Starlink has been confirmed as the provider of a landmark coverage milestone in collaboration with New Zealand’s One NZ. 

The telecoms provider claims it is the first company in the world to operate a national satellite text message service via Starlink. 

SpaceX’s satellite-to-cell offering has several partners across the globe, including T-Mobile in the U.S. and others in Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Peru, and Switzerland. 

The breakthrough in coverage is notable but it has to be pointed out that there are limitations to the service. SMS contacts can be sent and received within three minutes, but One NZ has warned the timeframe could increase to “10 minutes or longer” during the initial stages of the rollout. 

Another early issue is that only four phone models are supported at present. They are the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra, and OPPO Find X8 Pro. 

Further support is expected to be introduced in 2025 as the service evolves.

Voice calls and data to follow, says One NZ

Joe Goddard, One NZ’s Commercial Director said, “We continue to test the capabilities of One NZ Satellite TXT, and this is an initial service that will get better. For example, text messages will take longer to send but will get quicker over time.”

“We’re beginning with a small number of phones as part of the staggered rollout of the technology, and critically, from today customers can send and receive text messages only, but in the future, we expect voice calling and data to also be available, ” he added.

The One NZ satellite text service will be free of charge to customers on existing pay-monthly plans, while the company has not yet indicated if there will be additional specific charges for new customers or those on other tariffs to avail of the satellite-to-phone connection.

In September, Starlink hit the four million customers mark, with a million gained since the end of May alone.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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Apple is said to have commenced discussions with Tencent Holdings and ByteDance to deliver its Apple Intelligence service to mainland China. 

As initially reported by Reuters, the approach to the Chinese heavyweights is necessary as Apple is required to work with a local AI model provider to make the expansion happen.

With the talks said to be at an early stage, a conclusion is not yet in sight, but there is likely to be plenty of interest in the lucrative contract. 

The Chinese market is very busy, populated with several AI providers, including Baidu. 

It has partnered with Apple but obstacles have appeared in the way of progress, with Baidu’s LLMs experiencing issues with prompts and accuracy in response to ordinary queries. To eradicate certain problems and boost AI performance, the company wanted access to user data, but that would violate Apple’s privacy policy.

iPhones searching for AI breakthrough in China

The ongoing difficulty in adding AI tech to iPhones in China will have a significant impact on sales in the country if a workaround is not reached relatively soon. The US tech giant is already witnessing a declining market share in China which it will be keen to arrest, but the absence of key AI features on its devices is a contributing factor. 

In the third quarter, iPhone sales in China dropped 0.3% which contrasts sharply with the 42% spike in Huawei’s sales for the same period, as outlined by research company IDC. 

This comes after a successful 2023 in China, for Apple.

The September launch of the iPhone 16 in the world’s biggest smartphone market was undermined due to the lack of headline AI features.

In the US, Apple has been able to roll out iPhones powered with ChatGPT but the OpenAI service is not authorized for use in China.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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Sony Group has confirmed it is now the largest single shareholder in Kadokawa, in an investment deal worth around 50 billion yen ($320 million). 

The agreement will increase Sony’s holding in the Japanese media conglomerate to 10%, with both entities signing a “strategic capital and business alliance” to pursue further collaboration for mutual benefit.

The deal with the parent company of FromSoftware puts a full takeover on hold, which it was reportedly open to. Sony is said to be keen to exploit opportunities around anime and video games, while a full takeover would have cost more than 10 times the amount it has shelled out for its 10% stake.

Hiroki Totoki, President, COO, and CFO of the Sony Group Corporation said: 

“Through this capital and business alliance, we will become the largest shareholder of Kadokawa, which consistently creates a wide variety of IP, including publications and books, such as light novels and comics, as well as games and anime.”

He added the agreement would see the companies “work closely together” as part of separate, but aligned aspirations. 

Takeshi Natsuno, CEO of Kadokawa Corporation stated, “This alliance is expected to not only further strengthen our IP creation capabilities, but also increase our IP media mix options with Sony’s support for global expansion, allowing us to deliver our IP to more users around the world.” 

Sony is now the largest shareholder in KADOKAWA after acquiring 12M+ new shares, now holding 10% of the company shares pic.twitter.com/Hy5IA5VOyu

— ScreenTime (@screentime) December 19, 2024

Shared interests in anime and scope for growth

Although the announcement was light on the finer details of the enhanced partnership, there was a mention of adapting Kadokawa’s IP into live-action films and TV shows, as well as developing anime, which would utilize Sony’s vast entertainment portfolio capability.

There is plenty of scope for growth and potential success with Kadokawa’s business interests fitting nicely into Sony’s entertainment offerings including anime, manga, TV, and film. 

Kadokawa – which suffered a malicious cyberattack earlier this year – is already a significant publisher of anime, while Sony is the owner of anime streamers Crunchyroll and Funimation.

