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Facebook Bans Sales of Amazon Conservation Areas on its Apps

An aerial view shows a river and a deforested plot of the Amazon near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino
An aerial view shows a river and a deforested plot of the Amazon near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino
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Facebook Bans Sales of Amazon Conservation Areas on its Apps

An aerial view shows a river and a deforested plot of the Amazon near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino
An aerial view shows a river and a deforested plot of the Amazon near Porto Velho, Rondonia State, Brazil August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

Facebook on Friday said it will stop allowing the sale of land in Amazon rainforest conservation areas at marketplaces on the social network or its Instagram and WhatsApp services.

The announcement came as Facebook defends itself against accusations that it has long put profit over societal good, and caused some online to question why it had allowed sales of precious rainforest land in the first place.

"We are updating our commerce policies to explicitly prohibit the buying or selling of land of any type in ecological conservation areas on our commerce products across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp," the online social network said in a post.

"Protected areas are crucial for conserving habitats and ecosystems and are critical to tackling the global nature crisis."

Facebook focused the announcement on the Amazon rainforest, saying it planned to ramp up the effort.

Facebook said it will review listings at its online Marketplace against an authoritative database of protected areas to identify and block listings for sales of land there.

"Wait, this is something that was happening?" read a tweeted reply to Facebook sharing the announcement at its verified Twitter account.

The sale of land in conservation areas happens on other platforms and offline, but Facebook is working to stop it from happening in its family of apps, the company said.

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Technology

OpenAI to Open First Permanent London Office in 2027

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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OpenAI to Open First Permanent London Office in 2027

FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: OpenAI logo is seen in this illustration taken May 20, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

OpenAI said on Monday it has secured its first permanent office in London, expanding capacity to meet growing demand in the UK and building on the ChatGPT maker's plans to make the city its largest research hub outside the United States.

Here are some details ⁠on the new ⁠London office:

The office is expected to open in 2027, with capacity for 544 team members, Microsoft-backed OpenAI said.

The ⁠space is located at Regent Quarter, spanning Jahn Court and the Brassworks Building in the King's Cross area.

OpenAI currently employs around 200 people in London across research, engineering, customer support, policy, and sales.

Last week, OpenAI said it was ⁠pausing ⁠its main data center project in Britain due to an unfavorable regulatory environment and high energy costs, a move that dealt a blow to the UK government's push to position the country as a global AI hub.

Technology

Canada's Cohere, Germany's Aleph Alpha Reportedly in Merger Talks

FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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Canada's Cohere, Germany's Aleph Alpha Reportedly in Merger Talks

FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: AI (Artificial Intelligence) letters and robot hand are placed on computer motherboard in this illustration created on June 23, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Artificial intelligence companies Cohere of Canada and Aleph Alpha of Germany are in talks to merge and have Berlin's support for a potential deal, newspaper Handelsblatt reported late on Thursday.

Citing government and industry sources, the paper said the German government would be willing to become a key customer of a combined company, part of a push to provide digital public services.

"If leading AI companies from Canada and Germany were to join forces that would send a very strong signal," German Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger told the ⁠paper.

Germany and Canada ⁠were already collaborating closely in the field, he was also quoted as saying.

Aleph Alpha told Reuters that regular discussions over strategic partnerships were standard practice in the AI industry and that Aleph Alpha had its own independent strategy, declining to comment further.

Cohere said it meets "with companies and institutions ⁠across Germany and Europe and continually evaluates strategic opportunities that support our global growth."

It also pointed Reuters to its international expansion efforts as well as to the Canadian-German Sovereign Technology Alliance agreed this year, but would not comment further.

Germany's research and digital ministries did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Handelsblatt said merger talks started early this year and had reached an advanced stage, with plans for the new entity to be headquartered in both countries.

Germany has been eager to catch ⁠up with ⁠dominant AI players the US and China in a global race to master a transformational technology and attract high-income jobs. India has also emerged as a contender.

Last month, Berlin unveiled plans to encourage investments to boost AI data processing capacity at least fourfold by 2030.

Microsoft, which is collaborating with Cohere, unveiled $23 billion in AI investments in December, with the bulk earmarked for India and parts for Canada.

That was after Alphabet's Google said it would spend $15 billion over five years on an AI data center in India.

Technology

Apple Reportedly Leads Global Smartphone Shipments in 1st Quarter

FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
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Apple Reportedly Leads Global Smartphone Shipments in 1st Quarter

FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Apple logo is seen during the preview of the redesigned and reimagined Apple Fifth Avenue store in New York, US, September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

iPhone-maker Apple led smartphone shipments in the first quarter, growing 5% year-on-year, ⁠even as overall ⁠global shipments remained ⁠under pressure due to a shortage of memory components and weak consumer sentiment, Counterpoint Research ⁠said ⁠on Friday.

Apple said on Thursday that it will shut down its retail store in Towson, Maryland, the first of its US locations where retail employees successfully unionized in 2022.

It described the decision as "difficult", citing the departure of several retailers and worsening conditions at the Towson Town Center mall as key reasons for the closure.

Apple said Towson employees will ⁠be eligible to ⁠apply for open roles at the company.

In 2022, more than 100 Apple workers in Towson voted to join the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAM) union, marking a milestone ⁠for unionization at major US corporations such as Amazon.com and Starbucks.

Around the same time, a similar union drive in Atlanta was withdrawn, with Apple workers alleging intimidation.