James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Microsoft and Activision agree to a new deadline as UK approval still not certain
The drama of the biggest tech acquisition of all time seemingly won’t end, with Microsoft Corp. and Activision Blizzard Inc. today announcing they’ve agreed on a new deadline of Oct. 18 to finalize their mammoth $69 billion transaction. “Given global regulatory approvals …
Pay up! Thousands of authors tell AI leaders they want to be paid when their work is used
Around 8,500 authors, many of them household names, have signed an open letter to leaders in the generative artificial intelligence industry telling them either to compensate them for their work or to leave it alone. The list of names in the letter …
UK court gives Microsoft more time to negotiate with CMA over $69B Activision Blizzard acquisition
The U.K.’s Competition Appeal Tribunal today agreed to extend Microsoft Corp.’s appeal to buy the gaming giant Activision Blizzard Inc. after the acquisition was blocked by the U.K.’s competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority, or CMA, citing concerns over Microsoft’s potential …
US university professors cry foul on Texas’ ‘unconstitutional’ TikTok ban
A free speech group of professors at New York’s Columbia University has sued Texas Governor Greg Abbott and others for the state’s TikTok ban on official devices, saying that the ban is unconstitutional under the First Amendment and impinges on academic freedom. …
FTC is still trying to kill Microsoft-Activision Blizzard deal that appeals court ruling blessed
The Federal Trade Commission is taking its fight into the 12th round in its attempt to block Microsoft Corp’s pending $68.7 billion acquisition of the gaming giant Activision Blizzard Inc. The agency filed an appeal today after Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley denied …
US senators sound slightly overwhelmed at first-ever classified briefing on artificial intelligence
U.S. senators today discussed the rise of artificial intelligence at what was the first-ever briefing on the technology, and most of them sounded somewhat concerned about the future. The senators listened to experts on the matter of AI from a list of …
Massachusetts might become the first state to ban the sale of phone location data
Lawmakers in Massachusetts are in the process of considering a bill that would ban the sale of mobile phone location data, which would make the state the first in the U.S. to restrict what has become a highly controversial and very lucrative …
Volkswagen is about to launch a self-driving car testing program in Texas
The German automaker Volkswagen AG announced today that it will start testing a small fleet of self-driving microbuses in Austin, Texas, with a mind to expanding to more U.S. cities in the future. Using technology from the chipmaker Mobileye Global Inc., VW …
Judge tells Biden administration to stop contacting social media companies
A federal judge in Louisiana today issued a preliminary injunction that will limit how agencies in the Biden administration can contact social media companies, a ruling that may well shape the future of free speech in the U.S. U.S. District Judge Terry …