Sony and Kadokawa have a further shared interest in the prospects of FromSoftware, as the former holds a 14% minority stake, while the latter is the majority owner with around 70% of the video game developer.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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El Salvador has reached an agreement with the International Monetary Fund over a $1.4 billion loan package that will see the Central American nation scale back its Bitcoin program. 

The funding package will be exchanged for a reduction in the country’s domestic Bitcoin activity, subject to final approval from the IMF executive board.  

The drawdown will come from the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility, over 40 months, in support of El Salvador’s reform agenda and in particular, to assist its balance of payment needs.

As detailed by the global financial institution, further funding will be provided by the World Bank and the Inter-American Developmental Bank, as well as other sources, to take the total support package beyond $3.5b.

“The potential risks of the Bitcoin project will be diminished significantly in line with Fund policies,” said the IMF statement.

“Legal reforms will make acceptance of Bitcoin by the private sector voluntary. For the public sector, engagement in Bitcoin-related economic activities and transactions in and purchases of Bitcoin will be confined.”

The IMF and the EL Salvador government have reached a staff-level agreement on a 40-month EFF arrangement to support the government's economic reforms. The agreement with is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board. https://t.co/1GLjFsEhVl pic.twitter.com/M1U77Flz4f

— IMF (@IMFNews) December 18, 2024

Businesses no longer obliged to accept Bitcoin

Among the measures aimed at improving El Salvador’s economic stability, the IMF deal includes significant changes to Bitcoin’s role within the financial system. 

The digital currency will remain legal tender but this status appears to be undermined as businesses will no longer be obliged to accept it. This goes against Article 7 of El Salvador’s 2021 Bitcoin Law, which decreed that “Every economic agent must accept bitcoin as payment when offered to him by whoever acquires a good or service.”

In the public sector, the government has pledged to gradually reduce its participation in Bitcoin-related activity, including phasing out the state-managed public wallet, Chivo. 

Taxes will only be payable in U.S. dollars, which is another significant blow to Bitcoin’s widely acclaimed status in El Salvador.

As the price of Bitcoin topped $100,000 for the first time earlier this month, President Nayib Bukele welcomed the landmark, stating the value of the nation’s crypto holdings had more than doubled. 

In June 2021, Bukele was at the forefront as El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender in the name of financial inclusion, but this latest IMF deal represents a significant change in the country’s economic policy. 

Image credit: Via Ideogram

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NFT collection CyberKongz has been issued with a Wells Notice by the SEC, as the independent federal government agency announced its intentions to pursue enforcement. 

Late on Monday (Dec. 16), CyberKongz confirmed the development with the project said to be “extremely disappointed” at the approach taken by the SEC. 

“We have been suffering in silence for the last two years, ever since we first received contact from the SEC,” it said in the statement. 

“Throughout the entire process they have showcased a complete lack of understanding of blockchain technologies that has resulted in unjust accusations and information inaccuracies,” it added. 

A Wells notice is a formal communication issued by the SEC, with the letter notifying an entity that the regulator has conducted a preliminary investigation and is considering further enforcement action.

CyberKongz has the right of 30 days to submit a response.

CyberKongz has received a Wells Notice from the SEC.

We are extremely disappointed at the approach the SEC has taken towards us, but we are going to stand up and fight for a brighter future that holds more clarity for NFT projects.

We have been suffering in silence for the last… pic.twitter.com/lc6hyzUPb0

— CyberKongz (@CyberKongz) December 16, 2024

Confidence in a new dawn under the incoming Trump administration

The artist Myoo was prominent in the launch of CyberKongz in March 2021, with 1000 unique NFTs billed as the Genesis Collection. 

Myoo was the designer of the 34×34 pixelated Gorilla images, specifically set up as profile pictures (PFPs).

CyberKongz is alleging the SEC is presiding over a “perplexing interpretation of smart contracts.” It underlined one of the agency’s key concerns, the ‘sale’ of Genesis Kongz in April 2021, was actually a contract migration. 

The project has poured doubt on how a clear regulatory pathway can be maintained if the SEC cannot clearly distinguish between a primary sale and a contract migration. 

This is the latest salvo from the SEC toward gaming tokens after the commission recently dispatched a Wells Notice to Web3 gaming firm, Immutable.

There are some suggestions that gaming tokens could be in trouble with the agency, but looking at the bigger picture, it is only a matter of weeks until Donald Trump returns to the White House, with a new dawn slated to emerge for the industry.

Image credit: Via Ideogram

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AI heavyweight OpenAI is set to open up its ChatGPT Search product to all users, moving beyond the initial exclusivity for paid subscribers.

The company had planned to expand the facility to free users from the outset, and now that has materialized within a matter of weeks, as reported by Bloomberg. The tool will now be available to anyone with an account for OpenAI, across mobile apps and the web.

