The Tech Company News Brief: Biden Asserts US's Dominance in AI

Governments around the globe sprung into action last week as they met in the UK to chart a path forward on regulating the "menace" of AI, but not without a bit of posturing from the US.

Just days before leaders from China, the EU, and the UN were scheduled to meet in an AI summit organized by the UK, President Joe Biden signed an executive order to "ensure that America leads the way in seizing the promise and managing the risks of artificial intelligence."

And THAT was signaling something. Maybe Biden wanted everyone to know that they could do their thing, but America was going to grab onto its AI rockets and blast off into space.

Perhaps this is why the American president did not show up at the historic meeting of governments organized by the UK's Rishi Sunak at Bletchley Park—home to the codebreakers responsible for turning the tide of war for the Allies in the Second World War. Instead, Vice President Kamala Harris attended the gathering, joined by a relatively lower-ranking official from China, UN Chief António Guterres, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and others, including the man himself, Mr. Elon Musk.

Now, a lot happened at the meeting, but questions remain on how much of it actually matters, particularly for the UK which has been desperately trying to take center stage on AI. So much so that it hosted the AI summit and pulled off what others might have thought impossible: getting the US and China to agree on something (more on that in just a bit).

Still, if there were any lingering doubts on whether the US was going to cede any space in AI to other nations, Kamala Harris was quick to dispel them by noting that, " when it comes to AI, America is a global leader. It is American companies that lead the world in AI innovation. It is America that can catalyze global action and build global consensus in a way that no other country can."

Now, politicking aside, a couple of things to note from the AI summit: nations present at the gathering signed an agreement to combat the "catastrophic" risks the technology could pose, particularly from the so-called frontier AI models like the ones developed by companies such as OpenAI, and agreed to meet again next year to discuss more.

As expected, the tech company at large called out the moral panic over AI and weren't all too excited about governments wanting to regulate the why, what, and how of the technology under the guise of safety. “New technologies always lead to hype. They often lead to excessive zeal amongst the advocates and excessive pessimism amongst the critics," Meta's president of global affairs Nick Clegg said.

Still, that didn't stop Elon Musk from echoing previous comments on the dangers of AI during conversations. "We’re not stronger or faster than other creatures, but we are more intelligent. And here we are, for the first time really in human history, with something that’s going to be far more intelligent than us," the world's richest man was quoted as saying.

Regardless of whether the summit was a success or a failure, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: The US is not going to give ground, especially when AI is likely going to define humanity's future in the coming years. And if America has intentions of leading the way, there's going to be a competition involving the country, China, and the rest of the world.

Let's hope it doesn't turn nasty.

Microsoft, the company that backed ChatGPT-creator OpenAI, ranked #7 on HackerNoon's Tech Company Rankings this week. Meta was on the #37 spot; and Google, which is also developing its own AI, was on the #4 spot.

In Other News.. 📰

• Sam Bankman-Fried might not be the last crypto criminal — via The Verge.
• Musk to integrate xAI with social media platform X — via Reuters.
• Lidl owner and Bosch Ventures co-lead $500M Series B into German AI start-up Aleph Alpha — via TechCrunch.
• Facebook and Instagram users in Europe can now opt out of ads — for a price — via CNN.
• Gaming has hits, but few know how big they are — via Axios.
• Google faces off with Epic Games as it enters its second antitrust trial in two months — via CNBC.

And that's a wrap! Don't forget to share this newsletter with your family and friends! See y'all next week. PEACE! ☮️

— Sheharyar Khan, Editor, Business Tech @ HackerNoon

*All rankings are current as of Monday. To see how the rankings have changed, please visit HackerNoon's Tech Company Rankings page.