Tag: industry
New York State AG proposes broad regulations for the cryptocurrency industry
New York State may soon have its own legislation to prevent crypto scandals on par with FTX’s downfall. Attorney General Letitia James has proposed a law, the CRPTO Act (Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency and Oversight), that’s meant to thwart cryptocurrency fraud and protect investors. Whether or not it’s the “strongest and most comprehensive” set of crypto regulations that James touts, it would theoretically prevent repeats of some high-profile incidents.
The CRPTO Act would bar conflicts of interest, such as owning multiple practices or marketplaces that trade for their own accounts. Companies would have to publicly report financial statements, including risk disclosures. There would be a host of investor safeguards, such as “know-your-customer” requirements, compensation for fraud victims and a ban on stablecoins (crypto coins whose value is tied to a safe asset) that aren’t pegged directly to US currency or “high-quality” liquid assets.
The bill would let the Attorney General’s office shut down lawbreakers and fine $10,000 per violation for individuals, and $100,000 per violation for companies. The office would also have the power to issue subpoenas and demand damages, penalties and restitution. The Department of Financial Services, meanwhile, would be ensured authority to license various crypto service providers.
James pointed to multiple real-world examples of alleged abuse the CRPTO act would potentially stop. Terraform Labs, for instance, promised a very high 20 percent interest rate to investors in one token on its marketplace if they bought the company’s other token, supposedly hiding the assets’ real value. Celsius, meanwhile, bought up its own token and created an artificial appearance of demand. That left investors “caught by surprise” when Celsius declared bankruptcy, according to the Attorney General.
The federal government is already cracking down on crypto fraud. The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) believe existing rules already cover numerous crypto-related activities, and in some cases have jockeyed to claim primary responsibility for regulating the technology. Politicians in the House and Senate are pushing for nationwide regulations. New York’s efforts go one step further by tackling crypto-specific problems, though, and the state’s role as a financial hub may effectively let it dictate policies guiding firms across the US.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-york-state-ag-proposes-broad-regulations-for-the-cryptocurrency-industry-162228624.html?src=rss
China’s AI Industry Barely Slowed By US Chip Export Rules
Part of the U.S. strategy in setting the rules was to avoid such a shock that the Chinese would ditch U.S. chips altogether and redouble their own chip-development efforts. “They had to draw the line somewhere, and wherever they drew it, they were going to run into the challenge of how to not be immediately disruptive, but how to also over time degrade China’s capability,” said one chip industry executive who requested anonymity to talk about private discussions with regulators. The export restrictions have two parts. The first puts a ceiling on a chip’s ability to calculate extremely precise numbers, a measure designed to limit supercomputers that can be used in military research. Chip industry sources said that was an effective action. But calculating extremely precise numbers is less relevant in AI work like large language models where the amount of data the chip can chew through is more important. […] The second U.S. limit is on chip-to-chip transfer speeds, which does affect AI. The models behind technologies such as ChatGPT are too large to fit onto a single chip. Instead, they must be spread over many chips – often thousands at a time — which all need to communicate with one another.
Nvidia has not disclosed the China-only H800 chip’s performance details, but a specification sheet seen by Reuters shows a chip-to-chip speed of 400 gigabytes per second, less than half the peak speed of 900 gigabytes per second for Nvidia’s flagship H100 chip available outside China. Some in the AI industry believe that is still plenty of speed. Naveen Rao, chief executive of a startup called MosaicML that specializes in helping AI models to run better on limited hardware, estimated a 10-30% system slowdown. “There are ways to get around all this algorithmically,” he said. “I don’t see this being a boundary for a very long time — like 10 years.” Moreover, AI researchers are trying to slim down the massive systems they have built to cut the cost of training products similar to ChatGPT and other processes. Those will require fewer chips, reducing chip-to-chip communications and lessening the impact of the U.S. speed limits.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
UK expected to offer $1.25 billion for nation’s semiconductor industry
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is reportedly about to follow in the footsteps of the US and several European governments by announcing a funding package designed to build up the country’s domestic semiconductor industry, according to a report this week from Politico.
While the exact amount of the funding could change, according to Politico’s sources, a topline figure of £1 billion ($1.25 billion) is expected. The UK government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology is thought to be the prime mover behind the policy, and Sunak is said to be planning to unveil it in next month’s G7 meeting in Japan.
Nations build chipmaking capabilities
Government efforts to build domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity have been spurred largely by the events of the pandemic, the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing US semiconductor trade dispute with China. The former event, thanks to the consequent enormous upsurge of remote work, created a new wave of semiconductor demand, highlighting the dependence of the global technology sector on foundries in East Asia. US policy dating back to the Trump administration then created a new set of barriers to exports from China, while the invasion of Ukraine further exacerbated strains on the global supply chain.
The PC industry has surely hit rock bottom as multi-billion dollar losses predicted for Intel this week
Coinbase Sues the SEC, Seeking Regulatory Clarity For the Crypto Industry
“From the SEC’s public statements and enforcement activity in the crypto industry, it seems like the SEC has already made up its mind to deny our petition. But they haven’t told the public yet. So the action Coinbase filed today simply asks the court to ask the SEC to share its decision,” the company’s chief legal officer Paul Grewal wrote in a blog post about the filing. The suit filed by Coinbase is a writ of mandamus, a type of lawsuit for “exceptional circumstances” in which a court can force federal officials to act. If the SEC declines to make a new rule, Coinbase can file another lawsuit in an attempt to make a federal court force them to do so.
