Big Boss Interview

BBC News
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Jun 14, 2023 • 49min

EU votes on ways to regulate AI

This week the EU votes on ways to regulate AI. Vice-President Margrethe Vestager leads the charge against threats posed by artificial intelligence. She tells the BBC that although the threat of human extinction ”probably does exist”, the likelihood is “quite small”. She says initial threats include discrimination, and criminals getting ahead of the police in understanding AI. This week European politicians debate the issue as they vote on the AI Act. It's the first law for AI systems in the West and it largely categorizes the away AI is used into four levels of risk: unacceptable risk, high risk, limited risk and minimal or no risk. If the legislation passes, unacceptable risk applications would banned by default and will not be deployed in European countries. U.S inflation has fallen again – but is it enough to prevent an interest rate rise? Inflation was down to 4% in the US at the end of May – its lowest since 2021. Prices for eggs, petrol and furniture were down, helping to cut inflation to less than half of its peak a year ago. But as the U.S central bank prepares to meet later this week, all eyes will be on whether the continued downward trend is enough to persuade the Fed to hold back on further rises to interest rates. And - how much money do you need to be wealthy in America? You might be surprised - Americans suggest it's around $2.2 million. The evidence comes in the annual Modern Wealth Survey carried out by the financial services company Charles Schwab.Picture: European Commission Vice President Margrethe Vestager (REUTERS/Johanna Geron)
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Jun 13, 2023 • 49min

Major setback in Microsoft’s bid to buy Activision Blizzard

The U.S watchdog has asked a judge to block a $69 billion bid by Microsoft to buy Activision Blizzard.The gaming company makes ‘Call of Duty’ and many other titles. But the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) position on the deal is now closer to the that taken by the UK regulator. The issue hangs on claims the sale would give Microsoft's Xbox exclusive access to Activision games, leaving Nintendo consoles and Sony's PlayStation out in the cold.Also in the U.S, America's biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase, has agreed in principle to settle a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of victims of the convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. The case was brought by one victim on behalf of hundreds of other women and girls abused by the disgraced financier. The bank is facing a bill of around $290 million.And – you may have heard of ‘greenwashing’ – but have you heard of the new phrase…green-hushing’? We find out why companies are suddenly starting to keep their green credentials to themselves.
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May 27, 2023 • 54min

Biden and McCarthy ‘closer to deal’ on debt ceiling

President Biden has said that he should know by the end of Friday whether there is a deal with Republicans to raise the government debt ceiling, so it can continue to pay its bills. Mr Biden said things were looking good and he thought negotiators were very close to a deal. The two sides have a little more breathing room after the US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen, extended the debt ceiling deadline by four days, to 5 June.(Picture: U.S. President Joe Biden. Source: Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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May 26, 2023 • 54min

Nvidia earnings make chip maker AI superpower

Nvidia, a US firm which specializes in chips powering artificial intelligence, surged as much as 27% on Thursday, putting the company on course for record performance with a market cap above $900 billion.But where is the future of AI while there are raising concerns about regulation and safety?And have you ever heard of ‘greedflation’? Find out why price rises might be bringing out some unsavoury tendencies in retail. (Picture: The logo of NVIDIA is seen displayed on a mobile phone screen with AI (artificial intelligence) written in the background. Source: Getty Images)
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May 20, 2023 • 54min

China is the focus on the second day of G7 summit

It's day two of the G7 summit, and the leaders of the group of major developed economies are in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. So far the focus of their talks has been Russia and Ukraine - today there is another major issue on the table – China. The Indian government says it will start withdrawing its highest value currency note from circulation saying it is not widely in use. People have been asked exchange their two-thousand rupee notes (worth around twenty five dollars) for smaller denominations by the end of September. An official from the central bank said the withdrawal would not cause any disruption to normal life or the economy.NASA has awarded the contract to build its astronaut Moon lander to a consortium led by Blue Origin - the space company owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.(Picture: G7 leaders (left to right) Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, US President Joe Biden, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, European Council President Charles Michel and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni arrive for the family photo at the Itsukushima Shrine during the G7 Summit on May 19, 2023 in Hiroshima, Japan. Source: Stefan Rousseau - Pool/Getty Images).
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May 6, 2023 • 54min

