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January 13 in history: Flag of Greece is officially adopted by the First National Assembly and more

India's new citizenship law has divided public opinion in the country. Students across India are up in arms against the law. Even as the government refuses to budge.

Microsoft's Indian-born chief executive officer Satya Nadella has also expressed his views on the law.

During a Microsoft event in Manhattan, Nadella said he was saddened by the new law.

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He said that "I think what is happening is sad, primarily as someone who grew up there. I think it's just bad. If anything, I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India or becomes the CEO of Infosys. That should be the aspiration."&nbsp;

Nadella is one of the first big corporate voices to speak up against India's new citizenship law.

Opponents of the law have slammed it for excluding Muslims from obtaining citizenship on the grounds of religious persecution.

Nadella was quick to point out that he was not against any country protecting its borders or regulating immigration.

But he said that the manner in which immigrants and minorities are treated is what matters.

Since his comments became public, both Nadella and Microsoft have been trending on Indian twitter.

Several users on twitter criticised him for his comment.

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
What ‘new citizenship act’, could you elaborate <a href="https://twitter.com/satyanadella?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@satyanadella</a>? And who has stopped Bangladeshis from applying for immigration through proper channels? <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CAA?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CAA</a> is about making it easy for persecuted Indic minorities to get citizenship. A simple google search could have told you that. <a href="https://t.co/P9kLYP47Vi">https://t.co/P9kLYP47Vi</a>
— Shefali Vaidya (@ShefVaidya) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShefVaidya/status/1216763570433622019?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 13, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Prominent Indian historian Ramachandra Guha lauded Nadella for taking a stance against caa. And asked Indian corporate bigwigs to do the same.

<img alt="Ramchandra Guha" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="a470e1cd-a253-4c2f-bf3c-c0d36a2b8162" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Ramchandra.JPG" />

But a few hours later, Microsoft issued a statement from its CEO.

"Every country will and should define its borders, protect national security and set immigration policy accordingly. And in democracies, that is something that the people and their governments will debate and define within those bounds. I’m shaped by my Indian heritage, growing up in a multicultural India and my immigrant experience in the United States. My hope is for an India where an immigrant can aspire to found a prosperous start-up or lead a multinational corporation benefitting Indian society and the economy at large," the statement said.

India's new citizenship law has divided public opinion in the country. Students across India are up in arms against the law. Even as the government refuses to budge.

India's new citizenship law has divided public opinion in the country. Students across India are up in arms against the law. Even as the government refuses to budge. Microsoft's Indian-born chief executive officer Satya Nadella has also expressed his views on the law. During a Microsoft event in Manhattan, Nadella said he was saddened by the new law. He said that "I think what is happening is sad, primarily as someone who grew up there. I think it's just bad. If anything, I would love to see a Bangladeshi immigrant who comes to India and creates the next unicorn in India or becomes the CEO of Infosys. That should be the aspiration." Nadella is one of the first big corporate voices to speak up against India's new citizenship law. Opponents of the law have slammed it for excluding Muslims from obtaining citizenship on the grounds of religious persecution. Nadella was quick to point out that he was not against any country protecting its borders or regulating immigration. But he said that the manner in which immigrants and minorities are treated is what matters. Since his comments became public, both Nadella and Microsoft have been trending on Indian twitter. Several users on twitter criticised him for his comment. What ‘new citizenship act’, could you elaborate @satyanadella? And who has stopped Bangladeshis from applying for immigration through proper channels? #CAA is about making it easy for persecuted Indic minorities to get citizenship. A simple google search could have told you that. https://t.co/P9kLYP47Vi — Shefali Vaidya (@ShefVaidya) January 13, 2020 × Prominent Indian historian Ramachandra Guha lauded Nadella for taking a stance against caa. And asked Indian corporate bigwigs to do the same. But a few hours later, Microsoft issued a statement from its CEO. "Every country will and should define its borders, protect national security and set immigration policy accordingly. And in democracies, that is something that the people and their governments will debate and define within those bounds. I’m shaped by my Indian heritage, growing up in a multicultural India and my immigrant experience in the United States. My hope is for an India where an immigrant can aspire to found a prosperous start-up or lead a multinational corporation benefitting Indian society and the economy at large," the statement said.

Twitter war erupts after Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella calls Citizenship Amendment Act 'sad'

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella expressed his concerns over the new Citizenship Amendment Act at a meeting held with news editors for a Microsoft event in Manhattan on Monday. #WION #SatyaNadella #CAA #MicrosoftCEO

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella raises concern over CAA

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/microsoft-increases-data-protection-responsibilities-for-european-union-262842">Microsoft&nbsp;</a>Corp said on Monday it has taken control of web domains which were used by a hacking group called "Thallium" to steal&nbsp;information.

Thallium is believed to be operating from&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/north-korea-warns-of-retaliation-against-us-south-korea-military-drills-261949">North&nbsp;Korea</a>,&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;said in a blog post, and the&nbsp;hackers'&nbsp;targeted government employees, think tanks, university staff members and individuals working on nuclear proliferation issues, among others.

Most of the targets were based in the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-china-trade-deal-may-not-be-signed-this-year-263497">United States</a>, as well as <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/typhoon-hagibis-how-does-how-japan-survive-earthquakes-and-other-natural-calamities-255761">Japan</a> and <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/south-koreas-acquisition-of-us-f-35-fighter-aimed-at-opening-gate-to-invade-north-north-korea-state-media-234830">South&nbsp;Korea</a>, the company said.&nbsp;

Thallium tricked victims through a technique known as "spear-phishing", using credible-looking emails that appear legitimate at first glance.

Microsoft&nbsp;said it now has control of 50 web domains used by the group to conduct its operations, following a case filed against the hacking group in the US&nbsp;District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and a subsequent court order.

Thallium also used malware to compromise systems and steal data, and is the fourth nation-state group against which&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;has taken legal action, the company said.

Microsoft Corp said on Monday it has taken control of web domains which were used by a hacking group called "Thallium" to steal information. Thallium is believed to be operating from North Korea, Microsoft said in a blog post, and the hackers' targeted government employees, think tanks, university staff members and individuals working on nuclear proliferation issues, among others.

Microsoft Corp said on Monday it has taken control of web domains which were used by a hacking group called "Thallium" to steal information. Thallium is believed to be operating from North Korea, Microsoft said in a blog post, and the hackers' targeted government employees, think tanks, university staff members and individuals working on nuclear proliferation issues, among others. Most of the targets were based in the United States, as well as Japan and South Korea, the company said. Thallium tricked victims through a technique known as "spear-phishing", using credible-looking emails that appear legitimate at first glance. Microsoft said it now has control of 50 web domains used by the group to conduct its operations, following a case filed against the hacking group in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and a subsequent court order. Thallium also used malware to compromise systems and steal data, and is the fourth nation-state group against which Microsoft has taken legal action, the company said.

North Korea-linked hackers stole sensitive information: Microsoft

Alphabet Inc's <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/google-pay-to-offer-checking-accounts-through-citi-stanford-federal-261964">Google</a> has settled a "longstanding" tax dispute with Australia's tax office, it said on Wednesday, after paying an extra A$481.5 million ($326.75 million) on top of its previous tax bill.

The settlement comes after an audit that looked into the tech giant's tax practices between 2008 and 2018, a Google spokeswoman said.

In a separate statement, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) said it has now netted A$1.25 billion after also settling tax disputes recently with other tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook under the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law (MAAL).

"Thanks to the efforts of our ATO officers under the Tax Avoidance Taskforce and the introduction of the MAAL, Australian sourced sales by these digital giants will now be returned to Australia’s tax base," the ATO said in a statement, calling the settlement "another e-commerce victory."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/science-tech/facebook-to-welcome-its-first-ever-facebook-tv-18323">Facebook</a>, Google, <a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/amazon-offers-employees-10000-to-quit-launch-delivery-business-218463">Amazon</a> and other large technology companies have faced criticism globally for reducing their tax bills by booking profits in low-tax countries regardless of the location of the end customer. Such practices are frowned upon by many countries as unfair.

A Google spokeswoman said the settlement with the ATO will provide certainty for future tax treatment.

