While You Were Sleeping: 5 stories you might have missed, Oct 31
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US President Joe Biden sign an executive order with Vice President Kamala Harris during an event on development and use of AI.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
Biden administration aims to cut AI risks with executive order
US President Joe Biden is seeking to reduce the risks that artificial intelligence (AI) poses to consumers, workers, minority groups and national security with a new executive order on Monday.
It requires developers of AI systems that pose risks to US national security, the economy, public health or safety to share the results of safety tests with the US government, in line with the Defense Production Act, before they are released to the public.
The order, which Biden signed at the White House, also directs agencies to set standards for that testing and address related chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and cybersecurity risks.
Netanyahu says Israel will not pause war against Hamas
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that Israel would not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and would press ahead with its plans to wipe out the group.
Netanyahu said all wars have unintended civilian casualties and Israel’s assault on Gaza, which Hamas controls, was a battle between “civilisation and barbarism,” calling on allies to back Israel.
At a news conference in Tel Aviv Netanyahu’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and his Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer also addressed journalists.
Four workers killed as German building site scaffolding collapses
At least four workers were killed in the northern German city of Hamburg on Monday when a scaffolding collapsed at a building site, a fire brigade spokeswoman said.
The spokeswoman, Anna Maria Koch, said a fifth labourer had been critically injured in the accident, in which the scaffolding suddenly broke apart in an eight-storey-high elevator shaft shortly after 0800 GMT.
“For four people, help came too late and they died at the site of the accident,” Koch said in a statement.
Google CEO notes importance of being default search engine in US trial
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, on Monday acknowledged the importance of being the default search engine in keeping users glued to the company’s products – a key point in a once-in-a generation antitrust fight with the US government focused on the billions of dollars Google paid to be the default on laptops and smartphones.
Pichai, who was called by Google, testified in a trial that will determine whether Google acted illegally to maintain its dominance of online search and parts of search advertising. If the government wins, the company may be forced to scrap some business practices that have helped it stay on top.
In testimony Monday morning, Pichai was shown instances where Google pressed Apple, wireless companies and smartphone makers which use Google’s Android operating system to be made the default for their devices in exchange for billions of dollars in payments.
Messi wins record eighth Ballon d’Or for best player in the world
Lionel Messi won the Ballon d’Or for the eighth time in his career at a star-studded ceremony in Paris on Monday.
Messi, 36, succeeds Karim Benzema as winner of the prize, awarded for his performances last season, when he inspired Argentina to glory at the World Cup.
It was his displays in Qatar, when Messi dragged his country to a victory that crowned his remarkable career, that allowed Messi to see off stiff competition from Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland in particular.
