some say over what it does with their information although most of the concessions its offered are region-specific. So the first step to protecting your information from big data-driven AI miners is to live in the Europe Union (or European Economic Area), where data protection rights exist and are being actively enforced.

As it stands, UK citizens still benefit from the EU data protection framework being embedded in their national law so also have the full sweep of GDPR rights although the governments post-Brexit reforms look set to water down the national data protection regime, so it remains to be seen how the domestic approach might change. (UK ministers also recently signalled they dont intend to bring in any bespoke rules for applying AI for the foreseeable future.)

Beyond Europe, Canadas privacy commissioner is investigating complaints about the technology. Other countries have passed GDPR-style data protection regimes so powers exist for regulators to flex.

OpenAI has said that individuals in certain jurisdictions (such as the EU) can object to the processing of their personal information by its AI models by filling out this form. This includes the ability to make requests for deletion of AI-generated references about you. Although OpenAI notes it may not grant every request since it must balance privacy requests against freedom of expression in accordance with applicable laws.

The web form for making a deletion of data about you request is entitled OpenAI Personal Data Removal Request. Heres the link to it: https://share.hsforms.com/1UPy6xqxZSEqTrGDh4ywo_g4sk30

Web users are asked to provide it with their contact data and details of the data subject for whom the request is being made; the country whose laws apply in this persons case; to specify whether they are a public figure or not (and if the former, to provide more context about what type of public figure they are); to provide evidence of data processing in the form of prompts that generated responses from the model which mentioned the data subject and screenshots of relevant outputs.

Users are also asked to make sworn statements that the information provided is accurate and acknowledge that incomplete submissions may not be acted upon by OpenAI prior to submitting the form.

The process is similar to the right to be forgottenweb form Google has provided for years initially for Europeans seeking to exercise GDPR rights by having inaccurate, outdated or irrelevant personal data delisted from its search engine results.

The GDPR provides individuals with several rights other than requesting data deletion such as asking for their information to be corrected, restricted, or for a transfer of their personal data.

OpenAI stipulates that individuals can seek to exercise such rights over personal information that may be included in its training information by emailing dsar@openai.com. However the company told the Italian regulator that correcting inaccurate data generated by its models is not technically feasible at this point. So it will presumably respond to emailed requests for a correction of AI-generated disinformation by offering to delete personal data instead. (But if youve made such a request and had a respond from OpenAI get in touch by emailing tips@techcrunch.com.)

In its blog post, OpenAI also warns that it could deny (and/or otherwise only partially act on) requests for other reasons, writing: Please be aware that, in accordance with privacy laws, some rights may not be absolute. We may decline a request if we have a lawful reason for doing so. However, we strive to prioritize the protection of personal information and comply with all applicable privacy laws. If you feel we have not adequately addressed an issue, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local supervisory authority.

How the company handles Europeans Data Subject Access Requests (DSARs) may determine whether ChatGPT faces a wave of user complaints which could lead to more regulatory enforcement in the region in future.

Since OpenAI has not established a local legal entity thats responsible for its processing of EU user data, watchdogs in any Member State are empowered to act on concerns on their patch. Hence Italys quick action.

Following the Italian DPAs intervention OpenAI revised its privacy policy to state that the legal basis it relies upon for processing peoples data to train its AIs is something thats referred to in the GDPR as legitimate interests (LI).

In its privacy policy, OpenAI writes that its legal bases for processing your Personal Information include [emphasis ours]:

Our legitimate interests in protecting our Services from abuse, fraud, or security risks, or in developing, improving, or promoting our Services, including when we train our models. This may include the processing of Account Information, Content, Social Information, and Technical Information.

There is still a question mark over whether relying on LI for a general purpose AI chatbot will be deemed an appropriate and valid legal basis for the processing under the GDPR, as the Italian watchdog (and others) continues to investigate.

These detailed investigations are likely to take some time before we have any final decisions which could, potentially, lead to orders that it stop using LI for this processing (which would leave OpenAI with the option of asking users for their consent, complicating its ability to develop the technology at the kind of scale and velocity it has to date). Although EU DPAs may ultimately decide its use of LI in this context is okay.

In the meanwhile, OpenAI is legally required to provide users with certain rights as a consequence of its claim to be relying upon LI notably this means it must offer a right to object to the processing.

