Tag: technology

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The Federal Trade Commission is launching an inquiry into massive investments made by Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet into generative AI startups OpenAI and Anthropic, the agency announced on Thursday. The FTC said that it had issued “compulsory orders” to the companies and would scrutinize their relationships with AI startups to understand their impact on competition.

“History shows that new technologies can create new markets and healthy competition,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement. “As companies race to develop and monetize AI, we must guard against tactics that foreclose this opportunity. Our study will shed light on whether investments and partnerships pursued by dominant companies risk distorting innovation and undermining fair competition.” The companies have 45 days to respond to the agency. 

Ever since OpenAI released ChatGPT at the end of 2022, generative AI has exploded, sparking both excitement about its potential to increase productivity as well as anxiety about job losses. Against this backdrop, the world’s largest tech companies have been racing to develop their own versions of the tech as well as pouring billions of dollars into smaller startups creating it. Microsoft, for instance, invested more than $13 billion into OpenAI for a 49 percent stake, using the startup’s tech to add generative AI capabilities to Bing, its own search engine, as well as Windows and Office. Amazon and Alphabet invested $4 billion and $2 billion in Anthropic, an AI startup that makes a chatbot called Claude.

In an opinion column in The New York Times last year, the FTC’s Khan wrote that “the expanding adoption of AI risks further locking in the market dominance of large incumbent technology firms” and argued for AI regulation.

As part of its investigation, the FTC is seeking information about the specifics of Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet’s investments, decisions around new product releases, oversight rights, analyses of market share and potential for sales growth among other details.

The US isn’t the only country examining Big Tech’s ties with generative AI startups. The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority said last month that it was examining whether Microsoft’s investment into OpenAI was subject to antitrust law.

In a post on X in December, Microsoft’s president Brad Smith characterized the company’s OpenAI investment as a partnership “that has fostered more AI innovation and competition, while preserving independence for both companies.” Microsoft currently has a non-voting observer seat on OpenAI’s board, which, said Smith, was “very different from an acquisition.”

Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Anthropic, and OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Engadget.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-ftc-is-investigating-microsoft-amazon-and-alphabets-giant-investments-into-ai-startups-190939602.html?src=rss

The Last of Us Part II Remastered arrived last week, and if the cutscene commentary from the game’s director, writer and key actors wasn’t enough for you, Naughty Dog has another behind the scenes piece coming. Grounded II: Making The Last Of Us Part II, a documentary on the game’s creation, will arrive on February 2 at 12PM ET on YouTube as well as in the game itself. There’s a trailer in the remastered game currently, and the full documentary will be added via a downloadable patch. That patch will also have some new skins for Ellie and Abby in the main game.

The development of The Last of Us Part II was challenging, to say the least —Naughty Dog infamously crunched its employees to get the game done, but it was still delayed multiple times. Plus, key scenes from the game that contained extensive spoilers were leaked just a few weeks before the game launched, and the team also had to content with the Covid-19 outbreak while finishing everything up. 

Judging from the Grounded II trailer that Naughty Dog released a few weeks ago, it looks like all those topics and more will be added in the documentary — though I wager Naughty Dog will only address the crunch situation in a way that doesn’t reflect badly on the studio or Sony. That caveat aside, the previous Grounded documentary that covered the development of the original The Last of Us for the PS3 was a pretty in-depth look at how things work inside a game studio. So while we’re certainly going to get a sanitized version of the truth, fans of the game will likely be interested to hear directly how the studio decided to make the controversial narrative choices it did, and how the fallout from the leaks affected the game’s launch. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/naughty-dogs-behind-the-scenes-documentary-on-the-last-of-us-part-2-arrives-february-2-184556009.html?src=rss

Apple is making major changes to the App Store and other core parts of iOS in Europe in response to new European Union laws. Beginning in March, Apple will allow users within the EU to download apps and make purchases from outside of its App Store. The company is already testing many of these changes in its iOS 17.4 beta, which is available now to developers.