First launched last month, ChatGPT Search was designed to provide “fast, timely answers with links to relevant web sources, which you would have previously needed to go to a search engine for”

The extended launch means users can now set ChatGPT Search as their default search engine on their web browser, firing a shot toward Google in the ever-increasing competition stakes. 

New AI video generation launch for OpenAI

When OpenAI confirmed the update on Day Eight of their 12-day live-streamed product events, they demonstrated the new tool by searching for activities in Zurich before Christmas, with verbal responses returned.

OpenAI has also used the series of displays to introduce a more expensive ChatGPT Pro subscription option, as well as the launch of Sora, an AI video generation tool.

This is another step forward in the evolution of OpenAI, which first introduced ChatGPT in 2022. Since this breakthrough, AI firms have been pushing to introduce generative AI across various services, including online search.

Conversely, Reddit has taken a step in the opposite direction. 

We are familiar with AI developers licensing content from Reddit to train their models, but last week, the mega-site confirmed it was launching its own AI search tool, Reddit Answers.

An official blog post from the company detailed the test launch, envisioned to provide a new method to extract crucial information from Reddit’s plethora of communities.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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The United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has set out a new framework for the regulation of the cryptocurrency industry.

The British regulator is seeking feedback on its discussion paper, with various measures on the table, including banning public crypto offers. 

Although the regulatory body has proposed the ban on open public offerings, there will be provisions for exceptions in limited instances. 

As part of the new approach, the FCA wants to introduce a more rigid structure and to improve clarity as part of aspirations to provide “clear and consistent ‘rules of the game’ for firms and consumers.” 

This fresh proposal for the future of crypto in the UK builds on the existing rules that prevent unregistered companies from targeting UK users, while there is a desire to eradicate abuse of the current rules and an overall lack of transparency. 

The latter is a common theme across international markets with United States President-elect Donald Trump determined to assert his plans to make the U.S. the “world capital for crypto”. 

Clear admissions, disclosures and market abuse rules will help improve the integrity of our crypto markets, while protecting people and supporting the UK's growth and competitiveness.

Find out more https://t.co/zB3e0xXkti#crypto #CryptoRegulation #FinancialRegulation

— Financial Conduct Authority (@TheFCA) December 16, 2024

You should be prepared to lose everything: FCA

“Admissions and disclosures and market abuse regimes are crucial to improving the integrity and cleanliness of our crypto markets, as well as helping people make informed financial decisions,” said the FCA on Monday (Dec 16).

It also set out the goal to put down foundations, to develop a model framework fir for the long term which would encourage sustainable investment. The discussion paper has been published following various roundtable summits earlier this year, involving government representatives and industry stakeholders. 

The positive approach has been tempered with the FCA warning crypto assets remain largely high-risk and unregulated, and if something goes wrong, you should be prepared to lose everything and not be protected.

Since 2020, the FCA has been the UK’s watchdog on crypto, enforcing compliance under AML rules, with strict codes to be met if companies are to legally operate in the UK.

Industry figures and delegates are expected to respond to the paper as intended, with the draft regulations to be published next year, followed by a finalized framework in 2026.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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The Democratic Republic of Congo has taken legal action against Apple subsidiary firms in France and Belgium, alleging the tech giant has embedded the use of conflict minerals in its supply chain.  

The Central African country is a major regional source of tin, tantalum, and tungsten, with the components widely used in the manufacturing of smartphones and computers. 

However, the contention arises from some mining sites being operated by militias, said to be responsible for widespread massacres, mass rapes, and other serious crimes, according to UN experts. 

As reported by Reuters, international lawyers representing Congo have made their case that Apple is benefiting from the minerals obtained in the country and then laundered through well-established supply chains. 

The U.S. tech multinational has refuted the claims, adding it does not directly source the minerals, opting to screen and audit suppliers with reports regularly collated on the process.

In a 2023 filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Apple indicated none of its supply chain partners had financed or been involved in transactions with armed groups in Congo or elsewhere.

In other Apple news, the company is said to be eyeing a 2028 launch for its foldable iPad prototype.

Belgium’s moral duty to act in Congo

Specifically, complaints were filed at the prosecutor’s office in Paris, and Belgium’s investigating magistrate’s office. Congo has alleged that local subsidiaries including Apple France, Apple Retail France, and Apple Retail Belgium are guilty of an array of offenses. 

This includes covering up for war crimes, laundering materials, and handling stolen components.

“It is clear that the Apple group, Apple France, and Apple Retail France know very well that their minerals supply chain relies on systemic wrongdoing,” said the French complaint, citing UN reports on the ongoing conflict situation in the east of Congo.

Referencing Belgium’s colonial history with Congo, the African nation’s Belgian solicitor Christophe Marchand asserted that it has a particular moral duty to take action.

