Tag: Bloomberg

Roblox Grapples With Employee Demands for More Diversity
Technology

Roblox Grapples With Employee Demands for More Diversity

[ad_1] In the spring of 2021, the staff at video-game juggernaut Roblox Corp. gathered for an all-hands meeting over the video conferencing app Zoom. An employee submitted by text a question to executives about why there were so few women at the top ranks of the company. According to multiple people in attendance, the company's co-founder and chief executive officer David Baszucki accepted the query at the virtual get-together and responded by saying that Roblox has a very high bar in hiring.Several of the women there said they found the comment dismissive, but not surprising. In public and private forums, the 60-year-old Baszucki and his deputies often noted that the goal of the San Mateo, California-based company was to “hire the best people.” Three of the 15 current or former female ...
Telecom Italia once tried to buy Apple, now It is in trouble. Here’s why
Technology

Telecom Italia once tried to buy Apple, now It is in trouble. Here’s why

[ad_1] It's not a misprint. Telecom Italia SpA, Italy's beleaguered former telephone monopoly, once pitched a plan to buy Apple Inc.  About 25 years ago a group of executives from the carrier flew to California to meet Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, with an audacious plan to buy the tech company at a time it was struggling to make headway against rivals like International Business Machines Corp. Telecom Italia, on the other hand, was flying high, ranking as the world's sixth-largest telephone company by sales. Worth about €90 billion ($100 billion), it had minimal debt, held stakes in dozens of tech groups around the world and employed more that 120,000 people. Although Apple's rise back from the ashes is well documented, the fate of its would-be buyer is less well known outside Italy. ...
Apple Store Union Accuses Company of Bad Faith Negotiations
Technology

Apple Store Union Accuses Company of Bad Faith Negotiations

[ad_1] Apple Inc.'s contract talks with its first unionized US retail store reached a flashpoint on Wednesday, with labor representatives filing a complaint in response to what they called bad faith negotiations.The International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers, which represents the Apple store in Towson, Maryland, said that the iPhone maker is stalling and hasn't responded to key proposals sought by employees. The group filed the complaint with the National Labor Relations Board, citing a “clear pattern” of regressive bargaining. The union argues that Apple has made counteroffers that would merely preserve the status quo. It also complained that Apple is sharing negotiation information with the company's other retail stores, despite asking for a closed bargaining proc...
5 things about AI you may have missed today: AI tool that helps cure brain cancer, China’s new AI products and more
Technology

5 things about AI you may have missed today: AI tool that helps cure brain cancer, China’s new AI products and more

[ad_1] Artificial intelligence (AI) has been a highly debated topic in recent times with people making arguments for and against its use in various fields. The introduction of ChatGPT has spurred further controversy as there have been instances of students using it for completing their assignments and writing exams. However, this hasn't put a stop to the rapid development that is happening in the field of AI. New research has shed light on an AI tool that is helping doctors cure brain cancer, while China's top tech companies, Huawei and Alibaba, have recently introduced their AI tools. All this, and more in our roundup of the 5 big things in AI that you may have missed today. 1. AI tool helping doctors cure brain cancerWhile the downsides of AI have been recently highlighted by several...
5 things about AI you may have missed today: OpenAI’s new ‘control’ AI team, Elon Musk praises China and more
Technology

5 things about AI you may have missed today: OpenAI’s new ‘control’ AI team, Elon Musk praises China and more

[ad_1] Developments in the field of artificial intelligence are happening at a rapid pace. OpenAI recently revealed that it was forming a team as a countermeasure against ‘superintelligent' AI that could arrive within a decade. On the other hand, Elon Musk lauded China's progress in artificial intelligence while issuing warnings against its dangers. Read more about this and other interesting developments that happened today in the world of artificial intelligence.1. OpenAI to form team to control “superintelligent” AI systemsThe growing concerns around AI have been giving even the founder of ChatGPT sleepless nights. OpenAI announced that it is forming a team led by its chief scientist Ilya Sutskever and one of the company's co-founders to control “superintelligent” AI systems. In a blo...
Lina Khan is coming for Amazon, armed with an FTC antitrust suit
Technology

