Biden’s Reelection Campaign Joins TikTok in Push for Young Voters 

The icon for the video sharing TikTok app is seen on a smartphone, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. (AP)
The icon for the video sharing TikTok app is seen on a smartphone, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. (AP)
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Biden’s Reelection Campaign Joins TikTok in Push for Young Voters 

The icon for the video sharing TikTok app is seen on a smartphone, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. (AP)
The icon for the video sharing TikTok app is seen on a smartphone, Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023, in Marple Township, Pa. (AP)

US President Joe Biden's reelection campaign joined short-form video app TikTok on Sunday, using the NFL's Super Bowl to kick off its new account to reach young voters ahead of the presidential election in November.

The campaign's launch on TikTok is notable given that the app, which is owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, is under review in the US for potential national security concerns. Some US lawmakers have long called for the app to be banned over concerns that the Chinese government could access user data or influence what people see on the app.

Last year, the Biden administration ordered government agencies to remove TikTok from federal government-owned phones and devices.

TikTok has maintained that it would not share US user data with the Chinese government and has taken substantial measures to protect the privacy of its users.

The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday.

Biden campaign advisors said in a statement it would "continue meeting voters where they are," including on other social media apps like Meta Platform's Instagram and Truth Social, which is owned by former US President Donald Trump.

The campaign is taking "advanced safety precautions" for its devices and its presence on TikTok was separate from the app's ongoing security review, a campaign official added.

Trump, the Republican frontrunner in the presidential race, does not have an official account on TikTok.

The video posted by the Biden-Harris HQ TikTok account made light of a fringe conservative conspiracy theory that the Super Bowl was rigged in favor of the Chiefs, in order for pop superstar Taylor Swift, who is dating Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, to announce an endorsement of Biden.

Amid rapid-fire questions asking the president to choose from one of two options, Biden was asked if he was "deviously plotting to rig the season so the Chiefs would win the Super Bowl" or whether the Chiefs were simply just a good football team.

"I'd get in trouble if I told you," Biden joked.

By Sunday night, the account had gained 10,900 followers.



Nvidia Ramps up AI Tech for Games, Robots and Autos

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang holds a new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card as he gives a keynote address at CES 2025, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang holds a new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card as he gives a keynote address at CES 2025, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
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Nvidia Ramps up AI Tech for Games, Robots and Autos

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang holds a new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card as he gives a keynote address at CES 2025, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang holds a new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card as he gives a keynote address at CES 2025, an annual consumer electronics trade show, in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, January 6, 2025. (Reuters)

Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang made a rock star appearance at a packed arena late Monday, touting AI chips and software for robots, cars, video games and more.

After years of being on the sidelines at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, talk of computer chips was a hot ticket as people queued for hours to fill an arena to hear Huang talk AI.

"When you see application after application that is AI driven, at the core of it is that machine learning has changed how computing will be done," Jensen said during a one-man presentation on stage.

"There are so many things you can't do without AI."

Jensen's keynote came on the eve of the opening of the CES show floor, and on a day that Nvidia shares closed at a new record, giving the Silicon Valley company a market valuation of more than $3.6 trillion.

Nvidia's graphics unit processors (GPUs) for powering AI in datacenters have been snapped up by Google, Microsoft, Meta, OpenAI and others racing to be leaders in the technology.

During a lengthy presentation in Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay resort, Huang introduced a GPU for ramping up AI capabilities in personal computers where Nvidia won the loyalty of gamers in the company's early days.

Nvidia touted the new GeForce RTX 50 series for desktop and laptop computers based on Blackwell chip architecture as its most advanced consumer GPUs.

"Blackwell, the engine of AI, has arrived for PC gamers, developers and creatives," Huang said.

PCs enhanced with RTX chips for AI capabilities will be available from an array of manufacturers including Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Razer and Samsung, according to Nvidia.

An AI PC displayed during the presentation was priced at $1,299, built with the $549 RTX chip at the starting point of the new GPU line-up.

Along with rapid rendering of rich gameplay action, Nvidia AI technology will enable the creation of characters that perceive, plan and act like human players, according to Nvidia.

Such autonomous characters are being integrated into games including "PUBG: Battlegrounds", according to Nvidia.

Huang also introduced a family foundation models open to the world for advancing "physical AI" that enables robots to understand and engage in real-world tasks.

Nvidia expanded partnerships and technology for autonomous capabilities in cars as well, with Toyota joining its roster of partners.