Microsoft

Chinese hackers breached US govt email accounts: Microsoft

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Chinese hackers, referred to as Storm-0558 by Microsoft, breached the email accounts of several US government agencies. The hackers primarily targeted government agencies in Western Europe and engaged in espionage, data theft, and credential access.

While the targets were not identified, the US State Department confirmed detecting anomalous activity and taking immediate steps to secure their systems. The incident remains under investigation, and the full extent of the breach is being assessed.

Microsoft expands AI access to public

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Microsoft has opened public access to its generative artificial intelligence programs, despite concerns over dangerous technology.

The AI-enhanced Bing and Edge services can now work with images, as well as text, with the intention to add video.

The move comes amid concerns over the potential for fraud and deep-fake videos, and just months after experts urged a pause in the development of powerful AI systems. However, Microsoft’s Yusuf Mehdi said the company’s AI principles include working to prevent the promotion of harmful or discriminatory content.

US regulator targets AI ahead of White House confab

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US regulators warn about the risks of artificial intelligence ahead of a White House meeting with tech companies.

The lack of rules has given Silicon Valley the freedom to put out new products rapidly, raising concerns that AI technologies will wreak havoc on society before the government can catch up.

The risks from AI include it being used to “turbocharge” fraud with voice clones, deep-fake videos, and convincing written messages.

Google launches ChatGPT rival in US and UK

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Google has invited people in the US and UK to test its AI chatbot, Bard, which can churn out essays, poems or computing code on command.

CEO Sundar Pichai said the chatbot had been tested with 80,000 Google employees, and would now be tested with the public as a “first step” before going out to more countries in other languages.

Unlike Microsoft-backed ChatGPT, Bard can “access and process information from the real world through Google Search and keep my response consistent with search results”, the bot said.

Tech rivals chase ChatGPT as AI race ramps up

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WASHINGTON, UNITED STATES — Chasing Microsoft, global tech giants have rolled out announcements on how they will implement ChatGPT-like artificial intelligence into their world leading platforms and applications, with YouTube the latest to present plans. Here is a roundup of how the world’s biggest tech companies plan to surf the AI wave: Microsoft Microsoft has … Read more

Users say Microsoft’s Bing chatbot gets defensive and testy

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SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES — Microsoft’s fledgling Bing chatbot can go off the rails at times, denying obvious facts and chiding users, according to exchanges being shared online by developers testing the AI creation. A forum at Reddit devoted to the artificial intelligence-enhanced version of the Bing search engine was rife on Wednesday with tales … Read more

Microsoft to cut staff again: reports

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SAN FRANCISCO, UNITED STATES — Microsoft is readying to cut more positions from its global workforce as tech giants continue paring headcount to ride out rough economic conditions, according to media reports on Tuesday. The computer industry stalwart could announce layoffs in its engineering divisions as early as Wednesday, Bloomberg News reported. A Microsoft spokesperson … Read more

China denies Microsoft hack, condemns US allies

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China on Tuesday sharply denied US allegations it carried out a massive Microsoft hack, countering that Washington was the “world champion” of cyber attacks while raging at American allies for signing up to a rare joint statement of condemnation. The United States on Monday accused Beijing of carrying out the cyber attack on Microsoft and … Read more