List of All Articles with Tag 'tec'

Consumer cryptocurrency trading should be regulated as gambling, the treasury committee has urged. In a new report, the committee called for consumer trading in unbacked crypto assets to be treated in regulation as gambling. The cross-party committee of MPs said cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are being used by criminals in scams and money laundering. Unbacked crypto assets – often called cryptocurrencies – are not supported by underlying assets, the committee added. They pose significant risks to consumers, given their price volatility and the risk of losses, according to the MPs, who said retail trading in unbacked crypto more closely resembles gambling than a financial service and should be regulated as such. The report said: “We strongly recommend that the government regulates retail trading and investment activity in unbacked crypto assets as gambling rather than as a financial service, consistent with its stated principle of ‘same risk, same regulatory outcome’.” The committee pointed to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) figures indicating that around 10 per cent of UK adults hold or have held crypto assets. The MPs also said potential productive innovation in financial services should not be unduly constrained. They said technologies underlying crypto assets may bring some benefits to financial services, particularly for cross-border transactions and payments in less developed countries. A balanced approach should be taken to supporting the development of crypto asset technologies, while avoiding spending public resources on projects without a clear, beneficial use, the MPs said. Harriett Baldwin, chair of the treasury committee, said: “The events of 2022 have highlighted the risks posed to consumers by the crypto asset industry, large parts of which remain a wild west. “Effective regulation is clearly needed to protect consumers from harm, as well as to support productive innovation in the UK’s financial services industry. “However, with no intrinsic value, huge price volatility and no discernible social good, consumer trading of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin more closely resembles gambling than a financial service, and should be regulated as such. “By betting on these unbacked ‘tokens’, consumers should be aware that all their money could be lost.” The committee is considering central bank digital currencies as a separate piece of work. A treasury spokesperson said: “Risks posed by crypto are typical of those that exist in traditional financial services and it’s financial services regulation – rather than gambling regulation – that has the track record in mitigating them. “Crypto offers opportunities but we are taking an agile approach to robustly regulating the market, addressing the most pressing risks first in a way that promotes innovation.” Read More Crypto rules get final approval to make Europe a global leader on regulation Is my money safe? What you need to know about bank failures Nearly 80% of APP scam cases start online, says UK Finance Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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Credit Suisse Group AG’s head of the Philippines Mark Robert Uy is leaving the bank and joining Ayala

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Elizabeth Holmes lost her final request to remain free on bail while she appeals her fraud conviction. The

Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes may have again stalled the date by which she must report to prison by filing another appeal of her fraud conviction. Holmes was convicted by a federal jury of defrauding Theranos investors last year and was sentenced in November to just more than 11 years in prison. Holmes’s attorneys asked that she be allowed to remain free on bail while she appeals her conviction, but a judge declined that request and ordered her to report to prison on April 27. Now, though, it seems the disgraced tech star might not have to begin her prison sentence until June at the earliest. On Monday, her attorney filed a new motion of appeal of her conviction — after which Holmes was granted an immediate stay of her prison-report date, according to NBC Bay Area. The state has 21 days to respond to the appeal, after which Holmes’s defence team will have a further three weeks to file a final motion. After the final motion is filed, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will consider her legal fate. The appeal filed this week is considered a longshot, but while that process is ongoing it is believed that Ms Holmes will remain free unless a judge orders her to report to prison. Holmes was back in the news last week after The New York Times published a long-form profile of her that was panned by a number of readers for its tone and credulity. Some critics, including the poet and essayist Hanif Abdurraqib, noted that Black people convicted of felonies are rarely given the same space to pitch their reformations to the media that the profile gave Holmes. Much of the article focused in part on Holmes as a mother. The former CEO gave birth to her first child in 2021 and her second child sometime around the beginning of 2023. Holmes’s former romantic partner and business partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani was sentenced to just under 13 years in prison on conspiracy and fraud counts for his role in the Theranos situation. He began serving his prison sentence last month. Read More Elizabeth Holmes says actors are playing a ‘character I created’ in dramatisations of her downfall Elizabeth Holmes says she’s working on new inventions but admits ‘mistakes’ in first interview post trial OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says AI can go ‘quite wrong’ Regulation ‘critical’ to curb risk posed by AI, boss of ChatGPT tells Congress Sam Altman testifies before Congress saying there is ‘urgent’ need for regulation

Retail investing in unbacked cryptoassets like Bitcoin should be regulated like gambling because they are highly volatile and

The Senate’s first major hearing on artificial intelligence covered everything from the lighthearted marvels of generative AI to

Sam Altman, the CEO of the artificial intelligence company OpenAI, testified before Congress about the “urgent” need for the government to create regulations surrounding AI. “I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong,” Mr Altman told the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology & the Law on 16 May. Mr Altman, who has helped create OpenAI’s ChatGPT 4 and DALL-E 2, testified on the dangers AI could pose in the future without a regulatory committee or agency creating rules and holding companies accountable. Some of these dangers include spreading election misinformation, replacing jobs or manipulating people’s views. “We want to be vocal about that,” Mr Altman said. “We want to work with the government to prevent that from happening.” The OpenAI CEO was joined by IBM’s chief of privacy and trust Christina Montgomery, as well as Dr Gary Marcus, a professor at New York University and expert on AI. All three witnesses agreed that there needs to be new legislation that regulates AI. Mr Altman and Mr Marcus suggested there be a new kind of agency, either on a national or global level, that would issue licenses to AI technologies and revoke them should they not comply with safety standards. Unlike previous congressional hearings about technology and safety standards, Tuesday’s hearing was a clear bipartisan effort on all sides to understand the technology and find solutions. Lawmakers asked thoughtful questions and Mr Altman, Mr Marcus and Ms Montgomery gave in-depth answers as the group tried to find ethical solutions to regulating the powerful new technology. When asked by senators about ChatGPT’s effect on elections by spreading misinformation, Mr Altman said he is “quite concerned” about the impact AI can have on the democratic process. Mr Altman said a combination of companies abiding by ethical codes as well as keeping the public well-informed were two ways to combat election misinformation. But despite the frightening and real risks of AI, Mr Altman remained positive about the future of the technology. “We believe that the benefits of the tools we have deployed so far vastly outweigh the risks, but ensuring their safety is vital to our work,” Mr Altman said. Often, AI can be perceived as a negative thing that can take over the world and harm humans – a hypothetical situation that Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) offered during questioning. The OpenAI CEO encouraged people to look at ChatGPT as a “tool” not a “creature” when thinking about AI regulations. “It’s a tool that people have great control over,” Mr Altman said. But all three witnesses seemed confident about a regulatory agency or set of rules reducing the potential harm of AI and their willingness to be a part of it. “My worst fears are that we cause significant harms to the world,” Mr Altman said. Read More Regulation ‘critical’ to curb risk posed by AI, boss of ChatGPT tells Congress AI Congress hearing: Sam Altman testifies before Congress saying there is ‘urgent’ need for regulation Watch as OpenAI CEO faces questions from Congress on potential AI regulation Regulation ‘critical’ to curb risk posed by AI, boss of ChatGPT tells Congress Watch as OpenAI CEO faces questions from Congress on potential AI regulation Sam Altman testifies before Congress saying there is ‘urgent’ need for regulation

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Lyft Inc said on Tuesday it has named Erin Brewer as its chief financial officer. Brewer will replace