Author: openjargon

• A bipartisan Senate group is calling for $32 billion in annual federal AI spending.
• The group wants to ensure the US stays ahead of China — which is also spending big on AI.
• Group leader Sen. Chuck Schumer said the money will "cement America's dominance in AI."

A bipartisan group of US Senators wants to spend billions of dollars on a game plan to dominate artificial intelligence.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and three other senators who assembled an AI Working Group released their initial report on Wednesday.

It's a policy road map that calls for $32 billion in annual federal spending on AI for nonmilitary purposes. That money, they said, would go toward research and development, reducing AI's potential harm, managing its potential impact on elections and jobs, and ensuring AI systems adhere to existing laws.

They also said it would help the United States compete with China in the AI arms race.

Schumer said in the press conference on Wednesday that the cash influx would "keep our companies, our universities, our workers at the cutting edge and cement America's dominance in AI."

GOP Sen. Mike Rounds, a working group member, said at the press conference that the Chinese government is now spending far more on AI than the US government. According to China Daily, China's investment in AI is expected to surpass $38 billion by 2027. China also significantly outpaces the United States in AI patents, according to the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence.

President Joe Biden has also pushed the United States to lead the development of the revolutionary technology. "The rest of the world is looking to us to lead the way," he said at a meeting in October.

Later that month, Biden signed a sweeping executive order that established new standards for AI safety and security and called for greater transparency from major tech companies.

In April, the US Department of Homeland Security also established a federal advisory board of tech industry leaders, including OpenAI's Sam Altman, Nvidia's Jensen Huang, and Microsoft's Satya Nadella, to oversee AI deployment in infrastructure.

• AOC and Bernie Sanders are two of the most influential figures on the American left.
• It wasn't always that way. When Sanders ran for president in 2016, AOC was bartending.
• In a new podcast, she described how the Vermont senator's first presidential bid radicalized her.

When Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez first heard Sen. Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign message in 2016, she was radicalized.

"It was the first time that I heard an elected leader say everybody deserves healthcare in this country by the fact that they are born a human being," the New York Democratic said on an episode of the Vermont senator's podcast released on Wednesday. "It broke my brain a little bit."

Ocasio-Cortez described the indignities of bartending and working in restaurants in New York City at the time, including not being able to afford healthcare and receiving a weekly paycheck with just 50 cents in it due to tipped wage laws.

"We normalize this to ourselves, we accept it," Ocasio-Cortez said of being working class. "I think really deep down, the unconscious rationale that we give ourselves to accept this is: This is what I deserve…this is my lot. This is what I get."

"I didn't even realize that I didn't think I deserved healthcare until I heard someone say that I did," Ocasio-Cortez said. "And then hearing that, I was like, why don't we have these things?"

Two years later, Ocasio-Cortez ran for Congress and defeated Rep. Joe Crowley — a local party boss and a likely successor to Nancy Pelosi, then the House Minority Leader — in a stunning upset.

She's since become an influential leader in her own right, working with Sanders and other progressive Democrats to push policies like Medicare for All and a Green New Deal.

Both Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders have become strong advocates for President Joe Biden's reelection despite their political differences with him.

"It is unequivocal that mass movements have been able to be more effective under Joe Biden's presidency than a Donald Trump presidency," Ocasio-Cortez said.

Sanders recently announced he would seek a fourth term in the US Senate this fall.

• Google is testing its Gemini AI to detect and alert users of potential scams during phone calls.
• The AI alerts users of scam patterns like urgent payment demands.
• Google promised to keep data from the phone calls private.

Google is playing around with AI tech that would listen to your calls and warn you of potential scams.

Google announced on X on Tuesday that it's testing a new Gemini AI feature that "provides real-time alerts during a call if it detects conversation patterns commonly associated with scams."

"This protection all happens on-device so your conversation stays private to you," the company said.