Facebook was also recently forced to offer such an opt out to European users i.e. to its processing of their data for targeting behavioral ads also after switching to claiming LI as its legal basis for processing peoples information. (Additionally the company is facing a class action style lawsuit in the UK for its prior failure to offer an opt out for ad targeting processing, given the GDPR contains an absolute requirement for any data processing for direct marketing which perhaps goes some way to explaining OpenAIs keenness to emphasize its not in the same business as adtech giant Facebook, hence its claim that: We dont use data for selling our services, advertising, or building profiles of people we use data to make our models more helpful for people.)

In its privacy policy, the ChatGPT maker makes a passing acknowledgement of the objection requirements attached to relying on LI, pointing users towards more information about requesting an opt out when it writes: Seehere for instructions on how you can opt out of our use of your information to train our models.

This link opens to another blog post where it promotes the notion that AI will improve over time, at the same time as encouraging users not to exercise their right to object to the personal data processing by claiming that shar[ing] your data with us helps our models become more accurate and better at solving your specific problems and it also helps improve their general capabilities and safety. (But, well, can we call it sharing data if the stuff was already taken without asking?)

OpenAI then offers users a couple of choices for opting out their data out of its training: Either via (another) web form or directly in account settings.

You can opt out of your data being used to train its AI by filling in this web form which is for individual users of ChatGPT and called a User content opt out request.

Users can also disable training on their data via ChatGPT account settings (under Data Controls). Assuming they have an account.

But be warned! the settings route to opt out is replete with dark patterns seeking to discourage the user from shutting off OpenAIs ability to use their data to train its AI models.

(And in neither case is it clear how non-users of ChatGPT can opt out of their data being processed since the company either requires you have an account or requests your account details via the form; so weve asked it for clarity.)

To find the Data Controls menu you click on the three dots next to your account name at the bottom left of the screen (under the chat history bar); then click Settings; then click to Show the aforementioned Data Controls (nice dark pattern hiding this toggle!); then slide the toggle to switch off Chat History & Training.

To say OpenAI is discouraging users from using the settings route to opt out of training is an understatement. Not least because its linked this action to the inconvenience of losing access to your ChatGPT history. But the moment you toggle it back on your chats reappear (at least if you re-enable history within 30 days, per its previously disclosed data retention policy.)

Additionally, after youve disabled training the sidebar of your historical chats is replaced by a brightly colored button thats displayed around the eyeline which sits there permanently nudging users to Enable chat history. Theres no mention on this button that clicking it toggles back on OpenAIs ability to train on your data. Instead OpenAI has found space for a meaningless power button icon presumably as another visual trick to encourage users to power up the feature so it can regain access to their data.

Given that users who opt for the settings method to block training will lose ChatGPTs chat history functionality, submitting the web form looks to offer a better path since, in theory, you might be able to retain the functionality despite asking for your conversations not to be training fodder. (And, at the least, you have recorded your objection in a formal format which should perhaps count for more than toggling on/off a bright green button.)

That said, at the time of writing its not clear whether OpenAI will, in the case of objecting via the form, disable chat history functionality anyway, once its processed a web form submission asking for data not to be used for training AIs. (Again, weve asked the company for clarity on this point and will update this report if we get it.)

Theres a further caveat in OpenAIs blog post where it writes of opting out that:

We retain certain data from your interactions with us, but we take steps to reduce the amount of personal information in our training datasets before they are used to improve our models. This data helps us better understand user needs and preferences, allowing our model to become more efficient over time.

So its also not even clear what exact personal data are being firewalled from its training pool when users ask for their info not to be AI training fodder vs other types of information you input which it may still carry on processing anywayIn short, this smells like fudge. (Or whats known in the industry as compliance theatre.)

Thing is, the GDPR has a broad definition of personal data meaning its not just direct identifiers (such as names and email addresses) which fall under the regulations framework but many types of information that could be used and/or combined to identify a natural person. So that means another key question here is how much of a reduction is OpenAI actually applying to its data processing activities when users opt out? Transparency and fairness are other key principles within the GDPR. So these sorts of questions are likely to keep European data protection agencies busy for the foreseeable future.