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in a statement the establishment of the tax avoidance taskforce in 2016 has helped strengthen tax compliance of multinationals and large corporations.

"Ensuring large companies and multinationals pay the right amount of tax means we can continue to deliver the essential services Australians rely on," Frydenberg said.

Alphabet Inc's Google has settled a "longstanding" tax dispute with Australia's tax office, it said on Wednesday, after paying an extra A$481.5 million ($326.75 million) on top of its previous tax bill.

Alphabet Inc's Google has settled a "longstanding" tax dispute with Australia's tax office, it said on Wednesday, after paying an extra A$481.5 million ($326.75 million) on top of its previous tax bill. The settlement comes after an audit that looked into the tech giant's tax practices between 2008 and 2018, a Google spokeswoman said. In a separate statement, the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) said it has now netted A$1.25 billion after also settling tax disputes recently with other tech giants such as Microsoft, Apple, and Facebook under the Multinational Anti-Avoidance Law (MAAL). "Thanks to the efforts of our ATO officers under the Tax Avoidance Taskforce and the introduction of the MAAL, Australian sourced sales by these digital giants will now be returned to Australia’s tax base," the ATO said in a statement, calling the settlement "another e-commerce victory." Facebook, Google, Amazon and other large technology companies have faced criticism globally for reducing their tax bills by booking profits in low-tax countries regardless of the location of the end customer. Such practices are frowned upon by many countries as unfair. A Google spokeswoman said the settlement with the ATO will provide certainty for future tax treatment. Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said in a statement the establishment of the tax avoidance taskforce in 2016 has helped strengthen tax compliance of multinationals and large corporations. "Ensuring large companies and multinationals pay the right amount of tax means we can continue to deliver the essential services Australians rely on," Frydenberg said.

Google settles longstanding tax dispute with Australia

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/twitter-tightens-bans-on-political-ads-and-causes-ahead-of-2020-us-election-262497">Twitter&nbsp;Inc</a>&nbsp;is updating its&nbsp;global&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;policy to give users more information about what data advertisers might receive and is launching a site to provide clarity on its data protection efforts, the company said on Monday.

The&nbsp;changes, which will take effect on January 1, 2020, will&nbsp;comply&nbsp;with the California Consumer&nbsp;Privacy&nbsp;Act (CCPA).

The California law requires large businesses to give consumers more transparency and control over their personal information, such as allowing them to request that their data be deleted and to opt-out of having their data sold to third parties.

Social media companies including <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/facebook-instagram-down-in-large-parts-of-the-the-world-203174">Facebook Inc </a>and Alphabet Inc's&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/google-pay-to-offer-checking-accounts-through-citi-stanford-federal-261964">Google </a>have come under scrutiny on data&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;issues, fuelled by Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal in which personal data were harvested from millions of users without their consent.

Twitter&nbsp;also announced on Monday that it is moving the accounts of users outside of the United States and European Union which were previously contracted by&nbsp;Twitter&nbsp;International Company in Dublin, Ireland, to the San Francisco-based&nbsp;Twitter&nbsp;Inc.

The company said this move would allow it the flexibility to test different settings and controls with these users, such as additional opt-in or opt-out&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;preferences, that would likely be restricted by the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gdpr-eu-data-protection-regulation-comes-into-effect-139663">General Data otectPrion Regulation (GDPR)</a>, Europe's landmark digital&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;law.

"We want to be able to experiment without immediately running afoul of the GDPR provisions,"&nbsp;Twitter's data protection officer Damien Kieran told&nbsp;Reuters&nbsp;in a phone interview.

"The goal is to learn from those experiments and then to provide those same experiences to people all around the world," he said.

The company, which said it has upped its communications about data and security-related disclosures over the last two years, emphasized in a Monday blog post that it was working to upgrade systems and build&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;into new products.

In October,&nbsp;Twitter&nbsp;announced it had found that phone numbers and email addresses used for two-factor authentication may inadvertently have been used for advertising purposes.

Twitter's new&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;site, dubbed the 'Twitter&nbsp;Privacy&nbsp;Center' is part of the company's efforts to showcase its work on data protection and will also give users another route to access and download their data.

Twitter&nbsp;joins other internet companies who have recently staked out their positions ahead of CCPA coming into effect. Last month, Microsoft Corp&nbsp;said it would honor the law throughout the United States and Google told clients that it would let sites and apps using its advertising tools block personalized ads as part of its efforts to&nbsp;comply&nbsp;with CCPA.

Twitter Inc is updating its global privacy policy to give users more information about what data advertisers might receive and is launching a site to provide clarity on its data protection efforts, the company said on Monday.

Twitter Inc is updating its global privacy policy to give users more information about what data advertisers might receive and is launching a site to provide clarity on its data protection efforts, the company said on Monday. The changes, which will take effect on January 1, 2020, will comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The California law requires large businesses to give consumers more transparency and control over their personal information, such as allowing them to request that their data be deleted and to opt-out of having their data sold to third parties. Social media companies including Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google have come under scrutiny on data privacy issues, fuelled by Facebook's Cambridge Analytica scandal in which personal data were harvested from millions of users without their consent. Twitter also announced on Monday that it is moving the accounts of users outside of the United States and European Union which were previously contracted by Twitter International Company in Dublin, Ireland, to the San Francisco-based Twitter Inc. The company said this move would allow it the flexibility to test different settings and controls with these users, such as additional opt-in or opt-out privacy preferences, that would likely be restricted by the General Data otectPrion Regulation (GDPR), Europe's landmark digital privacy law. "We want to be able to experiment without immediately running afoul of the GDPR provisions," Twitter's data protection officer Damien Kieran told Reuters in a phone interview. "The goal is to learn from those experiments and then to provide those same experiences to people all around the world," he said. The company, which said it has upped its communications about data and security-related disclosures over the last two years, emphasized in a Monday blog post that it was working to upgrade systems and build privacy into new products. In October, Twitter announced it had found that phone numbers and email addresses used for two-factor authentication may inadvertently have been used for advertising purposes. Twitter's new privacy site, dubbed the 'Twitter Privacy Center' is part of the company's efforts to showcase its work on data protection and will also give users another route to access and download their data. Twitter joins other internet companies who have recently staked out their positions ahead of CCPA coming into effect. Last month, Microsoft Corp said it would honor the law throughout the United States and Google told clients that it would let sites and apps using its advertising tools block personalized ads as part of its efforts to comply with CCPA.

Twitter makes global changes to comply with privacy laws

Amazon.com Inc on Friday filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims contesting the Pentagon's award of an up to $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft Corp.

Amazon.com Inc on Friday filed a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims contesting the Pentagon's award of an up to $10 billion cloud computing contract to Microsoft Corp. An Amazon spokesman said that the company filed a complaint and supplemental motion for discovery. The filing was under seal. "The Complaint and related filings contain source selection sensitive information, as well as AWS's proprietary information, trade secrets, and confidential financial information, the public release of which would cause either party severe competitive harm," Amazon said in a court document seeking a protective order. "The record in this bid protest likely will contain similarly sensitive information." Last week, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper rejected any suggestion of bias in the Pentagon's decision to award Microsoft the contract after Amazon announced plans to challenge it. Amazon was considered a favourite for the contract, part of a broader digital modernization process of the Pentagon, before Microsoft emerged as the surprise winner. The company has previously said that politics got in the way of a fair contracting process. U.S. President Donald Trump has long criticized Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos.

Amazon files lawsuit contesting Pentagon's $10 billion cloud contract to Microsoft

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/microsoft-increases-data-protection-responsibilities-for-european-union-262842">Microsoft&nbsp;Corp</a>&nbsp;said on Thursday it had been&nbsp;granted&nbsp;a&nbsp;licence&nbsp;from the US&nbsp;government to&nbsp;export&nbsp;software&nbsp;to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/some-huawei-suppliers-get-us-approval-to-restart-sales-to-blacklisted-firm-263525">Huawei&nbsp;Technologies Co </a>Ltd.

"On November 20, the US&nbsp;Department of Commerce&nbsp;granted&nbsp;Microsoft's request for a license to&nbsp;export&nbsp;mass-market&nbsp;software&nbsp;to&nbsp;Huawei. We appreciate the Department's action in response to our request," a&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;spokesman told Reuters via email.

