At the opening of the DOJ's landmark antitrust trial, prosecutors warned that Google's plans to use its AI products to protect its search monopoly must be curbed, seeking solutions such as forcing Google to divest its Chrome browser, license search results, and end exclusive default-search deals. Notably, they highlighted evidence that Google pays Samsung an "enormous sum" each month to preinstall its Gemini app on smartphones and more. However, Google's lawyers rebutted that these measures would "hold back innovation" and instead proposed nonexclusive defaults.
Starting this year, Academy members must watch every nominated film in each category to cast votes in the Oscars' final round - Oscar voters were previously merely encouraged to screen nominees. The Academy revised rules for the Best International Film to include refugee filmmakers, requiring the submitting country to confirm that creative control is largely in the hands of individuals with refugee or asylum status. Additionally, it stated that generative AI tools "neither help nor harm the chances of a nomination," though it did outline that it would "take into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative authorship."
Huawei will start mass shipments of its advanced Ascend 910C AI GPU to Chinese customers as early as next month as an alternative to Nvidia's now-restricted H20, with some shipments already underway. Architecturally, the 910C pairs two 910B processors, matching Nvidia's H100 chip performance with double the compute and memory, plus improved workload support. However, it currently remains unclear as to who the main manufacturers behind the 910C are, though some sources have hinted at China's SMIC, with another alleging that TSMC-made chips may have ended up in a portion of 910C GPUs through Sophgo.
Speaking of TSMC chips in Chinese GPUs, TSMC recently cautioned that no amount of US export rules can guarantee its AI chips won't reach China due to "limited visibility" into downstream use, as detailed in a report. The company warns that stricter sanctions, the Trump administration's planned tariffs on semiconductors, and China's raw-material curbs could raise costs further, dampen demand, and risk legal penalties to the point of potentially disrupting the entire global semiconductor supply chain.
Meta is expanding its use of AI on Instagram to identify under‑18 users who've set an adult birthday and will automatically apply stricter teen account settings. Starting from the 21st of April in the US, Instagram's AI will now override misreported ages by placing suspected child accounts in private mode, blocking stranger messages, and limiting certain content. This update builds on last year's AI signals, such as detecting someone saying "happy 16th birthday" in messages, and follows regulatory scrutiny from the EU, lawsuits over predator targeting, and debates over the platform's general responsibility.
The Alibaba Group's research arm, Damo Academy, recently announced that it had acquired the "breakthrough device" designation from the US' FDA for its Damo Panda AI-based tool for detecting early stage pancreatic cancer. Launched in November 2023, Damo Panda used deep learning on CT scans of 3,208 patients and showed a remarkable uptick in sensitivity compared to radiologists, about 34.1%. Additionally, trials in Ningbo screened 40,000 people, identifying six early‑stage cases, including two that were missed by routine exams.