☕ On the dotted line

Apple joins voluntary AI commitments.

July 31, 2024 PRESENTED BY It's Wednesday. Ben Buchanan, the White House's special advisor for AI, talked to Tech Brew's Patrick Kulp about the latest signatory to a voluntary commitment on AI safety—Apple—as well as why the Biden administration's efforts should be bipartisan. "I don't know folks who are against AI safety, security, and trust, so we're just trying to do what the president told us to do in the executive order," Buchanan told us. In today's edition: Apple is the latest tech giant to signs onto White House's AI commitments Charter to pay $15 million over network outage violations Federal appeals court finds FCC's management of broadband subsidies unconstitutional —Patrick Kulp, Kelcee Griffis, Annie Saunders AI Sign on Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images Apple is the latest Silicon Valley giant to get in line with the White House's voluntary commitments on AI safety as the iPhone maker readies its big Apple Intelligence release. The company joins a slew of peers, including Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google, in agreeing to ground rules around AI development, testing, and transparency, though experts have been skeptical about the pledges' lack of teeth. As for potentially more concrete rules, the White House also released an update last week on the deadlines it hit around the rollout of President Joe Biden's sweeping AI executive order, which the federal government has been gradually implementing for around nine months now. Ben Buchanan, the White House's special advisor for AI, told Tech Brew that Apple's commitment is a sign of the wide acceptance of these guidelines in the tech world. "As [Apple] did their rollout of their big AI products and services in June, this was a natural outgrowth of that," Buchanan said. "It shows that these commitments have really become the cornerstone of responsible AI innovation." Keep reading here.—PK PRESENTED BY GRAYSCALE INVESTMENTS Bored of Bitcoin and excited about Ethereum? Ticker: ETH is a low-cost fund (and zero-fee for the first six months!)* that offers exposure to Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization. Ethereum is a smart contract platform that is the basis for many decentralized blockchain applications. Other protocols like Uniswap and Compound are built on top of Ethereum. With ETH, you gain exposure to Ethereum right in your brokerage or retirement account. And, it's managed by Grayscale, the crypto specialist asset manager who manages more publicly-traded crypto investment funds than anyone else. Visit grayscale.com/eth to learn more or search ETH on your investment platform today. Grayscale. Crypto investing begins here. ETH is not suitable for all investors. An investment in ETH is subject to a high degree of risk, has the potential for significant volatility, and could result in significant or complete loss of investment. ETH is not an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "1940 Act"). As a result, shareholders of ETH do not have the protections associated with ownership of shares in an investment company registered under the 1940 Act. CONNECTIVITY Settle up Jhvephoto/Getty Images Charter Communications will pay $15 million to settle an investigation into multiple network outages that occurred last year, the Federal Communications Commission said in an announcement shared first with Tech Brew. As part of the settlement, Charter acknowledged violating the FCC's rules, including one instance of failure to notify more than 1,000 emergency call centers of a disruption that affected 911 calls last year, the agency said. Communications providers are obligated to notify 911 call centers when network outages lasting longer than a half-hour might affect those centers. They must also make timely regulatory filings to the FCC "when outages reach a certain severity threshold." Under the settlement, Charter admits that it violated the FCC's rules on notifying public safety officials and the agency. "A 911 call is likely the most important call a person will ever make. Public safety officials need to be able to inform the public of alternate ways to reach emergency services in the event of an outage," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said in a statement. Keep reading here.—KG CONNECTIVITY Strike down Sopa Images/Getty Images The way the Federal Communications Commission has been managing its broadband subsidy programs is unconstitutional, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled last week in a decision that upends decades of telecom policy. The 71-page decision finds fault with the FCC's delegation of rate-setting authority to the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), which the majority of judges characterized as a "private company" managed by "interest groups." The FCC describes it as "an independent, not-for-profit corporation designated as the administrator of the federal Universal Service Fund." According to the opinion, USAC determines how much carriers must pay into the fund on a quarterly basis to support services ranging from school wi-fi to rural broadband infrastructure, and most of those costs are then passed on to end subscribers. The opinion criticized this approach as being necessarily self-serving. "In other words, the contribution amount ultimately derives from the universal service demand projections of private, for-profit telecommunications carriers, all of whom have 'have financial incentives' to increase the size of universal service programs," according to the majority opinion. The "contributions" that USAC sets amount to a tax that the FCC improperly delegated, the court said, ordering the FCC to revisit its rate-setting. However, several judges across two dissents said the decision breaks with "three sister circuits" that already addressed constitutional challenges to the FCC's delegation and found "this program collects administrative fees and not taxes." Keep reading here.