OpenAI CEO Sam Altman heads Congress to discuss rules for AI

AI takes center stage on Hill

As CEO of OpenAI, Sam Altman has become one of the most prominent evangelists for the next generation of artificial intelligence services. ChatGPT, his company’s most notable product, has capture the public’s imagination like no other technology product has in years, inspiring hope and fear for its transformative power.

EQUAL Mr. Altman prepares to testify Before a Senate judiciary subcommittee today, his first appearance before Congress, there will be plenty of questions about how his company and its rivals are rushing to create a generation new technologies — and how they should be regulated.

Washington is racing to find AI:

• Lawmakers in both parties have emphasized the importance of reining in the rapidly evolving technology that can now produce lifelike text, images and computer code. Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat and majority leader, said he was drafting legislation to address the risks posed by artificial intelligence while allowing innovation to flourish. develop.

• This month, Vice President Kamala Harris met with top AI executives, including Altman, as the Biden administration said it supported legislative efforts to create new rules and invest government private.

• Enforcement agencies are also on alert: Lina Khan, chair of the FTC, recent warning about the potential anticompetitive practices of tech giants pursuing AI, as well as the potential for fraud caused by new products.

Mr. Altman frankly talked about the potential danger of AI “It would be crazy not to have a little bit of fear, and I sympathize with people who are very scared,” he said in march. “The current worries I have are there will be miscommunication problems or economic shocks, or something else to a degree that is far beyond anything we were prepared for.” He is expected to say in his testimony that “AI regulation is needed.”

It’s an admission that AI is on the rise — Microsoft researchers recently published a paper claiming that their technology has shows signs of human reasoning – and it made some people nervous pioneers in the field.

It’s also a politically wise approach, likely to win over nervous lawmakers – whose concerns include Lost job And lagging behind China — and help steer upcoming legislation away from oppressing this fast-growing industry.

The stakes are very tall. Lawmakers have acknowledged that they must strike a delicate balance of restricting tech companies while allowing them to innovate.

Gary Marcus, professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at NYU who is also testifying today, told DealBook: “My biggest concern is that we’re going to miss this moment. and let the shape of the AI ​​landscape be shaped by a team for short-term gains that we will later regret.”

THIS IS WHAT’S HAPPENING

Home Depot reports disappointing sales Shares of the retail giant fell in premarket trading today after it faltered miss analyst expectations and lowered its full-year revenue forecast. Reason? Consumers are delaying big projects and buying less expensive items like outdoor furniture.

Former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank speaks. Greg Becker is expect to testify at a Senate hearing today about his regret for the lender’s collapse – and blaming Fed regulators and for “rumors and misconceptions” went viral online which he said led to a bank bankruptcy. Legislators will most likely hit him about his close relationship with the San Francisco Fed.

EU approves Microsoft’s $69 billion bid for Activision Blizzard Antitrust officials in Brussels say they are committed to offering Activision’s top titles on rival video game platforms will remain competitive. The decision has disrupted the efforts of US and UK regulators, who are seeking to block the deal.

Warren Buffett’s conglomerate bets big on Capital One Berkshire Hathaway revealed yesterday that it acquired a $954 million shares in the credit card issuer last quarter. But Mr. Buffett’s investment vehicle was a net sale of shares, reducing his stake in Chevron and selling off his entire stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

Wells Fargo settles a class-action lawsuit for $1 billion. The payment is the latest to stem from a massive multi-year scam in which representatives opened fake customer accounts to bolster their sales goals. In this case, the plaintiffs argued that Wells Fargo overstated its process of remedying illegal practices.

Elon Musk is embroiled in Jeffrey Epstein’s mess

Jeffrey Epstein’s ever-expanding legal case has trapped another well-known corporate giant: Elon Musk.

The US Virgin Islands revealed in court documents yesterday that it sought to subpoena the Tesla and Twitter chief over his ties to JPMorgan Chase, the bank it accused help facilitate Epstein’s trafficking of young women.

US Virgin Islands prosecutors say Epstein may have introduced Musk to JPMorgan. Musk is not alone: ​​Prosecutors have Also try to ask questions Google co-founder Serge Brin, Hollywood mogul Michael Ovitz and real estate billionaire Mort Zuckerman.

But Mr Musk dismissed the Virgin Islands claim as “stupid on many levels,” tweeted that he never looked up that “cretin,” Mr. Epstein, for financial advice. The billionaire also had harsh words for JPMorgan, asserting that the bank “let Tesla down 10 years ago, despite Tesla’s global commercial banking business, which later We withdrew.” He added for good measure, “I have never forgiven them.”

