The advisory followed a mini-scandal over Gemini and the Indian government last month. The AI tool, responding to a query about whether Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a fascist, responded that Modi had been accused of implementing policies that some had characterized as fascist. India’s deputy IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar called it “direct violations” of the IT Rules, 2021.
It is unclear whether Google will unblock Gemini for answering election-related queries after the elections end later this year. We have contacted Google about this and will update this story when the company responds. We are also awaiting a full list of countries where the update is live now, and we will update the post as we learn more.
China is testing an AI assistant for neurosurgeons at seven hospitals in Beijing and other cities in coming months, one of many initiatives the government is backing to try and harness the technology.
TikTok faces an uncertain fate in the U.S. once again.
After a surprise flurry of activity in the House this week, TikTok is the target of a new government push to separate the company from its Chinese ownership or force it out of the country.
TikTok is based in Los Angeles and Singapore, but is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance. That relationship that has raised eyebrows among U.S. officials, who warn that the app could be leveraged to further the interests of an adversary.
Excitement about the era of Quantum Error Correction is reaching a fever pitch.
By Prof Michael J Biercuk, CEO and Founder, Q-CTRL
Excitement about the era of Quantum Error Correction (QEC) is reaching a fever pitch. This has been a topic under development for many years by academics and government agencies as QEC is a foundational concept in quantum computing.
More recently, industry roadmaps have not only openly embraced QEC, but hardware teams have also started to show convincing demonstrations that it can really be implemented to address the fundamental roadblock for quantum computing – hardware noise and error. This rapid progress has upended notions that the sector could be stagnating in so-called NISQ era, and reset expectations among observers.
QUITO, March 3 (Reuters) — Ecuador’s La Cumbre volcano, part of the Galapagos archipelago, has started to erupt, the government of the South American country reported on Sunday.
There was no immediate danger posed because the island where the volcano is located is uninhabited, the environment ministry confirmed.
“Gas emission and thermal anomalies were detected through satellite systems,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that while they would continue to monitor the volcano, the eruption would not affect tourism to the islands.
Amid underwater mountains off the coast of Chile, scientists believe they’ve discovered 100 or so new species with the aid of a robot capable of diving more than 14,000 feet. Researchers say it demonstrates how the Chilean government’s ocean protections are bolstering biodiversity and providing a model for other countries. John Yang reports.
Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.
India has waded into global AI debate by issuing an advisory that requires “significant” tech firms to get government permission before launching new models.
India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT issued the advisory to firms on Friday. The advisory — not published on public domain but a copy of which TechCrunch has reviewed — also asks tech firms to ensure that their services or products “do not permit any bias or discrimination or threaten the integrity of the electoral process.”
Though the ministry admits the advisory is not legally binding, India’s IT Deputy Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar says the notice is “signalling that this is the future of regulation.” He adds: “We are doing it as an advisory today asking you to comply with it.”
Some of Apple’s biggest investors are set to pressure the company tomorrow to reveal its use of artificial intelligence tools (via the Financial Times).
Apple’s annual shareholder meeting takes place tomorrow, allowing those with a major stake in the company to put forward proposals. One resolution proposed by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) asks Apple to disclose its use of AI and any ethical guidelines that the company has adopted regarding the technology.
Professor Nadeem Sarwar is Corporate Vice President, Co-Founder and Head, Transformational Prevention Unit, Novo Nordisk (https://www.novonordisk.com/partnerin…), Co-Chair UK Dementia Mission (a UK Government Ministerial appointment) and Honorary Professor, University of Edinburgh Medical School.
Professor Sarwar joined Novo Nordisk in June 2023 as Corporate Vice President, Co-Founder and Head of Novo Nordisk’s new Transformational Prevention Unit (TPU) whose mission is to increase obesity-free life years, so people live healthier and longer lives. To achieve this, the TPU is establishing an integrated ecosystem that will deliver science-first, empowering, and scalable commercial solutions that predict and pre-empt obesity and its consequences through innovative partnerships, with solutions intending to push the boundaries of what is possible with drugs, genomics, microbiome, digital health, and behavioral science.
Professor Sarwar’s expertise stems from scientific and business models at the intersection of genomics, data sciences and digital technologies for therapeutic and health innovation and he utilizes this expertise to steer the strategy and implementation of the predictive and pre-emptive obesity solutions being developed by the TPU, spanning both R\&D and commercial strategy.
Professor Sarwar joins Novo Nordisk with extensive executive experience in academia (Cambridge, Edinburgh), pharma (Pfizer, Eisai, Novo Nordisk), biotech (Genetics Guided Demantia Discovery — G2D2), company incubation (Eisai Innovation Biolabs), and government (UK Dementia Mission). He has successfully built and led organizations across the UK, US, Japan, and Denmark; and contributed to delivery of therapeutics into clinical trials for cardiometabolic diseases, oncology, SLE, COVID-19 and neurodegeneration.
Professor Sarwar’s research has been published in leading medical journals (eg, NEJM, Lancet, JAMA), presented at international meetings (eg, American Diabetes Association; World Dementia Council), and profiled by international media (eg, BBC, Forbes). He has provided expert insights for the UK Department of Health, the World Economic Forum, and the US National Academies of Sciences.
Apart from his current position at Novo Nordisk, Professor Sarwar holds the position of Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh Medical School. He also currently serves on the UK Medical Research Council (MRC) Neuroscience and Mental Health Board, the UK MRC Prevention Task and Finish Group, the Health Data Industry Expert Sub-Group, and the UK Life Sciences Council.
India’s government has approved $15.2 billion worth of investments in semiconductor fabrication plants, including a Tata Group proposal to build the country’s first major chipmaking facility.