The announcement is part of Google's expansion of the Gemini Nano, the company's AI model that was added to the Pixel 9 smartphone.

Google says the new feature would alert users for things like a bank representative pressuring you for an urgent payment, or demanding transactions through gift cards.

The FTC estimates Americans lost up to $10 billion to scams last year alone. Scams often take place online or over the phone. In December, an executive for Mandiant, a cyber-security company owned by Google, said the company expects to see increased activity by scammers this year.

• The Commission on Presidential Debates has set the showdowns for 37 years. 
• But this year, Biden and Trump are doing their own thing.
• The commission told BI it could still host its planned debates, but Biden and Trump seem to have had enough.

The non-partisan body that's set the locations, moderators, and formats for presidential debates for the past 37 years is suddenly looking obsolete.

Presumptive presidential candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump went around the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) to plan their own debate schedule — starting on June 27 with what will be the earliest general election debate in US history.

That showdown in Atlanta will be unprecedented in other ways. It's the first debate in decades without a studio audience, and appears set to run exclusively on CNN platforms as opposed to multiple major networks.

The CPD told Business Insider in a statement that it was established to ensure debates "reliably take place and reach the widest television, radio, and streaming audience."

"Our 2024 sites, all locations of higher learning, are prepared to host debates on dates chosen to accommodate early voters," the commission continued. "We will continue to be ready to execute this plan."

But Biden and Trump don't seem ready to keep the tradition alive.

In addition to the CNN debate that spurned the commission, the two also agreed to a September 10 debate on ABC, and the Trump campaign suggested two additional showdowns in July and August.

(The CPD traditionally holds three debates beginning in the fall — not four.)

The reworked schedule has materialized as both sides have blasted the CPD. The RNC pulled out of the organization in 2022, claiming it was biased, and the Biden campaign confirmed he would not participate in its scheduled debates this year.

In a letter, Biden campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dillon criticized the commission for "building huge spectacles with large audiences at great expense" and inviting "raucous or disruptive partisans and donors, who consume valuable debate time with noisy spectacles of approval or jeering."

It's a surprising fall from grace for an organization that has, until this cycle, largely worked without complaint from major party candidates — though third-party candidates have complained that the commission's rules box them out.

According to nonprofit tax information filed to the IRS in 2022, the CPD reported having over $7.6 million in assets.

• Ukraine has increasingly attacked Russian military and energy facilities with long-range drones.
• One weapon Ukraine has turned to is essentially a small sport aircraft packed with explosives.
• Kyiv has recently relied on this Cessna-like drone to carry out at least two successful strikes.

Ukraine has in recent weeks relied on an unusual weapon to conduct strikes deep inside Russian territory: a small unmanned aircraft packed with explosives that resembles some variants of the propeller-driven Cessna aircraft.

The light, fixed-wing planes observed in attacks this spring travel at low altitudes and move significantly slower than a long-range missile might, yet they have proven capable of evading Moscow's air-defense systems and traveling unscathed for hundreds of miles to reach their targets deep in enemy territory.

Experts say these aircraft underscore the success of Ukraine's innovative long-range drone program, which Kyiv has employed to go after Russia's military and energy facilities.

In early April, Kyiv used a modified Aeroprakt A-22 Foxbat to attack a drone-making factory in the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The small, ultralight sport aircraft was developed and is manufactured in Ukraine and costs less than $90,000 per unit.

The plane can also travel at speeds up to 130 mph (much slower than a cruise missile, which can fly at speeds in excess of 500 mph, or a ballistic missile, which is significantly faster) and be configured with explosives inside the cabin.

Ukraine reportedly attempted additional strikes with drones like this later in the month, though it is unclear how successful these actually were. Last week, an aircraft that looks similar to the A-22 was spotted in an attack on an oil refinery in the Republic of Bashkortostan, even deeper inside Russia. Multiple open-source intelligence shared footage of the plane soaring unopposed over the facility.

