California governor vetoes major AI safety bill

September 29, 2024

(The Verge) California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed the Safe and Secure Innovation for Frontier Artificial Intelligence Models Act (SB 1047) today. In his veto message, Governor Newsom cited multiple factors in his decision, including the burden the bill would have placed on AI companies, California’s lead in the space, and a critique that the bill…

California Passes Law Protecting Consumer Brain Data

September 29, 2024

(NYT) On Saturday, Governor Gavin Newsom of California signed a new law that aims to protect people’s brain data from being potentially misused by neurotechnology companies. A growing number of consumer technology products promise to help address cognitive issues: apps to meditate, to improve focus and to treat mental health conditions like depression. These products…

2024 Sustainable Investment Survey

September 25, 2024

(Pitchbook) Are ESG and DEI dead? In this case, perception may be different from reality. While the ESG and Impact investing spaces are fraught with controversy, our fifth annual Sustainable Investment Survey shows that practitioners are leaning into their investment approaches in new and innovative ways.  With over 1,000 global respondents—including asset owners, VC and PE…

OpenAI to Become For-Profit Company

September 25, 2024

(WSJ) OpenAI is planning to convert from a nonprofit organization to a for-profit company at the same time it is undergoing major personnel shifts including the abrupt resignation Wednesday of its chief technology officer, Mira Murati. Becoming a for-profit would be a seismic shift for OpenAI, which was founded in 2015 to develop AI technology…

Section 230 Catches Up to AI

September 22, 2024

(WSJ) An appellate court holds companies liable for the actions of their algorithms. Read more here.

LinkedIn is training AI models on your data

September 18, 2024

(Verge) You’ll need to opt out twice to stop LinkedIn from using your account data for training in the future — but anything already done is done. Read more here.

BlackRock and Microsoft plan $30bn fund to invest in AI infrastructure

September 17, 2024

(FT) Nvidia and Abu Dhabi-backed MGX will join effort as energy-intensive tech strains power and data grids Read more here.

Calpers Investment Chief Warns of ‘Adverse Selection’ in Private-Equity Co-Investments

September 17, 2024

(WSJ) Stephen Gilmore says the $503 billion pension has to be among the key clients of its private-equity managers to ensure it gets access to the best direct deals. Read more here.

Salesforce Ventures Expands AI Investment to $1 Billion

September 16, 2024

(Salesforce) Salesforce Ventures is announcing a new $500 million AI fund, bringing its total commitment to AI innovators to $1 billion in the past 18 months.  Read more here.

‘Anti-woke’ backlash in U.S. won’t stop the sustainable investing movement. Here’s why

September 16, 2024

(FC) Out of almost 160 bills in state legislatures, only a small handful of anti-ESG considerations have become law. Read more here.