AP Technology

February 11, 2025

JD Vance rails against ‘excessive regulation’ of AI at Paris summit in rebuke to European efforts

PARIS (AP) — U.S. Vice President JD Vance has told a Paris summit on artificial intelligence that the Trump administration will “ensure that AI systems developed in America are free from ideological bias,” and that the U.S. would “never restrict our citizens’ right to free speech.” He also used his speech on Tuesday to world leaders, tech bosses and researchers to repeatedly push back against “excessive regulation” of the rapidly growing AI industry, which he said would kill off the “transformative industry.” Vance also said the Trump administration is troubled that some foreign governments are considering “tightening the screws” on U.S. tech companies with international footprints.

Ukraine’s rare earth elements could help keep US military aid flowing

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine has offered to strike a deal with U.S. President Donald Trump for continued American military aid in exchange for developing Ukraine’s mineral industry. It could provide a valuable source of the rare earth elements that are essential for many kinds of technology. Trump said that he wanted such a deal earlier this month. It was initially proposed last fall by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of his plan to strengthen Kyiv’s hand in future negotiations with Moscow.

Elon Musk-led group proposes buying OpenAI for $97.4 billion. OpenAI CEO says ‘no thank you’

A group of investors led by Elon Musk says it is offering $97.4 billion to buy the nonprofit behind OpenAI, escalating a dispute with the artificial intelligence company that Musk helped found. Musk and his own AI startup, xAI, and a consortium of investment firms say they want to buy the ChatGPT maker and revert it to its original charitable mission as a nonprofit research lab, according to Musk attorney Marc Toberoff. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman quickly rejected the deal on Musk’s social platform X, saying “no thank you but we will buy Twitter for $9.74 billion if you want.” Musk bought Twitter, now called X, for $44 billion in 2022.

News influencers favored Trump over Harris during campaign, study finds

NEW YORK (AP) — A study of news influencers reveals how Donald Trump had an edge over Kamala Harris in the presidential campaign. The journalism think tank Pew Research Center found that influencers were equal in critical comments they made about the two candidates. But where Trump had the edge was in volume: Influencers who supported Trump were more likely to mention him in their posts than the Harris fans. News influencers represent a sector of the media that is growing in power. Pew studied the posts of about 500 influencers, defined as those who have at least 100,000 followers on social media.

Man pleads guilty to role in SEC social media account hack that led the price of bitcoin to spike

An Alabama man has admitted to taking part in a January 2024 hack of a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission social media account designed to manipulate the price of bitcoin. Eric Council Jr. pleaded guilty to an identity theft charge in U.S. District Court in Washington on Monday, court records show. His sentencing is set for May. Prosecutors said Council was arrested in October and charged with helping to break into the SEC’s account on X, and allowing unnamed co-conspirators to falsely announce the approval of long-awaited bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

Esports Olympics to debut in Saudi Arabia later than expected in 2027

LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) — The International Olympic Committee says the first Olympic Esports Games will be hosted in Riyadh in 2027. That’s two years later than expected when a 12-year deal between the IOC and Saudi Arabia was signed last year at the Paris Olympics. The first annual Esports World Cup was held last July and August in Riyadh with tens of millions of dollars in prize money paid for games including Call of Duty, Fortnite and Street Fighter. It’s unclear which shooter games the IOC will allow on the Esports Olympics program, which it has repeatedly said must align with Olympic values.

Vance makes his debut as VP on the international stage at a high-stakes AI summit in Paris

PARIS (AP) — JD Vance is stepping onto the world stage for the first time as U.S. vice president this week, using a high-profile artificial intelligence summit in France and a gathering of national security leaders in Germany to showcase Donald Trump’s more assertive approach to diplomacy. Challenging diplomatic talks are expected while tech titans fight for dominance in the fast-moving technology industry. Among those taking part in the two-day summit are heads of state, top government officials, CEOs and scientists from around 100 countries. Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing is also attending. The summit will give many European leaders a chance to meet Vance for the first time.

Trump’s AI ambition and China’s DeepSeek overshadow an AI summit in Paris

PARIS (AP) — The geopolitics of artificial intelligence will be in focus at a major summit in France this week. World leaders, executives and experts will gather in Paris for the AI Action Summit to hammer out pledges on guiding the development of the rapidly advancing technology. It’s the latest in a series of global dialogues around AI governance. It comes at a fresh inflection point as China’s buzzy and budget-friendly DeepSeek chatbot shakes up the industry. U.S. Vice President JD Vance — making his first trip abroad since taking office — will attend. And China’s President Xi Jinping will be sending his special envoy, signaling high stakes for the meeting.

Sony PlayStation Network outage enrages gamers around the world

ROME (AP) — Sony’s PlayStation Network (PSN) is experiencing a major outage across the world, leaving tens of thousands of gamers unable to access online services, stores and multimedia apps. “We are aware some users might be currently experiencing issues with PSN,” PlayStation said on its social media platforms, confirming users’ mounting complaints around the globe. Reports of connectivity issues spread quickly across social media, with users reporting error messages and login failures. According to Downdetector, an outage tracker, users started to report issues with PSN around late Friday.