Meta’s AI ambitions ‘in a tailspin’, China lifts export ban on car production chips

Share

Much of the American economy is currently being propped up (some may argue artificially) by the massive amount of investment being made into AI projects, largely by hyperscalers. Few firms have made a bigger public to-do about their AI spending than Meta, whose CEO publicly committed to pouring billions of dollars into AI infrastructure in front of  Donald Trump. So why has Meta – arguably the hyperest of the hyperscalers – seen most of its stock gains for the year wiped out in recent days? Part of the answer may lie in the company’s Superintelligence Lab, which has undergone expensive change after expensive change since Meta’s pseudo-acquisition of Scale AI. 

China has lifted export controls on computer chips vital to car production, the country’s commerce ministry said on Sunday. Exemptions have been granted to exports made by Chinese-owned Nexperia for civilian use, it said, which should help carmakers who had feared production in Europe would be hit. At the same time, China has also paused an export ban to the US of some materials that are crucial in the semiconductor industry and suspended port fees for American ships. BBC 

The value of parcels stolen from UK doorsteps has almost doubled in the last year as “porch pirates” seize on the online shopping boom. A record £666.5m worth of parcels were stolen across the country in the 12 months to July, up from roughly £377m the year prior, according to data obtained from UK police forces under the Freedom of Information Act. A separate survey revealed that 4.8 million homes suffered at least one stolen parcel over the period, representing a rise of almost a third. Telegraph 

Four men have been arrested on suspicion of being part of an illegal sports-streaming gang that was making hundreds of thousands of pounds a year by operating across the UK. The individuals were arrested for copyright and money-laundering offences after raids at four properties in West Yorkshire in northern England during the final week of October. Digital devices were seized to be reviewed by high-tech crime officers who specialise in digital and cybercrime offences.  TheAthletic

A woman, said by police to have bought cryptocurrency now worth billions of pounds using funds stolen from thousands of Chinese pensioners, is due to be sentenced this week for money laundering. After fleeing China, she moved to a mansion in Hampstead, north London. The Metropolitan Police raided it a year later and made one of the world’s single largest crypto seizures. More than 100,000 Chinese people invested their money in her company – which claimed to be developing high-tech health products and mining cryptocurrency. In reality, she embezzled the funds, police say. BBC 

For latest tech stories go to TechDigest.tv