Latest news with #Hirai
Japan Times
01-05-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Gee-whiz AI event in doubt as host accused of doing something not so bright
An artificial intelligence conference in which digital clones were to be introduced may have been canceled as the corporate host of the event faces accusations of accounting irregularities. Tokyo Stock Exchange-listed Alt is under investigation for overstating sales of its main product, an AI transcription service. The stock has lost almost three-quarters of its value since the probe was disclosed on Friday. The company is scheduled to hold a conference on May 16 in Nihonbashi, where CEO Kazutaka Yonekura will introduce the Personaloid, a new offering that uploads a digital version of a person so that the clone can handle routine tasks for the human. Two individuals with knowledge of the event, including one of the scheduled speakers, claim that the conference will not be happening. The website for the conference is still posted, and the company did not immediately respond to questions about the event. Alt was founded in 2014 and listed in October 2024 on Tokyo Stock Exchange's Growth Market at ¥540 a share. It traded as high as ¥823 a share in December. On its website, it bills itself as a personal artificial intelligence company. Its products and services include AI GIJIROKU, which can be used to transcribe online calls and video meetings, and CloneDev, a system for creating digital clones of users. As of December, Alt had 23 employees, each with their own AI clone for handling daily tasks, according to the company's website. The company reported ¥6 billion in sales in 2024 and has offices in Tokyo and California. The ¥10,000 per person conference — ONE REBIRTH - Digital revival and the destruction of 20 industries — is to include a number of speakers, including former digital minister Takuya Hirai, former MIT Media Lab director Joichi Ito and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation chief digital innovation officer Akio Isowa. Topics to be covered include practical applications of artificial consciousness and the uploading and downloading of consciousness. A panel discussion of how cloning technology will change employment, contracts and ownership will also be held. Attendees will be invited to create their own simplified digital clones with the submission of biometric data. Hirai uploaded a YouTube video of himself using CloneDev in October. In the video, Hirai asks his AI version whether digital clones can be used in medicine and caregiving. AI Hirai expounded on the potential uses of AI in medicine and in caring for the elderly. It noted that AI could help with loneliness. Dentsu Digital CEO Kou Takimoto took part in a CloneDev demonstration in 2023. On April 25, Alt disclosed that it has been under investigation by Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission since early April for allegedly overstating sales generated by AI GIJIROKU. The company claimed 9,000 customers for the transcription service as of January. Alt reported that the service generated about 88% of the company's total revenue in 2024. Regulators have alleged that Alt 'excessively' inflated AI GIJIROKU sales and the number of paid subscriptions for the service. Alt has delayed the release of earnings, which was originally scheduled for May 14, and has assembled an independent panel of lawyers and accountants to review the accusations.
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Honolulu seeks new exec for troubled Liquor Commission
The Honolulu Liquor Commission is looking to hire a new senior-level executive after it announced a key employee plans to leave the troubled agency after nearly 25 years on the job. On Thursday, Mayor Rick Blangiardi's administration said it commenced its search for HLC's new assistant administrator, the person charged with managing the day-to-day operations for the entity responsible for issuing liquor licenses and enforcing liquor laws on Oahu. The selected person will replace Anna Hirai, HLC's assistant administrator, who's set to step down from the position later this year, according to a city news release. In a statement, HLC Administrator Sal Petilos said Hirai 'served the Liquor Commission in several capacities for almost two and a half decades.' 'Her determination and expertise have been, and continue to be, critical to the Honolulu Liquor Commission's efforts to improve operations, ' he added. Petilos said Hirai's replacement must be 'a highly-motivated, civic-minded individual with the knowledge, skills and experience to provide critical support in our continuing effort to dramatically improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Honolulu Liquor Commission operations.' Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. 