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| 1 | | What happened: Facebook owner Meta Platforms has been fined a record €1.2B ($1.3B) by European Union regulators for transferring user information to the U.S. Details: The Irish Data Protection Commission, which oversees Meta's operations in the EU, accused the company of breaching the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) by transferring personal data despite a 2020 European court ruling outlawing the practice. In addition to the fine, the DPC has ordered Meta to halt the transfer of European Facebook users' information to the U.S. and delete any data that was already transferred in the last six months. What the numbers say: The €1.2B fine is the largest ever for a GDPR violation, surpassing the previous €746M record imposed on Amazon in 2021. Meta has already faced fines of about €1.3B from the Irish DPC since 2021 for various GDPR violations across its platforms. However, the latest penalty stands out as the largest, nearly equaling the combined amount of the previous fines. Where to see the impact: The ruling applies only to Facebook, not Instagram and WhatsApp, with no immediate disruption to Facebook's EU service. However, it may impact Meta's user data storage, including photos, friend connections, and direct messages, along with its ad targeting capabilities. The record-breaking fine underscores the growing risks for companies not adhering to the EU's privacy regulations. What's next: Meta intends to appeal the decision and is optimistic about creating a new EU-U.S. data transfer and sharing agreement, which could take effect before the Irish regulator's deadlines and render the ruling ineffective. 
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| 2 | | China has banned domestic purchases of Micron Technology's memory chips due to alleged network security risks, which is expected to negatively impact the U.S. chipmaker's revenue. The move comes as the U.S., Europe, and Japan have been restricting Chinese access to advanced chipmaking technology due to concerns about its potential use in weapons and more. More: - China's cyberspace regulator claims Micron failed its network security review that began earlier this year.
- As a result, Beijing is now blocking Chinese infrastructure operators from purchasing Micron products.
- China accounts for about 10% of the annual sales of Micron.
- The largest U.S. memory chipmaker is now the first in the country to face such limitations in what is viewed as retaliation for U.S. efforts to restrict China's access to critical technology.
- Meanwhile, the U.S. Commerce Department opposes the restrictions, stating they lack factual basis and go against China's claims of openness and transparent regulation.
- The ban could also cause other companies to halt purchases and remove Micron from their supply chains due to the political risks.
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| 3 | | Neeva, once a potential challenger to Google Search, has announced the shutdown of its consumer search engine. The move indicates that a potential acquisition deal with Snowflake, a Montana-based cloud database provider, is likely to happen. More: - Neeva, co-founded by former Sridhar Ramaswamy, offered a paid, ad-free, and privacy-focused search engine that had recently incorporated AI-generated answers.
- In a new blog post, Ramaswamy and Vivek Raghunathan, another Neeva co-founder, acknowledged that the startup had faced challenges acquiring users for its search engine in the current economic climate.
- Building the product was easy, but convincing users to switch to a better choice proved challenging, according to Ramaswamy and Raghunathan.
- "There is no longer a path towards creating a sustainable business in consumer search," they wrote.
What's next: - Neeva is now deleting all user data and offering refunds to users with a paid subscription.
- The company will now pivot toward exploring generative AI and large language models in search, the co-founders said.
- Cloud data provider Snowflake has signed a letter of intent to acquire Neeva and enhance its search capabilities with AI technology.
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| 4 | | U.S. semiconductor equipment manufacturer, Applied Materials, plans to invest up to $4B in a new research center called Epic in Silicon Valley. The center aims to speed up the transfer of innovative ideas from research labs to chip manufacturing equipment designers. More: - Epic, or Equipment and Process Innovation and Commercialization Center, will bring together experts from research universities and major chipmakers like Intel, TSMC, and Samsung to explore cutting-edge materials and techniques for more advanced chips.
- Applied Materials, the biggest maker of chip manufacturing tools worldwide, said chip makers would have the opportunity to reserve space in the center and test new tools before their commercial release.
- The center is expected to create at least 2,000 engineering jobs and potentially another 11,000 in related industries when it comes online in 2026.
- Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the planned location in Sunnyvale, California, to announce the center and encourage further investments in American chip manufacturing.