Lina Khan is coming for Amazon, armed with an FTC antitrust suit

[ad_1] Lina Khan's Federal Trade Commission has already filed three cases against Amazon.com Inc. Now she's gearing up for the Big One.In the coming weeks, the agency plans to file a far-reaching antitrust suit focused on Amazon's core online marketplace, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg and three people familiar with the case. The main allegation is expected to be that Amazon leverages its power to reward online merchants that use its logistics services and punish those who don't. FTC investigators and Khan's office have been honing the complaint for several months, two of the people said, and finalizing key details such as where to file suit. Khan and her colleagues are keen to file before personnel changes in August, according to the people, who cautioned that the timing ...
An Island in Finland is asking travelers to ditch their phones
Technology

An Island in Finland is asking travelers to ditch their phones

[ad_1] Administrators at most destinations yearn to have them go viral on TikTok, or dream of attracting droves of Netflix Inc. viewers, despite the risk of overwhelming communities. A small island off the southeastern coast of Finland is taking the opposite approach.Tourism officials for Ulko-Tammio, one of several islands inside Eastern Gulf of Finland National Park, say they want it to be a “phone-free island” and are urging visitors to “switch off their smart devices and to stop and genuinely enjoy the islands,” said Mats Selin, an expert with Visit Kotka-Hamina, in a release. The sentiment is echoed by Parks & Wildlife Finland, which manages the island's pristine environment and wildlife. “We encourage visitors to put their phones away voluntarily and to focus their senses on n...
NASA Studies GHGSat Methane Data Amid Race for Climate Solutions
Technology

NASA Studies GHGSat Methane Data Amid Race for Climate Solutions

[ad_1] NASA will study high-resolution satellite observations of global methane releases captured by emissions tracker GHGSat Inc. in the latest sign governments are looking to curb leaks of the potent greenhouse gas. Scientists at NASA's Earth Science Division will evaluate the data under its commercial small satellite data acquisition program and assess if it can help achieve the agency's wider goals, which include mapping the climate effects from human activity, according to a GHGSat statement Wednesday. The initiative currently uses observations from satellite operators including Planet Labs PBC and Maxar Technologies Inc. to augment NASA's own Earth observations.As the planet rapidly warms triggering extreme weather events from wildfires to heat waves, countries are getting more se...
First Virgin Galactic commercial flight set for June as Richard Branson looks to restore sheen
Technology

First Virgin Galactic commercial flight set for June as Richard Branson looks to restore sheen

[ad_1] Billionaire Richard Branson's space-tourism venture, Virgin Galactic Holdings, which has been bravely looking to get back on equal footing with Elon Musk led SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin, has finally announced the date for the launch of the company's first commercial passenger flight. Over the last year or so, Virgin had been left trailing both SpaceX and Blue Origin due to innumerable delays that dogged its flight schedule. The company had famously flown Branson to space in July 2021, but failed to do a widely expected commercial follow-up. The flight announcement has instantly been welcomed by investors who pushed the share higher.Called Galactic 01, the long-awaited mission will take place on June 27. The company also revealed that it will include researchers from the It...
SEC lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies raise questions about industry’s future
Technology

SEC lawsuits against cryptocurrency companies raise questions about industry’s future

[ad_1] First came the crypto winter, then the alleged fraud wrought by FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, and now the lawsuits.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed lawsuits last week against the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, deepening tensions between the government and a volatile industry that has been marred by scandals and market meltdowns. Binance and Coinbase are both alleged to have violated the law by operating as securities exchanges without registering their businesses with the SEC. Binance faces additional charges, along with its CEO, of diverting customer funds to a separate business, among other accusations. Most recently, the SEC asked a federal judge to freeze the assets of Binance's U.S. platform. The lawsuits are the latest in a...