Over the last three decades, Congo has been embattled due to the ongoing conflict as different actors seek to gain a foothold in the mining fields. 

These areas have been besieged by armed groups, some backed by neighboring Rwanda and the Congolese military, as waves of violence ebbed and flowed.

Millions of civilians have died or been displaced, as a result of the turmoil.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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An investigation has uncovered details of an illegal gambling ring that is enticing children to bet, using their accounts on the popular gaming platform, Roblox. 

Illegal casinos are manipulating minors, as young as 12, to bet their Roblox credit, known as Robux, on slots and blackjack. 

The extent of the problem has been made clear with Sky News reporting one of the illegal gambling outlets, Bloxmoon, has facilitated user losses of $11.4m (£8.8m) since it went live in late 2022.

Sky News also probed BloxFlip and RBLXWild, showing that collectively the sites received around 2.8 million visitors each month, with millions staked in bets. 

Taking the lead from the investigation, the Gambling Commission has acted to launch a report of its own, while banning the illegal casino outlets from operating in the U.K. jurisdiction.  

“Criminals will always try and find new ways to exploit people, including children,” said the regulator’s chief executive Andrew Rhodes.

New: Criminals are using Roblox to lure children as young as 12 into online gambling.

One casino @MickeyCarroll0 and I investigated is making over $10,000 a day, and handling $3 million in bets per month. pic.twitter.com/hNKJCOQX2M

— Ben van der Merwe (@_BvdM) December 17, 2024

How does the illegal Roblox gambling operate?

The illicit casinos work by abusing the the purpose of Robux, which is supposed to be used for in-game purchases such as clothes, equipment, and experiences. 

Robux can be purchased using real money, with $1.27 (£1) buying 100 units. 

When an account is created on the casinos, using Roblox credentials, the platforms gain access to a user’s Roblox account, facilitating the use of Robux as the gambling currency.

Although some of the casinos ask users to tick a box to confirm they are over 18, verification is thought to be non-existent. 

With the Robux used as gambling chips for casino games, winnings can also be converted into cryptocurrency.

A teenage Roblox user in the United States told Sky News how he had used the sites to gamble around 15 million Robux ($190,439 / £150,000), starting out at the age of 14. 

“My mother tried to get me to stop, but I didn’t,” said Robert*. “I just liked the adrenaline of doing bigger and bigger bets.”

Roblox has insisted the casino platforms are “in no way endorsed or authorized by Roblox” with the company taking action, including “numerous steps to disrupt their activity, which violates our Terms of Use”.

That has not been enough to allay the grievances of concerned parents who have taken a class action lawsuit against Roblox. 

Parents of five children who used the casinos brought the case, initially filed in August 2023 and later given permission to proceed in September this year after a judge ruled the company would need to answer the parents’ allegations of negligence.

Their position is that Roblox knew of this activity for years and has not done enough to eradicate it, failing to keep kids safe online.

Image credit: Via Ideogram

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Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket is on track to be launched before the end of 2024.

Before that can happen, the company needs to receive regulatory approval so it can complete the crucial final tests on the massive structure.

Known as ‘hotfire’, the last preparation stage involves powering up all seven engines and firing them at full power while the rocket remains perched on the surface.

The company made a statement on Monday (Dec. 9) to repeat its commitment to the existing schedule for New Glenn’s inaugural mission, NG-1, which will carry the Blue Ring Pathfinder payload. It will be tasked to complete tests for the Blue Ring orbit transfer vehicle.

Paul Ebertz, Blue Origin’s Senior VP for In-Space Systems, said,  “We’re excited to demonstrate Blue Ring’s advanced in-space operations on New Glenn’s inaugural mission.

“Blue Ring plays a critical role in building a road to space, and this mission is an important first step for Blue Ring and enabling dynamic and responsive operations that will greatly benefit our nation,” he added. 

Earlier this year, Jeff Bezos’ aerospace firm completed its first crewed mission in two years.

While we wait for regulatory approvals for hotfire and launch, here’s a photo (and a bonus video) of our “chilling” GS1. This marks the first time we’re tanking our first stage with liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquid oxygen (LOX). The first stage LOX tank is nearly 30,000 cu.… pic.twitter.com/S9wDtCUFNI

— Dave Limp (@davill) December 8, 2024

Blue Origin’s potential mission to Mars for NASA

New Glenn is a 320-foot-tall rocket, capable of carrying 45 metric tons (99,200 pounds) into low Earth orbit, considerably more powerful than United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan Centaur and SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy in its reusable configuration.

It doesn’t quite measure up to SpaceX’s Starship, the largest rocket ever built, which is designed to carry 100 to 150 metric tons to low earth orbit. 

The maiden flight for New Glenn could have been much different, with plans hatched to take a pair of satellites to Mars in a landmark mission for NASA. This was slated for a launch window in October, but the U.S. space agency pushed back the project, on the basis that problems could arise with New Glenn.