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How to ask OpenAI for your personal data to be deleted or not used to train its AIs - TechCrunch

WASHINGTON, D.C. Today, U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) introduced theKidsOnlineSafety Act, comprehensive bipartisan legislation to protect childrenonlineand hold Big Tech accountable.

Over the last two years, Senator Blumenthal and I have met with countless parents, psychologists, and pediatricians who are all in agreement that children are suffering at the hands of online platforms,said Senator Blackburn.Big Tech has proven to be incapable of appropriately protecting our children, and its time for Congress to step in. The bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act not only requires social media companies to make their platforms safer by default, but it provides parents with the tools they need protect their children online. I thank Senator Blumenthal for his continued partnership on this critical issue and urge my colleagues to join us in the fight to protect our children online.

Our bill provides specific tools to stop Big Tech companies from driving toxic content at kids and to hold them accountable for putting profits over safety,said Senator Blumenthal.Record levels of hopelessness and despaira national teen mental health crisishave been fueled by black box algorithms featuring eating disorders, bullying, suicidal thoughts, and more. Kids and parents want to take back control over their online lives. They are demanding safeguards, means to disconnect, and a duty of care for social media. Our bill has strong bipartisan momentum. And it has growing support from young people whove seen Big Techs destruction, parents whove lost children, mental health experts, and public interest advocates. Its an idea whose time has come.

TheKidsOnlineSafety Actprovides young peopleand parents withthe tools,safeguards,and transparencythey needto protect againstonlineharms.The bill requiressocial media platformsto putthe well-being ofchildren first,ensuring an environment that is safe by default.Thelegislation requires independent audits byexperts and academic researchers to ensurethat social media platforms aretakingmeaningfulsteps toaddressriskstokids.

Blackburn and Blumenthal first introduced theKidsOnlineSafety Act in February 2022 followingreportingand after spearheading a series of five subcommittee hearings with social media companies and advocates on the repeated failures by tech giants to protectkidson their platforms and about the dangerskidsfaceonline. In July 2022, theKidsOnline Safety Act passed the Commerce Committee on a unanimous, 28-0 vote.

The Kids Online Safety Act has been cosponsored by U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ben Ray Lujn (D-N.M.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Todd Young (R-Ind.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.).More cosponsors may be added during todays session.

TheKids Online Safety Actis supported by hundreds of advocacy and technology groups, including Common Sense Media, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Compass, Eating Disorders Coalition, Fairplay, Mental Health America, and Digital Progress Institute.

TheKidsOnlineSafety Act:

The one-page summary of the bill can befoundhere,the section-by-section summary can befoundhere, and the full text of the Senate bill can befoundhere.

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Blackburn, Blumenthal Introduce Bipartisan Kids Online Safety Act - Marsha Blackburn

Apple and Google have just jointly submitted a proposed specification to address the misuse of Bluetooth location tracking devices. A specification that will enable tracking devices to support unauthorized tracking detection and present relevant alerts on iOS and Android. Companies such as Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, eufy Security and Pebblebee already support the proposal.

Ron Huang, vice president of Sensing and Connectivity at Apple, noted that AirTag and the Find network were built with proactive features to discourage unwanted tracking and that the new specification builds on these protections. For his part, Dave Burke, vice president of Android Engineering at Google, mentioned that Android will continue to develop robust safeguards and collaborate with industry to combat the misuse of Bluetooth tracking devices.

Apple launched AirTag to give users peace of mind in knowing where to find their most important items, says Ron Huang. We created AirTag and the Find My network with a set of proactive features to discourage unwanted tracking an industry first and we continue to make enhancements to help ensure the technology is used as intended.

This new industry specification builds on AirTag protections, and through collaboration with Google results in a critical step forward to help combat unwanted tracking across iOS and Android.

Various security and defense groups were involved in the development of the specification. Always seeking to cover all the flanks in terms of the abuse of this technology and, even so, offering the convenience and versatility of being able to detect lost objects easily.

The proposed specification was submitted as a draft through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a leading standards development organization. The draft will remain in the testing and commenting phase for three months and then both Apple and Google will act on the feedback received. Finally, the final implementation will occur at the end of the year and will arrive, through a software update, to both iOS and Android.

Some of the links added in the article are part of affiliate campaigns and may represent benefits for Softonic.

