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INTEL TO RECEIVE $8.5B IN US FUNDING FOR HIGH-END CHIP MANUFACTURING

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March 20, 2024IntelCHIPS Act, IntelJenThorpe

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Intel will receive $8.5 billion in direct funding and $11 billion in loans from
the US government to expand its capacity to make high-end chips, as it seeks to
reinvent itself as a national champion in the sector and compete with the likes
of Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung, Financial Times reported.

US President Joe Biden will travel to Intel’s site in Chandler, Arizona, on
Wednesday to announce the package, which will go towards building new facilities
for the company in the south-western state, as well as Ohio, New Mexico and
Oregon.

The government funding for chip manufacturing, which was passed in Congress in
2022, is part of Biden’s sweeping agenda to revitalize domestic manufacturing in
areas ranging from clean energy to semiconductors and steel.

Intel has already committed to investing $100 billion in chip manufacturing over
the next five years. It had said it expected to further benefit from the US
Treasury tax credits that would allow it to write off up to 25 per cent of that
investment.

The $8.5 billion will be distributed in tranches, subject to Intel reaching
certain “milestones”, senior White House officials said. They expect the funding
to lead 30,000 jobs in the chip sector.

CNBC reported the White House said Intel has been awarded up to $8.5 billion in
CHIPS Act funding, as the Biden administration ramps up its efforts to bring
semiconductor manufacturing to U.S. soil. 

Intel could receive an additional $11 billion in loans from the CHIPS and
Science Act, which was passed in 2022. The awards will be announced by President
Joe Biden in Arizona on Wednesday.

The money will help “leading-edge semiconductors made in the United States” keep
“America in the driver’s seat of innovation,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Gina
Raimondo, said in a call with reporters. Intel and the White House said their
agreement is nonbinding and preliminary and could change.

Intel said it would spend its CHIPS Act funds on fabs and research centers in
Arizona, Ohio, New Mexico and Oregon. The company previously announced plans to
spend $100 billion on U.S. programs and facilities. Intel has announced a plan
to catch up in leading-edge manufacturing by 2026.

Intel’s Ohio fab will cost more than $20 billion and Intel said it is expected
to start production in 2027 or 2028. Intel is also expanding manufacturing
operations in Arizona and New Mexico. Intel says the projects will create jobs
for 20,000 people in fab construction and 10,000 people in chip manufacturing.

In my opinion, this could potentially result in Intel hiring a lot of people who
want to work for the company. This probably couldn’t have been done without the
use of the CHIPS Act. 

 

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THREADS IS ROLLING OUT TRENDING TOPICS TO ALL USERS IN THE US

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March 19, 2024ThreadsInstagram, ThreadsJenThorpe

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Threads, the Twitter-like app from Instagram, is rolling out its “trending now”
feature widely to all users in the U.S. The official rollout comes a month after
the app started testing the feature with a select number of users in the
country. Trending topics are available on the search page and in the app’s For
You Feed, TechCrunch reported.

In a Threads post, Instagram head Adam Mosseri announced the official launch and
noted that the company sees it as “an easy way to see what others are talking
about on Threads.”

The launch of trending topics will bring Threads more in-line with X, as it will
allow users to find timely conversations that are taking place on the social
network. Up until now, Threads has been lacking a real-time sense of community,
and the introduction of trending topics could help remedy this as it lets you
get an idea of what people are currently discussing outside of what you see in
your own feeds.

According to TechCrunch, the feature is somewhat limited, as Threads only
displays five trending topics at a time, while X shows you multiple. It’s
possible that Threads may be limiting the number of trending topics to prevent
issues around safety and spam.

Gizmodo reported Thread users in the United States will finally be able to see
what topics are trending on the app, a longhand staple feature of Twitter,
according to a post from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday. The “Trending Now”
page appears under the search bar on Threads.

“Trending now is rolling out to the US today so you can see what people are
talking about on Threads,” said Mark Zuckerberg in a post on Threads.

According to Gizmodo, Meta tested a trending page on Threads earlier this year
called “Today’s Topics.” It appears the company shifted the name of the page to
a more familiar name. The “Trending” page has been a staple of Twitter, Threads’
competitor, for years and it’s been highly cited as a missing feature of the
Threads platform.

Meta launched Threads last summer, and it blew up in popularity with 49 million
users in the first two days. Then all the hype faded away as many of those
millions who signed up for the platform when it was first released just stopped
using it. Since then, Meta continued to add new feature such as a web browser
version, a retweet-like feature called reposts, and even an edit button. These
features have made Threads a popular app once again, and Meta said last month
that there are more users now than at launch.

Engadget reported Meta is finally providing a bit of visibility into what kinds
of conversations are happening on its Twitter competitor, Threads. The service
is rolling out its “trending now” feature to all US users, Mark Zuckerberg said
in a post.