The administration of US&nbsp;President <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/trumps-behaviour-worse-than-nixon-head-of-impeachment-probe-263752">Donald Trump</a> said this week it would allow some suppliers to restart sales to the Chinese telecoms giant, which was placed on a trade blacklist over national security concerns six months ago.

The Commerce Department confirmed it had begun issuing licenses for some companies to sell goods to&nbsp;Huawei, expanding the company's supplier base and providing long-awaited clarity to the industry that once sold it billions of dollars worth of goods.

On Wednesday, a US&nbsp;official said it had received roughly 300&nbsp;licence&nbsp;requests, about half of which had been processed. Roughly half of those – or one-quarter of the total – had been approved and the rest denied.

It was not immediately clear which products had been approved for sale to&nbsp;Huawei, which is the world's top telecommunications equipment maker and second-largest smartphone maker. A person familiar with the process said Wednesday that some licenses for sales of cellphone components and non-electronic components were approved.

Microsoft&nbsp;declined to comment beyond its statement on which products had been approved, and the Commerce Department declined to comment.

Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said the&nbsp;licence&nbsp;was most likely for the company's Windows operating system.

"This will be a major relief for&nbsp;Huawei&nbsp;after an arduous period with large technology players like&nbsp;Microsoft, Google and others restricted on the platform," Ives said.

Huawei&nbsp;has been anxiously awaiting a&nbsp;licence&nbsp;for Alphabet Inc's&nbsp;Google to supply its mobile services to new models. Without access to Google services such as its Play Store for apps,&nbsp;Huawei&nbsp;phones will become harder to sell to consumers outside of China. Google declined to comment on Thursday.

The granting of licenses comes as the Trump administration is working to sign a phase one trade deal with China to end a tit-for-tat trade war that has roiled markets and hit global growth.

But the move immediately met with opposition. A bipartisan group of 15 senators urged the Commerce Department to suspend the issuing of licenses, saying it could threaten US&nbsp;security.

In a letter on Thursday to Trump, the senators said the administration should halt issuing licenses until it provides Congress "a report outlining specific criteria for determining whether or not the approval of any license poses a national security threat."

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it had been granted a licence from the US government to export software to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. "On November 20, the US Department of Commerce granted Microsoft's request for a license to export mass-market software to Huawei.

Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it had been granted a licence from the US government to export software to Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. "On November 20, the US Department of Commerce granted Microsoft's request for a license to export mass-market software to Huawei. We appreciate the Department's action in response to our request," a Microsoft spokesman told Reuters via email. The administration of US President Donald Trump said this week it would allow some suppliers to restart sales to the Chinese telecoms giant, which was placed on a trade blacklist over national security concerns six months ago. The Commerce Department confirmed it had begun issuing licenses for some companies to sell goods to Huawei, expanding the company's supplier base and providing long-awaited clarity to the industry that once sold it billions of dollars worth of goods. On Wednesday, a US official said it had received roughly 300 licence requests, about half of which had been processed. Roughly half of those – or one-quarter of the total – had been approved and the rest denied. It was not immediately clear which products had been approved for sale to Huawei, which is the world's top telecommunications equipment maker and second-largest smartphone maker. A person familiar with the process said Wednesday that some licenses for sales of cellphone components and non-electronic components were approved. Microsoft declined to comment beyond its statement on which products had been approved, and the Commerce Department declined to comment. Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities, said the licence was most likely for the company's Windows operating system. "This will be a major relief for Huawei after an arduous period with large technology players like Microsoft, Google and others restricted on the platform," Ives said. Huawei has been anxiously awaiting a licence for Alphabet Inc's Google to supply its mobile services to new models. Without access to Google services such as its Play Store for apps, Huawei phones will become harder to sell to consumers outside of China. Google declined to comment on Thursday. The granting of licenses comes as the Trump administration is working to sign a phase one trade deal with China to end a tit-for-tat trade war that has roiled markets and hit global growth. But the move immediately met with opposition. A bipartisan group of 15 senators urged the Commerce Department to suspend the issuing of licenses, saying it could threaten US security. In a letter on Thursday to Trump, the senators said the administration should halt issuing licenses until it provides Congress "a report outlining specific criteria for determining whether or not the approval of any license poses a national security threat."

Microsoft granted licence to export 'mass-market' software to Huawei

Microsoft&nbsp;said on Monday it was updating the&nbsp;privacy&nbsp;provisions of its commercial cloud contracts after&nbsp;European regulators found its deals with&nbsp;European Union institutions failed to protect&nbsp;data&nbsp;in line with&nbsp;EU&nbsp;law.

The EDPS, the&nbsp;EU's&nbsp;data&nbsp;watchdog, opened an investigation in April to assess whether&nbsp;Microsoft's contracts with the&nbsp;European Commission and other&nbsp;EU&nbsp;institutions met&nbsp;data&nbsp;protection rules. It raised concerns about compliance in October.

In a statement on its website addressing the issue,&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;said: "We will increase our&nbsp;data&nbsp;protection responsibilities for a subset of processing that&nbsp;Microsoft&nbsp;engages in when we provide enterprise services."

The company, the only major cloud provider to offer such&nbsp;terms&nbsp;in the&nbsp;European Economic Area and beyond, expects to offer the new provisions to public sector and enterprise customers in early 2020.

Microsoft said on Monday it was updating the privacy provisions of its commercial cloud contracts after European regulators found its deals with European Union institutions failed to protect data in line with EU law.

Microsoft said on Monday it was updating the privacy provisions of its commercial cloud contracts after European regulators found its deals with European Union institutions failed to protect data in line with EU law. The EDPS, the EU's data watchdog, opened an investigation in April to assess whether Microsoft's contracts with the European Commission and other EU institutions met data protection rules. It raised concerns about compliance in October. In a statement on its website addressing the issue, Microsoft said: "We will increase our data protection responsibilities for a subset of processing that Microsoft engages in when we provide enterprise services." The company, the only major cloud provider to offer such terms in the European Economic Area and beyond, expects to offer the new provisions to public sector and enterprise customers in early 2020.

Microsoft increases data protection responsibilities for European Union

Microsoft Corp has hired former US&nbsp;Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether the use of facial recognition technology developed by an Israeli startup it funded complies with its ethics principles, the company said on Friday.

AnyVision, based outside Tel Aviv, has come under scrutiny following reports by Haaretz's TheMarker business newspaper and NBC News that its technology is used to surveil Palestinians who live in the occupied West Bank.

AnyVision, which denied to NBC such use of its services, did not respond to a request for comment.

The probe reflects growing unease about facial recognition surveillance in the United States and elsewhere that civil liberties groups say could lead to unfair arrests and limit freedom of expression.

Microsoft announced facial recognition ethics principles last year, saying the company would "advocate for safeguards for people's democratic freedoms in law enforcement surveillance scenarios and will not deploy facial recognition technology in scenarios that we believe will put these freedoms at risk."

Microsoft said in a statement that Holder would lead a team from law firm Covington &amp; Burling to conduct the probe. Holder, the top US&nbsp;legal official under former President Barack Obama, was hired by Uber Technologies Inc&nbsp;in 2017 to review claims of sexual harassment.

He did not immediately return a request for comment.

M12, the venture fund of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, participated in a $74 million series A investment round that AnyVision announced in June.

NBC had reported that AnyVision's technology was used within the West Bank and at Israeli border crossings. The company told NBC its software was not used for West Bank surveillance and was deployed at border crossings in a manner similar to US&nbsp;Customs' use of biometric identification at airports.

Israel faces criticism and a boycott for its occupation and policies toward Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

AnyVision in an August blog post also said that it would announce an ethics advisory board and that it had a responsibility to prevent its technology's abuse. At the same time, it touted how facial recognition speeds up border crossings while helping law enforcement spot criminals.

Microsoft itself markets a facial recognition tool and backed a US&nbsp;Senate bill, announced on Thursday, that would require a court order before federal law enforcement could use the technology for targeted, ongoing surveillance.

Neema Singh Guliani, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the bill "falls woefully short of protecting people's privacy rights."

Microsoft Corp has hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether the use of facial recognition technology developed by an Israeli startup it funded complies with its ethics principles, the company said on Friday.