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Tech Giants Unite: Apple and Google Team Up to Tackle Unwanted ... - Softonic EN

Meta, Microsoft, Amazon and Google are cutting thousands of jobs and halting expansion plans to instead bet on the future of artificial intelligence (AI).

The potential boost to their revenue by selling or integrating AI services like ChatGPT with existing services such as Google search or Microsofts Azure programme could be significant, Jarden global equity analyst Jeremy Ward told Markets with Madison.

The jump in technology was done inside of Google and they held onto it for a while. Theyre now playing catch up. Ward said.

Microsoft has taken this and really run with it.

The major technology stocks impressed the market with first quarter results showing single digit revenue growth, after a period of aggressively rationalising costs, he said.

BlackRock Australasia remained cautious on the outlook for equities despite a surprisingly positive first quarter, head of multi-asset portfolio solutions and ASB portfolio manager David Griffith said on Markets with Madison.

Griffith seemed most excited by opportunities arising in the fixed income market as the inflation picture became clearer.

We do have this view at BlackRock, we think that inflation may be sticky.

We think ultimately theyre [central banks] going to need to live with a certain level of inflation and potentially not get inflation all the way back down to their targets.

Hear more about BlackRocks fixed income strategy and what other assets its picking to diversify client portfolios on todays episode of Markets with Madison.

Get investment analysis and insights from the experts on Markets with Madison every Monday and Friday on the NZ Herald.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this programme is of a general nature, and is not intended to be personalised financial advice. We encourage you to seek appropriate advice from a qualified professional to suit your individual circumstances.

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Markets with Madison: Tech giants go all in on AI, BlackRock's picks - New Zealand Herald

Its been turbulent times for fintech. Venture funding has dried up; crypto crashed; and fears of a potential recession have led many companies to tighten budgets and unleash layoffs.

But as crowdsourced data from levels.fyi shows, turbulent times havent curbed fintechs tendency to pay out high compensationeven for entry-level software engineers. Heres a full breakdown of some prominent fintech companies and what they pay:

Traditional finance firms have been undergoing their own reckoning lately, thanks to bank collapses and other issues; massive assets and stringent regulations arent necessarily a guarantee of stability. Nonetheless, many tech pros are intrigued by the idea of building software and services for a big bank or hedge fund. How does pay for software engineers within fintech compare to what their colleagues receive in more traditional finance firms? Levels.fyi gives us some insight into that, too:

At first glance, it seems like theres a pretty wide gap between what fintech and traditional finance firms pay their entry-level software engineers. Keep in mind that crowdsourcing isnt always the most scientific way of determining compensation data; relative sample size and other factors can wildly skew the final output.

To create some additional points of comparison, we turned to Glassdoor and its estimates of total pay for software engineers who work in traditional finance; keep in mind that this data encompasses engineers at all ranks, from entry-level to senior:

The Glassdoor data closes the gap a bitbut even so, it seems that fintech pays a bit more than traditional financial firms, especially when you consider how software engineers compensation at fintech firms will only increase with tenure (provided the firm survives, of course). The reason for higher fintech salaries is pretty clear: these cutting-edge firms must not only compete for talent with the traditional finance sector, but also deep-pocketed tech giants such as Google and Microsoft that have no compunctions about paying whatever it takes to secure the talent they need.

As the finance industry continues to embrace technologies such as blockchain, data science, machine learning, and chatbots, the need for tech specialists will only increase. If youre skilled in a cutting-edge arena, chances are good youll have your pick of potential positionswhether you want the faster pace of a small fintech startup or the relative security of a century-old finance conglomerate.

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Fintech vs. Traditional Finance: Which Pays Tech Pros More? - Dice Insights

In a recent Financial Times article, Helen Thomas highlights the growing concern over threats to undersea cables, which are essential for global digital communications. The article emphasizes that while governments and national security communities have been expressing their concerns, businesses should also be worried about the potential disruption caused by cable sabotage.

For centuries, submarine cables have facilitated communication between continents, transmitting electric telegraphs, voice calls, and now, internet data. Todays internet relies heavily on these cables, with over 95 percent of intercontinental internet data flowing through them. Although these metallic conduits seldom receive extensive press coverage or policy consideration outside of national security circles, they are the backbone of various activities, including civilian communications, business transactions, scientific research, and document-sharing on the global internet.

