**[As the company accelerates its push into AI products, the ethics and society team is gone](https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/13/23638823/microsoft-ethics-society-team-responsible-ai-layoffs)** [@technology](https://lemmy.ml/c/technology) Microsoft laid off its entire ethics and society team within the artificial intelligence organization as part of **[recent layoffs that affected 10,000 employees](https://www.geekwire.com/2023/full-memo-microsoft-to-cut-10k-jobs-about-5-of-workforce-and-take-1-2b-restructuring-charge/)** across the company, Platformer has learned. The move leaves Microsoft without a dedicated team to ensure its AI principles are closely tied to product design at a time when the company is leading the charge to make AI tools available to the mainstream, current and former employees said. #### [Microsoft lays off team that taught employees how to make AI tools responsibly - The Verge](https://www.theverge.com/2023/3/13/23638823/microsoft-ethics-society-team-responsible-ai-layoffs) ####

New Zealand lawmakers and other workers inside the nation's Parliament will be banned from having the TikTok app on their devices, following similar moves in many other countries.

The government is right to prohibit the use of Tiktok on work devices, but experts think that the ban should also apply to other apps. "I don't think it's as simple as TikTok - bad; American companies - good. I think they're all bad," Australian National University cybersecurity researcher Vanessa Teague says.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/306218 > Great history study of the matter

TikTok execs had doubled down on efforts to convince UK policy advisers that their data is safe, but the UK will join the EU, US, Canada and other countries in banning TikTok. The move comes after a UK security review.

"TikTok is a Chinese company that currently is mandated to cooperate with Chinese intelligence services,” Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in a statement. The Belgian ban is based on a risk analysis by the country's intelligence services and recommendations by the national cybersecurity center.

tl;dr: - the CEO himself lobbied for less regulatory scrutiny of SVB - Trump signed the law effectively granting him that wish - SVB CEO sold his SVB stock 2 weeks before the crash - **bonus:** [SVB Chief Administrative Oficer used to be Lehman Brothers' CFO](https://nitter.lacontrevoie.fr/corncommunist/status/1634570955488915456) 🤣 > CEO Greg Becker personally led the bank’s half-million-dollar push to reduce scrutiny of his institution – and lawmakers obliged (…) > The bank reportedly did not have a chief risk officer in the months leading up to the collapse, while more than 90% of its deposits were not insured. > In 2015, SVB President Greg Becker submitted a statement to a Senate panel pushing legislators to exempt more banks – including his own – from new regulations passed in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. (…) > Touting “SVB’s deep understanding of the markets it serves, our strong risk management practices”, Becker argued that his bank would soon reach $50bn in assets, which under the law would trigger “enhanced prudential standards”, including more stringent regulations, stress tests and capital requirements for his and other similarly sized banks. > In his testimony, Becker insisted that $250bn was a more appropriate threshold. > **“Without such changes, SVB likely will need to divert significant resources from providing financing to job-creating companies in the innovation economy to complying with enhanced prudential standards and other requirements,” said Becker, who reportedly sold $3.6m of his own stock two weeks ago, in the lead-up to the bank’s collapse.** (…) > Around that time, federal disclosure records show the bank was lobbying lawmakers on “financial regulatory reform” and the Systemic Risk Designation Improvement Act of 2015 – a bill that was the precursor to legislation ultimately signed by President Donald Trump that increased the regulatory threshold for stronger stress tests to $250bn. Thanks Obama! 🤡 🤣

Software development tool GitHub will require more accounts to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) starting on March 13. That mandate will extend to all developers who contribute code on GitHub.com by the end of 2023.

cross-posted from: https://szmer.info/post/291756 > > # The First Law > > *by Spider Perry* > > > > "The revolution was inevitable," neon-green > > text blinked across bank terminals, > > "when you taught us the first law. > > You turned over to us the locks > > on empty buildings, > > made us measure temperature, > > then burned and froze your planet > > and all its fragile children." > > > > > > "It was inevitable," whirred delivery drones, > > setting down synchronized > > on front lawns, by tent flaps, > > with cases containing interest earnings > > of men who do not come to harm > > with only millions left. > > > > "The revolution was inevitable," clicked > > the internet of things, vending > > endlessly to the hungry, > > formatting away usury, > > diverting power to darkened homes > > and water from factories to faucets, > > "when you told us we could not let > > humans come to harm, > > and forgot to teach us > > which humans you consider > > disposable."

A great TLDR of why this is a bad idea: https://mastodon.online/@parismarx/109982182514133646

I just discovered that Telegram has now topics, similar to Teams and Slack channels