Apple has long resisted many of these changes, arguing that it would leave users susceptible to scams, malware and other privacy and security issues. But under the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which goes into effect March 7, major tech companies like Apple are required to make significant changes to their businesses.

In a statement, Apple’s Phil Schiller made clear that the company still believes some of these changes, like opening up its App Store, will pose a risk to users. “The changes we’re announcing today comply with the Digital Markets Act’s requirements in the European Union, while helping to protect EU users from the unavoidable increased privacy and security threats this regulation brings,” he said.

The most significant changes will be for developers, who will be able to take payments and distribute apps from outside of the App Store for the first time. The company is changing its often-criticized commission structure so that developers will pay 17 percent on subscriptions and in-app purchases with the fee reducing to 10 percent for “most developers” after the first year.

At the same time, Apple is also tacking on a new 3 percent “payment processing” fee for transactions that go through its store. And a new “core technology fee” will charge a flat €0.50 fee for all app downloads, regardless of whether they come from the App Store or a third-party website, after the first 1 million installations. According to Apple, the new fee structure will result in most developers paying the company less with less than they currently do, since the core technology fee will have the greatest impact on larger developers. 

Apple

The company is also making a tweak to its Safari web browser so that iOS users in Europe will be immediately prompted about whether they want to change their default browser the first time they launch the app after the iOS 17.4 update.

Developing…

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/pple-details-how-third-party-app-stores-and-payments-will-work-in-europe-183931334.html?src=rss

New York City has officially become the first city in the US to designate social media as a “public health hazard.” During a State of the City address, Mayor Eric Adams shared that Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan determined apps like Tik Tok and Instagram are considered “environmental toxins” that impose harm onto young teens and adolescents. “We are going to correct this crisis that is facing our children,” Adams said during the address.

Social media, the mayor explained, is fueling the growing mental health crisis in the city. This can be attributed to the addictive nature of these platforms, he added. On X, Adams wrote, “We won’t let Big Tech endanger our kids.” However, besides delivering an advisory warning, the city did not clearly explain how it plans to actually curb the “risk” of social media use. More details about this designation and plans to implement strategies will be explained in the near future.

During a convention in June 2023, NYC officials gathered together stakeholders to discuss possible implications of social media use among young people and recommendations for how to tackle the issue. According to experts, a huge part of the initiative to make social media safer for teens can be accomplished by increasing protocols that enforce better data transparency. Tech companies were called on to improve algorithms and moderate harmful content out of feeds. While the Kids Online Safety Act, the Congressional bill passed last year, places the onus on tech companies to make their platforms safer for children, it’s unclear how a state-specific initiative could logistically tackle the expansive nation-wide issue.

New York City could follow in California’s footsteps and roll out regulations like the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (CAADCA), which sets limits on the amount and kind of information a tech company can collect from underage users. While it doesn’t officially become enforceable until July of 2024, when it does, the Attorney General will be able to penalize tech companies with civil fees if they fail to remain compliant. CAADCA is based on the success of policies enforced in the UK designed to protect children online. For example, its enactment encouraged TikTok and Instagram to disable direct messages between children and adults they dont follow on social media.

While New York City’s measures to protect children online is still more of a sentiment than an actionable plan, any moves to further restrict the way tech companies operate in the city might sour some relationships with business leaders and officials. While the social media stance Adams has might be harsh, it could also be perceived as contradictory when considering his administration has been pretty tech-friendly otherwise. For example, the Adams administration openly embraced the rollout of AI within the city’s digital infrastructure. An AI-powered GPT program called the MyCity Chatbot (run on Microsoft Azure’s AI services) is publicly available for New Yorkers to use to help residents find answers about running businesses in the city. Adams’ office is also creating artificial intelligence to make robocalls to residents in several languages.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-york-city-has-designated-social-media-as-a-public-health-hazard-182523034.html?src=rss