It’s a wrap: News this week (April 29-May 5)

There have been multiple developments on the tech front this week — from the US President meeting top executives regarding concerns around AI to IBM CEO speaking about automating close to 8,000 jobs. This is the list of the most important developments this week for a quick catch-up:

Top AI firms meet US President

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden met executives from top artificial intelligence firms including Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. This White House meeting with the company executives was to discuss risks associated with AI amid the growing popularity and innovation in this technology.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, who also attended the meeting, said that while the technology has the potential to improve lives, it also poses concerns related to safety, privacy, and civil rights. She added that the executive and their companies have the legal responsibility to ensure the safety of their products.

The US government has also announced a $140 million investment from the National Science Foundation to launch seven new AI research institutes. The White House's Office of Management and Budget will also be releasing policy on the use of AI by the federal government. 

IBM to replace jobs with AI

IBM chief Arvind Krishna said in an interview with Bloomberg that the company will stop hiring humans for roles that can be replaced by AI in the coming years. He added that out of 26,000 IBM workers involved in backend operations, 30% or 7,800 roles can be replaced by AI and automation in the next five years. 

Krishna said that the company has already paused or slowed new hiring in many backed functions such as human resources. However, the hiring for customer-facing operations is still going on. To be sure, the company hired 7,000 people in the first quarter. 

In separate news, Cognizant said that it is going to lay off around 3,500 employees, or 1% of the total workforce. Cognizant also said that it will slash spending on office space by up to $100 million by 2025 in comparison to 2022.  

‘Godfather of AI’ exits Google

Geoffrey Hinton, widely considered the “Godfather of artificial intelligence” has stepped down from Google, reported The New York Times. Hinton was the vice president and engineering fellow at Google, where he joined in 2013. Hinton said that after quitting his job at Google, he could freely speak about the risks of AI.

In the interview with New York Times, Hinton said that while the AI systems which are built on large amounts of data were still inferior to the human brain in some ways, in a few other ways, they were ‘eclipsing’ human intelligence. He further added that what AI could do in future is ‘scary’, considering the pace at which the technology has progressed, especially in the last five years. 

Digital India Act

The first draft of the Digital India Act is likely to be released by July-end or early in August, an Economic Times report citing an unnamed senior government official, said. 

Digital India Act will replace the Information Technology Act, 2000. It will also be separate from the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill introduced last year. It is expected to regulate operations that include data localisation, social media, and internet platforms, and could become the base document for future tech legislations in the country. 

Google introduces passkeys

On World Passwords Day, Google rolled out passkeys for Google Accounts on all major platforms. The company said that passkeys can be used along with passwords and two-step verifications to access their accounts. Passkeys are considered to be more resilient to online attacks like phishing and a safer option compared to passwords.

Notably, Google, along with Apple, Microsoft, and Fast IDentity Online (FIDO) Alliance announced last year that it will start working to support passkeys on its platform.