In hindsight, that appears to have been the correct decision, but it has aspirations for a later New Glenn launch in the spring of next year

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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The Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) has now taken effect in the European Union, with the legislation introduced to enhance the security credentials of connected devices.

With the introduction of the act, the onus now falls on manufacturers to ensure products have sufficient support with customers able to benefit from guards against potential security flaws. 

This is to prevent hacking risks and other compromises, with robust software updates in place. 

CRA-compliant products can display the EU’s CE symbol to demonstrate their standards

Devices such as baby monitors, smartwatches, and home appliances will be covered by the new CRA directive, which will not be enforced in full for another three years, giving the industry time to adapt. 

In October, another EU regulator body was urged to impose stricter cybersecurity requirements on the crypto sector.

The #CyberResilienceAct enters into force today, marking a major leap forward in protecting EU citizens & businesses from cyber threats. Enhanced transparency, security requirements & consumer support coming soon! #EU #cybersecurity
read more : https://t.co/GgOtY5JeuD pic.twitter.com/r2wwZwMRP6

— CyberSec_EU (@Cybersec_EU) December 10, 2024

CRA aims to rebalance responsibility for cybersecurity

The CRA was first proposed in the European bloc two years ago, due to the notable increase in the volume of connected devices and the potential for problems to arise. Profits were potentially placed above customer security to some extent, but now all manufacturers will need to meet the required standards.

It means any products with digital components will need to be equipped for the duration of their lifespan, from concept to purchase and beyond. Retailers will also have a duty to ensure the stock they hold and supply is compliant.

By pushing back on manufacturers, the EU said it is intentionally “rebalancing responsibility” for cybersecurity issues with the simple proviso that products must meet the minimum requirements to enter the European market. 

Any companies that fail to meet the new CRA regulations could be fined up to 2.5% of global turnover, or up to $15m ($15.76m) if greater, with other penalties in place for failing to respond to regulatory correspondence. 

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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Google has introduced Willow, an advanced quantum computing chip which it claims can solve complex problems that would usually take advanced computers more than ten septillion years to complete.

That is more time than has elapsed in the history of the universe, and 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in figures, to be exact.  

A blog from Hartmut Neven, Google’s head of quantum AI outlined the breakthrough, although it should be stressed that Willow is essentially an experimental device. It provides a prototype and a vision of what could be possible in the future but it will require several years and billions of dollars to deliver a quantum computer capable of reaching its full potential.

This was acknowledged by Neven when he said “Willow moves us significantly along that path towards commercially relevant applications.”

Quantum computing is not just the latest generation of tech, it is a separate, very different setup compared to the components of a regular laptop or mobile phone.

It utilizes quantum mechanics – the makeup and behavior of minute particles – to provide answers and solutions, way beyond the possibilities of conventional computers.

Willow was created at the Alphabet-owned company’s dedicated production facility in Santa Barbara, California, where it recorded an “astonishing” benchmark performance.

Google detailed how its quantum error correction achieved below-threshold status – this is the result of reducing errors when increasing the number of qubits used.

Computing expert urges caution on Google’s breakthrough

In tests, Google used the random circuit sampling (RCS) benchmark, described as the “classically hardest” that quantum computing can be measured against.

However, a computing expert at Surrey University warned of the perils of “comparing apples with oranges”. 

Professor Alan Woodward told BBC News quantum computers will be better at a range of tasks than current “classical” computers, but they will not replace them.

He sent a warning not to overstate the importance and status of Willow from one single test.

Google selected a problem to use as a benchmark of performance that was, “tailor-made for a quantum computer” that did not show “a universal speeding up when compared to classical computers,” according to the Professor. 

Woodward did state Willow demonstrated significant progress on error correction, in particular.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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Eric Trump believes the United States can be the crypto capital of the world, echoing his father’s aspirations as he prepares to return to the White House. 

The son of the President-elect and Vice President of the family organization was speaking on the fringes of the Bitcoin MENA conference in Abu Dhabi where he was a scheduled keynote speaker. 

In a conversation with CNBC, Eric predicted “sensible” regulatory reforms could pave the way for the U.S. to lead the way on the alternate digital currency. 

With Bitcoin recently achieving a landmark $100,000 price, the decentralized cryptocurrency still holds the vast majority of that value, fastened by the public remarks and overtures from Donald Trump in the aftermath of his election success. 

The presence of Eric Trump at Bitcoin MENA, flanked by Steven Witkoff – the President-elect’s choice as Middle East envoy – is another sign that the incoming U.S. administration is serious about its crypto intentions. 

“I think America will be the crypto capital of the world. I fully support it. My father fully supports it. Our family, you know, is fully embracing it. We believe in DeFi. We believe that’s the way of the future. And again, America, you know, better lead the way, otherwise we’re going to leave a lot behind,” said Eric Trump. 

