In Brief Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Garner, North Carolina voted against unionizing in election results announced today.According to Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment (CAUSE), the worker group seeking to form the union, 3,276 ballots were cast in the election, with 25.3% of votes in favor of unionizing and 74.7% against. The results still need to be certified by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). In a statement provided to CNBC, CAUSE blamed the results on “Amazon’s w ...

New court filings in an AI copyright case against Meta add credence to earlier reports that the company “paused” discussions with book publishers on licensing deals to supply some of its generative AI models with training data.The filings are related to the case Kadrey v. Meta Platforms — one of many such cases winding through the U.S. court system that’s pitted AI companies against authors and other intellectual property holders. For the most part, the defendants in these cases — AI companies — have claime ...

In Brief Meta is forming a new team within its Reality Labs hardware division to build robots that can assist with physical tasks, Bloomberg reported. The team will be responsible for developing humanoid robotics hardware, potentially including hardware that can perform household chores.Meta’s new robotics group, which will be led by Marc Whitten, driverless car startup Cruise’s former CEO, will also create robotic software and AI, according to Bloomberg’s reporting. Whitten has also had stints at Amazon, M ...

Core Insights - Meta has officially announced Project Waterworth, a subsea cable project that will span 50,000 kilometers, making it the world's longest subsea cable project [2][3] - The project aims to enhance Meta's control over its services and is expected to connect five continents, with significant focus on opportunities in India and the rollout of AI services globally [3][8] Project Details - Project Waterworth will utilize 24 fiber pair cables and innovative routing techniques to maximize cable deployment in deep waters, reaching depths of up to 7,000 meters [4] - New burial techniques will be employed to minimize faults in high-risk areas, influenced by geographical and political factors [4][5] Geopolitical Context - The project aligns with a U.S.-India defense partnership, which includes commitments to co-develop undersea technologies, with India playing a role in financing the project [6][7] - The White House statement highlighted Meta's multi-billion dollar investment in the undersea cable project, emphasizing the importance of Indian Ocean connectivity [7] Applications and Impact - The subsea cable is expected to support digital communication, video experiences, and online transactions, facilitating the growth of AI data centers and cloud services in India [8][9] - Meta's investment in this project is part of a broader strategy to strengthen global digital infrastructure and drive AI innovation [9] Competitive Landscape - This project marks Meta's first wholly owned subsea cable, positioning it alongside other tech giants like Google, which has ownership in multiple routes, while companies like Amazon and Microsoft are involved as capacity buyers [10][11]

Germany’s antitrust watchdog has been investigating Apple’s app privacy framework since 2022. On Thursday, releasing preliminary findings from this probe, the Bundeskartellamt (FCO) said it suspects the iPhone maker may not be treating third-party app developers as equally as the law requires.The antitrust watchdog said it believes Apple’s behavior could amount to self-preferencing. Apple is banned from preferring its own services and products in Germany since April 2023, when it became subject to special a ...

Big Tech and pharmaceutical companies are accelerating the implementation of artificial intelligence in the healthcare industry. Just last month, AWS and General Catalyst announced their partnership to speed up the development and deployment of healthcare AI tools. GE Healthcare teamed up with AWS to build generative AI for medical use in 2024.  Now, a Thailand-based healthcare startup, HD, has built a marketplace, HDmall, to digitize the fragmented medical industry in Southeast Asia. The startup helps user ...

Apple is exploring both humanoid and non-humanoid robotics form factors, according to a new scoop from longtime Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. The intel comes on the heels of a research paper from the iPhone-maker that explores human interactions with “non-anthropomorphic” robots – specifically a Pixar-style lamp.While Apple’s research paper highlights elements that could inform an eventual consumer robot, the work primarily shines a light on progress from a company still mired in the early research stages of ...

Group 1 - Meta is reportedly in talks to acquire FuriosaAI, a South Korean chip startup, to enhance its AI hardware infrastructure [1] - FuriosaAI has raised 90 billion Korean won (approximately $61.94 million) from investors, including Naver [2] - The acquisition aims to reduce Meta's reliance on Nvidia and complements its in-house efforts to develop efficient AI accelerator chips [3] Group 2 - FuriosaAI develops chips that accelerate the running and serving of AI models, including Meta's Llama 2 and Llama 3 [1] - Meta plans to spend up to $65 billion this year to support its AI initiatives [3] - FuriosaAI is engaged with potential customers in the U.S., Japan, and India [2]

In Brief As per an investigation by the Associated Press (AP), Tesla has won a defamation lawsuit against one individual called Zhang Yazhou, who in February 2021 was a passenger in a Tesla Model 3 car that allegedly crashed due to faulty brakes, resulting in a four-day hospital stay for both her parents. Following the accident, Zhang protested publicly and eventually sued the carmaker for defamation, but Tesla then sued her back for defamation. A Chinese court has now ordered Zhang to pay some $23,000 in d ...

Core Insights - Microsoft is increasing its renewable energy capacity to support its AI ambitions, adding 389 megawatts through three solar projects [1] - The company has contracted nearly 20 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity, with the latest purchase contributing approximately 2% to this total [2] - Microsoft aims to become carbon negative by 2030, which requires sequestering more carbon than its operations produce [5] Renewable Energy Initiatives - The new renewable power additions include two solar projects in southern Illinois and one near Austin, Texas [1] - Microsoft is rapidly procuring renewable energy to support its cloud and AI operations, leveraging the quick deployment and cost-effectiveness of wind and solar energy [2] - Solar farms can begin producing power in as little as 18 months, allowing for faster electricity supply to data centers compared to traditional gas power plants [3] Hybrid Energy Solutions - Some renewable developers are implementing hybrid installations that combine solar and wind energy with battery storage to provide continuous power [4] - This approach allows for charging batteries when renewable energy is abundant and discharging them when it is not, enhancing reliability [4] Carbon Management Strategies - Microsoft is investing in various carbon removal methods, including direct air capture and reforestation, to achieve its negative emissions goal [6] - The company recently announced a deal to purchase over 7 million tons of carbon credits, which will cover about half of its emissions for 2023 [6]