The new phase of the Microsoft-Google rivalry: AI and the cloud

Oct 25, 2023
Google, aka Alphabet, and Microsoft are longtime rivals. Lately, Microsoft has been on the offensive, building strength in key areas of tech.
Microsoft invested in OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, which is now integrated into the Bing search engine.
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Apple's new iPhone 15 is just one example of how EU regulation is changing tech

Sep 12, 2023
On issues from data privacy to content moderation, as Europe goes, so goes the tech industry.
Attendees of an Apple event look at the new iPhone 15 on Tuesday. The new iPhone features a USB-C charging port, a change that comes ahead of an EU law requiring common charging systems.
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Big Tech is buying into the early carbon-removal market

Sep 7, 2023
Microsoft is paying $200 million to a company using crushed rock to absorb carbon, and the Frontier consortium is backing emerging technology.
Investing in emerging environmental technology "signals to consumers or to their customers that this is a company that's a leader, that's ahead of the game," said Daniel Korschun, a marketing professor at Drexel University.
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Will big tech platforms feel a dip in ad spending?

Jul 25, 2023
Less spending by crypto and quick-delivery companies has been partially offset by more spending by pharmaceutical firms, carmakers and food and beverage companies.
Big tech companies like Alphabet and Meta may be impacted by the decline in ad spending.
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Forget the U.S. and China — Big Tech is the next world power

According to Ian Bremmer of Eurasia Group, tech companies are gaining increasing political power with fewer checks and balances.
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EU regulation of AI may yet impact U.S. consumers

Jun 1, 2023
U.S. companies that have to comply with European Union rules see the benefits of using one standard for both places.
From left, Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commission; Antony Blinken, U.S. secretary of state; Margrethe Vestager, European Commission; Gina Raimondo, U.S. secretary of commerce; and Katherine Tai, U.S. trade representative, in Sweden on Wednesday to discuss AI regulation.
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Google is going all-in to win the AI arms race

May 11, 2023
The company's announcement of new AI product offerings this week adds new fuel to the fire.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai delivers the keynote address at the Google I/O developers conference on May 10, 2023 in Mountain View, California.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Meta cuts 10,000 jobs in second wave of layoffs since November

Mar 14, 2023
Meta and other tech companies have been hiring aggressively in recent years but have recently begun to let some of those workers go.
Meta said Tuesday it will reduce the size of its recruiting team and make further cuts in its tech groups in late April, followed by its business groups in late May.
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A Supreme Court case involving Google raises questions about how tech manages content

Feb 21, 2023
The case centers on Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which shields tech platforms from legal liability over third-party content.
People wait outside the Supreme Court on Tuesday to listen to oral arguments in Gonzalez v. Google, a case that could force YouTube to invest more in content moderation.
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Is Ireland too economically dependent on Big Tech to regulate it properly?

Jan 31, 2023
Ireland is at loggerheads with the European Union over the best way to police American tech giants with European headquarters on Irish soil.
The influx of Big Tech companies to Ireland has helped fuel  the country's economic growth. Above, Google's offices in Dublin.
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