Latest news with #techGiants
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Waleed Aly issues dark warning about the future of Australian TV after the death of The Project in powerful essay he 'never wanted to write'
Waleed Aly has warned free-to-air television is 'staring into the abyss' after The Project, which he co-hosted for 14 of its 16 years, was suddenly axed. In a column for The Age newspaper - that Aly insisted he never really wanted to write - the public intellectual and TV personality warned the Network Ten show's demise was a consequence of the growing power of the tech giants. 'As a general rule, I don't commentate on my own work. My editors urged me to reconsider, then left me to it,' he wrote. 'Improbably, then, here we are. But only because there are bigger things at stake than the fate of this or that television show.' Aly noted that free-to-air TV was losing audience to streaming services but highlighted a bigger threat: that tech giants, such as Meta and Google, were collecting 'frankly unconscionable amounts of their users' personal data'. Therefore, they could target audiences with better tailored ads than TV ever could. 'That will remain so for as long as television doesn't turn the camera on you and monitor your every move,' Aly wrote. 'What has inevitably followed is a flight, not so much of audiences, but of advertisers to these tech giants. 'This, I think, is a major problem. Not because free-to-air television is uniquely precious, but because that amount of data collection in the hands of a select few tech moguls simply shouldn't be allowed to exist.' The Project co-host said the tech giants has been allowed to grow 'with no serious regulation' and governments were doing nothing to stop them. Then he took aim at artificial intelligence and how it could follow the same path as the likes of Facebook and Google - with users' intimate data used to create an 'advertising product'. Aly noted that ChatGPT's parent company OpenAI was considering incorporating advertising. Aly ended his piece warning of the 'empires' that were being built in television's place 'and precisely what will have been plundered to erect them'. Network Ten announced it will be replacing the Project with a news program, known as 10 News+, from 6pm. The news program will be hosted by Denham Hitchcock and Amelia Brace - both formerly of the Seven Network - and is being helmed by executive producer Daniel Sutton, a veteran Ten reporter. In an interview with Mediaweek, Mr Sutton said the new show would go deeper than the typical 6pm news fare of 'car crashes, house fires and state politics.' 'We'll go in depth on issues that affect Aussies, and get into the "why", not just the who, what and when. 'And when we break a big story, we'll have the time to explain it and dig into the detail.' 10 News+ will start Monday, June 30, on 10 and 10 Play.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump-Musk fight reveals fragility of relationship between Silicon Valley and White House
The falling out between President Trump and Elon Musk is just the latest reminder that the relationship between the new White House and the titans of technology has turned out to be complicated. The CEO of Tesla (TSLA) was among several big names from Silicon Valley awarded prime seats for the president's Jan. 20 Capitol inauguration, alongside Meta (META) CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple (AAPL) CEO Tim Cook, Amazon (AMZN) chair Jeff Bezos, and Google (GOOG) CEO Sundar Pichai. In the five months since, the president has either confronted all of their companies in court or applied pressure on those firms with his own words. Musk and Trump made their break official last week in a series of social media posts that featured insults and threats hurled by both men. The other executives and their companies had already been grappling with a tougher-than-expected stance on their industry. Zuckerberg, for example, was not able to convince Trump to stop an antitrust trial against Meta from going forward this spring. The president has since threatened Cook's Apple with 25% duties on overseas-made iPhones and criticized the iPhone maker's ramped-up production in India. Meanwhile, the company is defending against an antitrust lawsuit led by the Justice Department, filed during President Joe Biden's administration. Trump's Justice Department has also pushed ahead with a Biden-era recommendation for a judge to break up Pichai's Google empire. Trump even called Bezos to complain about Amazon after it was reported that the online retail giant was considering displaying the cost of tariffs next to prices on its site. Trump said Bezos "solved the problem very quickly.' Yet Amazon still faces a lawsuit from Trump's Federal Trade Commission that is due to start in February 2027. The FTC, which brought the case during Biden's term in office, told a judge in the spring that it needed to push the original October 2026 trial date due to Amazon's litigation delays. One of the biggest questions facing the tech world as Trump took office was how aggressive Trump's antitrust enforcers would be following four years of a Biden administration marked by legal fights with many of Silicon Valley's biggest names. By sustaining many of these cases and probes against Big Tech, Trump has parted ways with traditional Republican-style enforcement, legal experts say. "This isn't the Bush administration," Trump's FTC chair Andrew Ferguson told a group of American CEOs this spring in Washington, D.C., referring to one of the weakest US antitrust enforcement periods in modern history. Case Western Reserve University School of Law professor Anat Alon-Beck expects the Trump administration will continue to rein in Big Tech, especially given bipartisan support for the idea that Big Tech currently has too much power. There have been some positive developments for the tech firms too. Big Tech has gained the benefit of a relaxed regulatory environment, especially in the industry of artificial intelligence, making fundraising and complying with securities laws easier. In an executive order titled 'Removing Barriers to American Leadership in Artificial Intelligence,' the president rescinded Biden's executive order on AI safety and directed federal agencies to remove regulatory obstacles to US global