—KG TOGETHER WITH SNOWFLAKE Advancing in the AI age. We're a year and half into the generative AI era, and new developments are dropping daily. To see how companies are building strong foundations for an AI-powered future, Snowflake looked at how 9k+ customers are putting AI to work in the Data Trends Report 2024. Read it here. BITS AND BYTES Stat: 10%. That's how much pay will rise, on average, for workers at a unionized Apple store in Towson, Maryland, according to the union representing the workers; the store is the first to reach a tentative collective bargaining contract with the tech behemoth, the Associated Press reported. Quote: "I am now completely hooked on how I can produce energy from the sun…It has become like taking a drug."—Thomas Losch, to the New York Times in a story about the small solar panels that allow for DIY installation that have become popular in Germany Read: Is AI judging the future of gymnastics or just a surveillance tool? (The Verge) Think crypto? Think Grayscale. Grayscale is a leading crypto asset manager. Explore their suite of crypto funds at grayscale.com, available in your investment account today. Crypto investing begins here.* *A message from our sponsor. JOBS Stop waiting for your dream job to find you. CollabWORK puts you in front of the right opportunities in the online spaces you frequent. Get discovered by top companies and take control of your career path. Product Manager - Machine Learning Initiatives at Samsung Electronics (in person) Product Data Manager at an undisclosed organization (in person) Senior Technical Program Manager at ZoomInfo (hybrid) SHARE THE BREW Share Tech Brew with your coworkers, acquire free Brew swag, and then make new friends as a result of your fresh Brew swag. We're saying we'll give you free stuff and more friends if you share a link. One link. Your referral count: 0 Click to Share Or copy & paste your referral link to others: emergingtechbrew.com/r/?kid=b3968dba ✢ A Note From Grayscale Investments The trust is not a fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended ("1940 Act"), and is not subject to regulation under the 1940, unlike most exchange traded products or ETFs. An investment in the trust is subject to a high degree of risk and heightened volatility. Digital assets are not suitable for an investor that cannot afford the loss of the entire investment. *Low cost based on gross expense ratio at 0% for the first 6 months of trading for the first $2.0 billion. After the fund reaches $2.0 billion in assets or after 6-month waiver period, the fee will be 0.15%. Brokerage fees and other expenses may still apply. See prospectus for additional fee waiver information. Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (the Trust) has filed a registration statement (including a prospectus) with the SEC for the offering to which this communication relates. Before you invest, you should read the prospectus in that registration statement and other documents the Trust has filed with the SEC for more complete information about the Trust and this offering. You may get these documents for free by visiting EDGAR on the SEC Web site at www.sec.gov. Alternatively, the Trust or any authorized participant will arrange to send you the prospectus (when available) if you request it by calling (833) 903 - 2211 or by contacting Foreside Fund Services, LLC, Three Canal Plaza, Suite 100, Portland, Maine 04101. Foreside Fund Services, LLC is the Marketing Agent for the Trust. Investing involves significant risk, including possible loss of principal. The Trust holds Ethereum; however, an investment in the Trust is not a direct investment in Ethereum. As a non-diversified and single industry fund, the value of the shares may fluctuate more than shares invested in a broader range of industries. Extreme volatility, regulatory changes, and exposure to digital asset exchanges may impact the value of Ethereum, and consequently, the value of the Trust. Digital assets are not suitable for an investor that cannot afford loss of the entire investment. There is no guarantee that a market for the shares will be available, which will adversely impact the liquidity of the Trust. The value of the Trust relates directly to the value of the underlying digital asset, the value of which may be highly volatile and subject to fluctuations due to a number of factors. There is no certainty that an active trading market for shares will develop or be maintained which will adversely affect the liquidity of shares of the Trust. ✤ A Note From Grayscale Investments Investing involves risk and possible loss of principal. Visit our website for important disclosures. Written by Patrick Kulp, Kelcee Griffis, and Annie Saunders Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here.   Guide → What is AI?   Guide → What is 5G? 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