Tax season fraud is set to spike in 2024 as AI enables cybercriminals to generate lifelike images and make convincing videos that impersonate taxpayers to steal their refunds.
Why it matters: Victims of tax-related identity theft wait an average of 19 months for the IRS to correct and send their refunds.
Diogo Mónica, co-founder of crypto custodian Anchorage Digital, is joining Haun Ventures as only its second general partner.
Why it matters: Haun Ventures is one of crypto's most active investors, and Mónica's background should give the firm added credibility with entrepreneurs.
Getting a carton of eggs delivered flawlessly by drone is impressive — in fact, it's downright miraculous! — but behind the scenes there are still a lot of inefficiencies to work out.
Why it matters: Drone delivery isn't a fantasy anymore. It's already happening in certain neighborhoods near Dallas, Salt Lake City, Tampa and Phoenix, among others. And it's going to expand in a huge way starting this year.
Big AI is just going to keep getting bigger: that's the takeaway from this week's onslaught of AI news — and it's barely Wednesday.
Why it matters: Generative AI's disruptive force once looked like it might open a door to new players on the Big Tech chessboard. But AI's high cost and the incumbents' strong hands have dimmed that prospect, and instead we're seeing the industry's giants concentrate more power.
A newly struck deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security is "no cause for celebration," Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Axios' Ina Fried at the annual What's Next Summit in Washington, DC.
Why it matters: Partisan fights over how to fund the agency tasked with the controversial job of immigration and border enforcement has threatened a government shutdown. Meanwhile, DHS agencies face massive shortfalls.
There is "not a domain" in the work of the Department of Homeland Security that couldn't be aided by AI, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told Axios' Ina Fried at the annual What's Next summit in Washington, D.C.
Why it matters: The agency's work at the border has become central to the 2024 campaign, and AI could bring it more efficiency, but also potentially more controversy.
Moms First's Reshma Saujani wants Paidleave.ai to make it easier for families to claim time off as she seeks tangible ways for AI to improve lives, she told Axios' Ina Fried at the annual What's Next Summit in Washington, DC on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Saujani, who also founded Girls Who Code, said that in the 10 U.S. states that offer paid family leave, as few as 2% of people who are eligible take advantage. She's trying to change that.
ESPN chief Jimmy Pitaro expects the WNBA to be part of a media rights renewal deal with the NBA, he told Axios' Sara Fischer at the annual What's Next Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Why it matters: The WNBA's 2023 season was its most-watched in more than 20 years and is part of a larger boom in women's sports.
AI chatbots are spitting out false election information, former OSTP Dir. Alondra Nelson told Axios' Ina Fried at the annual What's Next Summit in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Nelson, who helped launch The AI Democracy Projects, said the group's recent survey of election information on AI chatbots found that more than half of them churned out inaccurate information ahead of what's expected to be a closely contested presidential race.
You might spend a lot less time digging yourself out of Slack threads if the company's new AI experiments pay off, CEO Denise Dresser told Axios' Hope King at the annual What's Next Summit in Washington, DC on Tuesday.
Why it matters: Dresser was named CEO of the popular communications platform in November, the company's third chief executive since it was acquired by Salesforce in 2020.
Meta plans to officially shutter CrowdTangle, the analytics tool widely used by journalists and researchers to see what's going viral on Facebook and Instagram, the company's president of global affairs Nick Clegg told Axios in an interview.
Why it matters: The company plans to instead offer select researchers access to a set of new data tools, but news publishers, journalists or anyone with commercial interests will not be granted access to that data.
A TikTok ban or forced sale would set a historic precedent that could disrupt the U.S. media ecosystem for years to come.
Why it matters: A law banning TikTok or forcing its sale, like the one the House recently approved, would not only face court challenges but could also trigger broader economic tensions between the U.S. and its rivals.
HOUSTON — Exxon boss Darren Woods is watching progression of geothermal technology as the oil and gas giant mulls adding more low-carbon areas to its portfolio.
Why it matters: Woods spoke exclusively to Axios in a wide-ranging interview on the sidelines of the CERAWeek by S&P Global conference in Houston. His remarks are a window into how the powerful company views energy diversification.
HOUSTON — Gas industry officials are citing power-thirsty artificial intelligence growth and data center needs more broadly as they project strong future demand.
Why it matters: Generative AI is joining with other advanced computing, electric vehicles, crypto-mining, new manufacturing and more to start sending U.S. power demand sharply upward after many years of largely flat consumption.
Apple's reported plan to use Google's generative AI on the iPhone could raise a regulatory storm, antitrust experts warn — particularly since Google is already under scrutiny for paying Apple billions to be its default search provider.
Why it matters: Generative AI is seen by some as the best chance in decades to re-establish competition in the search market, and Apple holds the key to the largest and most lucrative collection of mobile users.
Aiming to keep riding an AI-driven wave of demand, Nvidia is using its GTC developer conference this week to tout a more powerful family of chips along with a host of industry partnerships.
Why it matters: Nvidia has been the biggest beneficiary of the generative AI boom among chipmakers, but rivals are eager to get in on the action.
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