⚖️ Regulation

White House announces executive actions on AI. $140 million in funding will be granted to seven new National AI Research Institutes, bringing the total across the country to 25. An "independent exercise" at a major hacker event in August will provide public assessments of how well existing generative AI systems meet the Biden administration's AI Bill of Rights blueprint. And, this summer the Office of Management and Budget will release a draft policy guidance on the use of AI systems by the federal government, open to public comment. (Axios)

White House proposes 30% climate change tax on cryptocurrency mining. The White House is trying to persuade Congress to pass a 30% tax on the electricity used in cryptocurrency mining in the next federal budget in order to minimise the nascent industry’s impact on climate change. (Yahoo News)

SEC removes proposed definition of 'digital assets' from its final hedge fund rules. The SEC has deleted its proposed definition of “digital assets” from the final Form PF rules. "The Commission and staff are continuing to consider this term,” the SEC said. (The Block)

The EU’s Digital Markets Act applies as of this week. Tech companies have until July to self-designate “core platform services” for the European Commission to evaluate before a September deadline. If a company meets the threshold, it will be subject to new data privacy restrictions, app store rules, and (potentially) steep fines. (TechCrunch)

🔗 Crypto

Google now supports Passkeys, a new cryptographic sign-in tool. Passkeys are a safer more convenient alternative to passwords being pushed by Google, Apple, Microsoft, and other tech companies aligned with the FIDO Alliance. They can replace traditional passwords and other sign-in systems like 2FA or SMS verification with a local PIN or a device’s own biometric authentication. (The Verge)

Coinbase to cease issuing new Bitcoin-backed loans via Borrow service. The service allowed users to borrow up to $1 million with no credit check, provided they posted Bitcoin as collateral. (Coin Telegraph)

Sotheby’s has launched a secondary marketplace for NFTs, allowing artists to sell digital works directly to collectors. The platform, part of the auction house's ongoing bid to corner the blue-chip NFT market, kicks off with works from 13 high-profile artists. (Artnet)

🤖 A.I.

ChatGPT is back in Italy after satisfying a set of conditions from the local data protection authority. OpenAI expanded its privacy policy, providing more information about the personal data being processed for training its algorithms, including stipulating that everyone has the right to opt out of such processing — which suggests the company is now relying on a claim of legitimate interests as the legal basis for processing data for training its algorithms. (TechCrunch)

Samsung tells employees not to use AI tools like ChatGPT, citing security concerns. Samsung has asked staff not to use the tools on company-owned devices, and to avoid inputting company-related details on personal devices. JPMorgan and Amazon have also reportedly restricted company use. (The Verge)

IBM to pause hiring in plan to replace 7,800 jobs with AI. Hiring specifically in back-office functions such as human resources will be suspended or slowed, CEO Arvind Krishna said, adding that 30% of non-customer-facing roles could be replaced by AI and automations in five years. (Reuters)

Wallmart is using AI to negotate the best price with some vendors. The retail giant uses a chatbot developed by Mountain View, California-based Pactum AI Inc., whose software helps large companies automate vendor negotiations. Walmart tells the software its budgets and needs. Then the AI, rather than a buying team, communicates with human sellers to close each deal. (Bloomberg)

Unions representing Hollywood writers and actors seek limits on AI and chatbots. As labor contract negotiations heat up in Hollywood, unions representing writers and actors seek limits on artificial intelligence. (New York Times)

ChatGPT ‘portfolio’ outperforms leading UK funds. A theoretical portfolio of 30 stocks picked by ChatGPT performed better than 10 of the most popular U.K. investment funds in an experiment testing the financial advice of AI chatbots. (FT)

Microsoft opens access to its GPT-4-powered Bing Chat to all users. Microsoft is now adding more smart features to Bing Chat, including image and video results, persistent chat and history, and plug-in support. (The Verge)