Microsoft Corp has hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether the use of facial recognition technology developed by an Israeli startup it funded complies with its ethics principles, the company said on Friday. AnyVision, based outside Tel Aviv, has come under scrutiny following reports by Haaretz's TheMarker business newspaper and NBC News that its technology is used to surveil Palestinians who live in the occupied West Bank. AnyVision, which denied to NBC such use of its services, did not respond to a request for comment. The probe reflects growing unease about facial recognition surveillance in the United States and elsewhere that civil liberties groups say could lead to unfair arrests and limit freedom of expression. Microsoft announced facial recognition ethics principles last year, saying the company would "advocate for safeguards for people's democratic freedoms in law enforcement surveillance scenarios and will not deploy facial recognition technology in scenarios that we believe will put these freedoms at risk." Microsoft said in a statement that Holder would lead a team from law firm Covington & Burling to conduct the probe. Holder, the top US legal official under former President Barack Obama, was hired by Uber Technologies Inc in 2017 to review claims of sexual harassment. He did not immediately return a request for comment. M12, the venture fund of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, participated in a $74 million series A investment round that AnyVision announced in June. NBC had reported that AnyVision's technology was used within the West Bank and at Israeli border crossings. The company told NBC its software was not used for West Bank surveillance and was deployed at border crossings in a manner similar to US Customs' use of biometric identification at airports. Israel faces criticism and a boycott for its occupation and policies toward Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. AnyVision in an August blog post also said that it would announce an ethics advisory board and that it had a responsibility to prevent its technology's abuse. At the same time, it touted how facial recognition speeds up border crossings while helping law enforcement spot criminals. Microsoft itself markets a facial recognition tool and backed a US Senate bill, announced on Thursday, that would require a court order before federal law enforcement could use the technology for targeted, ongoing surveillance. Neema Singh Guliani, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the bill "falls woefully short of protecting people's privacy rights."

Microsoft to probe work of Israeli facial recognition startup it funded

Microsoft Corp has hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate whether the use of facial recognition technology developed by an Israeli startup it funded complies with its ethics principles, the company said on Friday. AnyVision, based outside Tel Aviv, has come under scrutiny following reports by Haaretz's TheMarker business newspaper and NBC News that its technology is used to surveil Palestinians who live in the occupied West Bank. AnyVision, which denied to NBC such use of its services, did not respond to a request for comment. The probe reflects growing unease about facial recognition surveillance in the United States and elsewhere that civil liberties groups say could lead to unfair arrests and limit freedom of expression. Microsoft announced facial recognition ethics principles last year, saying the company would "advocate for safeguards for people's democratic freedoms in law enforcement surveillance scenarios and will not deploy facial recognition technology in scenarios that we believe will put these freedoms at risk." Microsoft said in a statement that Holder would lead a team from law firm Covington & Burling to conduct the probe. Holder, the top U.S. legal official under former President Barack Obama, was hired by Uber Technologies Inc in 2017 to review claims of sexual harassment. He did not immediately return a request for comment. M12, the venture fund of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, participated in a $74 million series A investment round that AnyVision announced in June. NBC had reported that AnyVision's technology was used within the West Bank and at Israeli border crossings. The company told NBC its software was not used for West Bank surveillance and was deployed at border crossings like US Customs' use of biometric identification at airports. Israel faces criticism and a boycott for its occupation and policies toward Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. AnyVision in an August blog post also said that it would announce an ethics advisory board and that it had a responsibility to prevent its technology's abuse. At the same time, it touted how facial recognition speeds up border crossings while helping law enforcement spot criminals. Microsoft itself markets a facial recognition tool and backed a U.S. Senate bill, announced on Thursday, that would require a court order before federal law enforcement could use the technology for targeted, ongoing surveillance. Neema Singh Guliani, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said the bill "falls woefully short of protecting people's privacy rights."

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/amazon-pumps-in-more-than-600-million-into-india-units-258756">Amazon</a> on Thursday challenged the awarding of a $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing contract to Microsoft, alleging "unmistakable bias" in the process.

The 10-year contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program, better known as JEDI, ultimately will see all military branches sharing information in a system boosted by artificial intelligence.

"It's critical for our country that the government and its elected leaders administer procurements objectively and in a manner that is free from political influence," a spokesperson for Amazon Web Services said.

"Numerous aspects of the JEDI evaluation process contained clear deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias."

Amazon said it filed a notice in US court last week signalling its intent to protest the handling of the bidding process, which the DoD maintained was fair.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Amazon and company founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post. The newspaper is among US media outlets most critical in its coverage of Trump and his administration.

The president told reporters during a news conference in July that he had asked aides to investigate the JEDI contract, citing complaints from companies that compete with Amazon.

"I'm getting tremendous complaints about the contract with the Pentagon and with Amazon. ... They're saying it wasn't competitively bid," Trump said.

"Some of the greatest companies in the world are complaining about it, having to do with Amazon and the Department of Defense, and I will be asking them to look at it very closely to see what's going on."

From leader to loser

Amazon was considered the lead contender to provide technology for JEDI, with its Amazon Web Services (AWS) dominating the cloud computing arena and the company already providing classified servers for other government outfits including the CIA.

But the Pentagon delayed awarding the hefty contract, saying the process would be reviewed by newly appointed Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who was selected by Trump.

A new book on the tenure of Esper's predecessor James Mattis, written by his speechwriter Guy Snodgrass, contends that Trump told Mattis to "screw&nbsp;Amazon" out of the JEDI contract.

Microsoft was Amazon's only rival in the final bidding for the winner-take-all contract, despite employees urging it to drop out. The Pentagon announced it was awarded the contract to Microsoft in late October.

Microsoft did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment late Thursday.

"AWS is uniquely experienced and qualified to provide the critical technology the US military needs, and remains committed to supporting the DoD's modernization efforts," the Amazon spokesperson said.

'Paradigm changer'

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/business-economy/microsoft-beats-amazon-for-pentagons-10-billion-cloud-computing-contract-258282">Microsoft chief Satya Nadella and Amazon's Bezos are "laser-focused"</a> on what has the potential to be a $100 billion market for government projects, according to Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives.

Amazon's protest of the JEDI procurement process is not likely to change the decision, the analyst said.

"We ultimately believe this is a paradigm changer for Microsoft who will remain the lone winner," Ives said, calling Amazon's loss a "black eye" for the company and Bezos.

Microsoft should be able to beef up its cloud services with money from the major military contract, increasing the odds of beating AWS more often in a market expected to see $1 trillion in cloud spending in the coming decade, according to the analyst.

Microsoft reported that profits rose 21 per cent in the recently ended quarter on the back of its thriving cloud computing business which has become a core focus for the US technology giant.

The tactic is a major switch from the way the Redmond-based company built its empire selling packaged software to computer users.

Amazon, one of the world's most valuable companies, has expanded from its origins in e-commerce to cloud services, streaming media, artificial intelligence and other ventures.

AWS accounted for nearly $9 billion in revenue in the recently-ended quarter, with growth in the cloud computing unit up 35 per cent from a year ago.

Amazon on Thursday challenged the awarding of a $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing contract to Microsoft, alleging "unmistakable bias" in the process. The 10-year contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program, better known as JEDI, ultimately will see all military branches sharing information in a system boosted by artificial intelligence.