'Thousands of licensees around the island depend on the commission's work to do business, and our next Assistant Administrator will have a key role to play in delivering on our promise to improve every facet of our operation, ' he added. Among many day-to-day priorities, the assistant administrator is responsible for the general supervision and coordination of HLC's administrative services branch, which manages liquor license applications and renewals, the city said. That person also manages HLC's field services branch, which oversees investigative and enforcement activities. Additionally, the assistant administrator helps to facilitate strategic planning and ensure effective communications not just within the HLC, including licensees and the broader community, the city said. The salary for the position is $125, 000 annually, the city indicated. For his part, Petilos was selected to be HLC's administrator in 2023. In accepting the job, he took the reins of a city agency that faced several internal and external issues including low morale, low pay, understaffing and a history of its liquor investigators accepting illegal bribes and allowing alcohol-serving businesses like nightclubs to violate liquor laws. Outside litigation also alleged homophobic behavior among HLC investigators. But in October a 2021 federal lawsuit filed by the owners of a Chinatown nightclub and a guide to the islands catering to the LGBTQ + community in which they alleged anti -gay discrimination by liquor investigators was tentatively settled. At that time the provisional agreement was to see plaintiffs Scarlet Honolulu Inc. and Gay Island Guide LLC receive $670, 000, and require mandated federal court oversight, among other reforms. Originally, the complaint had named two Liquor Commission investigators—Jacob Fears and Catherine Fontaine—who, along with other investigators working for the city, allegedly engaged in an 'ongoing campaign of unlawful, unconstitutional, and highly discriminatory anti-gay harassment of Scarlet, Gay Island Guide, and generally, the Honolulu LGBTQ + community ' that lasted more than six years, according to the complaint and attorney James DiPasquale. After the city in 2024 sought a motion to dismiss the Scarlet case, Chief U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson on Aug. 3, 2023, issued a 38-page order allowing the case to proceed to a bench trial. But the judge's prior ruling dismissed all claims against the two investigators—Fears and Fontaine—in their official capacities. The trial started in late September. But by Oct. 8, seven days into the proceedings and following testimony from Scarlet co-owner Joseph Luna, who detailed specific instances of prior bigotry including the targeting of a transgender employee, the parties agreed to a resolution and were directed to Magistrate Judge Kenneth Mansfield for a 'settlement on the record, ' according to the nightclub's co-owner Robbie Baldwin. The Honolulu City Council formally adopted the settlement agreement Nov. 7. 'The $670, 000 settlement agreement between Scarlet Honolulu and Gay Island Guide and the Honolulu Liquor Commission was approved by City Council and finalized in December 2024, ' Ian Scheuring, the mayor's deputy communications director, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. A stipulation for dismissal of the complaint has already been filed and approved by the court, he added. 'The core component of the agreement relates to HLC operational improvements, ' he said. 'The settlement commits the HLC to implementing specific measures designed to strengthen its capacity to serve licensees and the community in a fair, equitable, and non-discriminatory manner.' The settlement agreement includes :—Modernizing operations by replacing manual tracking with GPS apps and implementing electronic recording of licensee interactions.—Ensuring fairness through randomized and equalized inspections.—Enhancing staff training, including LGBTQ diversity and inclusion training.—Improving accountability through monthly data reviews and complaint tracking.—Updating policies and procedures, including removal of outdated practices.—Diversifying organizational culture and improving public engagement. 'While the HLC must file quarterly progress reports with the court and meet regularly with plaintiffs to discuss implementation progress, the agreement explicitly states that these reporting requirements 'shall not be deemed court-imposed Federal Monitoring or Federal Oversight, '' he said. 'There was never any agreement to federal oversight.' Finally, there was no admission of liability by any party, he said. Scheuring noted the settlement also provided for the dismissal of a related Uniform Information Practices Act public-records lawsuit filed against the city by the same plaintiffs. Related litigation, however, is still ongoing. In late 2024 the city asked for more legal fees to defend against a 2023 federal civil rights lawsuit alleging three investigators subjected another investigator, Jhumar Ray Waite, to discrimination, harassment and a hostile work environment based on his sexual orientation and race after starting his job with the city in 2022. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, Waite's complaint names defendants Fears, Fontaine and Glen Nishigata and alleges the trio, in their official and individual capacities at HLC, violated portions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 as well as state laws related to discrimination against Waite. Waite—who has worked as a Honolulu liquor investigator since August 2022—is gay and Filipino, the complaint states. To fight this lawsuit, the city requested the Council adopt Resolution 249, which seeks an additional $115, 000 be appropriated to pay law firm Kobayashi Sugita &Goda LLC to defend the city against the Waite civil lawsuit. In October the Council unanimously granted the city's funding request. The trial is set to begin in April, the city said. DiPasquale, Waite's lawyer, previously told the Star-Advertiser this case continues in part because no settlement was reached between his client and the city.