ERIC TRUMP: “I believe in Bitcoin. I absolutely love #Bitcoin” pic.twitter.com/Kupl1ojyCW

— Bitcoin MENA Conference (@bitcoinmenaconf) December 10, 2024

“We will have a clear road map”

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is the umbrella term for a set of projects that aim to bring financial services to the blockchain, including Bitcoin.

When asked if his father is set to introduce crucial regulatory or deregulatory reforms for the sector and what it would mean, Eric Trump provided a vague, intriguing response, which was far from a denial. 

“It looks transparent. That’s what it is,” he stated. 

Eric went on to bemoan the existing approach to crypto in the U.S. and the failures to truly grasp the situation, with the message that change is on the horizon.

“The people in the crypto industry are frustrated that no one’s ever put together a sensible plan as to how to regulate an industry. They’re fine with regulation, but they just want guidelines, and they’ve said that.” 

“We will have a clear road map, and hopefully the rest of the world follows that,” he added emphatically. 

Image credit: Via Ideogram

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A significant lawsuit filed in a London court on Monday (Dec. 9) alleges Mike Tyson reneged on the terms of a contract on the same day his clash with Jake Paul was announced. 

The affiliate marketing firm Medier has claimed the legendary boxer, and his company Tyrannic, broke the terms of an existing deal to promote the gambling platform Rabona. 

This has resulted in a legal suit against Tyson worth $1.59 million. 

More than 70,000 fans packed into the AT&T Stadium in Texas to watch the high-profile bout between 59-year-old Tyson and YouTuber turned pro-boxer Paul. Netflix reported a global audience of 60 million streaming the fight. 

Against an opponent less than half his age, Iron Mike could not turn back the clock to get anywhere close to his prime, as Paul was declared the winner unanimously.

Mike Tyson sued for $1.6 million over allegedly breaking promotional deal to fight Jake Paul https://t.co/w89L4rM4Lu pic.twitter.com/qIBOrznlDQ

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) December 6, 2024

Medier’s position explained

Tyson’s representatives will be aiming to avert another loss, now the action has moved from the ring to the courts.

In response, they have claimed Medier breached the terms of their initial agreement on more than one occasion. 

According to the lawsuit,  Medier’s position is that “The true reason for Mr. Tyson and Tyrannic’s hasty and unlawful termination was because Mr. Tyson had agreed [to] a deal, sponsored by Netflix, to fight the influencer, Jake Paul.” 

The company is seeking more than $800,000 returned in fees paid to Tyson “for which no services were provided” as well as $729,000 compensation for “wasted production and promotion costs.”

With the renowned pugilist said to have received around $20 million for his participation in the contest with Betr-linked Paul, it should not trouble him too much if Medier is awarded the amount it is seeking, but this legal wrangle could have one or two rounds left to unfold.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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By now we are familiar with AI developers licensing content from Reddit to train their models, but the mega-site has taken a step in the opposite direction by launching its own AI search tool, Reddit Answers.

An official blog post from the company detailed the test launch, envisioned to provide a new method to extract crucial information from Reddit’s plethora of communities.

The Reddit Answers function should produce a useful resource for users, with the conversational tool saving time to prevent searching through individual threads. 

Reddit will be aiming to better compete against the big boys in AI models, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, and Perplexity. 

If all goes to plan, the tool will particularly eat into Google’s traffic, when users would typically start their search terms with the keyword prefix “Reddit”. Think of it as cutting out the middleman.

Last week, the company voiced plans to expand beyond its heavily US-centric user base.

Question, meet Answers.

Starting today, we’re rolling out a limited test in the U.S. of Reddit Answers—an AI-powered way to get the information, recommendations, and hot takes you only go to Reddit for. https://t.co/jPBdqEd2JL

— Reddit, Inc. (@Reddit) December 9, 2024

Real-time reactions not yet reliable

As stated in the blog announcement, “Once a question is asked, curated summaries of relevant conversations and details across Reddit will appear, including links to related communities and posts.” 

The benefit of the direct source means you can then jump into the full conversation within the relevant community or delve deeper into the search, with the suggested follow-up questions provided by Answers.

The Verge reported Reddit Answers can react to real-time information within minutes, according to spokesperson Tim Rathschmidt. When that was put to the test, a check for the result of an NFL game played the previous day was not accurate, but that points to a tool firmly in the test stage and not something to deliver a verdict on, just yet.

Reddit is clearly testing the water and checking how compatible the AI search tool can be with its core content, but at this fledgling stage it won’t worry Google and co.

Reddit Answers is rolling out to a select number of users in the United States, with support limited to English for now, but there are plans for a wider launch in other markets.

Image credit: Via Midjourney 

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Nvidia’s shares slumped by around 2.2% in pre-market trading on Monday after China opened a probe into alleged violations of the country’s anti-monopoly rules. 