AI dominance. "So they have to take what they can get from the current administration," Alon-Beck said. One tech giant that does have an early win from Trump is Microsoft. President Trump's antitrust cops ended what had become an uphill government effort to unwind Microsoft's (MSFT) $69 billion acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard that also began during the Biden administration. The decision came when the FTC voluntarily dropped a lawsuit that Biden's FTC boss, Lina Khan, first filed against the tie-up in December 2022. But Microsoft may not emerge unscathed, either. Bloomberg has reported that Trump officials at the FTC are also broadening a probe into Microsoft and its relationship with AI upstart OpenAI ( The probe was first launched by Khan, a key architect of a new movement seeking to expand the legal theories that can give rise to antitrust claims. In June of last year, multiple news organizations reported that the probe also involved a DOJ investigation into chipmaker Nvidia's (NVDA) competitive conduct. The probe was to address concerns over the company's dominance in the market for microprocessors that power AI. The Trump administration has not indicated it has dropped the investigation. And in April, Nvidia said in a regulatory filing that the president had kept in place Biden's export restrictions on the company's H20 AI chips to China. As for Musk, Trump this past weekend said he had no desire to repair the relationship, which he said was over. He warned there would be 'serious consequences' if Mr. Musk financed candidates to run against Republicans who voted in favor of the president's domestic policy bill. But on Monday, Trump made some conciliatory comments about Musk and Tesla. "I'd have no problem with it," Trump said at a White House event on Monday when asked if he would be willing to speak with Musk. "I'd imagine he wants to speak with me." He added, "I wish him well, very well actually." Wedbush technology analyst Dan Ives wrote in a note on Monday that he doesn't expect Trump and Musk to fully patch their soured relationship but would not be surprised if it improved in the months ahead. At the end of the day, Ives wrote, "Trump needs Musk to stay close to the Republican party and Musk needs Trump for many reasons," including a federal framework for autonomous vehicles. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Daily Mail
04-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Apple and Google are 'dragging their feet' over one simple change that would hit mobile phone thieves - and MPs say it is because they are more interested in making money
Apple and Google are under fire from furious MPs who accuse them of deliberately stalling a vital anti-theft measure - all to protect their bottom line. The world's biggest tech firms were told 18 months ago by the Metropolitan Police to make a change that could make stolen smartphones worthless to criminals. But despite soaring phone theft – a staggering 80,000 devices were stolen in London last year alone – neither company has acted. Now MPs have slammed the delay, warning that criminal gangs are cashing in while tech giants rake in billions. 'It feels to a lot of people like you're dragging your feet … and actually sitting behind this is a very strong commercial incentive,' said Conservative MP and former Home Office minister Kit Malthouse. 'The fact that £50 million of mobile phones are stolen in London every year means that if that stopped, that would be £50 million in sales that were depressed.' According to Detective Chief Superintendent James Conway, the Met's lead on mobile phone crime, two thirds of thefts in the capital now involve phones, costing customers and insurers an eye-watering £50 million a year. James Conway, the Met Police's lead on phone theft, said the scale of phone theft in London last year had a street value of around £20million and a replacement value of £50million And the scale of international trafficking is staggering – 75 percent of stolen devices are shipped overseas, mostly to Algeria, China and Hong Kong. Because UK mobile carriers block phones using IMEI numbers, rendering them useless here but overseas, the rules are often lax, making the phones a goldmine. Police say it's simple: stop stolen phones accessing Apple's iCloud or Google's cloud services, even abroad. That would make them useless to thieves. 'We're asking the cloud providers specifically to prevent a lost or stolen device from connecting to their cloud services,' said Darren Scates, the Met's chief digital and data tech officer. 'This doesn't even need to involve the police.' When grilled by MPs on the Commons science, innovation and technology committee, Apple and Google execs refused to commit to implementing the change. 'You could tomorrow stop phones that are on the IMEI blacklist connecting back to your services, if you so wish, both of you. But you won't do it, why?' demanded Lib Dem MP Martin Wrigley, a former tech industry professional. Apple's Gary Davis, global senior director of privacy and law enforcement, pushed back, claiming concerns over fraud and insisting Apple was still considering the request. 'I deny a suggestion that we must somehow benefit from our users suffering the traumatic event of having their phones and being disconnected from their lives,' he said. Davis added that Apple had invested hundreds of millions of dollars in anti-theft features, but failed to explain why the simple cloud-blocking request hadn't been met. 'Apple and Google continue to make profit and continue to sell more phones because these phones are not removed from the system,' Wrigley shot back. 'You owe it to the customers around the world to implement this immediately. No ifs, no buts, just do it.' Google's Simon Wingrove echoed concerns, saying the company needed to decide as an industry whether the move was 'safe and sensible' – but stopped short of any commitment. He added that Google was 'open to have that discussion' with the Home Office. The committee's chair, Chi Onwurah, summed up the mood: 'It is clear from the mood of the committee we don't feel that either Google or Apple have a road plan to effective phone protection that doesn't involve IMEI. 'The lack of urgency about the subject given the suffering it entails is also coming across to us.'
