E.U. Agrees on Landmark Artificial Intelligence Rules

(New York Times) European Union policymakers agreed on Friday to a sweeping new law to regulate artificial intelligence, one of the world’s first comprehensive attempts to limit the use of a rapidly evolving technology that has wide-ranging societal and economic implications. The law, called the A.I. Act, sets a new global benchmark for countries seeking to…

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Biden pressed to address AI impact on climate change 

(The Hill) Climate and tech advocacy groups are pressing the Biden administration to address concerns about the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on climate change. In a Wednesday letter to President Biden, the groups highlighted two main concerns: how  generative AI tools may amplify the spread of false information about climate change, and how the “enormous…

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Reporter’s notebook: VCs at Slush gathering predict ’24 recovery

(Pitchbook) In contrast to last year’s subdued atmosphere, attendees at the Slush conference this week in Helsinki were markedly more upbeat as the startup ecosystem has gotten used to the new normal. Around 13,000 people gathered for the two-day global tech conference, including some 3,000 investors and 5,000 startup operators and founders. This year’s theme of…

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‘AI Blowback’ Angst Grips ESG Investors Who Bet Big on Tech

(Bloomberg) ESG fund managers who turned to big tech as a low-carbon, high-return bet are growing increasingly anxious over the sector’s experimentation with artificial intelligence. Exposure to AI now represents a “short-term risk to investors,” said Marcel Stotzel, a London-based portfolio manager at Fidelity International. Stotzel said he’s “worried we’ll get an AI blowback,” which he…

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US securities regulator signals it may curb climate rule ambitions

(Reuters) U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials have told lobbyists and corporate executives in recent days that the agency’s long-anticipated climate rules may scale back some of the most demanding greenhouse gas emissions disclosure requirements that it had proposed. At issue are so-called Scope 3 emissions that account for greenhouse gases released in the…

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Meta disbanded its Responsible AI team

(Verge) Meta has reportedly broken up its Responsible AI (RAI) team as it puts more of its resources into generative artificial intelligence. The Information broke the news today, citing an internal post it had seen. According to the report, most RAI members will move to the company’s generative AI product team, while others will work on Meta’s AI…

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Ex-Meta staffers see booming business targeting online disinformation after two wars break out

(CNBC) Lauren Wagner knows a lot about disinformation. Heading into the 2020 U.S. presidential election, she worked at Facebook, focusing on information integrity and overseeing products designed to make sure content was moderated and fact-checked. She can’t believe what’s she’s seeing now. Since war erupted last month between Israel and Hamas, the constant deluge of misinformation…

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Lawsuit claims UnitedHealth AI wrongfully denies elderly extended care

(Reuters) UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH.N) uses an artificial intelligence algorithm that systematically denies elderly patients’ claims for extended care such as nursing facility stays, according to a proposed class action lawsuit filed on Tuesday. Family members of two now-deceased UnitedHealth beneficiaries sued the insurer in federal court in Minnesota, saying they were forced to pay out of pocket for…

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