Good morning. I’ve acquired 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 downside in Las Vegas. (Learn extra under from Fortune’s Jessica Mathews.)
Only some years in the past Musk promised to alleviate site visitors in notoriously clogged Los Angeles; in the present day, he’s relocated to Texas and left a literal tunnel of damaged guarantees.
And I’m nonetheless caught in, effectively, you recognize. —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. Because of eagle-eyed reader Benoît for the catch. —Andrew Nusca
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And the Nobel goes to…AI
Two synthetic intelligence pioneers have gained a Nobel Prize.
The distinguished honor goes to “godfather of AI” Geoffrey Hinton—you recognize, the one who dramatically stop Google final yr so he might warn the world of AI’s dangers—and to John Hopfield, whose work within the early Nineteen Eighties helped lay the muse for in the present day’s machine studying know-how.
Each males considerably superior the idea of the factitious 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 choice. There isn’t any Nobel prize class that maps clearly to pc science.
It’s true that each Hinton and Hopfield’s work drew closely on statistical physics, although it was additionally knowledgeable by different fields resembling 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 legendary for assembling Apple’s iPhones, however it might quickly be recognized for its personal know-how marvel: a large AI supercomputer, in-built partnership with Nvidia, that it says would be the quickest in Taiwan.
The Hon Hai Kaohsiung Tremendous Computing Middle, 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 anything 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 venture in Mexico. The 2 corporations 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 dealing with a new set of lawsuits from 13 states attorneys normal, together with New York, California, and Washington D.C.
The fits accuse the favored video social media app of violating shopper safety legal guidelines by “deliberately” concentrating 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 occasions as many state AGs virtually precisely a yr in the past; the instances are pending.) The lawsuits search product adjustments and monetary penalties.
As of final yr, TikTok stated it had 150 million customers within the U.S., and research have proven {that a} overwhelming majority of these customers are beneath 35 years previous. Whereas it isn’t public precisely what number of of these customers are beneath 18, a number of years in the past one-third of TikTok’s consumer base was reportedly beneath 14 years previous. TikTok’s CEO stated final yr the platform’s common consumer was “effectively previous school age.”
At any price, add these lawsuits to the pile of authorized troubles dealing with TikTok, which is owned by China’s ByteDance. The platform has ongoing authorized challenges from The Division of Justice, and it is preventing on the Supreme Court docket an government 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 downside within the subterranean transit system that considered one of his corporations, Boring Co., has constructed and operates beneath the Las Vegas Conference Middle.
A skateboarder acquired right into a tunnel and needed to be ejected. A pedestrian wandered round taking footage. Then there are the automobiles that by chance drive onto the transit system’s property by tailing shut behind the Teslas which are used to chauffeur passengers underground.
There have been at the least 67 trespassing episodes since 2022, in keeping with paperwork seen by Fortune, obtained by way of a Freedom of Info Act request. And, because the 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 venture. But it surely 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. sport developer inflated the variety of customers of its namesake gaming platform anyplace between 25% and 42% by not being clear in regards to the variety of alternate accounts or bots contributing to its every day lively customers, or DAU.
Roblox measures this distinction by a course of referred to as “de-alting,” former staff reportedly informed Hindenburg. Roblox additionally inflated engagement hours by roughly 100%, the agency claims.
In recent times Roblox—which turned 20 this yr—has touted a rising consumer base whereas setting a lofty aim of 1 billion customers. The corporate, which is publicly traded on Nasdaq, has informed traders that it’s not worthwhile and won’t 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 youngsters’s security, pointing to a Bloomberg Businessweek investigation, revealed in July, detailing how management didn’t curb youngster abuse on the platform.
Roblox informed the Wall Avenue 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 have to 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 traders can’t escape the gaming slowdown.
—The subsequent 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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