The commercial worlds reliance on undersea cables could further escalate if cyber threats or space denial threats intensify due to rising tensions in regions such as Ukraine or Taiwan.

Porthcurno, a UK village, is a significant communications hub with six modern fiber optic cables. However, there is a profound lack of awareness about global reliance on this undersea network, which carries 99% of digital communications, according to a European Parliament report. About 20 cables connect Western Europe to the US, managing two-fifths of global internet traffic.

The defense community has warned about critical subsea assets vulnerability to espionage and sabotage, given Russias increased submarine activity. NATO created a coordination cell in February, and the Nord Stream pipelines sabotage last year emphasized potential risks to undersea infrastructure. But what has the business community done to help mitigate the risk?

According to Thomas, primarily owned by communications groups or tech giants like Google and Amazon, these cables are designed to withstand accidents. However, there is limited understanding of redundancy and security at key junctions. Policing the extensive network is challenging since cable routes are publicly disclosed to avoid accidents.

In case of a major outage, traffic should reroute seamlessly onto other cables, but the efficiency is debatable, especially with older networks. Global repair capabilities are limited, averaging at least two weeks for a fix and the tech giants have only taken small steps towards engaging with maritime industry and naval leaders on the subject.

Resilience planning for targeted attacks on undersea cables is insufficient. Governments may lack knowledge about cable usage, and international law is outdated. Military fixes will likely prioritize military needs that may not align with commercial requirements. Businesses, especially in finance and safety critical industries like aviation, should proactively understand their reliance on these cables and prepare for worst-case scenarios.

The vulnerability of undersea cables is an increasingly critical issue that cant be left to the military alone. Both businesses and governments must focus on the risks associated with this essential infrastructure and work with the maritime and offshore industry to develop strategies that mitigate potential disruptions.

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Should The Navy Or Tech Giants Protect Undersea Cables? - gCaptain

DUBLIN, April 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --The "China Metaverse Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - 100+ KPIs Covering Market Size by Sector X Use cases X Technology, Business and Consumer Spend, NFT Spend - Q1 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

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Metaverse industry in China is expected to grow by 39.5% on an annual basis to reach US$1,06,102.8 million in 2023.

The Metaverse industry is expected to grow steadily over the forecast period, recording a CAGR of 35.8% during 2023-2030. The Metaverse Spend Value in the country will increase from US$76,076.8 million in 2022 to reach US$4,57,241.9 million by 2030.

The rapid development in the Chinese metaverse industry is partly fueled by the early layout of digital infrastructure and the adeptness of translating emerging technologies into applications. The metaverse industry has experienced significant growth in China during Q3 and Q4 of 2022.

The potential metaverse market growth has also caught the eye of leading tech giants in China. Firms such as Tencent, NetEase, Alibaba, and ByteDance are all investing in the space to develop and build devices and software that can shape the future of the metaverse industry in the country. Increased investment in the metaverse sector is expected to drive innovation and adoption over the short to medium-term.

E-commerce marketplaces are embracing the metaverse to create an immersive shopping experience for shoppers during the Single's Day event

China has one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world. Amid the increasing competition and the need to create more immersive shopping experiences, both firms have turned to metaverse offerings in China.

In November 2022, JD.com announced that the firm is utilizing emerging technologies such as metaverse to create immersive experiences, while also boosting the Single's Day luxury shopping event. The firm launched 3D visualization features on its website, thereby allowing shoppers to view products in a completely new way.

Story continues

In September 2022, Alibaba launched a luxury shopping experience for its customers in the metaverse. The metaverse shopping experience, launched on the Tmall Luxury Pavillion platform, hosts an AR fashion show from select brands. Moreover, users can also try on the products in the immersive world. During the Single's Day event, Alibaba also partnered with a virtual influencer to promote products from various brands on the Tmall platform.

With Chinese shoppers demanding innovative shopping experiences, the publisher expects more e-commerce players to innovate and launch immersive shopping experiences.

Investment from the government will drive the growth of the metaverse industry in China

In China, many provinces have announced a metaverse development plan, amid the growing prospects of the emerging technology. As part of the initiative, government investment in the sector is expected to increase significantly.

At least six provincial governments, along with local authorities in 10 cities in China, have issued their metaverse development plans. Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Hangzhou, along with the eastern province of Shandong, have announced plans to offer subsidies for emerging research projects and platforms-related to metaverse. These subsidies range from 2 million yuan to 200 million yuan.