Fabian Hoffmann, a doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo and security expert, previously wrote that "in the world of missile systems" the aircraft is "basically a flying brick."

But while the aircraft may appear crudely put together, it's still a "rather complex weapon system" because the existing airframe and engine still need to be combined with explosives and guidance technology, he later told Business Insider in an interview.

The aircraft seems to operate at a relatively low altitude, as seen in the footage, making it more difficult for radar to track. And if Ukraine can find a corridor that lacks proper air-defense coverage, then the drone can effectively penetrate right through Russian territory, Hoffmann said. Additionally, given its design, the aircraft could also be mistaken for a civilian plane rather than a threat.

That doesn't really excuse Russia's apparent failure to engage them though. In the Tatarstan and Bashkortostan attacks, the aircraft managed to fly for several hours, hundreds of miles into Russian territory without getting shot down by Russia's formidable air-defense systems, which have been a headache for Ukrainian forces on the battlefield.

These drones are loud and slow, rendering themselves vulnerable to visual confirmation along the way, even if a radar doesn't pick them up. Hoffmann said these aircraft should be relatively easy to pick off or defend against by placing air defenses like anti-aircraft guns around critical infrastructure.

Ultimately, he said, that these systems are slipping through suggests that Russia has a capacity issue — with assets tied up either defending the battlefield or key population centers like Moscow and St. Petersburg — and may also be underestimating the Ukrainian threat.

"Once you have countermeasures in place, it should be really easy to shoot this thing down," Hoffmann said. "And the problem is they don't appear to have that."

But establishing adequate countermeasures to consistently and effectively defend against low-altitude, slow-moving threats can be a challenge, and not just for Russia, explained Gordon Davis Jr., a retired US Army major general.

"That's a vulnerability at the moment that the Ukrainians are exploiting to their advantage," Davis, a non-resident senior fellow with the transatlantic defense and security program at the Center for European Policy Analysis, said at an event on drone warfare this week.

Notably, the Cessna-style drone underscores the success of Ukraine's ever-evolving drone program. Since the war began more than two years ago, Kyiv has developed a robust arsenal of homemade, unmanned systems that are capable of long-range strikes on Russian targets in the sea and on the ground.

These unique weapons have proven to be an invaluable component of Ukraine's war efforts, especially in recent months as the country continues to face some restrictions by Western countries on how to use their military assistance.

The US, for example, has said that it does not want Kyiv to use American-made weaponry to conduct strikes on Russia's sovereign territory, fearing that it could escalate the war. Instead, Washington wants its long-range munitions to be limited to use in Russian-occupied territory of Ukraine. This has so far been the case.

"They're leveraging their domestic capabilities to good advantage, and to strike key infrastructure within Russia," Davis said.

Lance Landrum, a retired US Air Force lieutenant general and another non-resident senior fellow with CEPA's transatlantic defense and security program, hailed the Cessna-style drones as just one example of Ukraine's "innovation and creativity."

"That's one thing about these drones of all different sizes — the small, medium, and large — they can exploit gaps and seams in traditional air-defense systems in ways that traditional offensive systems haven't in the past," Landrum said at the CEPA event.

Michael Cohen and Stormy Daniels dropped a string of bombshells during Donald Trump's $130,000 hush money trial, all pointing toward Trump's knowledge of the bribe.

• Google's Sameer Samat says AI offers a unique opportunity for the Android ecosystem.
• Gemini AI on Android operates at the system UI level, providing context-aware capabilities.
• On-device AI with Gemini Nano enhances features like encrypted messaging.

Sameer Samat is a powerful guy these days.

I recently saw him on Netflix's Drive to Survive TV show, bringing the hammer down on Zak Brown, the head of McLaren's Formula 1 racing team. Google is a big sponsor and Samat wanted to see improvement.

