Investors Who Put $2 Billion Into FTX Face Scrutiny, Too

November 11, 2022

(The New York Times) On Friday, FTX, facing a cash shortfall of $8 billion and scrambling to drum up money, filed for bankruptcy. Mr. Bankman-Fried resigned as chief executive. The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission are examining whether FTX improperly used customer funds to prop up a separate trading firm, Alameda Research,…

After Facebook and Twitter layoffs, dozens of companies warn against ‘irresponsible innovation’

November 9, 2022

(Fortune) The specter of political gridlock looms over the U.S. this morning, as the Republicans seem to have taken back the House while the Democrats may hold on to the Senate. But if that quagmire doesn’t set America back, irresponsible innovation may, warns a group of four dozen tech companies and investment firms. Read more…

Business Leaders Bullish On Climate Action As Economy, Crises Slow Progress

November 6, 2022

(The Wall Street Journal) Deloitte’s latest climate survey of 700 executives, conducted in August and September 2022, sheds new light on executives’ top concerns surrounding the climate crisis, the actions they are taking and those they would like to see governments take, and the gap that must be closed between sentiment and action to advance…

Elon Musk Has Fired Twitter’s ‘Ethical AI’ Team

November 4, 2022

(Wired) Not long after Elon Musk announced plans to acquire Twitter last March, he mused about open sourcing “the algorithm” that determines how tweets are surfaced in user feeds so that it could be inspected for bias. His fans—as well as those who believe the social media platform harbors a left-wing bias—were delighted. But today,…

The world is missing its lofty climate targets. Time for some realism

November 3, 2022

(The Economist) To accept that the world’s average temperature might rise by more than 1.5°C, declared the foreign minister of the Marshall Islands in 2015, would be to sign the “death warrant” of small, low-lying countries such as his. To widespread surprise, the grandees who met in Paris that year, at a climate conference like…

We need to start recognizing privacy as a basic human right

November 1, 2022

(Fast Company) The introduction of the internet and instant global communication drastically changed our approach to personal privacy. Every app, purchase, or online search request has us sharing so much of ourselves to get started. A name, email, phone number, or address is all someone needs to unravel one’s entire personal life. With so much…

Can Elon Musk muzzle tech ESG?

October 31, 2022

(Financial Times) So can investors use their muscle to counter this? Not easily: fund managers have had scant leverage in recent years, because capital was abundant. Employee protests often seemed more effective, since talent has been scarce. And Musk, for his part, has been scathing of ESG in the past – and keen to muzzle…

Big Tech is failing to fight election lies, civil rights groups charge

October 27, 2022

(The Washington Post) Two years ago, Silicon Valley’s biggest technology giants faced criticism from activists and voter suppression experts for not moving sooner to restrict Donald Trump’s accounts after his repeated false claims disputing the legitimacy of the 2020 election. Now, a coalition of 60 consumer and civil rights groups says Meta, Twitter, TikTok and…

esg funds face UK watchdog crackdown in anti-greenwash drive

October 25, 2022

(Bloomberg) The UK’s financial regulator made clear it will no longer tolerate vague ESG fund designations as it moves to crack down on investment managers that can’t back up their claims of targeting environmental, social and governance metrics. Fund managers operating in the UK will face a “package of new measures, including investment product sustainability…

Tech will be on the midterm ballot. Here’s what to watch.

October 21, 2022

(Protocol) As the midterms draw closer, some of the tech industry’s most urgent issues and opportunities are also on the ballot. At the national level, anti-Big Tech crusaders — who just happen to be backed by Big Tech money — have made cracking down on the likes of Meta and Google key planks of their…