For now, the feature is still fairly limited. Threads only shows five trending
topics at any one time, which is likely an attempt to keep the list relatively
curated and avoid some of the issues that have plagued the feature on Twitter
and now X.

In my opinion, it is probably good that Threads is attempting to provide users
with new features while also curating what goes into trending topics. That might
help keep the Meta’s social media alive for a while.

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VID2POD: TRANSFORM YOUTUBE PLAYLISTS INTO A PODCAST! #1731

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March 18, 2024PodcastKirk

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Vid2Pod by Blubrry Podcasting offers an innovative solution for YouTube creators
aiming to extend their content’s reach by effortlessly converting video
playlists into high-quality audio podcasts. This new service by Blubrry
podcasting is a boon for video-first creators, enabling them to tap into a new
audience and ensure their content is accessible across all major podcast
platforms. The process involves simply integrating your YouTube account,
selecting a playlist for conversion, and instant distribution across platforms
like Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon.

Let me know what you think of the intro music created by app.suno.ai

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YOUTUBE NOW REQUIRES CREATORS TO LABEL VIDEOS MADE WITH AI

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March 18, 2024AIAI, YouTubeJenThorpe

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Starting Monday, YouTube creators will be required to label when
realistic-looking videos were made using artificial intelligence, part of a
broader effort by the company to be transparent about content that could
otherwise confuse or mislead users, CNN reported.

When a user uploads a video to the site, they will see a checklist asking if
their content makes a real person say or do something they didn’t do, alters
footage of a real place or event, or depicts a realistic-looking scene that
didn’t actually occur.

According to CNN, The disclosure is meant to help prevent users from being
confused by synthetic content amid a proliferation of new, consumer-facing
generative AI tools that make it quick and easy to create compelling text,
images, video and audio that can often be hard to distinguish from the real
thing. 

Online safety experts have raised alarms that the proliferation of AI-generated
content could confuse and mislead users across the internet, especially ahead of
elections in the United States and elsewhere in 2024.

YouTube creators will be required to identify when their videos contain
AI-generated or otherwise manipulated content that appears realistic — so that
YouTube can attach a label for viewers — and could face consequences if they
repeatedly fail to add the disclosure.

YouTube posted “How we’re helping creators disclose altered or synthetic
content” From the post:

Generative AI is transforming the ways creators express themselves — from
storyboarding ideas to experimenting with tools that enhance creative process.
But viewers increasingly want more transparency about whether the content
they’re seeing is altered or synthetic.

That’s why today we’re introducing a new tool in Creator Studio requiring
creators to disclose to viewers when realistic content — content a viewer could
easily mistake for a real person, place, or event — is made with altered or
synthetic media, including generative AI.

The new label is meant to strengthen transparency with viewers and build trust
between creators and their audience. Some examples of content that require
disclosure include:

Using the likeness of a realistic person: Digitally altering content to replace
the face of one individual with another’s or synthetically generating a person’s
voice to narrate a video.

Altering footage of real events of places: Such as making it appear as if a real
building caught fire, or altering a real cityscape to make it appear different
than reality.

Generating realistic scenes: Showing a realistic depiction of fictional major
events, like a tornado moving toward a real town.

Engadget reported that YouTube says it might apply labels to a video if a
creator hasn’t done so, “especially if the altered or synthetic content has the
potential to confuse or mislead people.” The team notes it wants to give
creators some time to get used to the new rules, YouTube will likely penalize
those who persistently flout the policy by not including a label when it should
be.

In my opinion, it sounds like YouTube is intending to make the distinction
between real-world videos and videos that include AI generated ones. That might
be frustrating for some creators, but will be useful for preventing people from
confusing reality with AI manipulated content.

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THE FTC IS PROBING REDDIT’S AI LICENSING DEALS

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March 16, 2024RedditFTC, redditJenThorpe

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The Federal Trade Commission is looking into Reddit’s AI licensing deals, the
company disclosed in paperwork filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The company, which is in the midst of its Initial Public Offering,
said that the regulator notified Reddit officials that it “intended to request
information and documents” about the company’s AI deals, Engadget reported.

According to Engadget, it’s not clear why the FTC is probing Reddit’s relatively
new licensing business, but it seems to be in the early stages of its inquiry.
“On March 14, 2024, we received a letter from the FTC advising us that the FTC’s
staff is conducting a non-public inquiry focused on our sale, licensing, or
sharing of user-generated content with third parties to train AI models,” Reddit
wrote in a filing. “Given the novel nature of these technologies and commercial
arrangements, we are not surprised that the FTC has expressed interest in this
area. We do not believe that we have engaged in any unfair or deceptive trade
practice.”