Amazon on Thursday challenged the awarding of a $10 billion Pentagon cloud computing contract to Microsoft, alleging "unmistakable bias" in the process. The 10-year contract for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure program, better known as JEDI, ultimately will see all military branches sharing information in a system boosted by artificial intelligence. "It's critical for our country that the government and its elected leaders administer procurements objectively and in a manner that is free from political influence," a spokesperson for Amazon Web Services said. "Numerous aspects of the JEDI evaluation process contained clear deficiencies, errors, and unmistakable bias." Amazon said it filed a notice in US court last week signalling its intent to protest the handling of the bidding process, which the DoD maintained was fair. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly lashed out at Amazon and company founder Jeff Bezos, who also owns The Washington Post. The newspaper is among US media outlets most critical in its coverage of Trump and his administration. The president told reporters during a news conference in July that he had asked aides to investigate the JEDI contract, citing complaints from companies that compete with Amazon. "I'm getting tremendous complaints about the contract with the Pentagon and with Amazon. ... They're saying it wasn't competitively bid," Trump said. "Some of the greatest companies in the world are complaining about it, having to do with Amazon and the Department of Defense, and I will be asking them to look at it very closely to see what's going on." From leader to loser Amazon was considered the lead contender to provide technology for JEDI, with its Amazon Web Services (AWS) dominating the cloud computing arena and the company already providing classified servers for other government outfits including the CIA. But the Pentagon delayed awarding the hefty contract, saying the process would be reviewed by newly appointed Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who was selected by Trump. A new book on the tenure of Esper's predecessor James Mattis, written by his speechwriter Guy Snodgrass, contends that Trump told Mattis to "screw Amazon" out of the JEDI contract. Microsoft was Amazon's only rival in the final bidding for the winner-take-all contract, despite employees urging it to drop out. The Pentagon announced it was awarded the contract to Microsoft in late October. Microsoft did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment late Thursday. "AWS is uniquely experienced and qualified to provide the critical technology the US military needs, and remains committed to supporting the DoD's modernization efforts," the Amazon spokesperson said. 'Paradigm changer' Microsoft chief Satya Nadella and Amazon's Bezos are "laser-focused" on what has the potential to be a $100 billion market for government projects, according to Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives. Amazon's protest of the JEDI procurement process is not likely to change the decision, the analyst said. "We ultimately believe this is a paradigm changer for Microsoft who will remain the lone winner," Ives said, calling Amazon's loss a "black eye" for the company and Bezos. Microsoft should be able to beef up its cloud services with money from the major military contract, increasing the odds of beating AWS more often in a market expected to see $1 trillion in cloud spending in the coming decade, according to the analyst. Microsoft reported that profits rose 21 per cent in the recently ended quarter on the back of its thriving cloud computing business which has become a core focus for the US technology giant. The tactic is a major switch from the way the Redmond-based company built its empire selling packaged software to computer users. Amazon, one of the world's most valuable companies, has expanded from its origins in e-commerce to cloud services, streaming media, artificial intelligence and other ventures. AWS accounted for nearly $9 billion in revenue in the recently-ended quarter, with growth in the cloud computing unit up 35 per cent from a year ago.

Amazon says 'bias' in Pentagon awarding $10 billion contract to Microsoft

Microsoft Corp. has won the Pentagon's $10 billion cloud computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, beating out favourite Amazon.com Inc. Microsoft beats Amazon for Pentagon's $10 billion cloud computing contract. Watch this video to find out more in details.

Amazon beaten by Microsoft for Pentagon's $10 billion contract

Microsoft Japan's 4-day Workweek; Work less, Achieve more. Watch video to know more

Microsoft Japan's 4-day Workweek; Work less, Achieve more

Microsoft Japan's Four-Day Work Week Trial Becomes A Success.

Gravitas: 4 Day Work Week Project In Japan: Reduced Hours Boosts Productivity!

In a country notorious for overwork, Microsoft Japan trialled a radical idea: working less. And it found that four-day weeks and other reforms both boosted sales and cut costs.

The Japanese unit of the US IT giant closed its offices every Friday in August, giving all 2,300 full-time workers special leave.

It also restricted meetings to a maximum of 30 minutes and encouraged online chats as an alternative to face-to-face communications.

The number of participants at meetings was limited to five, and workers were also encouraged to use online communication instead of emails, it said.

The results were positive, with sales per employee rising almost 40 per cent in August from a year earlier, electricity consumption down by a quarter and paper usage being cut in half.

The firm said the trial showed "employees want to have a variety of ways of working" and that adopting the model more broadly could boost efficiency.

It plans to launch a similar programme this winter -- but won't offer special leave.

Instead, employees will be encouraged to use their existing holiday days, it said.

The programme comes as Japan's government pushes for more "flexible work styles," urging business to accept telecommuting, different part-time schedules and off-peak commuting.

The effort is part of an attempt to address the issue of "karoshi" -- death from overwork -- and to encourage overworked and overburdened couples to have children in a country that is struggling with a shrinking population.

In a country notorious for overwork, Microsoft Japan trialled a radical idea: working less. And it found that four-day weeks and other reforms both boosted sales and cut costs.

In a country notorious for overwork, Microsoft Japan trialled a radical idea: working less. And it found that four-day weeks and other reforms both boosted sales and cut costs. The Japanese unit of the US IT giant closed its offices every Friday in August, giving all 2,300 full-time workers special leave. It also restricted meetings to a maximum of 30 minutes and encouraged online chats as an alternative to face-to-face communications. The number of participants at meetings was limited to five, and workers were also encouraged to use online communication instead of emails, it said. The results were positive, with sales per employee rising almost 40 per cent in August from a year earlier, electricity consumption down by a quarter and paper usage being cut in half. The firm said the trial showed "employees want to have a variety of ways of working" and that adopting the model more broadly could boost efficiency. It plans to launch a similar programme this winter -- but won't offer special leave. Instead, employees will be encouraged to use their existing holiday days, it said. The programme comes as Japan's government pushes for more "flexible work styles," urging business to accept telecommuting, different part-time schedules and off-peak commuting. The effort is part of an attempt to address the issue of "karoshi" -- death from overwork -- and to encourage overworked and overburdened couples to have children in a country that is struggling with a shrinking population.

Microsoft Japan's four-day work a week experiment pays off ; sales get 40% boost

Microsoft Japan's 4 Day week resulted in an increase in Employee's productivity.

Microsoft Japan's 4 Day week, A Success

Microsoft Corp said it has tracked "significant" cyberattacks coming from a group it calls "Strontium" or "Fancy Bear", targeting anti-doping authorities and global <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-indicts-russian-military-agents-in-hacking-case-169487">sporting organizations</a>.

The group, also called APT28, has been linked to the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/hacking-the-hackers-russian-group-hijacked-iranian-spying-operation-officials-say-257200">Russian government</a>, Microsoft said in a blog post.&nbsp;

At least 16 national and international sporting and anti-doping organizations across three continents were targeted in the attacks which began on September&nbsp;16, according to the company.

The company said some of these attacks had been successful, but the majority had not. Microsoft has notified all customers targeted in these attacks.

Strontium, one of the world's oldest cyber espionage groups, has also been called Sofancy and Pawn Storm by a range of security firms and government officials. Security firm CrowdStrike has said the group may be associated with the Russian military intelligence agency GRU.

Microsoft said Strontium reportedly released medical records and emails taken from sporting organizations and anti-doping officials in 2016 and 2018, resulting in an indictment in a federal court in the United States in 2018.

The software giant added that the methods used in the most recent attacks were similar to those used by Strontium to target governments, militaries, think-tanks, law firms, human rights organizations, financial firms and universities around the world.

Strontium's methods include spear-phishing, password spray, exploiting internet-connected devices and the use of both open-source and custom malware, it added.

Microsoft has in the past taken legal steps o prevent Strontium from using fake Microsoft internet domains to execute its attacks.

By August last year, Microsoft had shut down 84 fake websites in 12 court-approved actions over the past two years.&nbsp;

Microsoft said at the time that hackers linked to Russia's government sought to launch cyber attacks on US political groups. 
&nbsp;

Microsoft Corp said it has tracked "significant" cyberattacks coming from a group it calls "Strontium" or "Fancy Bear", targeting anti-doping authorities and global sporting organizations.

Microsoft Corp said it has tracked "significant" cyberattacks coming from a group it calls "Strontium" or "Fancy Bear", targeting anti-doping authorities and global sporting organizations. The group, also called APT28, has been linked to the Russian government, Microsoft said in a blog post. At least 16 national and international sporting and anti-doping organizations across three continents were targeted in the attacks which began on September 16, according to the company. The company said some of these attacks had been successful, but the majority had not. Microsoft has notified all customers targeted in these attacks. Strontium, one of the world's oldest cyber espionage groups, has also been called Sofancy and Pawn Storm by a range of security firms and government officials. Security firm CrowdStrike has said the group may be associated with the Russian military intelligence agency GRU. Microsoft said Strontium reportedly released medical records and emails taken from sporting organizations and anti-doping officials in 2016 and 2018, resulting in an indictment in a federal court in the United States in 2018. The software giant added that the methods used in the most recent attacks were similar to those used by Strontium to target governments, militaries, think-tanks, law firms, human rights organizations, financial firms and universities around the world. Strontium's methods include spear-phishing, password spray, exploiting internet-connected devices and the use of both open-source and custom malware, it added. Microsoft has in the past taken legal steps o prevent Strontium from using fake Microsoft internet domains to execute its attacks. By August last year, Microsoft had shut down 84 fake websites in 12 court-approved actions over the past two years. Microsoft said at the time that hackers linked to Russia's government sought to launch cyber attacks on US political groups.