And last month, Samat moved up via a reorg at the top of Google. He's now President of Android Ecosystems, which means he runs Android, the world's most popular smartphone platform. This job also includes Android TV, Android Auto, and new augmented and mixed-reality technology.

At Google IO, I got a chance to interview Samat. I started by asking him how AI is changing the smartphone market, competition with Apple, and the distribution of Google's technology.

"AI is having a moment. It's a huge opportunity for the Android ecosystem," he said. "We are going to be very fast-moving to not miss this opportunity. It's a once-in-a-generation moment to reinvent what phones can do. We are going to seize that moment."

With Google's new Gemini AI models, "we can do things that have never been possible on smartphones," he added.

The 800 pound smartphone gorilla, Apple — this was not a word uttered by Samat during the interview. At one point he said "the other OS," referring to Apple's iOS mobile platform, which leads in the US, but still lags far behind Android globally.

More than an app

On that "other OS," Google's Gemini is just an app. On Android, it's way more, according to Samat.

He showed me an example, by pressing and holding the power button on his Pixel 8 phone. This summoned Gemini to appear on top of the YouTube app he was in.

There was a video playing and he asked Gemini questions about the clip. Gemini analyzed the footage and responded from the relevant part of the video. He then pulled out a Samsung S24 and did the same thing, but touched and dragged up from the bottom right of the screen to summon Gemini.

The "System UI" level

This is possible because Google has baked Gemini AI models and assistant technology into the "System UI" level on Android devices. That's below the app level, where the technical important stuff happens.

"You can't do stuff like this if you're just an app on a device," Samat said. "We can do this on Android, so Gemini can come into the situation with context, above or to the side of what's happening."

Without being hemmed into an app, Gemini is free to roam around more of the device and understand the context of what you're doing at any moment.

Samat stressed that this only happens if users summon the AI with intentional actions such as that button press on the Pixel 8 or the swipe on the S24.

On-device AI

He cited another example: On-device AI with the smaller Gemini Nano model. This runs on the Pixel 8 and the S24, with more Android devices coming soon.

This allows Gemini to do useful things while not sending user data to cloud data centers.

One use case for this approach: If you're using an encrypted messaging service on your phone, you can't send that data off to a data center for AI models to process. So an AI assistant or agent can't help you write replies and do other cool stuff when texting.

With Nano, Google has on-device AI that can process these encrypted messages and provide help on crafting replies and taking other actions. None of that data will leave the device, Samat said. 

Gemini on iPhones?

Then I asked Samat a big business-strategy question: Does Google want its best Gemini models distributed more prominently on Apple devices?

Google already pays Apple billions of dollars a year to have Search as the default on Safari. Will it do a similar deal to distribute Gemini on iPhones, for instance?

Samat declined to comment. More generally, he said Google's broad goal is to serve all users around the world.

However, he stressed that this doesn't mean the company can't build unique experiences on Android devices, including many new AI experiences.

Circle to Search

He cited Circle to Search as an example. This lets you search for anything you see on your phone screen by simply circling, scribbling or highlighting it. For example, if you're looking at a video and find a hat or sunglasses you want to buy, all you need to do is launch the Circle to Search feature and circle the product.

This works through a combination of Google Search, Gemini AI technology, and Android — something that's not possible on any other platform, Samat said.

These experiences require end-to-end optimization, which is what Google is doing with its Pixel devices and with Samsung, and soon other Android providers. 

"AI is a fundamental differentiator for Android. Samsung is a critical part of this, as is Pixel," he said. 

"Is this all about our Pixel devices? No!" he added. Samsung and other Android device makers are crucial in this next wave of AI-powered devices, he explained.

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Every year, Amazon Prime Day offers a fantastic assortment of limited-time deals, including big discounts on headphones across all budgets. Though an exact date hasn't been announced, Prime Day 2024 is set to arrive in July. We'll be rounding up the best Prime Day headphone deals once the event begins.  

