AP Technology

June 3 2025

Over 1,800 people arrested in crack down on Asia-based scam operations

HONG KONG (AP) — More than 1,800 people have been arrested in a joint anti-scam operation across Asia, police said. The authorities said fraudulent funds amounting to about $20 million had been intercepted. Wong Chun-yue, chief superintendent of Hong Kong’s commercial crime bureau, said multiple scam networks had been broken up during the monthlong operation, which involved authorities in South Korea, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and the Maldives and neighboring Chinese gambling hub Macao. The crackdown targeted online shopping and telephone scams, investment and employment frauds, leading to 32,600 accounts being frozen.

Judge wrestles with far-reaching remedy proposals in US antitrust case against Google

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate and fortunes of one of the world’s most powerful tech companies is now in the hands of a U.S. judge wrestling with whether to impose far-reaching changes upon Google in the wake of its dominant search engine being declared an illegal monopoly. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta heard closing arguments Friday from Justice Department lawyers who argued that a radical shake-up is needed to promote a free and fair market. Their proposed remedies include a ban on Google paying to lock its search engine in as the default on smart devices and an order requiring the company to sell its Chrome browser.

States are rolling out red carpets for data centers. But some lawmakers are pushing back

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The explosive growth of the data centers needed to power America’s fast-rising demand for artificial intelligence and cloud computing has spurred states to dangle incentives in hopes of landing an economic bonanza. It’s also eliciting pushback in places where an influx of data centers has caused friction with neighboring communities. Activity in state legislatures — and competition for data centers — has been brisk. Many states are offering financial incentives or tax breaks worth tens of millions of dollars. In some cases, those incentives are winning approval only after a fight or efforts to attach riders that require data centers to pay for their own electricity or meet energy efficiency standards.

US supercomputer named after Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna to power AI and scientific research

BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) — A new supercomputer named after a winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry will help power artificial intelligence technology and scientific discoveries from a perch in the hills above the University of California, Berkeley, federal officials said Thursday. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright is scheduled to announce the project Thursday alongside executives from computer maker Dell Technologies and chipmaker Nvidia. The new computing system at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will be called Doudna after Berkeley professor and biochemist Jennifer Doudna, who won a Nobel in 2020 for her work on the gene-editing technology CRISPR. It’s due to switch on next year.

Czech justice minister resigns over a donated bitcoin scandal

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech Republic Justice Minister Pavel Blažek has resigned from his post over a bitcoin-related scandal. Blažek has been under fire from the opposition after his ministry accepted a donation of bitcoins and sold them for about 1 billion Czech koruna or more than $45 million earlier this year. Blažek said Friday that he wasn’t aware of any wrongdoing. The bitcoins were donated to the ministry by a person who was previously convicted of drug dealing and other crimes and it wasn’t clear where the bitcoins came from. The opposition has accused Blažek of possible money laundering. Police are investigating.

Crypto crime spills over from behind the screen to real-life violence

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — An alleged kidnapping in New York is the latest instance in which authorities say cryptocurrency-related crimes have involved real-world violence. Kidnappings for ransom in France have rattled the crypto industry there, including one where a crypto entrepreneur’s father had a finger cut off. Experts believe the increase in violence could be linked to cryptocurrencies’ surging values, violent groups adding crypto thefts to their repertoire and the ease of shielding your identity in crypto transactions. “Things that might clearly be outside of social norms in other spaces — like robbing a bank — are somehow just part of the game here,” said John Griffin, a finance professor at the University of Texas in Austin.

CEO pay rose nearly 10% in 2024 as stock prices and profits soared

NEW YORK (AP) — The typical compensation package for chief executives who run companies in the S&P 500 jumped nearly 10% in 2024 as the stock market enjoyed another banner year and corporate profits rose sharply. The increase for those who occupy the corner office again outpaced the wage gains for the median worker at their company. At half the companies in AP’s annual pay survey, it would take the worker at the middle of the company’s pay scale 192 years to make what the CEO did in one. Rick Smith, the founder and CEO of Axon Enterprises, the maker of Tasers, topped the survey with a pay package valued at $164 million.

Elon Musk came to Washington wielding a chain saw. He leaves behind upheaval and unmet expectations

WASHINGTON (AP) — Elon Musk arrived in the nation’s capital with the chain saw-wielding swagger of a tech titan who had never met a problem he couldn’t solve with lots of money, long hours or a well-calibrated algorithm. Now that’s over. Musk said this week that he’s leaving his job as a senior adviser, an announcement that came after he revealed his plan to curtail political donations and he criticized the centerpiece of Trump’s legislative agenda. It’s a quiet exit after a turbulent entrance, and he’s trailed by upheaval and unmet expectations.