Author: Jaxon Bennett

Microsoft is prepared to walk away from high-stakes negotiations with OpenAI over the future of its multibillion-dollar alliance, as the ChatGPT maker seeks to convert into a for-profit company.The software giant has considered halting complex discussions with the $300bn AI start-up if the two sides remain unable to agree on critical issues, such as the size of Microsoft’s future stake in OpenAI, according to people with knowledge of its plans.In this eventuality, Microsoft would rely on its existing commercial contract to retain access to OpenAI’s technology until 2030, unless there was an offer that was equal to or better than its current…

Almost one-third of children show growing signs of addiction to mobile phones, social media and video games starting at age 11, according to a landmark study on the impact of modern technologies on the adolescent mind. These young users are more likely to suffer mental health problems than peers who exhibit less compulsive behaviour patterns, according to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Jama) on Wednesday. The US study is a rare effort to capture multiyear trends in online behaviours and to assess potential links with poor mental health. It suggests bad outcomes are not associated…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Two companies backed by Bill Gates and Sam Altman have raised more than $1bn amid a surge in investor optimism that nuclear energy will help power the artificial intelligence revolution.TerraPower, a private company founded by Gates, said on Wednesday it had raised $650mn from investors, including attracting funding for the first time from the venture capital arm of US chipmaker Nvidia. It follows a $460mn equity raise closed this week by Oklo, the Altman-backed listed developer of small modular reactors, a new…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.There is a fine view of Ely Cathedral across fields from outside the Cambridgeshire factory of the UK’s leading surgical robotics company. Inside the spotless building, 13,000 parts are assembled into each Versius system used by surgeons for keyhole surgery, with its four robotic arms and 3D-vision console.This is an exciting time in surgical robotics. The technology is widely used in the US and is spreading around the world as surgeons and hospitals see the medical and financial benefits. The National Health…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The EU is accusing Chinese online marketplace AliExpress of breaching the bloc’s digital rules, as Brussels continues its efforts to utilise landmark legislation to police internet businesses.In preliminary findings issued on Wednesday, regulators said they were worried about the lack of effective measures from AliExpress to prevent the dissemination of illegal content such as counterfeit goods or unsafe products. Brussels also accused the company of failing to appropriately enforce its penalty policy concerning traders that repeatedly post illegal content.The decision comes as…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Artificial intelligence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has accused Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta of trying to poach his developers with the promise of $100mn sign-on bonuses and even higher compensation, as the social media platform races to catch up in the AI battle.Altman said Meta, which has a market capitalisation of $1.8tn, had begun to make the “giant offers” to employees on his team after falling behind on their current AI push. “I’ve heard that Meta thinks of us as their biggest competitor,” Altman said…

Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for freeYour guide to what Trump’s second term means for Washington, business and the worldBig Tech companies are backing a lobbying campaign to pass a 10-year ban on US states regulating artificial intelligence models, in a controversial move that has split the AI industry and Donald Trump’s Republican party.Lobbyists acting on behalf of Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta are urging the Senate to enact a decade-long moratorium on individual states introducing their own efforts to legislate AI, according to people familiar with the moves.The provision was passed as part of the US House of…

Stay informed with free updatesSimply sign up to the Artificial intelligence myFT Digest — delivered directly to your inbox.Amazon has told its white collar employees that their jobs are at risk from artificial intelligence in the next few years, marking a rare explicit warning from a senior tech executive that AI will lead to lay-offs. Andy Jassy, the ecommerce giant’s chief executive, told employees in a memo on Tuesday that the company was deploying AI across its operations, particularly in its logistics network, to help lower costs. He said the company wants to increase its use of AI, which would…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI is nearing a $9.3bn debt and equity deal, as investors looked past the billionaire’s spat with President Donald Trump that had complicated the capital raising efforts. Investors have placed orders of more than $5bn in a bond and loan offering, giving the company’s bankers at Morgan Stanley confidence that they can finalise the financing round, according to people briefed on the matter. xAI has told investors it also expects to complete a $4.3bn equity raise alongside…

Whenever Rachel Watkyn’s job as a business leader thrusts her into the spotlight, she braces herself for a section of the response online: relentless comments about her appearance, misogynistic slurs, threats. “Without doubt it’s getting worse and worse and worse,” says the founder and managing director of Tiny Box Company, the UK’s largest online gift packaging company. “If you are in the public eye, you are public bait, you are owned by them.”As a high-profile businesswoman, Watkyn is navigating social media at a time when gender-based harassment online, particularly that targeting female leaders, is on the rise because of a confluence…