AI doing the work of over 200 people at Octopus, chief executive says May 8, 2023 Octopus Energy customers are more satisfied with AI bots answering their emails than humans, the energy provider’s chief executive revealed on Monday. Writing in the Times newspaper, the energy company’s chief executive, Greg Jackson, said the technology was doing the work of 250 people by answering customer emails and had received a 80 per cent [...]
‘Godfather of AI’ quits Google over concerns with rapid advances in tech May 2, 2023 A British scientist dubbed the “Godfather of AI” has quit his role at Google due to concerns about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI), such as its potentially ability to spread misinformation and overhaul the jobs market. Geoffrey Hinton — who joined Google a decade ago to build on what was then the foundation of [...]
Analysis: Big tech beats forecasts – but they’re not out of the woods yet April 28, 2023 Meta, Microsoft, and Google’s parent, Alphabet, Amazon all showed signs of resilience this week after a bruising period for the tech sector. After many US tech firms laid off thousands of staff in response to low growth and inflationary pressures, each of these leading tech giants reported quarterly revenues and profits that beat analyst estimates, [...]
WPP chief says use of AI in advertising is an ‘opportunity’ not a threat April 27, 2023 Contrary to some commentators’ fears, chief of WPP Mark Read has called artificial intelligence a “massive opportunity to optimise creative” work rather than representing a threat. Speaking to the Financial Times, Read revealed the advertising giant has already been using artificial intelligence and automation to “amplify” its creative work for some years. He added that [...]
FTSE 100 close: London ends down ahead of Google and Microsoft results as Primark owner slumps April 25, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 was dragged lower today as investors fretted over the state of a batch of big tech results on Wall Street rolling in over the coming days. The capital’s premier index shed 0.27 per cent to drop to 7,891.13 points, while the domestically-focus mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the [...]
Regulation set to challenge the ‘dominance’ of tech giants Google, Amazon and Facebook April 25, 2023 Plans to toughen up UK regulation of some of the world’s largest tech companies will go before MPs for the first time, with the competition watchdog’s dedicated digital unit set to be given sharper teeth. New laws to regulate big tech firms, such as Google, Amazon and Meta, have been long awaited, with MPs last [...]
Google to change app store rules after UK competition agency flags concerns April 19, 2023 Google said it will allow app developers in the UK to use alternative payment options following an investigation by the UK’s competition regulator. The tech giant said it would present other payment options to Google Play’s billing system for in-app purchases “in a neutral manner” if its commitments are accepted by the UK Competition and [...]
How AI is proving a virtual nightmare for Google boss who admits having ‘sleepless nights’ April 17, 2023 Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence keeps him awake at night as he admitted society is not fully prepared for its advancement. In an interview with CBS’s Scott Pelley for the “60 minutes” programme, which aired on Sunday, Pichai said the technology could be harmful if it is not used [...]
Google bans personal loan apps from accessing sensitive data April 6, 2023 Google is banning apps that provide personal loans from accessing sensitive user data in a bid to clamp down on predatory activity among some lenders. In a policy update late Wednesday, the company said that the apps available on Google Play were “prohibited” from accessing sensitive data, such as photos or contact books. The new [...]
Pinduoduo: Google pulls China shopping platform from app store after malware discovery March 21, 2023 Google has suspended the Chinese shopping platform Pinduoduo on its app store after malware was discovered in versions of the app from other sources. Google said it suspended the Pinduoduo app on the Google Play store out of “security concerns” and that it was investigating. The suspension of the app – mainly used in China [...]