During last year's Prime Day, many popular headphones from Apple, Bose, and Sony went on sale, and we expect similar savings in 2024. But while the biggest discounts won't pop up until Prime Day officially starts, we're already seeing some excellent deals on headphones right now. Apple's latest AirPods Pro are down to $190, just $10 more than their all-time low. And the Sennheiser Momentum 4, one of our picks for the best noise-canceling headphones, are on sale for $100 off.     

Below, you can find all the best early headphone deals ahead of Prime Day. We'll be updating our list with more discounts in the lead-up to Prime Day, so be sure to check back. And for more details, head over to our full Amazon Prime Day guide packed with helpful information. 

Best early Prime Day headphone deals

When is Amazon Prime Day?

This year's Amazon Prime Day event will take place in July. However, Amazon has not announced the official date just yet. 

Most Prime Day events last 48 hours, so we expect a similar duration in 2024. Last year's Prime Day sale took place from July 11 through July 12. 

Are Prime Day headphone deals good?

Prime Day typically offers excellent discounts on headphones. Over-ear models, earbuds, and even gaming headsets sometimes drop to all-time low prices, with deals that often rival those on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. 

What headphone deals do we expect for Prime Day?

Based on what we've seen during past sales, it's safe to assume that we'll see Prime Day 2024 headphone deals from popular brands like Apple, Sony, Bose, Beats, Sennheiser, Anker, Jabra, JBL, and Samsung.

Last year, top deals included Apple's AirPods (2nd Generation) for 40% off. The second-gen AirPods are our pick for the best AirPods on a budget, so any additional deals make them an even better value. We also saw Bose's highly-rated QuietComfort 45 Headphones drop to only $200.

Do you need a membership to shop for Prime Day deals?

Yes, Prime Day deals are exclusive to Amazon Prime members. This includes Lightning Deals and Invite-only purchase opportunities, which give access to some of the event's best products and prices on a limited basis. Read more about how to sign up for Amazon Prime.

• Chinese car brands are missing from the US market, but Chinese-made cars are still sold in the US. 
• Americans bought more than 104,000 Chinese-made cars in 2023 and nearly 28,000 in Q1 2024.
• Buick, Lincoln, Polestar, and Volvo all sell cars in the US that are made in China. 

Of the more than 15 million cars sold in the US last year, none wore the badge of a Chinese car brand.

Chinese EV heavy hitters like BYD and SAIC are conspicuously missing from US showrooms. With the government's existing 27.5% tariffs on Chinese-made cars and Tuesday's new 100% tariffs on Chinese-made EVs imported to the US, the situation isn't likely to change anytime soon.

What some people might not realize, however, is that tens of thousands of cars manufactured in China are sold in the US every year.

Volvo's S60L sedan was one of the first Chinese-made cars to be sold in the US starting in 2016, followed by Buick's Envision SUV and Cadillac's CT6 Hybrid.

According to Automotive News data, US consumers purchased more than 104,000 Chinese-made vehicles in 2023, up 45% from 2022.

Americans bought another 28,000 Chinese-made cars during the first quarter of 2024.

Currently, Buick, Lincoln, Polestar, and Volvo sell Chinese-made vehicles in the US. Of those, the only Chinese-made EVs come from Polestar, a brand co-owned by Volvo and its parent company, Geely Automotive. The EV brand imported just 2,217 cars in the first three months of 2024.

It is unclear how the new tariffs will affect Polestar's future production plans. The company eventually plans to move some of its car production to South Carolina in 2024.

In a statement to Business Insider, a Polestar spokesperson said the company is evaluating the Biden Administration's announcement.

Here's a closer look at the Chinese-made cars on sale in the US.

• Tech developments in virtual reality, 5G, and robotics are just as promising for marketing as AI — but get less attention.
• Brands that invest in exploring multiple new technologies will have an advantage.
• CMOs must be mindful of the learning curve when embracing new platforms and tech. 