In September 2022, the central province of Henan also joined the metaverse bandwagon in China. The province is planning to build a 30-billion-yuan metaverse industry. In June 2022, the Shanghai government announced a 10-billion-yuan fund for the development of the metaverse industry. By 2025, Shanghai aims to build a 350-billion-yuan metaverse industry in the city.

In the wake of the increasing hype around the metaverse, more provinces are expected to announce their metaverse industry development plan and subsidies to support domestic metaverse firms. Alongside the local authorities and government institutions, Chinese universities are also investing heavily in the sector.

These institutions are opening new virtual departments to lead the next iteration of technological innovation in the Chinese metaverse sector.

Metaverse marketplaces are raising funding rounds from leading tech giants in China

Amid the growing interest in the metaverse space, China-based metaverse marketplaces are raising funding rounds from leading technology giants in the country to further accelerate their growth and global expansion.

In November 2022, Yahaha, a virtual user-generated content metaverse platform, announced that the firm had raised US$40 million in a Series A+ funding round. This funding round led by Temasek and Alibaba, two of the leading tech giants in the country. Since its inception in 2020, the firm had garnered nearly US$100 million in financing.

Some of the early-stage investors include Xiaomi, GL Ventures, 5Y Capital, and Blibili. As of October 2022, the product developed by the firm had attracted more than 100,000 users. While its product is already introduced to the global market, the firm is looking to use the funding to further accelerate its growth and expansion in the global market.

As the Chinese metaverse ecosystem continues to develop and grow, the publisher expects metaverse-related startups to further attract investment from leading corporations and venture capital firms in China from the short to medium-term perspective.

Scope

China Metaverse Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators

China Metaverse - Business Spend by Sector Value Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

Retail Industry

Technology & Telecommunications Industry

Financial Services Industry

Manufacturing Industry

Travel and Hospitality Industry

Media & Entertainment Industry

Training & Education Industry

Real Estate Industry

Health & Wellness Industry

Other

China Business Spend on Metaverse by Use Case / Application, 2021-2030

Retail (Marketing & Advertising, Commerce, Operations & Training)

Technology & Telecommunications (Marketing & Advertising, Commerce, Operations & Training)

Financial Services (Marketing & Advertising, Commerce, Operations & Training)

Manufacturing (Marketing & Advertising, Commerce, Operations & Training]

Travel and Hospitality (Marketing & Advertising, Commerce, Operations & Training)

Media & Entertainment (Marketing & Advertising, Commerce, Operations & Training)

Training & Education (Marketing & Advertising, Commerce, Operations & Training)

Real Estate (Marketing & Advertising, Commerce, Operations & Training)

Health & Wellness (Marketing & Advertising, Commerce, Operations & Training)

Other (Marketing & Advertising, Commerce, Operations & Training)

China NFT Spend by Sector Value Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

Retail Industry

Technology & Telecommunications Industry

Financial Services Industry

Manufacturing Industry

Travel and Hospitality Industry

Media & Entertainment Industry

Training & Education Industry

Real Estate Industry

Health & Wellness Industry

Other Industry

China Business Spend on Metaverse by Technology

China Spend on Metaverse by Platform

China Ecommerce Spend on Metaverse by Sector (Gross Merchandise Value), 2021-2030

China NFT Market Size and Future Growth Dynamics by Key Performance Indicators

NFT -Total Sales Spend Value Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

NFT - Total Sales Spend Volume Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

NFT - Average Value Per Transaction Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

China NFT Market Size and Forecast by Key Assets, 2021-2030

NFT Collectibles and Art Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

NFT Real Estate Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

NFT Sports Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

NFT Gaming Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

NFT Utility Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

NFT Fashion and Luxury Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

Other Assets Trend Analysis, 2021-2030

China Consumer Spend on Metaverse by Device, 2021-2030

Desktop

Mobile

Digital Gadgets

China Consumer Spend on Metaverse by Hardware Devices, 2021-2030

AR (Augmented Reality)

VR (Virtual Reality)

MR (Mixed Reality)

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/jobbsa

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China Metaverse Market Intelligence Report 2023-2030: Metaverse Marketplaces are Raising Funding Rounds from Leading Tech Giants in China - Yahoo...