Globe and Mail
26-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
7 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks to Buy Right Now
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly evolving from a futuristic concept to the defining technology of our era. With generative AI alone projected to add trillions in economic value by 2030, we're witnessing the early stages of a transformation that will reshape every industry. From voice interfaces and intelligent automation to energy infrastructure and next-generation computing, AI's tentacles are reaching into every corner of the global economy. This revolution isn't just about chatbots and image generators. AI is fundamentally changing how businesses operate, make decisions, and serve customers. Companies that successfully integrate AI into their core operations are seeing dramatic improvements in efficiency, customer satisfaction, and profitability. Meanwhile, those that fail to adapt risk becoming obsolete in an increasingly automated world. While tech giants dominate headlines in the AI arena, savvy investors should look beyond the obvious plays. The companies best positioned to profit from AI adoption span multiple sectors -- from specialized AI software providers to the infrastructure players powering this computational revolution. Here are seven stocks offering compelling exposure to AI's explosive growth trajectory. Voice AI revolution SoundHound AI (NASDAQ: SOUN) pioneers conversational AI technology that enables natural voice interactions between humans and machines, with its platform already powering millions of interactions daily across automotive, restaurant, and consumer brands. The company's edge computing capabilities allow voice processing directly on devices, creating faster, more private experiences, while its recent acquisition of Amelia expands its reach into enterprise customer service automation. As voice becomes the dominant interface for AI interaction, SoundHound's proprietary technology and growing patent portfolio position it to capture massive value from the shift to conversational computing. AI-powered insurance disruptor Lemonade (NYSE: LMND) leverages AI to reimagine insurance, using AI chatbots to handle claims in seconds and behavioral economics to reduce fraud while improving customer experience. The company's AI-driven approach enables it to operate with a fraction of traditional insurers' overhead, passing savings to customers while maintaining strong unit economics that improve with scale. With its recent expansion into auto insurance and growing lifetime value per customer, Lemonade demonstrates how AI can transform even the most traditional industries. AI infrastructure enabler Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) develops advanced nuclear fission power plants perfectly suited to meet the exploding energy demands of AI data centers, with its compact reactors offering reliable, carbon-free baseload power. The nuclear energy company recently benefited from executive orders President Trump signed on May 23 that streamline nuclear development by allowing the departments of Energy and Defense to build reactors on federal land and requiring the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to make licensing decisions within 18 months. With Oklo CEO Jacob DeWitte present at the signing ceremony alongside other nuclear industry leaders, the company is well positioned to capitalize on the administration's push to accelerate nuclear deployment for powering AI data centers and defense facilities. Efficient AI semiconductor play Navitas Semiconductor (NASDAQ: NVTS) creates gallium nitride (GaN) power semiconductors that dramatically improve energy efficiency in data centers, reducing the massive power consumption that threatens to limit AI scaling. The company recently announced a collaboration with Nvidia to co-develop 800V HVDC systems for next-generation AI server racks, validating its GaNFast and GeneSiC technologies. With AI infrastructure scaling rapidly, Navitas offers a high-leverage play on the power efficiency demands of the AI boom. Metaverse AI architect Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) transforms from social media giant to AI powerhouse, deploying advanced AI across its billions of users while building the infrastructure for next-generation AI experiences. The company's massive investments in AI research yield practical applications from content recommendation to ad targeting. Meanwhile, its open-source Llama models position it as a key enabler of the broader AI ecosystem. With its vast data resources, computing infrastructure, and direct monetization paths through advertising and virtual reality, Meta offers multiple ways to win from AI advancement. AI everything company Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) embeds AI throughout its massive ecosystem, from Alexa voice assistants and recommendation engines to warehouse robotics and Amazon Web Services' AI services that power thousands of enterprises. The company's Bedrock platform democratizes access to leading AI models while its custom AI chips offer cost-effective alternatives to traditional processors, creating multiple revenue streams from the AI boom. As both a massive user of AI for its operations and a provider of AI infrastructure to others, Amazon benefits from AI adoption at every level of the technology stack. Photonic AI breakthrough Poet Technologies (NASDAQ: POET) develops optical interconnect solutions that could revolutionize AI computing by using light instead of electricity to move data between chips, dramatically reducing the power consumption and heat generation that limit AI scaling. The company's photonic integrated circuits enable data transmission speeds up to 100 times faster than traditional copper connections while consuming 50% less power, addressing critical bottlenecks in AI data centers. As AI models grow exponentially larger and require massive data movement between processors, Poet's optical technology could become fundamental to making advanced AI economically viable. Should you invest $1,000 in SoundHound AI right now? Before you buy stock in SoundHound AI, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and SoundHound AI wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $639,271!