In the final weeks before Romania’s presidential vote in November 2024, TikTok accounts that had previously spent years posting about manicures or fashion suddenly started promoting a little-known politician named Calin Georgescu.
His posts, espousing hard-line views on immigration and anti-Semitic tropes, were viewed 120 million times before the vote. Georgescu, who had previously been polling in the single digits, stunned observers by winning the election’s first round with 23 percent of the vote.
In the Netherlands, Adriana Iamnitchi was watching closely. As chair of computational social sciences at Maastricht University, she leads the research into disinformation campaigns. She wanted to know how pro-Georgescu content was being monetized on TikTok through hidden influencer marketing and livestreamed political content.
On this episode of Uncanny Valley, we dive into accusations that China’s Moonshot AI stole from Anthropic, and how the US Army needs to cut back on AI use.
On this episode of Uncanny Valley, we dive into accusations that China’s Moonshot AI stole from Anthropic, and how the US Army needs to cut back on AI use.
Intel and AMD are reportedly negotiating long-term CPU supply agreements with Chinese customers as AI demand drives higher server processor prices and tighter supply.
Mobile World Live (MWL) brings you our top three picks of the week as Apple took OpenAI to court over alleged trade secret theft, New York hit pause on mega data centre projects amid rising energy concerns and Nokia unveiled an AI-native RAN platform built around Nvidia’s systems.
Apple launches trade secret lawsuit against OpenAI
What happened: Apple filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, its design startup io Products subsidiary, and former Apple employees, accusing them of a “pattern of theft” of trade secrets tied to the AI giant’s budding hardware ambitions.
Why it matters: The complaint accused OpenAI’s hardware unit, now led by ex-Apple design chief Tang Yew Tan, of using confidential product designs, insider manufacturing knowledge and supplier relationships lifted by former Apple staff. Tan allegedly pushed job candidates to bring “actual parts” from Apple to interviews for a “show and tell. ” Apple accused OpenAI, the former Apple employees, and io Products of “acting in concert and as an enterprise” to advance its hardware ambitions. Later this week, Bloomberg reported OpenAI is readying a smart speaker based on ChatGPT’s AI capabilities to enter the consumer hardware market, pitting itself against players including Apple, Amazon, and Google. Saad Filali, founder of legal advisory assistant 9Anoun AI, called the lawsuit “a real overhang” on OpenAI, warning the case “could delay its first hardware launch and complicate IPO plans.” The trial also marks a particular souring of relations between the two companies. In 2024, outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook partnered with OpenAI to build ChatGPT into iPhones as the company chased fresh AI features. However, the iPhone-maker has shifted more of its workload to Google’s Gemini this year.
What happened: New York became the first US state to halt approvals for new hyperscale data centres, introducing a one-year moratorium on facilities requiring 50 megawatts or more of power.
Why it matters: The executive order signed by Governor Kathy Hochul pauses discretionary environmental permits while the state develops new rules to “reduce the risk to our energy grid, minimise land disruption, noise pollution, and protect our natural resources, especially our water supply”. The governor added data centre operators may be required to contribute towards statewide grid investment and announced plans to repeal sales tax exemptions which currently benefit hyperscalers. Rabobank energy transition analyst Payal Kaur attributed the move to “mounting community pushback, which has been successful in stalling/cancelling data centre projects, and upcoming elections”. Meanwhile Chris Ward-Jones, co-founder and COO at cloud company blocz, said “this is more than a local planning decision”, adding, “the next wave of AI infrastructure will need to show not only where its power comes from, but who pays for the grid upgrades”. He explained projects must now show “how local resources are protected and what communities receive in return”. The moratorium reflects a wider industry challenge as companies race to expand AI computing capacity while facing rising resource constraints.
What happened: Nokia unveiled an AI-native RAN platform built around Nvidia systems, claiming it would significantly improve network efficiency while allowing operators to upgrade existing infrastructure through software.
Why it matters: The vendor said the platform already delivers a 20% increase in spectral efficiency, with gains of 50% targeted for 2027 and 100% by 2028. It described the AI-RAN platform as “one of the most significant shifts in radio network architecture in decades”, while CEO Justin Hotard said the technology “makes the network intelligent” and would help operators maximise existing infrastructure. CCS Insight research director Ian Fogg said: “The key proposition is that because Nokia’s AI-RAN is based on a software platform, Nokia and its customers can achieve significant performance improvements in future through new AI models/algorithms and without hardware upgrades.” Fogg also highlighted Nokia’s decision to support third-party silicon “rather than developing in-house silicon for 6G and beyond”, arguing the vendor’s commitment differs from Ericsson’s more open stance on RAN and adding “companies do need to place bets if they wish to gain competitive advantage”. Yet, he flagged unanswered questions around costs, including “performance per watt”, efficiency gains and rising component prices. He explained the vendor’s success will depend on “the economics of this approach and Nokia’s ability to achieve those spectral efficiency boosts”, adding, “the real test will be how well this platform performs in the field trials planned for Q4”.
Major publishers and author Scott Turow accuse Google of using copyrighted books and articles without permission to train Gemini AI models in a new lawsuit.
Twenty-six current and former Meta employees allege AI-assisted productivity metrics unfairly influenced layoff decisions affecting workers on protected leave. Meta denies the claims.
The software engineers filed a complaint with Seattle’s civil rights office accusing Amazon of illegally retaliating against them for expressing their personal political beliefs.
The software engineers filed a complaint with Seattle’s civil rights office accusing Amazon of illegally retaliating against them for expressing their personal political beliefs.
In an internal memo seen by WIRED, Bosworth promised employees more stability, better communication, and the return of workplace perks as the company seeks to improve morale.
Rank One, whose board includes a former CIA deputy director and a former FBI science chief, supplied face recognition to Meta for internal development of its smart glasses app.
The ruling holds that a company that designs, trains, operates, and manages an AI system must assume legal liability for any damages caused by the responses it generates.
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