Russian government-linked hackers targeting anti-doping authorities, sports organizations: Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation&nbsp;has won the Pentagon's $10 billion cloud computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, beating out favourite Amazon.com Inc.

The contracting process had long been mired in conflict of interest allegations, even drawing the attention of President Donald Trump, who has publicly taken swipes at Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos. Trump in August said his administration was reviewing Amazon's bid after complaints from other companies.

The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract is part of a broader digital modernization of the Pentagon meant to make it more technologically agile. Specifically, a goal of JEDI is to give the military better access to data and the cloud from battlefields and other remote locations.

Oracle Corp&nbsp;had expressed concerns about the award process for the contract, including the role of a former Amazon employee who worked on the project at the Defense Department but recused himself, then later left the Defense Department and returned to Amazon Web Services.

In a statement, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) spokesman said the company was "surprised about this conclusion."

The company said that a "detailed assessment purely on the comparative offerings" would "clearly lead to a different conclusion," according to the statement.

AWS is considering options for protesting the award, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Although the Pentagon boasts the world's most potent fighting force, its information technology remains woefully inadequate, according to many officials.

Officials have complained of having outdated computer systems and being unable to access files or share information as quickly as they might be able to in the private sector.

"If I am a warfighter, I want as much data as you could possibly give me," Lieutenant General Jack Shanahan, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, told reporters in August describing the importance of the contract.

Some companies were concerned that a single award would give the winner an unfair advantage in follow-on work. The Pentagon has said it planned to award future cloud deals to multiple contractors.

This week, US&nbsp;Defense Secretary Mark Esper removed himself from reviewing the deal due to his adult son's employment with one of the original contract applicants, IBM Corp. IBM had previously bid for the contract but had already been eliminated from the competition.

Microsoft said it was working on a comment. IBM and Oracle did not immediately return requests for comment.

In a book slated for publication October&nbsp;29, retired Navy commander Guy Snodgrass, who served as a speechwriter to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, said Trump called Mattis and directed him to "screw Amazon" by preventing it from bidding on the JEDI contract, according to an excerpt of the book seen by Reuters ahead of its release.

"We’re not going to do that," Mattis later told other Pentagon officials, according to the excerpt. "This will be done by the book, both legally and ethically."

Snodgrass declined to comment pending the release of his book.

In a statement announcing Microsoft as the winner, the Pentagon underscored its view that the competition was conducted fairly and legally.

"All (offers) were treated fairly and evaluated consistent with the solicitation's stated evaluation criteria. Prior to the award, the department conferred with the DOD Inspector General, which informed the decision to proceed," it said.

Microsoft shares were up 3 per cent&nbsp;to $144.98 in after-hours trading after the news. Amazon shares were down 0.92 per cent&nbsp;to $1,745.12.

The Pentagon said it had awarded more than $11 billion across 10 separate cloud contracts over the past two years.

"As we continue to execute the DOD Cloud Strategy, additional contracts are planned for both cloud services and complimentary migration and integration solutions necessary to achieve effective cloud adoption," the Pentagon said.

Microsoft Corporation has won the Pentagon's $10 billion cloud computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, beating out favourite Amazon.com Inc. The contracting process had long been mired in conflict of interest allegations, even drawing the attention of President Donald Trump, who has publicly taken swipes at Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos.

Microsoft Corporation has won the Pentagon's $10 billion cloud computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, beating out favourite Amazon.com Inc. The contracting process had long been mired in conflict of interest allegations, even drawing the attention of President Donald Trump, who has publicly taken swipes at Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos. Trump in August said his administration was reviewing Amazon's bid after complaints from other companies. The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract is part of a broader digital modernization of the Pentagon meant to make it more technologically agile. Specifically, a goal of JEDI is to give the military better access to data and the cloud from battlefields and other remote locations. Oracle Corp had expressed concerns about the award process for the contract, including the role of a former Amazon employee who worked on the project at the Defense Department but recused himself, then later left the Defense Department and returned to Amazon Web Services. In a statement, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) spokesman said the company was "surprised about this conclusion." The company said that a "detailed assessment purely on the comparative offerings" would "clearly lead to a different conclusion," according to the statement. AWS is considering options for protesting the award, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. Although the Pentagon boasts the world's most potent fighting force, its information technology remains woefully inadequate, according to many officials. Officials have complained of having outdated computer systems and being unable to access files or share information as quickly as they might be able to in the private sector. "If I am a warfighter, I want as much data as you could possibly give me," Lieutenant General Jack Shanahan, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, told reporters in August describing the importance of the contract. Some companies were concerned that a single award would give the winner an unfair advantage in follow-on work. The Pentagon has said it planned to award future cloud deals to multiple contractors. This week, US Defense Secretary Mark Esper removed himself from reviewing the deal due to his adult son's employment with one of the original contract applicants, IBM Corp. IBM had previously bid for the contract but had already been eliminated from the competition. Microsoft said it was working on a comment. IBM and Oracle did not immediately return requests for comment. In a book slated for publication October 29, retired Navy commander Guy Snodgrass, who served as a speechwriter to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, said Trump called Mattis and directed him to "screw Amazon" by preventing it from bidding on the JEDI contract, according to an excerpt of the book seen by Reuters ahead of its release. "We’re not going to do that," Mattis later told other Pentagon officials, according to the excerpt. "This will be done by the book, both legally and ethically." Snodgrass declined to comment pending the release of his book. In a statement announcing Microsoft as the winner, the Pentagon underscored its view that the competition was conducted fairly and legally. "All (offers) were treated fairly and evaluated consistent with the solicitation's stated evaluation criteria. Prior to the award, the department conferred with the DOD Inspector General, which informed the decision to proceed," it said. Microsoft shares were up 3 per cent to $144.98 in after-hours trading after the news. Amazon shares were down 0.92 per cent to $1,745.12. The Pentagon said it had awarded more than $11 billion across 10 separate cloud contracts over the past two years. "As we continue to execute the DOD Cloud Strategy, additional contracts are planned for both cloud services and complimentary migration and integration solutions necessary to achieve effective cloud adoption," the Pentagon said.

Microsoft beats Amazon for Pentagon's $10 billion cloud computing contract

Microsoft Corp. has won the Pentagon's $10 billion cloud computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, beating out favorite Amazon.com Inc. The contracting process had long been mired in conflict of interest allegations, even drawing the attention of President Donald Trump, who has publicly taken swipes at Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos.

