The wave of interest—and investment—in artificial intelligence continued this week, drawing media coverage and attention inside Washington, DC, and around the nation. On Monday, Microsoft announced that it would extend its partnership and investment in OpenAI, the developer of generative AI tools DALL-E 2 and ChatGPT. OpenAI said Microsoft’s investment will allow it to “develop AI that is increasingly safe, useful, and powerful.” We expect 2023 may be the “Year of AI,” and we will continue to provide updates about this emerging technology and interest in the policy arena. For more, see The Economist’s feature on how Satya Nadella’s leadership will shape Microsoft’s future with AI.
You’ll find our roundup of tech policy news below as well as a featured podcast. Thank you.
This Week in Washington
- New York Times: The Justice Department and a group of eight states sued Google, accusing it of illegally abusing a monopoly over the technology that powers online advertising, in the agency’s first antitrust lawsuit against a tech giant under President Biden and an escalation in legal pressure on one of the world’s biggest internet companies. Find more analysis and coverage at POLITICO and Vox.
- Washington Post: Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) is one of the leading cybersecurity lawmakers on the Hill, and his cyber priority this year is health care.
- NBC News: The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing that took a critical look at Ticketmaster Entertainment Inc. following the company’s technical issues during the sale of tickets for the upcoming Taylor Swift tour, during which senators from both parties busted out Taylor Swift lyrics and accused the company of monopolistic practices.
- Reuters and POLITICO EU: U.S. Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican and China hawk, said on Tuesday that he would introduce a bill to ban the short video app TikTok in the United States. TikTok, whose parent is the Chinese company ByteDance, already faces a ban that would stop federal employees from using or downloading TikTok on government-owned devices. And in Europe, public authorities in the Netherlands are being told to steer clear of TikTok amid growing concerns about privacy.
- Axios: The nation’s cyber defense agency has drafted a plan for schools to beef up their cybersecurity operations.
- Nextgov: The Federal Communications Commission is reviewing how to define key terminology that governs data reporting requirements for telecommunication companies as part of its pending update to its data breach requirements.
- FedScoop: The National Telecommunications and Information Administration said last week it would probe how companies’ data practices may impose outsized harm on marginalized or underserved communities.
Article Summary
- Vox: Following the news of Microsoft’s $10 billion investment, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives wrote that ChatGPT is a “potential game changer” for Microsoft.
- The Hill: Many college students are approaching artificial intelligence with optimism and a willingness to embrace how the technology can enhance their learning, despite the consternation it has caused educators.
- Fishbowl: A survey from Fishbowl found that nearly 30 percent (27%) of professionals have already used ChatGPT to assist with work-related tasks.
- Bloomberg: India unveiled a mobile operating system, developed at one of its top engineering colleges, which it claimed was more secure than Alphabet Inc.’s Android and designed to be used in businesses and high-security surroundings.
- WIRED: One of the most prolific ransomware groups ever, the LockBit collective has attempted to maintain a low profile in spite of its volume of attacks. But as it has grown, the group has gotten more aggressive and perhaps careless.
- The Verge: Joshua Browder, the creator and CEO of DoNotPay, an AI technology, announced on Twitter that the company is “postponing our court case and sticking to consumer rights” after receiving threats from “State Bar prosecutors” about the potential legality of the stunt.
Featured Podcast
The Journal Podcast
- The Wall Street Journal
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks with WSJ Editor in Chief Matt Murray at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, about the company’s artificial intelligence ambitions and how tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT could revolutionize the way we work. (Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s Big Bet on AI – January 18, 2023)