Google unveiled its AI chatbot dubbed Bard on Monday, aimed at competing with OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Bard is powered by Google’s most advanced AI language system, Language Model for Dialogue Applications or LaMDA. The company plans to initially open Bard to trusted testers before a broader rollout. More: - In a blog post, CEO Sundar Pichai signaled that Bard would be a separate product from the company’s flagship search engine product.
- Pichai noted that some of ChatGPT’s core technology and other generative AI services were developed at Google.
- Pichai added that Google would release APIs to LaMDA to enable developers to build their own services.
- Google said it would continue to test Bard to ensure its responses meet a high bar for quality and safety and are grounded in real-world information.
| |
Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, announced that it will temporarily suspend USD deposits and withdrawals starting Feb. 8. The crypto firm did not provide a reason for the halt but added that only 0.01% of its monthly active users leverage USD bank transfers. More: - The halt only applies to non-U.S. customers who transfer money to or from bank accounts in USD.
- The halt does not impact Binance US customers.
- According to Arkham Intelligence, there was a surge in outflows from Binance’s crypto wallets following news of the suspension.
- Binance has about $42.2B worth of crypto assets, and roughly $172M was withdrawn from the crypto firm on Monday.
- A Binance spokesperson said the firm is still overwhelmingly net-positive on net deposits.
| |
 A message from VANTA Compliance doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, with Vanta, it can be super simple. Trusted by thousands of SaaS companies, Vanta automates the pricey, time-consuming process of prepping for SOC 2, ISO 27001, HIPAA, and more. With Vanta, you can save up to 400 hours of work and 85% of costs. Win more deals and enable growth quickly, easily, and without breaking the bank. Check out their on-demand demo to learn why 4,000+ fast-growing companies chose Vanta as their trusted partner. Watch Now
| |
The FAA plans to fine United Airlines more than $1.1M for allegedly failing to perform required fire system checks on its Boeing 777s. The FAA claims United removed a fire system warning check from a preflight checklist and operated more than 100,000 Boeing 777 flights from June 2018 to April 2021 without making sure they were properly maintained for operation. More: - In a statement responding to the FAA’s claims, United said the safety of its flights was never in question.
- The airline said it changed its preflight checklist in 2018 to account for redundant built-in checks performed automatically by the aircraft.
- United said the 2018 changes to its preflight checklist were reviewed and approved by the FAA at the time.
- The airline said it updated its preflight checklist in 2021 when the FAA informed the company that its maintenance program called for preflight checks by pilots.
- United said it would review the proposed fine.
| |
Adani Group plans to prepay a $1.1B loan backed by shares of some of its companies. The move comes in response to the conglomerate canceling its planned $2.4B share sale after the firm’s listed companies lost more than $90B in market value following short-seller Hindenburg Research’s 106-page report accusing Adani Group of widespread fraud and stock manipulation. More: - Adani called Hindenburg’s accusations unresearched and maliciously mischievous and released a 413-page response.
- Adani said its controlling shareholders have posted amounts to pay off the loan ahead of its September 2024 maturity date.
- Shares in Adani companies continued to fall on Monday; however, India’s stock-market operators reduced the maximum amount that Adani stock prices could fall in a day.
- Adani’s listed companies have lost about $111B in value since seller Hindenburg's report was released on Jan. 24.
| |
 A message from TRUERA Free workshop on AI/ML quality and performance Are you a data scientist or machine learning engineer interested in learning more about how to analyze, test, and improve the performance and explainability of your machine learning models? Then this 4-session live online workshop is for you! Register today – space is limited! AI Quality: Driving ML Performance and Trustworthiness is a free class taught live by five experts from leading universities, including Carnegie Mellon University, MIT and Stanford University. Each session covers the essentials of key topics for managing machine learning models, including: - Accuracy and performance debugging
- Model drift
- Fairness
- NLP model quality
- ML explainability
Dates: March 2, 9, 16 and 23 Where: Virtual Event - Join from anywhere Who should attend: Data scientists, machine learning engineers, data analysts, statisticians, data and analytics managers Register for free
| |
According to sources, Chevron is in talks with Algeria about an energy exploration deal. In 2020, the energy giant signed a memorandum of understanding with state-backed oil company Sonatrach to explore natural-gas opportunities. The recent moves come as western oil companies seek alternatives to Russia's oil and gas. More: - Chevron has sent representatives in government relations, security, and business development to Algeria to meet with government officials.
- Chevron has also sent consultants to assess Algeria's shale and non-shale gas resources, the country's contractual terms, and power circles.
- Algeria has larger shale gas resources than the U.S. and has the third-largest recoverable shale resource in the world.
- A Chevron spokeswoman said the company has an agreement with Algeria to access data on the country's biggest natural-gas reservoirs — the Ahnet, Gourara, and Berkine basins.
| |
U.S. gold mining firm Newmont has made a $17B takeover offer to Australia’s largest gold producer Newcrest Mining. Newmont submitted a conditional and nonbinding indicative proposal to acquire Newcrest for 0.380 of its shares for each Newcrest share held. More: - The new offer comes after Newcrest rejected a previous offer of 0.363 Newmont shares for each Newcrest share held.
- Newcrest’s directors had said the previous offer was too low.
- The new offer represents a 21% premium on Newcrest’s Friday close price.
- The combined entity would be one of the largest gold producers in the world.
- On news of the updated offer, Newcrest shares rose 10% to A$24.74 ($17.05), its highest level since May.
| |
Quick Hits - Friction is NOT one-size-fits-all. Learn how implementing friction that adapts to your users could boost conversion rates & reduce fraud.*
- More than 3,500 people are dead after several earthquakes and aftershocks struck Turkey and Syria Monday morning. An initial 7.8-magnitude temblor struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by a 7.6-magnitude aftershock.
- Dells plans to lay off 5% of its workforce, or about 6,600 workers, citing market conditions and uncertainty about the future.
- Carlyle Group has hired former Goldman Sachs executive Harvey Schwartz as its new CEO.
- The National Enquirer tabloid is being sold to joint venture VVIP Ventures, owned by Vinco Ventures and Icon Publishing. The deal also includes the National Examiner and the Globe.
- Check out this demo-on-demand and find out how 4,000+ fast-growing companies got compliant quickly.*
*This is a sponsored post.
| |
| |
 |  | Vanessa Omeokachie is a writer for Inside.com; she writes the daily Inside Business newsletter. Her interests include finance, technology, and entrepreneurship. In her free time, she enjoys reading, hiking, attending concerts and music festivals, traveling, and exploring. Connect with her on Twitter @VanessaOmeo or on LinkedIn. |   | | Editor | Aaron Crutchfield is based in the high desert of California. Over the last two decades, he has spent time writing and editing at various local newspapers and defense contractors in California. When he's not working, he can often be found looking at the latest memes with his kids or working on his 1962 and 1972 Fords. | |
Compliance doesn’t have to be complicated. With Vanta, you can save up to 400 hours and 85% of costs. | |
Hey data scientists! Join this free workshop on ML model performance & explainability. Register here. | |
