Open letter calls for pause on AI dev

Details

By Jessy Bains, Editor at LinkedIn News - A group of high-profile signatories, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, are asking companies to pump the brakes on "giant AI experiments" until there's confidence that any risks are manageable and the effects are largely positive. A letter published by the nonprofit Future of Life Institute on Wednesday states that large-scale AI projects "can pose profound risks to society and humanity” if not properly managed. The signatories, which also include well-known AI researchers, are asking for a six-month pause on anything more powerful than GPT-4, adding that the race to develop machine learning is outpacing necessary guardrails.

The statement also calls for AI developers to work with policymakers to accelerate effective governance systems, including a new regulatory authority dedicated to AI. The Verge notes that some new names are being added to the long list as a joke, for example OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, which should be "treated with caution."

Assad cousins and Hezbollah operatives hit with sanctions over amphetamine trade that funds regime

Details

by Elizabeth Hagedorn @ElizHagedorn - almonitor.com -- WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled new sanctions aimed at curbing Syria’s production and export of Captagon, an illegal amphetamine that serves as a key source of revenue for the Syrian regime. The sanctions are the administration’s first to target Syria’s Captagon trade and also its first use of so-called Caesar Act, a law that allows for sanctions on persons or companies that do business with the Syrian government. In a statement, Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed the United States would continue targeting Syria's drug traffickers and “those who provide support to the Syrian regime’s vicious war.”

An estimated 80% of the world’s Captagon supply is produced in Syria, where the stimulant has become the war-ridden country’s main export. The UK government, which unveiled its own sanctions in coordination with the US, described the Captagon trade as a "financial lifeline" for Assad's regime worth $57 billion. Among those designated by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control was Khalid Qaddour, a Syrian businessman who is a close associate of Maher al-Assad, a brother of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who heads the Fourth Division of the Syrian Arab Army. According to OFAC, Qaddour is responsible for managing the Fourth Division's revenues from facilitating the production and trafficking of Captagon. Also designated was Samer Kamal al-Assad, a cousin of the Syrian president who allegedly oversees Captagon facilities in the regime-controlled port city of Latakia in coordination with the Fourth Division and certain associates of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. Assad reportedly owns a Captagon production factory in the Qalamoun region near the Syria-Lebanon border.

Read more ...

Stock grants value Twitter at $20B

Details

By Jake Perez, Editor at LinkedIn News -- Twitter CEO Elon Musk is offering employees stock grants based on a $20 billion valuation, less than half of the $44 billion Musk paid for the company last year. In an email to staff, Musk said Twitter should be considered "an inverse startup" as the company sheds staff — down from 7,500 to about 2,000 now — and rebuilds by diversifying into new advertising and subscription revenue streams. Ultimately, Musk expects the stock grants to pay off handsomely, adding that he sees "a clear, but difficult, path to a >$250B valuation.

Lebanon time zones: Partial clock change causes confusion

Details

By Henri Astier BBC News --  People in Lebanon have woken up in two rival time zones, amid a row between political and religious authorities over when clocks should go forward. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that daylight saving would begin at the end of Ramadan next month, allowing Muslims to break their daily fast earlier. But Christian authorities said they would change the clocks on the last Sunday in March, as happens most years. Many businesses have followed suit.

The dispute illustrates deep divisions in a country where Christian and Muslim factions waged a civil war in the late 1970s and 1980s, and where political positions are shared between religious groups. On Thursday Mr Mikati, a Sunni Muslim, announced his decision to delay the start of daylight saving until midnight on 20 April. He did not give a reason for the move, but many commentators regard it as a way to boost his popularity during Ramadan. The Muslim holy month began on 22 March and ends on 21 April. If the time remains unchanged, Muslims will be able to break their fast an hour earlier, at around 18:00 instead of 19:00, the time the sun sets. But Lebanon's influential Christian Maronite Church said it would disregard the decision, calling it "surprising".

Several major Lebanese organisations have also decided to ignore it. Three news channels, LBCI, NewTV and MTV, moved their clocks forward early on Sunday. Middle East Airlines, the national carrier, decided on a compromise. It said its clocks and other devices would stay in winter time but its flight times would be adjusted to avoid disrupting international schedules. There was also confusion for users of mobile phones and other electronic devices that automatically switch to daylight saving time, as many operators were not notified of the delay in time. Beirut-based author and regional expert Kim Ghattas tweeted that the government's abrupt move "throws travel plans, zoom calls and automatic phone times updates into utter disarray".

Outrage in Lebanon after PM’s last-minute decision to delay daylight savings

Details

By Najia Houssari - arabnews.com -- BEIRUT: An abrupt decision by Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati to postpone the start of daylight saving time by one month has turned into a major political dispute, overshadowing the country’s dire economic crisis. Despite repeat IMF warnings over the state of the Lebanese economy, the latest political controversy surrounding the postponement from March 25 to April 21 is dominating debate in the country. The dispute over daylight saving time also involves religious and sectarian differences, and comes as Muslims mark the holy month of Ramadan. It means those fasting must break their fasts an hour earlier than planned. Lebanese institutions on Saturday took divergent positions on the move.Multiple media outlets (MTV Lebanon, LBCI and AlJadeed) said that it “will not abide by the decision and will commit to the universal time.” According to one political observer, the dispute reflects a “political vacuum, given that an absurd decision was explained in a sectarian way.”

This dispute “showed the loss of confidence in the ruling political class and the scale of randomness that political action in Lebanon can slip into.” The postponement caused confusion among institutions working with other states, notably the international airport, banks and mobile phone networks that automatically adjust to daylight savings each year. Airlines were forced to reschedule flights, and the two major mobile networks in the country sent a written message to subscribers, asking them to “manually adjust the time on their mobile phones before the midnight of Saturday-Sunday, to avoid the time change on their screens.” Secretary General of Catholic Schools Father Youssef Nasr said: “Private educational institutions and the Federation of Private Educational Institutions will abide by Mikati’s decision until it is reversed.” Mikati’s move was met with sarcasm on social media platforms. One political activist said: “We are in the republic of wasting time.” Another said: “It looks like Lebanon’s connection to the global system is not important.” Other warned that the decision “was taken by leaders who do not acknowledge the presence of others in the country.”

Read more ...

Clients pull money from small banks

Details

By Cate Chapman, Editor at LinkedIn News Americans have moved more than half a trillion dollars from smaller and regional banks since the implosion two weeks ago of two West Coast lenders and the emergency takeover in Europe of Credit Suisse, according to JPMorgan data. They’ve opened accounts in banks deemed "too big to fail" — including JPMorgan — as well as in money markets, Treasury bonds and even bitcoin. The massive migration underscores fear about the safety of deposits even as the federal government says it stands ready to back these in case of further bank failures. Citing the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, 12% of Americans polled by Yahoo News/YouGov said they’ve moved funds from banks, while 18% said they were considering it.