Microsoft Corp. has won the Pentagon's $10 billion cloud computing contract, the Defense Department said on Friday, beating out favorite Amazon.com Inc. The contracting process had long been mired in conflict of interest allegations, even drawing the attention of President Donald Trump, who has publicly taken swipes at Amazon and its founder Jeff Bezos. Trump in August said his administration was reviewing Amazon's bid after complaints from other companies. The Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure Cloud (JEDI) contract is part of a broader digital modernization of the Pentagon meant to make it more technologically agile. Specifically, a goal of JEDI is to give the military better access to data and the cloud from battlefields and other remote locations. Oracle Corp had expressed concerns about the award process for the contract, including the role of a former Amazon employee who worked on the project at the Defence Department but recused himself, then later left the Defense Department and returned to Amazon Web Services. In a statement, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) spokesman said the company was "surprised about this conclusion." The company said that a "detailed assessment purely on the comparative offerings" would "clearly lead to a different conclusion," according to the statement. AWS is considering options for protesting the award, a person familiar with the matter told. Although the Pentagon boasts the world's most potent fighting force, its information technology remains woefully inadequate, according to many officials. Officials have complained of having outdated computer systems and being unable to access files or share information as quickly as they might be able to in the private sector. "If I am a warfighter, I want as much data as you could possibly give me," Lieutenant General Jack Shanahan, the director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, told reporters in August describing the importance of the contract. Some companies were concerned that a single award would give the winner an unfair advantage in follow-on work. The Pentagon has said it planned to award future cloud deals to multiple contractors. This week, U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper removed himself from reviewing the deal due to his adult son's employment with one of the original contract applicants, IBM Corp <IBM.N>. IBM had previously bid for the contract but had already been eliminated from the competition. Microsoft said it was working on a comment. IBM and Oracle did not immediately return requests for comment. In a book slated for publication Oct. 29, retired Navy commander Guy Snodgrass, who served as a speech writer to former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, said Trump called Mattis and directed him to "screw Amazon" by preventing it from bidding on the JEDI contract, according to an excerpt of the book seen by Reuters ahead of its release. "We’re not going to do that," Mattis later told other Pentagon officials, according to the excerpt. "This will be done by the book, both legally and ethically." Snodgrass declined to comment pending the release of his book. In a statement announcing Microsoft as the winner, the Pentagon underscored its view that the competition was conducted fairly and legally. "All (offers) were treated fairly and evaluated consistently with the solicitation's stated evaluation criteria. Prior to the award, the department conferred with the DOD Inspector General, which informed the decision to proceed," it said. Microsoft shares were up 3% to $144.98 in after-hours trading after the news. Amazon shares were down 0.92% to $1,745.12. The Pentagon said it had awarded more than $11 billion across 10 separate cloud contracts over the past two years. "As we continue to execute the DOD Cloud Strategy, additional contracts are planned for both cloud services and complementary migration and integration solutions necessary to achieve effective cloud adoption," the Pentagon said.

Business software group SAP&nbsp;said on Monday that it had reached a three-year deal with Microsoft&nbsp;to help its large enterprise customers move their business processes into the cloud.

The partnership, called "Embrace", will help clients to run operations hosted at remote servers supported by SAP's flagship S/4HANA database, new Co-Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Morgan said as SAP released its final third-quarter results in line with preliminary figures released on October&nbsp;11.

"We bundled SAP's cloud platform services to support customers around the extension, integration and orchestration of SAP systems," Morgan told reporters, adding the product would be sold through Microsoft's distribution channels.

Disclosure of the partnership comes after long-time CEO Bill McDermott stepped down to make way for Morgan, the first woman to become CEO of a company in Germany's blue-chip DAX index - alongside fellow Co-CEO Christian Klein.

The deal - which helped SAP double new cloud bookings in the third quarter, addresses a complaint from many customers that it is too hard to shift from SAP's traditional on-premise model to remotely hosted services.

The partnership deepens SAP's already close relationship with Microsoft and its Azure cloud division, although the Walldorf-based company also works with Google&nbsp;and Amazon Web Services&nbsp;in the cloud.

De-emphasising its own-brand cloud offering is turning out to be one factor supporting a pickup in SAP's cloud gross margins. These picked up by 5.4 percentage points to 69% in the third quarter, compared with a 2023 target of 75 per cent.

In the third quarter, SAP reported a 10 per cent&nbsp;increase in revenue and a 15 per cent&nbsp;rise in operating profit, after adjusting one-off items and currencies, helping it to achieve an expansion of 1.7 per cent&nbsp;in its operating margins.

The company reiterated its forecast for the year and through to 2023. SAP is due to update investors on strategy at a capital markets' day in New York on Nov. 12.

Business software group SAP said on Monday that it had reached a three-year deal with Microsoft to help its large enterprise customers move their business processes into the cloud.

Business software group SAP said on Monday that it had reached a three-year deal with Microsoft to help its large enterprise customers move their business processes into the cloud. The partnership, called "Embrace", will help clients to run operations hosted at remote servers supported by SAP's flagship S/4HANA database, new Co-Chief Executive Officer Jennifer Morgan said as SAP released its final third-quarter results in line with preliminary figures released on October 11. "We bundled SAP's cloud platform services to support customers around the extension, integration and orchestration of SAP systems," Morgan told reporters, adding the product would be sold through Microsoft's distribution channels. Disclosure of the partnership comes after long-time CEO Bill McDermott stepped down to make way for Morgan, the first woman to become CEO of a company in Germany's blue-chip DAX index - alongside fellow Co-CEO Christian Klein. The deal - which helped SAP double new cloud bookings in the third quarter, addresses a complaint from many customers that it is too hard to shift from SAP's traditional on-premise model to remotely hosted services. The partnership deepens SAP's already close relationship with Microsoft and its Azure cloud division, although the Walldorf-based company also works with Google and Amazon Web Services in the cloud. De-emphasising its own-brand cloud offering is turning out to be one factor supporting a pickup in SAP's cloud gross margins. These picked up by 5.4 percentage points to 69% in the third quarter, compared with a 2023 target of 75 per cent. In the third quarter, SAP reported a 10 per cent increase in revenue and a 15 per cent rise in operating profit, after adjusting one-off items and currencies, helping it to achieve an expansion of 1.7 per cent in its operating margins. The company reiterated its forecast for the year and through to 2023. SAP is due to update investors on strategy at a capital markets' day in New York on Nov. 12.

SAP in three-year cloud partnership with Microsoft

Indian private sector lender Yes Bank is in talks with Microsoft Corp and two other technology companies as it looks to bring in a strategic shareholder as part of a strategy to rake in fresh capital, the Mint newspaper reported on Sunday.

Shares of the bank were up 4% in early morning trade, after opening up 9%.

The talks began three weeks ago and could see the bank selling as much as 15% through a fresh equity issue, the newspaper reported, citing two people aware of the discussions.

The bank's chief executive officer, Ravneet Gill, had said last week that the lender was in talks with private equity firms, strategic investors and family offices to raise additional capital.

The stake sale may fetch the bank around 20 billion rupees ($281.61 million) and could help it work on its digital banking and payment system plans, one of the sources told the newspaper.

Yes Bank and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

Indian private sector lender Yes Bank is in talks with Microsoft Corp and two other technology companies as it looks to bring in a strategic shareholder as part of a strategy to rake in fresh capital, the Mint newspaper reported on Sunday.

Indian private sector lender Yes Bank is in talks with Microsoft Corp and two other technology companies as it looks to bring in a strategic shareholder as part of a strategy to rake in fresh capital, the Mint newspaper reported on Sunday. Shares of the bank were up 4% in early morning trade, after opening up 9%. The talks began three weeks ago and could see the bank selling as much as 15% through a fresh equity issue, the newspaper reported, citing two people aware of the discussions. The bank's chief executive officer, Ravneet Gill, had said last week that the lender was in talks with private equity firms, strategic investors and family offices to raise additional capital. The stake sale may fetch the bank around 20 billion rupees ($281.61 million) and could help it work on its digital banking and payment system plans, one of the sources told the newspaper. Yes Bank and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the report.

Yes Bank in talks with Microsoft, other tech firms to sell up to 15% stake: Report

Microsoft on Friday said a hacker group linked to Iran unleashed cyberattacks on US journalists, government officials and accounts associated with a US presidential campaign.

Only four accounts were compromised as a result of the "significant cyber activity of the threat group," Tom Burt, Microsoft's corporate vice president of computer security and trust, said in an online post.

He did not identify which presidential candidate's campaign was in the crosshairs of hackers, nor whose accounts were breached.

A group Microsoft dubbed "Phosphorous" tried to identify email accounts of targets that included US officials, journalists covering global politics, prominent Iranians living outside that country, and a presidential campaign, according to Burt.

"Phosphorous used information gathered from researching their targets or other means to game password reset or account recovery features and attempt to take over some targeted accounts," Burt said.

During a 30-day period that ended in September, Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center spied more than 2,700 attempts to identify email accounts of targets, according to the US computing colossus.

Microsoft believed that Phosphorous "originates from Iran and is linked to the Iranian government."

Burt said that Microsoft notified those whose accounts were targeted, advising them to ramp up their online defences.

The attacks were not technically sophisticated, attempting to use personal information such as telephone numbers gathered to identify email accounts or dupe systems into allowing passwords to be reset.

