The FTC scheduled an April 29 virtual workshop on dark patterns, the agency announced Wednesday. Dark patterns “describe a range of potentially manipulative user interface designs used on websites and mobile apps,” it said (see 1904090084). The agency is accepting public comment through June 29.
Qualcomm introduced an augmented reality reference design Tuesday for immersive experiences. It requires less power than previous-generation models and is designed for AR viewers that connect to a smartphone, Windows PC or processing puck powered by a Snapdragon platform.
Global artificial intelligence revenue in 2021, including software, hardware and services, is forecast to grow 16.4% year over year to $327.5 billion, reported IDC Tuesday. It projects the market will surpass $500 billion by 2024. Software generated 88% of 2020 AI revenue, though its projected 17.3% five-year annual growth rate makes it the lowest growth category in this sector, said IDC. "The global pandemic has pushed AI to the top of the corporate agenda," said analyst Ritu Jyoti. “AI is becoming ubiquitous across all the functional areas of a business.”
Companies including Adobe, Arm, BBC, Intel and Microsoft will develop standards to certify provenance of media content, to address disinformation and online content fraud. The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity plans an end-to-end, open standard for tracing the origin and evolution of digital content, C2PA said Monday. Member organizations will partner to develop content provenance specifications for common asset types and formats to enable publishers, creators and consumers to trace images, videos, audio and documents, said C2PA. Specs will include defining what information is associated with each type of asset, how that information is presented and stored, and how evidence of tampering can be identified, it said: Collaboration with chipmakers, news organizations, and software and platform companies will enable a “comprehensive provenance standard and drive broad adoption across the content ecosystem.” This builds on recent advances in content provenance, including Project Origin; the Content Authenticity Initiative; and C2PA member Truepic's development of the first native integration of hardware-secured photo capture smartphone technology, C2PA said. "There's a critical need to address widespread deception in online content -- now supercharged by advances” in artificial intelligence and graphics “and diffused rapidly via the internet,” said Eric Horvitz, Microsoft chief scientific officer and Project Origin executive sponsor. Organizations interested in joining can apply at membership@c2pa.org.
Quebec is investing $317.3 million in Telesat's planned Lightspeed low earth orbit satellite constellation, Telesat said Thursday. It said the investment will be half preferred equity and half loan. Telesat said Lightspeed operations will be in Quebec, as will manufacture of its phased array antennas.
Coming off a record Q4, Walmart executives cited “aggressive” plans for e-commerce growth during a Thursday virtual investor event. CEO Doug McMillon noted it wasn’t the first place to go to buy products online, and the retailer “has to earn that” role: It requires the right assortment, price, service and on-time delivery, and “it takes some time to build those kinds of capabilities.” Revenue for the quarter ended Jan. 29 was $152.1 billion, up 7.3% from the year-ago quarter, the company reported (and see here). U.S. e-commerce sales jumped 69%. Revenue growth was below analyst expectations. “We know less than we typically do in a normal year,” Chief Financial Officer Brett Biggs said, citing the economy, COVID-19, government stimulus and vaccines. The stock closed 6.5% lower at $137.66.
President Joe Biden should take executive action to impose a federal moratorium on face scanning and other forms of biometric technology, wrote the American Civil Liberties Union and more than 40 organizations Wednesday. He should block states and local governments from using federal funds on the technology and support legislation codifying a federal moratorium, the ACLU wrote with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Amnesty International and others. The technology “disproportionately misidentifies people of color, women, trans people, and other marginalized groups, but its ability to track our movements across space and time would be dangerous even if it worked perfectly,” said ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel Kate Ruane. The White House didn’t comment.
Stay-at-home orders sent U.S. consumer spending on PC gaming hardware and accessories skyrocketing 62% last year over 2019 to $4.5 billion, more than double the total 2017 sales, reported NPD Tuesday. PC gaming accessories revenue growth exceeded that of PC gaming hardware, 81% to 57%, it said. “Consumers looked for ways to stay entertained while spending more time at home,” said Stephen Baker, vice president-industry analysis. NPD forecasts 3% revenue growth for PC gaming hardware and accessories in 2021 to follow the “historic” 2020, he said. “We do not expect ongoing incremental dollar increases, but rather a plateauing of demand at these new elevated levels.”
Consumers use Google by choice, not because “they are forced to or because they cannot easily find alternative ways to search for information on the Internet,” Google argued (in Pacer) Monday in response to Colorado’s complaint at U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (see 2101290063). Google asked Judge Amit Mehta to dismiss the complaint and denied that its agreements with Apple, browser providers and mobile carriers are anti-competitive.
Facebook’s oversight board should permanently ban former President Donald Trump from the platform, advocates commented this week (see 2101280055). A permanent ban would “show others that this kind of hateful and harmful speech will not be tolerated on Facebook,” said Common Sense CEO Jim Steyer. Ending the ban would be “an invitation to violence, hate and disinformation that will cost lives and undermine democracy,” said Common Sense in an open letter to the board. Eight other advocacy groups commented with Common Sense on the case, questioning whether the board has “the authority to reinstate” the suspended account. The groups included the Anti-Defamation League, the Asian American Organizing Project, Free Press, MediaJustice and the National Hispanic Media Coalition. The board “must act in the public interest and prioritize the health and safety of our communities,” they wrote. “If the Board believes that Facebook’s insufficient protocols prevent it from affirming Trump’s suspension, then the Board should decline to resolve this matter until Facebook’s house is in order.” Access Now agreed with Trump’s removal but criticized the platform’s lack of transparency and “the uneven application of the company’s Terms of Service globally,” while drawing attention to “the platform’s powerful position in determining public discourse.” The most “important questions to ask are: How do platforms moderate content? And how do their rules regulate freedom of expression?" said Access Now Europe Policy Analyst Eliska Pirkova.