Kamala Harris called out for awkward description of AI: ‘Kind of a fancy thing’
Vice President Kamala Harris has been left somewhat red-faced after a clip of her attempting to explain artificial intelligence was viewed more than 800,000 times. Ms Harris describing AI as a “fancy thing” during a roundtable with advocacy representatives has been roundly mocked, with many people comparing the answer to some of the gaffes that President Joe Biden has become known for. “I think the first part of this issue that should be articulated is AI is kind of a fancy thing, first of all, it’s two letters, it means artificial intelligence but ultimately ... it’s about machine learning,” Ms Harris said. “And so the machine is taught and part of the issue here is what information is going into the machine that will then determine, and we can predict then if we think about what information is going in, what then will be produced in terms of decisions and opinions that may be made through that process.” One Twitter user referred to Ms Harris’ description as being like “the introduction to a 6th-grade essay on AI”, while another suggested the vice president “always speaks as if she is talking to a room of 3rd graders”. “It’s nearly impossible to tell the difference between Kamala Harris speaking about AI and Bart Simpson’s book report on Treasure Island,” another user added. Ms Harris has previously been mocked for past comments, in particular after she told Today in January 2022 on the topic of the coronavirus pandemic: “It is time for us to do what we have been doing, and that time is every day. Every day, it is time for us to agree that there are things and tools that are available to us to slow this thing down.” The vice president currently has an approval rating of 39.2 per cent, according to polling averages from FiveThirtyEight, while President Biden has a slightly higher approval rating of 40.6 per cent. Read More Vice President Kamala Harris makes history with tiebreaking votes in Senate Kamala Harris arrives in Ghana to ‘deepen ties’ with country amid competition from China Ron DeSantis rules out being Trump’s running mate: ‘I’m not a number two guy’
2023-07-14 02:28
Ted Cruz proposes bill to help detect if your house is spying on you
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas is attempting to rally support for a bill that would reveal to Americans if their household devices are spying on them. Mr Cruz took to the Senate floor on Tuesday to rally support for the Informing Consumers about the Smart Devices Act — warning that as more and more Americans bring smart devices into their homes, the result could be a loss of privacy. “In Texas, we’ve become very aware of that cost,” Mr Cruz said. “The past few years, smart thermostats have allowed electric companies to control the temperature in your own home from afar in the name of conserving energy. Furthermore, a lot of Americans don’t realize or expect that the growing number of smart household devices and appliances, have cameras on them, and microphones that can surreptitiously record families and transmit data.” Mr Cruz says his bill would require technology manufacturers to clearly disclose whether their appliances have listening devices, cameras, or any other spying technologies. The bill would not apply to cell phones, laptops, or other devices “that a consumer would reasonably expect to include a camera or microphone.” Mr Cruz first introduced the proposal back in January with Sen Maria Cantwell of Washington, a Democrat. Sen Raphael Warnock of Georgia also joined the bill as a co-sponsor in late March, shortly after it was marked up by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation committee. According to Mr Cruz’s testimony, the bill passed the Commerce Committee by a voice vote but has not yet been taken up by the full Senate. At its core, Mr Cruz said, the bill is designed as a consumer protection measure to let Americans know what they’re bringing into their home — a right that he feels takes precedent over concerns about government overreach. “Now, I’m sympathetic to the argument that there are too many mandates from government and that many of the mandates are unnecessary, burdensome, and costly,” Mr Cruz said. “But requiring a manufacturer to tell you if they’re spying on you does not fall into that category. And I have to say in assessing the minimal burden, the disclosure burden, against the harm, I fall down on the side of individual liberty. I fall down on the side of privacy.” Privacy is, in many ways, one of the defining issues of the internet age — particularly at a time when the buying and selling of people’s personal data is a multi-billion dollar industry that is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years. “I don’t think the American people want their air fryer spying on them,” Mr Cruz said. “And at a minimum, they have a right to know if their air fryer is spying on them.” Read More Ted Cruz accuses new Barbie movie of ‘pushing Chinese propaganda’
2023-07-14 02:15
Ripple Token Is Security in Institutional Sales, Judge Says
A federal judge ruled that the Ripple Labs Inc. token is a security when sold to institutional investors
2023-07-14 00:22
Satellite Firm Viasat Stock Falls After ‘Unexpected’ Deployment Event
Viasat Inc. shares fell as much as 36% Thursday, on track for a record drop if losses hold,
2023-07-13 22:28
China Takes Friendlier Approach to AI in Finalized Guidelines
China has loosened some of the guardrails it proposed for ChatGPT-style services months ago, as it acknowledges the
2023-07-13 18:19
Coinbase CEO Starts Poll on Whether BofA Is Closing Accounts Transacting With Crypto Exchange
Tension between the crypto and banking sectors bubbled anew when Coinbase Global Inc.’s chief executive started a Twitter
2023-07-13 16:19
NBA Top Shot Creator Dapper Labs Cuts Jobs in NFT Downturn
Dapper Labs Inc., creator of the NBA Top Shot marketplace for nonfungible tokens, announced further jobs cuts amid
2023-07-13 15:48
HCL Tech to Buy German Car Engineering Firm for $280 Million
HCL Technologies Ltd. is acquiring a German automotive engineering services company for $280 million to push beyond IT
2023-07-13 14:45
CapVest to Buy UK Software Provider Kerridge in $1 Billion Deal
Private equity firm CapVest Partners has agreed to acquire UK software provider Kerridge Commercial Systems Ltd. CapVest is
2023-07-13 13:22
FTC to Appeal Court’s Ruling Favoring Microsoft-Activision Deal
The US Federal Trade Commission filed a notice in court that it intends to appeal a ruling by
2023-07-13 07:52
Google Unveils NFT Policy for Play Store as Token Interest Wanes
Google’s decision to allow developers to expand the ways nonfungible tokens can be used in their games on
2023-07-13 06:56
Novogratz Sees Bitcoin Rising, Says ETFs Likely to Be Approved
Mike Novogratz, the founder of Galaxy Digital Holdings Ltd., said he expects Bitcoin to rise by the end
2023-07-13 03:49