Cost: - Applied said it would invest up to $4B in the facility over seven years, with plans to spend over $25B on R&D within the first decade.
- The center is seeking government subsidies through the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, which sets aside nearly $53B in federal funds to bolster domestic semiconductor manufacturing.
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| 5 | | Apple has barred employees from using external AI tools like ChatGPT due to concerns about confidential data leakage. This restriction is similar to actions taken by Samsung, JPMorgan, Bank of America, and other companies. More: - ChatGPT, GitHub's Copilot, and other AI tools are now included in Apple's list of restricted software.
- OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, retains and reviews user interactions as part of its standard practice.
- User conversations are used to train their AI systems and are subject to moderation, meaning they are not confidential.
- The news follows OpenAI's recent launch of an iOS app for ChatGPT, which is currently available in the U.S., supports voice input, and is free to use.
- On a broader scale, Apple is actively hiring for more AI positions, particularly in generative AI, to enhance its offerings in this field.
- According to 9to5Mac, Apple has posted at least 28 AI-focused job openings so far in May.
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| 6 | | Amazon is adding a feature to its palm-based payment system, Amazon One, that will allow users to purchase alcohol by scanning their hand. In order to make purchases, users have to upload a government-issued ID on the Amazon One site, which is then verified by a third-party provider. More: - The Coors Field baseball stadium in Denver, Colorado, will be the first venue to offer alcohol purchases through the touchless payment device, with more locations planned for the future.
- Bartenders will be able to verify a user's age through a "21+" message on the device and visual matching the user with their uploaded photo.
- Amazon One, first introduced in 2020, has since been rolled out at some Whole Foods locations, Amazon Fresh supermarkets, Go convenience stores, and third party-locations, including sports venues and some Panera locations.
Zoom out: - To address privacy concerns, Amazon said it does not store users' government-issued IDs and secures palm recognition data through multi-layered security controls, including storing data off-device in a separate cloud storage environment.
- However, U.S. lawmakers have compared Amazon One to Apple Face ID and Samsung Pass, noting that Amazon stores biometric data in the cloud while the others store it on the device, which poses "unique security risks," they said.
Credit: Amazon | | | |
| 7 | | Community Corner Last week, we asked our community, "What are your thoughts on using AI in critical decision-making processes, such as healthcare, finance, or law?" Here are some highlighted responses we received: - Frank Walsh (p/frank-walsh), Founder at Deilen development, answered, "Like all tools, AI requires expertise to use. In this case, the output of AI needs to be critically reviewed by experts in the field."
- James Stephenson (p/jhstephenson), CIO at Stephenson Consulting, answered, "I think part of the fear that most of us might have is related to our lack of understanding as to just what 'critical' decisions an AI might be allowed to respond to. Are we talking about potential life altering decisions? Or, is it merely the very 'critical' decision about what color should we paint the walls on the entry way to our new office so that all who enter will have the warm fuzzy feeling about the work that goes on there? Until we understand more about how AI will be used to help us make 'critical' decisions I believe it should just be as another source of information to help us make the decision we (humans) feel is most appropriate."
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- U.S. President Joe Biden has nominated Anna Gomez, a veteran telecom lawyer, as the third Democrat to serve on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), potentially resolving the FCC's long-standing gridlock.
- Meta has officially introduced editable messages on WhatsApp, allowing users to edit messages within 15 minutes and displaying an "edited" notice next to the timestamp.
- Instagram experienced a brief outage on Sunday evening. Users faced errors and could not access their feeds on the app, while the website showed a blank page.
- Apple's iMessage Contact Key Verification, a safety tool aimed at protecting high-profile people from digital threats, might be released alongside iOS 16.6.
- A former Apple engineer, Weibao Wang, is accused by the U.S. Justice Department of stealing the company's self-driving car technology and sharing it with a Chinese self-driving car firm. Wang faces six charges that could result in a maximum prison sentence of 10 years per count if extradited and convicted.
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 | AI and technology writer | | Beth is a writer and editor at Inside.com covering artificial intelligence and daily technology news. She has written the Inside AI newsletter since 2019. You can reach her at Beth.Duckett@inside.com. | | This newsletter was edited by Vibha Chapparike | |
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