When it comes to the trends and technologies shaping marketing today, it's easy to see why AI has dominated the headlines.

The rise of generative AI is a watershed moment for marketers, transforming the landscape for creative expression. To stay relevant in the age of quantum marketing, CMOs must embrace and leverage AI — and the majority of marketers are already beginning to. But it is worth remembering that AI is far from the only emerging technology presenting an outsized opportunity.

In fact, there are two dozen digital technologies disrupting the industry at this very moment, including augmented and virtual reality, 5G, robotics, and wearable devices. The confluence of these technologies will have a profound impact on marketing, influencing every facet of a brand's relationship with consumers.

To survive in this new paradigm, marketers must be open-minded —acting swiftly and smartly to embrace, test and prove the value of these technologies, all while safeguarding consumers' privacy and data.

Broaden your aperture to capture opportunities in emerging tech

Marketers need to face the reality that technology is changing how we can, and should, engage consumers and customers. Skilled marketers forge emotional connections, and that kind of creativity can't be replaced. But new technologies can vastly enhance our creative capabilities, extending our reach and helping us measure results. Achieving this balance creates the best of both worlds and ensures that marketers — not robots — are the ones driving the industry forward.

We are amidst a period of rapid and ongoing shifts in consumer behavior that show no signs of slowing down. For instance, Apple's recent launch of the Vision Pro, with reported sales of 200,000 units, may seem modest, but it serves as a compelling signal for marketers to take note. As AR / VR / MR devices become increasingly mainstream, a wealth of new opportunities will emerge, fundamentally altering how we engage with audiences on these novel platforms.

Invest in innovation, experimentation

Embracing a culture of continuous learning is paramount to ensuring a brand's resilience in the future, yet traditional budgets are predominantly focused on delivering performance and results in the short term. By dedicating a portion of the overall budget to innovation, our focus shifts from merely meeting and beating benchmarks to fostering curiosity in real-time. This allows us to actively—and quickly—explore how emerging tools and strategies can deepen our connection with customers.

At Mastercard, "Sandbox" innovation challenges ask employees to submit ideas that solve a specific problem or embrace a new technology. The enthusiasm for these challenges has been remarkable, as they give everyone the opportunity to think beyond their usual roles and display their creativity. We also set aside a budget to bring key ideas to life.

One example is the Mastercard Artist Accelerator — a tech- and talent-centered music program geared to helping emerging artists create, collaborate and monetize their work using emerging tech like GenAI and Web3. Launched in 2023, the successful initiative went from a Sandbox challenge submission to in-market launch in a matter of weeks.

Prepare to define your own measures of success

It's important to remember that, at the leading edge of marketing, traditional key performance indicators alone may not be a good gauge of success. Emerging platforms might have smaller audiences or non-traditional use cases, making them ill-suited for an apples-to-apples comparison. If you're pursuing a platform or strategy that has yet to be truly harnessed, you don't have the benefit of case studies or established benchmarks.

On the flipside, new data-driven capabilities allow us to connect dots across the consumer journey—proving quantifiable impact whereas we just assumed value before. The upside is that this gives marketers tremendous freedom to determine if, and how, investments are paying off.

Be smart and responsible stewards of data

In a world driven by emerging tech, where every device is getting connected, and every connected device is capturing loads of information, it is not surprising that Marketers possess more consumer data than any other professional group. And marketing substantially contributes to and shapes the data ecosystem.

This underscores the critical role CMOs play in responsibly reshaping our approach to collecting, securing and utilizing the data consumers share with us. Consent and Privacy by Design, a philosophy that minimizes data collection and embeds privacy considerations into every stage of product development, are terrific guiding principles for every business in our rapidly shifting digital landscape.

By embracing change, handling data responsibly and investing in innovation, brand leaders can make emerging tech their stepping stones — not stumbling blocks — as they push the industry forward.

Raja Rajamannar is the chief marketing and communications officer and president of healthcare, at Mastercard