It was announced that Beijing’s market regulation office had commenced an investigation into the market-leading advanced chip manufacturer over its acquisition of Mellanox in 2020. 

China previously approved this deal on the basis that it would not lead to discriminatory treatment toward Chinese companies.

The development comes amid rising trade tensions between the United States and China, with tit-for-tat moves over the last week. President Biden’s administration approved another round of restrictions to stifle China’s access to crucial AI components and in reciprocation, it banned the export of gallium, germanium, and antimony to the U.S.

In a statement quoted by CNBC, a spokesperson explained the decision to investigate the U.S. chipmaker.

“In recent days, due to Nvidia’s suspected violation of China’s anti-monopoly law and the State Administration for Market Regulation’s restrictive conditions around Nvidia’s acquisition of Mellanox shares … the State Administration for Market Regulation is opening a probe into Nvidia in accordance with law.”

China's $NVDA anti-trust probe is a result of the chipmaker's potential breach of commitments made when it acquired Israel-based Mellanox Technologies to solidify Nvidia's dominance in data center related, high-speed network interconnect equipment. It shows that China can dig…

— Brian Tycangco 鄭彥渊 (@BrianTycangco) December 9, 2024

China’s precedent for anti-monopoly action against a foreign firm

In a further return salvo against America, four of China’s top industry organizations issued a rare unified message in the name of protectionism, warning U.S. chips were “no longer safe” and to buy from local sources instead.

Nvidia is thought to dominate the Chinese market with a share of around 90%, before these curb measures, while China represents around 17% of Nvidia’s revenues in the year up to the end of January. This has fallen from 26% in two years. 

Huawei is emerging as a key competitor for Nvidia in China, with a growing domestic appeal. 

Reuters reported the last foreign company to fall foul of a similar anti-monopoly sanction was Qualcomm, in a 2013 investigation. 

Its local subsidiary firm was found to have overcharged and abused its market position, resulting in the payment of a $975 million penalty, the largest of its kind to be enforced by China at the time.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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Google has reclaimed the top spot in a valued AI benchmark table, knocking OpenAI into second place. 

On the respected Chatbot Arena leaderboard, the Alphabet-owned company has assumed the lead with the introduction of its Gemini-Exp-1206 experimental model. Previously, Sam Altman’s company was in pole position with its ChatGPT-4o offering, just shading Gemini-Exp-114 which was released on November 15. 

Those competing LLMs were effectively matched, with Google appearing to close the gap on its nearest competitor. 

Chatbot Arena reported the new Google Gemini version showed significant improvement across important categories including mathematics, creative writing, and visuals, with a 40-point improvement on previous offerings. Despite this, Tech Crunch has outlined how the current AI benchmarking approach could vastly oversimplify model evaluation.

What a way to celebrate one year of incredible Gemini progress — #1across the board on overall ranking, as well as on hard prompts, coding, math, instruction following, and more, including with style control on.

Thanks to the hard work of everyone in the Gemini team and… https://t.co/BnjfUIexpU pic.twitter.com/i4Fof5KoWc

— Jeff Dean (@) (@JeffDean) December 6, 2024

Google trumps OpenAI with free-to-use model

That is a separate issue to contend with, and Google will not be worrying too much at present, with the impressive credentials of Gemini-Exp-1206 now available. OpenAI has been a market leader in advanced AI models for some time, but Google has its rival firmly in its line of vision.

The free-to-use Exp-1206 can process and make sense of video content unlike key competitors ChatGPT and Claude, which are limited to images. Google’s model possesses a resourceful 2M token context window, meaning it can run through more than one hour of video content.

Google has undercut its main opponent by offering Gemini-exp-1206 for free via Google AI studio and the Gemini API, while OpenAI moved to increase the price of its top-tier service. 

This truly matters as users could save $200 for a product that is essentially on the same level. This performance at no extra cost will make the market sit up and take notice, as well as kick open the doors for AI accessibility.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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Donald Trump’s inner circle is expected to be well represented in Abu Dhabi on Monday, where the Bitcoin MENA conference will take place. 

The event will take place over two days, running into Tuesday, with Eric Trump (son of the President-elect) taking to the stage as a keynote speaker. The VP of the Trump Organization is expected to address delegates and the wider audience on the growing proliferation of Bitcoin, and how it can promote financial independence and wealth preservation. 

At the Bitcoin MENA gathering in the United Arab Emirates, more than 6000 are expected to come together, with policymakers, investors, developers, and crypto enthusiasts all represented.

As reported by Reuters, other speakers will include Steve Witkoff, the billionaire real estate investor who will become the new U.S., envoy to the Middle East. He is also a co-founder of World Liberty Financial, the crypto platform project launched in September will full endorsement and participation from the Trump family. 

