Good morning. I’ve received Elon Musk on my thoughts, and never for causes you would possibly suspect.
It’s due to his never-boring Boring Firm, which presently has a little bit of a trespasser drawback in Las Vegas. (Learn extra under from Fortune’s Jessica Mathews.)
Just a few years in the past Musk promised to alleviate visitors in notoriously clogged Los Angeles; at the moment, he’s relocated to Texas and left a literal tunnel of damaged guarantees.
And I’m nonetheless caught in, properly, you understand. —Andrew Nusca
P.S. We goofed the opposite day by implying that Google didn’t pay for information in Canada. The corporate struck a deal with the federal authorities virtually a yr in the past. Due to eagle-eyed reader Benoît for the catch. —Andrew Nusca
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And the Nobel goes to…AI
Two synthetic intelligence pioneers have received a Nobel Prize.
The celebrated honor goes to “godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton—you understand, the one who dramatically stop Google final yr so he may warn the world of AI’s dangers—and to John Hopfield, whose work within the early Eighties helped lay the muse for at the moment’s machine studying expertise.
Each males considerably superior the idea of the synthetic neural community, although neither invented it as such.
Hinton and Hopfield had been awarded the Nobel physics prize, which has confirmed to be a controversial determination. There isn’t any Nobel prize class that maps clearly to laptop science.
It’s true that each Hinton and Hopfield’s work drew closely on statistical physics, although it was additionally knowledgeable by different fields equivalent to neurobiology and cognitive psychology.
Some physicists are nonetheless irked, complaining that it ought to have gone to somebody working in “correct physics” as a substitute. One wonders what HAL 9000 would say about that. —David Meyer
Foxconn hooks up with Nvidia to construct an AI supercomputer
Foxconn is known for assembling Apple’s iPhones, however it might quickly be identified for its personal expertise marvel: an enormous AI supercomputer, inbuilt partnership with Nvidia, that it says would be the quickest in Taiwan.
The Hon Hai Kaohsiung Tremendous Computing Heart, introduced Tuesday, will boast greater than 4,600 of Nvidia’s new, and super-scarce, Blackwell GPUs, in addition to 1000’s of CPUs, delivering a promised 90 exaflops of AI efficiency (a feat Foxconn claims will eclipse the rest in Taiwan).
As soon as this beast is operational–the primary part is because of be accomplished by mid-2025, with full deployment in 2026–Foxconn will use it for AI-driven most cancers analysis, to develop new LLMs, and to deal with sensible metropolis improvements.
Foxconn and Nvidia are additionally teaming up for a undertaking in Mexico. The 2 firms introduced that Foxconn will construct the world’s largest manufacturing unit for Nvidia’s GB200 chips in Guadalajara. ¡Orale! —Sharon Goldman
The TikTok hits carry on coming
TikTok is going through a new set of lawsuits from 13 states attorneys common, together with New York, California, and Washington D.C.
The fits accuse the favored video social media app of violating client safety legal guidelines by “deliberately” focusing on younger customers and hooking them to a platform that’s dangerous to their well being. (It’s value noting that Meta was sued by 4 instances as many state AGs virtually precisely a yr in the past; the instances are pending.) The lawsuits search product modifications and monetary penalties.
As of final yr, TikTok mentioned it had 150 million customers within the U.S., and research have proven {that a} overwhelming majority of these customers are underneath 35 years outdated. Whereas it’s not public precisely what number of of these customers are underneath 18, a number of years in the past one-third of TikTok’s consumer base was reportedly underneath 14 years outdated. TikTok’s CEO mentioned final yr the platform’s common consumer was “properly previous faculty age.”
At any fee, add these lawsuits to the pile of authorized troubles going through TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance. The platform has ongoing authorized challenges from The Division of Justice, and it is combating on the Supreme Courtroom an govt order requiring ByteDance to promote it or be banned within the U.S. —Kali Hays
Elon Musk has tunnel intruders
Elon Musk has a trespassing drawback within the subterranean transit system that one in every of his firms, Boring Co., has constructed and operates underneath the Las Vegas Conference Heart.
A skateboarder received right into a tunnel and needed to be ejected. A pedestrian wandered round taking footage. Then there are the automobiles that by accident drive onto the transit system’s property by tailing shut behind the Teslas which can be used to chauffeur passengers underground.
There have been at the very least 67 trespassing episodes since 2022, based on paperwork seen by Fortune, obtained by way of a Freedom of Data Act request. And, for the reason that starting of final yr, 22 autos have adopted the Teslas into the stations or tunnels.
Musk’s first operational tunnel system—with its funky pink, blue, and inexperienced lighting—is probably not the high-speed hyperloop he was raving about when he began the Las Vegas undertaking. Nevertheless it has nonetheless managed to seize the general public’s consideration—and that features individuals who aren’t purported to be within the tunnels, however find yourself in them anyway. —Jessica Mathews
Roblox fudged its consumer knowledge, investor says
Hindenburg Analysis, a short-selling funding agency, has accused Roblox of inflating key metrics.
In a brand new report disclosing a brief place in Roblox, Hindenburg estimates the U.S. recreation developer inflated the variety of customers of its namesake gaming platform wherever between 25% and 42% by not being clear concerning the variety of alternate accounts or bots contributing to its each day energetic customers, or DAU.
Roblox measures this distinction by means of a course of known as “de-alting,” former staff reportedly informed Hindenburg. Roblox additionally inflated engagement hours by roughly 100%, the agency claims.
Lately Roblox—which turned 20 this yr—has touted a rising consumer base whereas setting a lofty purpose of 1 billion customers. The corporate, which is publicly traded on Nasdaq, has informed buyers that it’s not worthwhile and may not be for some time. (In its most up-to-date quarter, Roblox generated $893 million in income and a $206 million loss.)
Hindenburg additionally calls Roblox a “hellscape” for kids’s security, pointing to a Bloomberg Businessweek investigation, revealed in July, detailing how management did not curb little one abuse on the platform.
Roblox informed the Wall Road Journal the Hindenburg report is deceptive and motivated by an agenda. At some $40 per share, its inventory is down 15% within the final two weeks. —Jenn Brice
Extra knowledge
—Amazon antitrust watch begins. There should be one thing within the water.
—Anduril wins a $250 million Pentagon contract to intercept unmanned drones.
—Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund cuts its Nintendo stake. Even bullish buyers can’t escape the gaming slowdown.
—The following Instagram advert you see could also be edited by AI. So the place’s the beef?
—The UK is making a “Regulatory Innovation Workplace.” To innovate round all that, uh, regulation.
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