Mr Musk suffered a separate legal defeat yesterday. United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals throw out his bid to end the SEC’s consent decree requiring Tesla’s attorneys to review any of his tweets regarding the company. That railing was put in place in 2018 after Mr. Musk tweeted that he had secured money to take the automaker private, a move that led to SEC action and shareholder lawsuits.

Neither the agency’s request nor yesterday’s ruling has stopped Musk from posting inflammatory tweets about other issues, including his comments yesterday likening George Soros to George Soros. to Magnetolongtime comic book villain (actually less of a villain these days, but we digress).

• Mr. Musk is likely to have an easier time today at Tesla’s annual shareholder meeting: Just one shareholder proposal, on a succession plan, can be voted on. But investors protest decided to push the event to three months, saying it had less time to file any dissident shareholder proposals.

• Mr. Musk joined other business leaders in France yesterday for a summit on business investment. The country’s president, Emmanuel Macron, sau tweeted that the two discussed the electric vehicle market, the energy sector, and digital regulation.

Coinbase CEO Wins Support for His Longevity Bet

Brian Armstrong co-founded Coinbase as a way of disrupting traditional financial systems by making it easier to trade cryptocurrencies. But he’s also busy helping create new limita startup focused on breaking the traditional limits of human lifespan in the past.

That company is now taking a big step forward in advancing its goals: It has raised $40 million in Series A funding, DealBook was first to report, to help fund research his rescue.

NewLimit is looking at reprogramming cells to make them young again. Essentially, by reversing the aging process through a combination of genetic manipulation and machine learning, scientists hope to be able to eliminate the underlying causes of many major diseases. Mr Armstrong told DealBook: “If it works, it will change the arc of humanity.

Mr. Armstrong, who along with venture capitalist Blake Byers Established NewLimit in 2021 with $100 million of their own money, is the latest tech mogul to be enthralled by longevity. Peter Thiel, OpenAI’s Sam Altman and Oracle’s Larry Ellison are among those with pour millions companies that research it.

NewLimit’s approach has won prominent supporters. Investors in the new funding round include venture capital firms Dimension, Kleiner Perkins and Thiel’s Founders Fund, as well as Eric Schmidt, former CEO of Google, and Fred Ehrsam, another founder of Coinbase.

The question is whether science will succeed. Epigenetic programming is in its infancy, and it’s unclear how long it will take to develop applications that actually reverse the aging process. But Armstrong insists that the promise is worth the millions: “There is smoke,” he said.

Consumers are heavily indebted in the US

A key measure of the financial health of US consumers, retail sales data, is expected to be released today. Forecasters expect The latest statistics show that despite rising prices, consumers – the engine of the US economy – continue to spend.

But Information announced yesterday shows that while consumers are opening their wallets, that will come at a heavy cost.

Total US household debt hit a record $17.05 trillion last quarter, according to data announced by the New York Fed Yesterday. Mortgage payments and student and car loan obligations are big culprits. Economists at Nomura wrote in an investor note yesterday that one stroke of luck: Credit card debt levels have remained fairly stable.

Consumer debt levels began to skyrocket during the coronavirus pandemic, after steadily rising over the past decade. According to the Fed, total household debt has increased by nearly $2.8 trillion since the first quarter of 2020, an increase of nearly 20%.

With interest rates at a near 16-year high, this could put additional pressure on indebted consumers to cut spending, potentially increasing the likelihood of a recession.

READING SPEED

endow

• The FTC is said to have a plan event to block Amgen’s $27.8 billion takeover bid for Horizon Therapeutics. (Bloomberg)

• Investors are increasingly worried about the wave of business acquisitions does not bring benefits to shareholders. (FT)

• Tennis star Serena Williams and veteran M.&A. Banker Mark Shafir Joining Consello, a financial consulting firm founded by Declan Kelly. (WSJ)

Policy

• Silicon Valley Bank quietly delete a measure on how rising interest rates will affect its business from its most recent annual report, released just weeks before it collapsed. (Bloomberg tax)

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Is Said To Have A Plan gather its top sponsors next week, just before he officially submits his candidacy for president. (Politics)

the best of the rest

• 3M said it was fired its president, Michael Vale, citing “inappropriate personal conduct and a violation of company policy.” (WSJ)

• Newsmax right-wing television network beat CNN in primetime ratings for the first time on Friday. (Intermediate)

• “Flexible working” is a feminist” (Luck)

• A startup is betting that Americans will want a free 55-inch TV — that supported by ads. (Hollywood Reporter)

We want your feedback! Please email thoughts and suggestions to [email protected].