MENA will represent the latest overture from Team Trump toward the crypto sector at a time when the alternate digital currency is setting record highs in its valuation. 

Last week saw Bitcoin enter uncharted waters when it hit $100,000.

https://twitter.com/60Minutes/status/1865916017798496739

Exclusive addresses from Trump and Witkoff

In addition to the main address from Eric Trump, he will also hold a “whale only” chat in the exclusive VIP lounge at the event, followed by Witkoff. The select audience will require a $9,999 “whale” pass – the nickname given to significant players on the scene with the means to make waves in the market.

Another notable speaker at Bitcoin MENA is Justin Sun, the Chinese founder of the blockchain platform Tron. Last month he made the headlines with a $6.24 million purchase of a viral banana.

He is thought to be the largest single investor in WLF after he posted on X to announce his purchase of $30 million worth of tokens on the platform. 

With Donald Trump positioning himself as the “crypto president” and determined to place the United States firmly front and center on the crypto map, this event will provide the stage for his senior representatives to make his latest play for prominence and promise.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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The Gambling Commission has published its latest Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB) based on interviews with 4.657 adults aged 18 and over, with the information collected from April to July 2024. 

The study conducted in Britain has revealed just under half of those questioned take part in regular gambling activity. 

Although 48% of respondents indicated they were gamblers, around 20% exclusively played the National Lottery or other charity-related lottery draws. General gambling participation was defined as any form of betting activity over the previous four weeks.  

On Thursday (Dec. 5), Wave 2 of the 2024 statistics was released, with the figures remaining consistent with data from earlier in the year and the findings from 2023. 

The GSGB is described as “one of the largest surveys about people’s gambling behaviors in the world, collecting data from 20,000 respondents each year.” This information provides a critical understanding of contemporary betting behavior and opinions, creating a solid source of evidence on the issue.

At the end of October, the UK betting industry emerged unscathed from the new Labour government’s first budget, following speculation on the introduction of punitive taxes.

Lottery play was the dominant and favored gambling activity

The findings of the survey provided further insights, revealing gambling participation was highest among the category of males aged 45 to 64, but lottery players skewed this. Excluding this specific activity, young males aged 25 to 34 were the most prevalent demographic.

Online gambling activity was reported by 37% of those polled, but this dropped to 17% when lottery games were taken out of the equation. This compares to 29% of in-person gambling, including lottery play, and 18%, without. 

This survey showed the National Lottery as the dominant game of choice, favored by 31% of players. Other lotteries were cited by 16% of those asked. Other options selected by participants as their preferred activity included scratchcards (12%), regular betting (12%), and online instant win competitions (7%). 

On motivations for gambling, most opted for “the chance to win big money” and “because it’s fun” as the main drivers. 

The GSGB is due to return its next findings in February next year.

Image credit: Via Midjourney

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Waymo has announced its next location will be Miami with a phased plan to launch an autonomous service within two years. 

Human drivers will be inside the vehicle next year, ahead of the full robotaxi rollout in 2026, delivered via the Waymo app. 

The Alphabet-owned company is targeting growth in the Sunshine State as a sign of its growing confidence that it is ready for the challenges that come in such an urban environment with varying weather conditions like Miami. 

That was the location for the firm’s first test stages five years ago and the improvements secured since have equipped the vehicles for the harsh, wet conditions that they will often be exposed to. 

“We deepened our learning and understanding of the Waymo Driver’s performance in adverse weather conditions,” said a company spokesperson.

Waymo’s advances have also been backed by the financial support of its Google-parent owner. 

Earlier this year, Alphabet’s chief financial officer confirmed the tech heavyweight would be plowing a further $5 billion into its subsidiary. 

“This new round of funding, which is consistent with recent annual investment levels, will enable Waymo to continue to build the world’s leading autonomous driving technology company,” said Ruth Porat.

Miami, are you ready? Through our fleet partnership with @Moove_io we'll work to open our doors to Miami riders in 2026, offering a safe and accessible EV transportation option. https://t.co/jisF6xJz5d pic.twitter.com/gS7jnUHzo4

— Waymo (@Waymo) December 5, 2024

Moove enters the U.S. market as part of Miami’s expansion

Waymo will deploy its all-electric Jaguar I-PACE next year, with the launch going beyond the city limits of Miami and into sections of the wider metropolitan area which has an overall population of more than 6 million people.

The autonomous driving tech company, formerly known as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, will collaborate with African mobility startup Moove as part of the expansion plans for Miami, beginning in Phoenix. 

Under the partnership, Moove will be responsible for fleet operations, facilities, and charging, in its initial foray into the U.S. market.

“Together, we will provide safe, seamless trips for riders, and scale faster and more cost-effectively over time, with safety continuing to lead the way,”  said Ryan McNamara, Vice President of Operations at Waymo.

Image credit: Via Jon Fingas

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