(TechCrunch) A growing number of venture firms may be uncorking champagne ahead of the New Year. Today, a handful of investment firms announced new funds: Artis Ventures, BoxGroup, Playground Global and Singular all closed on funds, while Partech said it was launching a €360 million venture fund. Against a backdrop of layoffs and continuing economic uncertainty, the announcements — particularly in such quick…

(Amnesty International) Leading venture capital (VC) firms are failing in their responsibility to respect human rights, especially in relation to new Generative AI technologies, warned Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) and the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre in research released today. Leading VC firms have refused to implement basic human rights due diligence processes to ensure the companies and technologies they…

(Bloomberg) European Union negotiators backed a deal to potentially reclassify millions of people working for ride-hailing and food-delivery apps as employees in a set of rules that could cost the industry billions of euros each year. The provisional deal could require platforms to give full status to the estimated 5.5 million workers who meet at least two…

(Washington Post) After white supremacists used Discord to plan the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, company executives promised to clean up the service. The chat platform built for gamers banned prominent far-right groups, built a trust and safety team and started marketing to a more diverse set of users. The changes garnered attention…

(Reuters) Microsoft (MSFT.O) and the AFL-CIO union federation said Monday they had struck a deal whereby the U.S. software giant will remain neutral in efforts by unions to encourage workers to become members. The two sides will also work together on the future of artificial intelligence, in a first-of-its-kind partnership on AI and the future of the…

(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…

(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…

(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…

(Verge) As money starts to roll out for the US’s landmark clean energy and climate bill, a big chunk of the benefits will now be officially set aside for disadvantaged communities. Programs totaling $118 billion in federal funding through the Inflation Reduction Act will now have to ensure that at least 40 percent of the benefits they…

(Reuters) The United States, Britain and more than a dozen other countries on Sunday unveiled what a senior U.S. official described as the first detailed international agreement on how to keep artificial intelligence safe from rogue actors, pushing for companies to create AI systems that are “secure by design.” In a 20-page document unveiled Sunday,…