Coronation of King Charles III

Royalty and dignitaries from around the world have arrived in London ahead of the coronation of King Charles. Many of them will be guests in Westminster Abbey on Saturday morning where the coronation ceremony will begin at 11 o'clock.Millions of other people across the UK and beyond are preparing to celebrate the coronation of King Charles III - a symbolic ceremony combining a religious service and pageantry. The day of splendour and formality will feature customs dating back more than 1,000 years. King Charles III is head of the Commonwealth countries and the head of state of 14 countries. (Picture: His Majesty King Charles III. Source: WPA Pool/Getty Images)
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May 5, 2023 • 54min

Apple profit and revenue higher than expected

Apple has reported quarterly revenue and profit above Wall Street's expectations, fuelled by strong iPhone sales - particularly in emerging markets such as India (where the company recently opened its first stores). The US tech giant reported profits of twenty-four billion dollars ($24 billion) on revenue of ninety-four-point-eight billion dollars ($94.8 billion) in the first three months of this year.The US regional banking sector is coming under renewed pressure amid a crisis in confidence. Trading in the California lender PacWest was briefly suspended as shares fell more than fifty percent, after its owners confirmed it had explored strategic asset sales. The British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has won Thinking Out Loud copyright case. A New York court ruled today that Mr Sheeran did not copy Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On when composing the track. (Picture: An iPhone logo in Shanghai, China. Source: Getty Images)
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May 2, 2023 • 49min

AI’s ‘Godfather’ quits Google amid dark warnings

Geoffrey Hinton helped to establish some of the basic foundations of AI but now fears the technology is racing ahead too fast. He is leaving Google after more than ten years so he can speak more freely about the risks. The White House says First Republic bank, which collapsed to be taken over by JP Morgan, was ‘severely mismanaged’. However, some customers and former staff disagree. The failure of San Francisco-based First Republic is the second-largest in US history and the third in the country since March.And, Hollywood writers and television producers approach a deadline to sign a new contract - or take strike action…the first such action in 15 years. (Photo: Artificial intelligence pioneer Geoffrey Hinton speaks at the Thomson Reuters Financial and Risk Summit in Toronto, December 4, 2017. Mark Blinch/Reuters)
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Apr 20, 2023 • 54min

How Apple’s new stores in India could help young generation?

Apple Chief Executive, Tim Cook, has met with Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, as he is looking for a market growth and investment in India.Tesla shares dropped 2% after the electric-vehicle maker cuts down the price U.S for the sixth time this year. Tesla shares slid further in initial after-market trading on Wednesday following the company's quarterly report. April 18th - was Tax Day in the US - the day that marks the deadline for individuals to file their income tax returns for the year. That opportunity was by a group of billionaires to bring a protest to the US Congress too - demanding they pay more tax.It's been a challenging time for the global airline industry. Demand has yet to recover following the Covid pandemic - and this week industry leaders have warned the cost of de-carbonising flights could send passenger costs even higher in the years to come.(Picture: Men talk on their mobile phones in front of an iPhone 14 advertisement, in India. Source: Sankhadeep Banerjee/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Apr 19, 2023 • 53min

Fox News settles $787.5m for Dominion defamation case

The US voting technology firm Dominion has settled with Fox News just before their defamation trial was due to begin. Dominion had sought $1.6bn (£1.3bn) from Fox, whom it claimed spread falsehoods about its voting machines in the 2020 presidential election. The final settlement agreed between both parties was for $787.5m.The world of its biggest competitor the streaming giant Netflix has just released its latest financial results and it has bounced back from the loss of 200,000 subscribers a year ago. Pew Research in the United States found that even when women earnt the same as a male partner - they still spent more of their down time caring for either children or elderly parents - as opposed to the men who spent it - doing whatever they wanted.Baseball's new pitch clock designed to speed up the pace of the game has won many fans - just not in professional teams' commercial departments. (People walk by the News Corporation headquarters, home to Fox News, on April 18, 2023 in New York City. Source: Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

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