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $804,688!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor 's total average return is957% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to167%for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of May 19, 2025 John Mackey, former CEO of Whole Foods Market, an Amazon subsidiary, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. George Budwell has positions in Lemonade, Navitas Semiconductor, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, Lemonade, Meta Platforms, and Nvidia. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Khaleej Times
24-05-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Trump threatens new 50% tariff on EU, 25% duties on smartphones
US President Donald Trump rekindled his trade war with the European Union on Friday by threatening 50 per cent tariffs, as Brussels reacted with a call for "respect." Trump also unleashed a broadside against smartphone makers including US tech giant Apple, threatening them with new duties of 25 per cent if they do not move production to the United States. Stock markets fell as the Republican's comments fuelled fears of global economic disruption, after a relative lull in recent days after Trump reached deals with China and Britain. Trump first raised the issue of EU tariffs in an early morning post on his Truth Social network. "Our discussions with them are going nowhere!" Trump said. "Therefore, I am recommending a straight 50 per cent tariff on the European Union, starting on June 1, 2025." He doubled down later in the day, telling reporters in the Oval Office that there was nothing the 27-nation bloc could do to change his mind. "I'm not looking for a deal. I mean, we've set the deal. It's at 50 per cent," Trump said. "They haven't treated our country properly. They banded together to take advantage of us." Billionaire property tycoon Trump, 78, also denied that his tariffs would hurt American businesses. "They're not hurting, they're helping," he said. Trump's new tariffs would, if imposed, dramatically raise Washington's current baseline levy of 10 per cent, and fuel simmering tensions between the world's biggest economy and its largest trading bloc. The EU's trade chief said the bloc would work for a trade deal with Washington based on "respect" not "threats." "The EU's fully engaged, committed to securing a deal that works for both," trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic posted on X, after a previously planned call with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. In a separate message posted Friday that also unnerved markets, Trump blasted Apple boss Tim Cook for failing to move iPhone production to the United States despite repeated requests. Trump said he had "long ago informed Tim Cook of Apple that I expect their iPhones that will be sold in the United States of America will be manufactured and built in the United States, not India, or anyplace else." "If that is not the case, a Tariff of at least 25 per cent must be paid by Apple to the US". Trump later stepped up his threats, saying he would hit all smartphones not made in the country. "It would be also Samsung and anybody that makes that product, otherwise it wouldn't be fair," Trump told reporters, adding that the new tariffs would come into effect from the end of June. Market worries Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on most of the world on what he called "Liberation Day" on April 2, with a baseline 10 percent plus steeper duties including a 20 percent levy on the EU. Markets were thrown into turmoil but calmed after he paused the bigger tariffs for 90 days. Trump has since claimed some early successes in deals struck with Britain and with China, the world's second biggest economy. But talks with the EU have failed to make much progress, with Brussels recently threatening to hit US goods worth nearly 100 billion euros ($113 billion) with tariffs if it does not lower the duties on European goods. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Bloomberg Television on Friday the lower 10 per cent tariff rate was "contingent on countries or trading blocs coming and negotiating in good faith." Wall Street's main indexes were all down around one per cent two hours into trading, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq at one stage losing 1.5 per cent before rallying while Apple shares sank 2.5 per cent. Paris and Frankfurt ended with losses of around 1.5 percent, while London's FTSE 100, which initially rose, also ended in the red. "The administration had kind of hinted that they were considering imposing reciprocal tariffs on countries that weren't negotiating in good faith," Barclays senior US economist Jonathan Millar told AFP.