CNBC reported that Reddit said on Friday that the Federal Trade Commission sent
a letter to the company about its data-licensing business related to the
training of artificial intelligence systems.

According to CNBC, the 19-year-old company has filed to sell shares in it’s IPO
at $31 to $34 each of an offering that would value the business at close to $6.5
billion. Reddit is trying to hit the public market during a historically slow
period for tech IPOs. There hasn’t been a notable venture-backed tech debut
since Instacart and Klaviyo in September. Before that, the market had been
largely shuttered since late 2021.

Reddit’s revenue rose 20% last year to $804 million. About 98% of its sales came
from advertising. The remaining 2% includes data licensing.

The Hill reported the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is probing Reddit’s plan to
let artificial intelligence (AI) firms to utilize user-generated content to
train their software, according to the social media company’s Securities and
Exchange Commission (SEC) filing Friday.

The inquiry comes just days before Reddit is slated to complete its initial
public offering, after filing for it last month.

According to The Hill, Reddit announced in February that it would allow Google
to train its AI models. The deal was announced in February, is worth $60 billion
and would let Google use its data application programming interface (API).

Axios reported Reddit isn’t the only company receiving these so-called “hold
letters,” according to a former FTC official who spoke with Axios on background.

According to Axios, this suggests that the commission is trying to get a handle
on a rapidly changing industry and how that could affect both competition and
consumer data privacy. It does not mean a formal investigation will be launched
into Reddit or any other company.

In my opinion, it sounds like the FTC is very interested in what Reddit wants to
do with the sale, licensing, or sharing of user-generated content to train AI
models. I’m not sure that’s something the FTC will allow.

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SUPREME COURT RULES PUBLIC OFFICIALS CAN BLOCK SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS

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March 15, 2024Social MediaSCOTUS, Social Media, Supreme CourtJenThorpe

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The Supreme Court ruled Friday that public officials may block people on social
media in certain circumstances, tossing aside challenges against local
government officials in Michigan and California who blocked followers who were
critical of them on Facebook, CNN reported.

In an unanimous opinion written by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, the court set a
clearer standard for when public officials are state actors online and when they
can have more control over their social media presence. A second opinion dealing
with a related dispute was unsigned and there were no noted dissents.

According to CNN, in an era when public officials often communicate with voters
through social media, the cases raised important First Amendment questions about
whether those pages were private or whether they are an extension of the
government. Some of the pages included information that appeared official
alongside personal posts showing the family dog.

“When a government official posts about job-related topics on social-media, it
can be difficult to tell whether the speech is official or private,” Barrett
wrote.

ArsTechnica posted a headline: “Public officials can block haters — but only
sometimes, SCOTUS rules.” There are some circumstances where government
officials are allowed to block people from commenting on their social media
pages, the Supreme Court said.

According to the Supreme Court, the key question is whether officials are
speaking as private individuals or on behalf of the state when posting online.
Issuing two opinions, the Supreme Court declined to set a clear standard for
when personal social media use constitutes state speech, leaving each unique
case to be decided by lower courts.

Instead, SCOTUS provided a test for courts to decide first if someone is or
isn’t speaking on behalf of the state on their social media pages, and then if
they actually have authority to act on what they post online.

The ruling suggests that government officials can block people from commenting
on personal social media pages where they discuss official business when that
speech can not be attributed to the state and merely reflects personal remarks.
This means that blocking is acceptable when the official has no authority to
speak for the state or exercise that authority when speaking on their page.

NBC News reported the Supreme Court ruled Friday that members of the public in
some circumstances can sue public officials for blocking them on social media
platforms, deciding a pair of cases against the backdrop of former President
Donald Trump’s contentious and colorful use of Twitter.

The court ruled unanimously that officials can be deemed “state actors” when
making use of social media and can therefore face litigation if they block or
mute a member of the public.

In ruling that it can, the court found that blocking someone from following an
official constitutes a government action that could give rise to a
constitutional claim under the Constitution’s First Amendment, which protects
free speech.

In my opinion, we might see less posts from public officials on social media,
considering the SCOTUS decision. That said, it is unclear to me if SCOTUS is
requiring “state actors” to put up with angry people on social media.

 

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SPACEX’S STARSHIP ACHIEVES ORBITAL VELOCITY IN HISTORIC TEST FLIGHT #1730

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March 14, 2024PodcastKirk

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In a momentous event, SpaceX’s colossal Starship, the world’s largest and most
powerful rocket, achieved orbital speed for the first time today. This
significant milestone occurred during its third test flight, marking a historic
day for SpaceX and space exploration enthusiasts. Despite not completing its
intended splashdown, the test was deemed successful as it accomplished several
key objectives, advancing SpaceX’s ambitious space travel goals.

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