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
ChatGPT may hinder the cybersecurity industry
Music Making Machines: How AI is Empowering, Not Undermining, The Music Industry
Markus Schwarzer, CEO, Cyanite, explores… Artificial intelligence has become the bête noir of the music industry. They fear it…
The post Music Making Machines: How AI is Empowering, Not Undermining, The Music Industry appeared first on TechRound.
Greener flights will cost more, says industry
Secure your future & sign up to be a security guard – there are 60,000 vacancies in booming industry
LOOKING for a secure job? Then sign up as a security officer.
Love Island finalist Shaq Muhammad is one of a new generation of security staff reshaping the industry’s image and making it a more inclusive workplace.
There is a huge demand for staff as the Government’s Protect Duty consultation, launched in the wake of the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist bombing, will create a legal requirement for organisations to provide proportionate security measures.
As a result, the British Security Industry Association hopes to recruit more than 60,000 officers this year.
With almost 300,000 security companies across the UK and nearly 400,000 qualified Security Industry Authority licence holders, roles vary considerably in working environment and hours.
They include door supervision, manned guarding, CCTV surveillance, airport security, close protection, security systems installers and concierge services.
Denise Phillips, 44, is a security officer for the Westgrove Group, working at Bolton’s Market Place Shopping Centre.
She has worked in the industry for 24 years and won the Women in Security Awards Front Line Category in 2021. She said: “People might think that working as a security officer is just sitting in a chair and looking at a monitor, but it’s so much more varied and interesting than that.
“It’s great career for someone who enjoys being out and about, working with the public, helping people and taking care of their safety.
“It can be a high-pressure role and you need to be vigilant at all times.
“To anyone thinking about a career in security, I’d say give it a go. It’s flexible, pay and benefits are good, there are opportunities to progress and it’s very rewarding.”
Starting salaries average £24,000, rising to £32,000, with quick progression to senior roles.
Figures show UK security officers come from 195 nations and one in ten are female.
The industry was worth £4.1billion in 2021, and is expected to hit £4.9billion by 2026.
A BSIA spokesman said: “Being a security officer is more than just putting on a hi-vis vest. It’s a role that covers a huge number of jobs, many in unique and unusual places — from retail to office buildings, stadiums to airports, power stations to festivals or museums.”
To apply, security officers must have a good level of English, be aged over 18, have the right to work in the UK and have an SIA licence.
See bsia.co.uk/joining-the-industry.
Time to address stress
MORE than three quarters of UK staff report feeling stressed at work, up 13 per cent in the last 12 months.
April is National Stress Awareness Month so we’ve teamed up with Ed Johnson, founder of mentoring platform pushfar.com to share his tips on reducing stress at work.
- Learn to delegate tasks: Your company has a duty of care and if you don’t have the capacity to cope with your workload, do not feel afraid to raise this concern. If it’s not possible to delegate tasks to someone else, have an upfront conversation about it.
- Avoid gossip: It might help you feel in the know, but it can also lead to more stress and a toxic working culture.
- Have a digital declutter: Reducing the emails you receive helps reduce stress. Unsubscribe from newsletters, filter your emails into specific folders and delete old emails no longer needed.
- Open up to a mentor: They can minimise stress and anxiety, by providing a safe space to share how you are feeling and help find resolutions to problems.
- Mix up your commute: A stressful journey to your workplace has a negative impact. Consider cycling, a car share or occasionally working from home.
- Know when to move on: If you’re coming home from work exhausted and stressed for a prolonged period of time, consider a change.
Jobspot
FANCY an ice little earner?
Best hunt out your big coat and thermal undies, British Antarctic Survey is looking for various trade roles in the cold continent.
Visit bas.ac.uk/vacancies for more information.
Gear up career
DRIVE your career forward with private hire cab firm Addison Lee.
It is seeking hundreds of new drivers with guaranteed earnings of £5,000 in the first month, then a £1,200 bonus.
The firm also offers an industry-leading rewards package include sick pay, holiday pay and a five per cent pension top-up.
Applicants need to be aged 21 and over with a PCO (Public Carriage Office) licence.
Patrick Gallagher, chief operating officer at Addison Lee, said: “It’s a great job for all ages, as the flexibility of choosing the days and hours you drive allows you to work around your lifestyle.”
Apply at addisonlee.com/become-an-addison-lee-driver.
Jobspot
CHICKEN chain WINGSTOP has 45 jobs available across the UK including shift managers and crew members.
To find out more about the company and what’s on offer, see wingstop.co.uk/careers.
Gongs back dads
ENTER the daddy of work awards. The Equal Parenting Project, in collaboration with men’s parenting and lifestyle platform Music Football Fatherhood, has opened nominations for the Working Dads Employer Awards.
The gongs were set up to promote the role of fathers in driving gender equality in the workplace.
Categories include parental leave policies, flexible working for dads, supporting returning dads and leadership and culture.
Elliott Rae, from Music Football Fatherhood said: “I am delighted that more and more organisations are recognising the importance of supporting working dads.”
Enter by April 21 at tinyurl.com/bdfrtwfe.