Amazon workers claim AI threatens jobs and climate, Airbus planes get software update

Share

More than 1,000 Amazon employees have signed an open letter expressing “serious concerns” about AI development, saying that the company’s “all-costs justified, warp speed” approach to the powerful technology will cause damage to “democracy, to our jobs, and to the earth.” The letter, published on Wednesday, was signed by the Amazon workers anonymously, and comes a month after Amazon announced mass layoff plans as it increases adoption of AI in its operations. The Guardian

Rachel Reeves’s tax raid on electric vehicles is poised to push up the price of petrol and diesel cars as manufacturers ration them in order to meet net zero targets. One of Britain’s biggest dealership chains warned of “turmoil” in the industry after the Chancellor announced a new 3p pay-per-mile tax on electric cars, making them less attractive to buyers. Experts said that fewer people were likely to buy electric vehicles as a result – creating problems for the car industry, which is required to sell more of them in order to hit legally binding net zero targets. Telegraph

Amazon isn’t waiting for holiday chaos to kick in. The company recently sent a rare global warning to hundreds of millions of customers, urging them to be on high alert for a rising wave of impersonation scams targeting shoppers ahead of peak season. The email went out to over 300 million users on November 24 and focused on one thing: scammers posing as Amazon to grab access to sensitive information like personal or financial information, or Amazon account details. Yahoo!

Dutch chipmaker Nexperia has publicly called on its China unit to help restore supply chain operations, warning in an open letter that customers across industries are reporting “imminent production outages.” Nexperia’s Dutch unit said Thursday that its open letter followed “repeated attempts to establish direct communication through conventional channels” but did not have “any meaningful response.” CNBC 

Thousands of Airbus planes are returning to normal service after being briefly grounded following a warning that solar radiation could interfere with onboard computers. The aerospace giant – based in France – said about 6,000 of its A320 planes had been affected, with most requiring a quick software update. Some 900 older planes need a replacement computer. BBC 

Fortnite Chapter 6 is coming to an end this afternoon, and The Simpsons crossover – which included a Springfield-based map – is drawing to a close. The big Zero Hour live-event is slated for later this afternoon, marking the end of the current season and chapter in what promises to be an explosive finale. Whenever a season ends, it’s a pretty big deal for Fortnite and its player-base, but when a Chapter ends it’s a momentous occasion. Forbes 

Is your Samsung Galaxy smartphone on the list for a critical new update? You can check here. If it’s not, you should consider an upgrade. With the recent train of Android security alerts, it’s a bad idea to run a phone that has fallen off support. There are upwards of a billion Android devices no longer receiving security updates, patches for critical vulnerabilities found and fixed. Many more phones are only getting these updates quarterly. You need monthly updates. Anything less puts you at risk. Forbes 

For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv