Vancouver’s city council will soon debate a proposal by Mayor Ken Sim to integrate Bitcoin into municipal finances. Scheduled for 11 December, the motion seeks to diversify financial reserves and explore options such as accepting taxes and fees in Bitcoin or converting a portion of the city’s reserves into digital currency. Sim’s ABC Vancouver party holds a council majority, making the proposal likely to pass.
The initiative highlights Bitcoin’s potential to protect purchasing power from inflation and promote innovation. Vancouver, known as a crypto-friendly hub since hosting the world’s first Bitcoin ATM in 2013, would join other jurisdictions like El Salvador and Switzerland’s Zug in embracing Bitcoin. However, some critics point to environmental concerns tied to Bitcoin mining and British Columbia’s existing moratorium on new mining projects due to electricity usage.
Mayor Sim, an outspoken Bitcoin advocate, described the cryptocurrency as a revolutionary invention during a recent interview. While the motion has sparked debate, legislative hurdles remain, as neither Vancouver’s nor British Columbia’s charters currently permit the use of cryptocurrency for municipal services.
President-elect Donald Trump‘s transition team has invited tech giants, including Google, Microsoft, Meta, Snap, and TikTok, to a mid-December meeting focused on combating online drug sales, according to a report by The Information. The meeting aims to gather insights from these companies about challenges and priorities in addressing illegal drug activity on their platforms.
Trump has pledged to tackle the fentanyl crisis, emphasising stricter measures against its flow into the US from Mexico and Canada. He has also proposed a nationwide advertising campaign to educate the public about the dangers of fentanyl. Tech companies have faced scrutiny in the past for their platforms’ roles in facilitating drug sales, with Meta under investigation and eBay recently settling a case for failing to prevent the sale of devices used to make counterfeit pills.
The transition team has not commented publicly on the meeting, but it underscores the growing intersection between technology and public health issues, particularly as the US grapples with the devastating impact of fentanyl addiction and trafficking.
X, owned by Elon Musk, is now offering its AI chatbot, Grok, for free. Users can send up to 10 prompts every two hours and generate ten images during the same period without subscribing. However, certain features, such as analysing more than three images per day, still require a paid subscription.
Previously available only to X Premium members for $8 monthly or $84 annually, Grok’s transition to a freemium model brings it in line with AI offerings like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The shift follows recent trials of the free version in countries such as New Zealand.
The freemium move coincides with a significant milestone for Grok’s parent company, xAI, which recently raised $6B, bringing its total funding to $12B. With its updated accessibility, Grok aims to broaden its appeal while remaining competitive in the evolving AI market.
The US government has authorised the export of advanced AI chips to a Microsoft-operated facility in the United Arab Emirates. This approval comes as part of Microsoft’s $1.5 billion partnership with Emirati AI firm G42, where the US tech giant holds a minority stake and a board seat. G42 uses Microsoft’s cloud services to support its AI applications.
Concerns arose over potential risks of US AI technology being transferred to China, prompting scrutiny from lawmakers. They sought clarity on G42’s connections to Chinese authorities before permitting the deal to proceed. The export licence requires strict compliance measures, ensuring restricted access to the UAE facility by individuals or organisations from nations under US arms embargoes, including China.
AI-related national security risks, such as the facilitation of weapons development, remain a key issue for US officials. The Biden administration has implemented regulations requiring major AI developers to share system details with the government. G42 has publicly stated its commitment to aligning with international standards in collaboration with US partners and the UAE government.
Ownership ties also add complexity, with G42 partly owned by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund and chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security advisor. The deal underscores a delicate balancing act as Washington navigates strategic and economic interests in the AI sector.
A US federal appeals court has upheld a law requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell its US operations by 19 January or face a nationwide ban. The ruling marks a significant win for the Justice Department, citing national security concerns over ByteDance’s access to Americans’ data and its potential to influence public discourse. TikTok plans to appeal to the Supreme Court, hoping to block the divestment order.
The decision reflects bipartisan efforts to counter perceived threats from China, with Attorney General Merrick Garland calling it a vital step in preventing the Chinese government from exploiting TikTok. Critics, including the ACLU, argue that banning the app infringes on First Amendment rights, as 170 million Americans rely on TikTok for creative and social expression. The Chinese Embassy denounced the ruling, warning it could damage US-China relations.
Unless overturned or extended by President Biden, the law could also set a precedent for restricting other foreign-owned apps. Meanwhile, TikTok’s rivals, such as Meta and Google, have seen gains in the wake of the decision, as advertisers prepare for potential shifts in the social media landscape.
Meta Platforms has partnered with Invenergy to purchase green energy credits from four large solar projects in the United States, supporting its goal to power operations with 100% clean energy. These projects, generating 760 megawatts—enough to power approximately 130,000 homes—will be located in Ohio, Texas, New Mexico, and Arkansas and are expected to connect to the grid between 2024 and 2027.
The deal is part of Meta‘s broader strategy to meet the energy demands of its data centres sustainably, including prior agreements with geothermal and solar initiatives. While Meta won’t directly use the power, the credits will offset its energy footprint.
Urvi Parekh, Meta’s head of global energy, stated the projects reaffirm Meta’s commitment to environmental sustainability. The move comes amid rising energy demands from the company’s expanding global operations.
Amazon has successfully conducted its first drone delivery test in Italy, marking the country as its initial European market for this innovative service. The trial took place on 4 December in San Salvo, Abruzzo, using Amazon‘s new MK-30 drone equipped with advanced computer vision for obstacle detection and safety.
The e-commerce giant aims to launch Prime Air drone deliveries in Italy and the United Kingdom by late 2024, subject to regulatory approvals. The service is already operational in select areas of Texas and Arizona, with plans for expansion.
Italy joins the UK as a focal point for Amazon’s European drone delivery ambitions, supported by local aviation regulators. Amazon’s technology promises safer, more efficient package delivery while navigating complex airspaces.
AI startup Perplexity has expanded its publisher partnerships, adding media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times and The Independent. These new partners will benefit from a program that shares ad revenue when their content is referenced on the platform. The initiative also provides publishers with access to Perplexity’s API and analytics tools, enabling them to track content performance and trends.
The program, launched in July, has attracted notable partners from Japan, Spain, and Latin America, including Prisa Media and Newspicks. Existing collaborators include TIME, Der Spiegel, and Fortune. Perplexity highlighted the importance of diverse media representation, stating that the partnerships enhance the accuracy and depth of its AI-powered responses.
Backed by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Nvidia, Perplexity aims to challenge Google’s dominance in the search engine market. The company has also begun testing advertising on its platform, seeking to monetise its AI search capabilities.
Perplexity’s growth has not been without challenges. It faces lawsuits from News Corp-owned publishers, including Dow Jones and New York Post, over alleged copyright violations. The New York Times has also issued a cease-and-desist notice, demanding the removal of its content from Perplexity’s generative AI tools.
Cohere, a Canadian AI startup valued at $5.5 billion, is shifting its focus to developing customised AI models for businesses. Co-founder Nick Frosst explained that enterprise users prefer models tailored to specific use cases rather than larger, general-purpose ones. The company aims to refine its approach by prioritising model deployment and customisation over simply increasing model sizes.
Although Cohere will continue building foundation models, it plans to invest in training techniques to improve functionality. The startup has secured over $900 million in funding from major investors like Nvidia, Cisco, and Innovia Capital. Unlike some competitors, Cohere positions itself as an independent player, working with clients such as Oracle and Fujitsu to design models for their unique requirements.
The AI industry, once focused on scaling up models, now faces diminishing returns from increasing model size. As large language model advancements plateau, Cohere’s customised approach offers a more efficient and cost-effective solution. Frosst highlighted that this strategy aligns with the company’s enterprise-centric vision and avoids reliance on speculative breakthroughs in artificial general intelligence.
By concentrating on tailored AI solutions, Cohere aims to enhance real-world applications for its enterprise clients. This strategy positions the startup as a competitive alternative to larger AI labs such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
Google’s newest AI, the PaliGemma 2 model, has drawn attention for its ability to interpret emotions in images, a feature unveiled in a recent blog post. Unlike basic image recognition, PaliGemma 2 offers detailed captions and insights about people and scenes. However, its emotion detection capability has sparked heated debates about ethical implications and scientific validity.
Critics argue that emotion recognition is fundamentally flawed, relying on outdated psychological theories and subjective visual cues that fail to account for cultural and individual differences. Studies have shown that such systems often exhibit biases, with one report highlighting how similar models assign negative emotions more frequently to certain racial groups. Google says it performed extensive testing on PaliGemma 2 for demographic biases, but details of these evaluations remain sparse.
Experts also worry about the risks of releasing this AI technology to the public, citing potential misuse in areas like law enforcement, hiring, and border control. While Google emphasises its commitment to responsible innovation, critics like Oxford’s Sandra Wachter caution that without robust safeguards, tools like PaliGemma 2 could reinforce harmful stereotypes and discriminatory practices. The debate underscores the need for a careful balance between technological advancement and ethical responsibility
