ICYMI: 05.09.23
Google's Workforce Slams CEO for Taking Pay Increase While Cutting Costs and Jobs
Google CEO Sundar Pichai's $226 million pay raise and the company's announcement of a $70 billion stock buyback have sparked discontent among Google employees. They are criticizing Pichai's pay increase while the company cuts costs, eliminates jobs, and reduces employee perks.
Rising Cost of Living Prompts Workers to Push for Hefty Pay Increases
Employees are pushing for a significant pay increase due to the rising cost of living, despite companies exercising caution in containing costs due to recession worries and higher interest rates. A survey of almost 1,000 major employers showed that businesses are still giving out substantial pay increases but less than what was projected last fall. Employers are giving annual merit raises of 3.8% and total compensation increases of 4.1% in 2023 on average.
Microsoft Removes Waiting List for Revamped Bing Search Engine with OpenAI Chatbot
Microsoft has made its revamped Bing search engine available to all Microsoft account holders, eliminating the waiting list that was previously in place. The new Bing features a chatbot powered by OpenAI's GPT-4 AI model and aims to challenge Google's dominance in search advertising.
IBM to freeze Hiring as CEO Predicts AI could replace 7,800 Jobs
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna has announced a pause in hiring for roles that AI can perform, affecting up to 7,800 back-office jobs. The move comes as AI technology advances, and the company is still committed to hiring for customer-facing and software development roles.
Rising Costs, Crime, and Foot Traffic Woes Drive Nordstrom to Close San Francisco Stores
Nordstrom is closing two stores in San Francisco due to the pandemic, as foot traffic remains below pre-pandemic levels. The decision was influenced by changing market conditions and reflected the challenges faced by merchants in large cities with rising operating costs, concerns about crime, and decreased foot traffic.
Biden to Meet with OpenAI, Google CEOs as Washington Policymakers Grapple with Risks Posed by AI
The White House is hosting its first AI meeting with CEOs from Google, Microsoft, Anthropic, and OpenAI. The Biden administration plans to promote responsible AI development and invest $140 million in trustworthy AI research and development. Policymakers are concerned about the threats posed by AI and are working with European counterparts to develop regulations for generative AI, such as ChatGPT.
Young adults most vulnerable to social media scams, as losses hit record highs, according to FTC
The Federal Trade Commission has found that online shopping scams targeting young adults are primarily facilitated by social media, with social media-related fraud reaching over $1.2 billion in 2022, up from $42 million in 2017. While young adults report lower losses to scams than older adults, scammers can use their credit card information for larger schemes. The FTC has ordered social media companies to provide information on how they vet advertisers on their sites.
US added 253,000 Jobs in April, Beating Expectations
Job gains were primarily seen in professional and business services, health care, leisure and hospitality, and social assistance sectors. Despite troubles, the finance industry added 23,000 jobs, and government hiring increased by 23,000.
Here are the numbers
Professional and business services: 43,000
Health care: 40,000
Leisure and hospitality: 31,000
Social assistance: 25,000
Finance: 23,000
Government: 23,000
VCs pour funds into untested generative AI startups, poses risks for investors
Venture capitalists are investing in startups that develop generative AI systems capable of creating human-like conversation, imagery, and code, although how they will generate profits is unclear. Industry analysts expect investment in generative AI firms to increase significantly, surpassing last year's $4.5 billion. In 2018, when OpenAI released the initial version of ChatGPT's language model, investment in this area totaled $408 million. The enterprise technology AI application market is predicted to grow to $98 billion in 2026 from $43 billion this year.
Google to Debut New Features Allowing Users to Have Conversations with AI Program at I/O Developer Conference
Google is planning to incorporate more AI conversations, short videos, and social media posts into its search results to respond to the way people access information on the internet. This is due to the rise of AI bots and short-video apps like TikTok, which are popular among younger users. The search engine will place more emphasis on responding to queries that traditional web results cannot easily answer. Users may be prompted to ask follow-up questions or swipe through visuals.
