Apple has agreed to pay $490m to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging chief executive Tim Cook misled investors about a steep downturn in iPhone’s sales in China that culminated in a jarring revision to the company’s revenue forecast. The preliminary settlement filed Friday in Oakland, California, federal court stems from a shareholder lawsuit focused on the way Apple relayed information about how iPhone models released in September 2018 were performing in China, one of the company’s biggest markets. Cook signaled that the new iPhones were off to a good start…
Tag: Computing
ASML halts hi-tech chip-making exports to China reportedly after US request
A Dutch manufacturer has cancelled shipments of hi-tech microchip machinery to China after pressure from the US government, it has been reported. ASML, which is a key firm in the global semiconductor manufacturing supply chain, was due to export three chip-making machines to China but had its export licences revoked by the Dutch government before they were shipped. The company is one of the only manufacturers of extreme ultraviolet lithography systems (EUVs), which use lasers to help create the circuits for chips. The advanced technology is used by leading chip…
Chinese influencers using AI digital clones of themselves to pump out content
In September, Chen Yiru, a Taiwanese influencer with nearly nine million fans on Weibo, livestreamed footage of himself eating chicken feet for a jaw-grinding 15 hours. His followers were suitably wowed – until some started to question if such a feat was humanly possible. The small print on the video stream confirmed their suspicions: “For display purposes only, not a real person.” Many of Chen’s fans were outraged, and he reportedly lost more than 7,000 followers between 24 and 26 September. Even the legal community weighed in. Quoted in Chinese…
The great powers signed up to Sunak’s AI summit – while jostling for position
Sitting in a purpose-built hut in the grounds of the historic Bletchley Park country estate, British officials believed they had pulled off a diplomatic coup. On stage in front of them was the UK’s technology secretary, Michelle Donelan, and behind her were high-level representatives from the US and China, together for the first time to discuss the international regulation of artificial intelligence. Even better, both countries were among 28 signatories to the “Bletchley declaration”,an agreement to work together on safety standards that may prevent AI systems turning on humanity. Rishi…
UK, US, EU and China sign declaration of AI’s ‘catastrophic’ danger
The UK, US, EU and China have all agreed that artificial intelligence poses a potentially catastrophic risk to humanity, in the first international declaration to deal with the fast-emerging technology. Twenty-eight governments signed up to the so-called Bletchley declaration on the first day of the AI safety summit, hosted by the British government. The countries agreed to work together on AI safety research, even amid signs that the US and UK are competing to take the lead over developing new regulations. Rishi Sunak welcomed the declaration, calling it “quite incredible”…
US orders immediate halt to some AI chip exports to China, says Nvidia
The chip designer Nvidia has said the US has told it to bring in new curbs on the export of some of its high-end artificial intelligence chips to China immediately as regulators advanced the deadline. The restrictions were supposed to come into play 30 days after 17 October, when the Joe Biden administration announced measures to stop countries, including China, Iran and Russia, from receiving advanced AI chips designed by Nvidia and others. Nvidia did not say why the US government had accelerated the timing but does not expect a…
China launches tax investigations into Apple iPhone maker Foxconn
China’s tax authorities have launched multiple investigations into the company that makes the iPhone, months after its billionaire founder announced he would run in Taiwan’s presidential elections. Foxconn faces tax audits of its operations in China, as well as investigations into land use in two Chinese provinces, according to reports by local media. The investigations, which were confirmed by the Taiwan-based manufacturer but have not been officially announced by any of China’s government departments, are thought to be politically motivated. Foxconn’s founder, Terry Gou, announced in August he would run…
The advanced silicon chips on which the future depends are all made in Taiwan – here’s why that matters | John Naughton
When the history of our time comes to be written, one thing that will amaze historians is how an entire civilisation managed to impale itself on its worship of optimisation and efficiency. This obsession is what underpinned the hubris of globalisation. Apple’s famous slogan “Designed by Apple in California, manufactured in China” became its guiding light. So long as products could be made available to consumers everywhere, it no longer mattered where they were made. Until it did. We first twigged this when the pandemic struck, and we became suddenly…
Rishi Sunak considers banning Chinese officials from half of AI summit
Rishi Sunak is considering banning Chinese officials from half of his artificial intelligence safety summit in November, amid growing concern over widespread spying by Beijing on western governments. Downing Street has already invited China to attend the summit, which will be held in early November at Bletchley Park and is set to shape the international community’s approach to AI for years to come. The invitation has attracted some criticism in the wake of recent revelations that a parliamentary researcher was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of spying for China.…
Chip wars: how semiconductors became a flashpoint in the US-China relationship
As US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen heads to Beijing in an attempt to steady economic ties, high on the agenda will be how to navigate the growing chip war between China and the US. Despite diplomatic overtures from both sides, the competition in advanced technology between the two superpowers shows no sign of letting up. On Monday, Beijing set a hostile tone for Yellen’s trip as it set export restrictions on two minerals that the US says are essential to the production of semiconductors and other advanced technology. Chinese state…