"This effort suggests Phosphorous is highly motivated and willing to invest significant time and resources engaging in research and other means of information gathering," Burt said.

Facebook early this year shut down more than 2,600 fake accounts linked to Iran, Russia, Macedonia and Kosovo that were aiming to influence political sentiment in various parts of the world.

It was part of an ongoing effort by the leading social network to shut down "inauthentic" accounts on Facebook and Instagram seeking to influence politics in the United States and elsewhere.

In the action, Facebook said it removed 513 pages, groups and accounts tied to Iran that were operating in Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kashmir, Kazakhstan and various areas of the Middle East and North Africa.

In January, Facebook took down hundreds of accounts from Iran that were part of a vast manipulation campaign operating in more than 20 countries.

Microsoft on Friday said a hacker group linked to Iran unleashed cyberattacks on US journalists, government officials and accounts associated with a US presidential campaign.

Microsoft on Friday said a hacker group linked to Iran unleashed cyberattacks on US journalists, government officials and accounts associated with a US presidential campaign. Only four accounts were compromised as a result of the "significant cyber activity of the threat group," Tom Burt, Microsoft's corporate vice president of computer security and trust, said in an online post. He did not identify which presidential candidate's campaign was in the crosshairs of hackers, nor whose accounts were breached. A group Microsoft dubbed "Phosphorous" tried to identify email accounts of targets that included US officials, journalists covering global politics, prominent Iranians living outside that country, and a presidential campaign, according to Burt. "Phosphorous used information gathered from researching their targets or other means to game password reset or account recovery features and attempt to take over some targeted accounts," Burt said. During a 30-day period that ended in September, Microsoft Threat Intelligence Center spied more than 2,700 attempts to identify email accounts of targets, according to the US computing colossus. Microsoft believed that Phosphorous "originates from Iran and is linked to the Iranian government." Burt said that Microsoft notified those whose accounts were targeted, advising them to ramp up their online defences. The attacks were not technically sophisticated, attempting to use personal information such as telephone numbers gathered to identify email accounts or dupe systems into allowing passwords to be reset. "This effort suggests Phosphorous is highly motivated and willing to invest significant time and resources engaging in research and other means of information gathering," Burt said. Facebook early this year shut down more than 2,600 fake accounts linked to Iran, Russia, Macedonia and Kosovo that were aiming to influence political sentiment in various parts of the world. It was part of an ongoing effort by the leading social network to shut down "inauthentic" accounts on Facebook and Instagram seeking to influence politics in the United States and elsewhere. In the action, Facebook said it removed 513 pages, groups and accounts tied to Iran that were operating in Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Kashmir, Kazakhstan and various areas of the Middle East and North Africa. In January, Facebook took down hundreds of accounts from Iran that were part of a vast manipulation campaign operating in more than 20 countries.

Microsoft says Iran hackers targeted US presidential campaign

Tech companies led by Facebook on Monday joined world leaders in ramping up an industry body to weed out extremist content online, giving it a permanent staff.

Facebook announced the steps at the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/time-for-talks-is-over-world-needs-to-act-now-pm-modi-at-un-climate-change-summit-251563">United Nations</a>, where French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern chaired a meeting on extremist risks on the internet.

Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and YouTube in 2017 formed the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, a vaguely conceived alliance tasked with tackling the most dangerous material on social media.

But tech companies came under renewed criticism after a white supremacist in March killed worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.

He live-streamed the bloodbath and posted a manifesto online that was full of his racist conspiracy theories.

In pics: <a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/who-said-what-at-united-nations-climate-summit-251604">Who said what at United Nations climate summit</a>

"The extraordinary virality of the attacker's video online illustrated the need to do even more," Facebook said in a statement.

"We believe these next steps are best executed within an industry-led framework with deep input from both civil society and governments," it said.

Facebook said that the forum set up in 2017 would now be considered an independent body and enjoy a dedicated staff under an executive director, who was not immediately named.

While the industry will lead the forum's operating board, non-governmental groups will head an advisory board.

The governments of the United States, France, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Japan will also play an advisory role, along with UN and European Union experts.

The forum will still amount to a voluntary effort by tech companies to police themselves, with Facebook saying that they are trying to do better to identify extremist content.

Facebook said it had already reached a 2019 goal of contributing 200,000 unique digital fingerprints of "known terrorist content," making it easier for all tech companies to quickly identify and act on postings by suspicious individuals.

Tech companies led by Facebook on Monday joined world leaders in ramping up an industry body to weed out extremist content online, giving it a permanent staff. Facebook announced the steps at the United Nations, where French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern chaired a meeting on extremist risks on the internet.

Tech companies led by Facebook on Monday joined world leaders in ramping up an industry body to weed out extremist content online, giving it a permanent staff. Facebook announced the steps at the United Nations, where French President Emmanuel Macron and New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern chaired a meeting on extremist risks on the internet. Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft and YouTube in 2017 formed the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, a vaguely conceived alliance tasked with tackling the most dangerous material on social media. But tech companies came under renewed criticism after a white supremacist in March killed worshippers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. He live-streamed the bloodbath and posted a manifesto online that was full of his racist conspiracy theories. In pics: Who said what at United Nations climate summit "The extraordinary virality of the attacker's video online illustrated the need to do even more," Facebook said in a statement. "We believe these next steps are best executed within an industry-led framework with deep input from both civil society and governments," it said. Facebook said that the forum set up in 2017 would now be considered an independent body and enjoy a dedicated staff under an executive director, who was not immediately named. While the industry will lead the forum's operating board, non-governmental groups will head an advisory board. The governments of the United States, France, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Japan will also play an advisory role, along with UN and European Union experts. The forum will still amount to a voluntary effort by tech companies to police themselves, with Facebook saying that they are trying to do better to identify extremist content. Facebook said it had already reached a 2019 goal of contributing 200,000 unique digital fingerprints of "known terrorist content," making it easier for all tech companies to quickly identify and act on postings by suspicious individuals.

Tech giants beef up body to fight extremist content

Amazon, Microsoft and Intel are among leading tech companies putting the world at risk through <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/artificial-intelligence-to-help-curb-cyber-bullying-on-instagram-with-pop-up-warning-234138">killer robot development</a>, according to a report that surveyed major players from the sector about their stance on lethal autonomous weapons.

Dutch NGO Pax ranked 50 companies by three criteria: whether they were developing technology that could be relevant to deadly <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/israels-tanks-of-the-future-prototype-features-artificial-intelligence-240925">artificial intelligence </a>(AI), whether they were working on related military projects, and if they had committed to abstaining from contributing in the future.

"Why are companies like Microsoft and Amazon not denying that they're currently developing these highly controversial weapons, which could decide to kill people without direct human involvement?" said Frank Slijper, lead author of the report published this week.

The use of AI to allow weapon systems to autonomously select and attack targets has sparked ethical debates in recent years, with critics warning they would jeopardize international security and herald a third revolution in warfare after gunpowder and the atomic bomb.

A panel of government experts debated policy options regarding lethal autonomous weapons at a meeting of the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in Geneva on Wednesday.&nbsp;

Google, which last year published guiding principles eschewing AI for use in weapons systems, was among seven companies found to be engaging in "best practice" in the analysis that spanned 12 countries, as was Japan's Softbank, best known for its humanoid Pepper robot.

Twenty-two companies were of "medium concern," while 21 fell into a "high concern" category, notably Amazon and Microsoft who are both bidding for a $10 billion Pentagon contract to provide the cloud infrastructure for the US military.

Others in the "high concern" group include Palantir, a company with roots in a CIA-backed venture capital organization that was awarded an $800 million contract to develop an AI system "that can help soldiers analyse a combat zone in real-time."

"Autonomous weapons will inevitably become scalable weapons of mass destruction, because if the human is not in the loop, then a single person can launch a million weapons or a hundred million weapons," Stuart Russell, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley told AFP on Wednesday.

"The fact is that autonomous weapons are going to be developed by corporations, and in terms of a campaign to prevent autonomous weapons from becoming widespread, they can play a very big role," he added.

The development of AI for military purposes has triggered debates and protest within the industry: last year Google declined to renew a Pentagon contract called Project Maven, which used machine learning to distinguish people and objects in drone videos.

It also dropped out of the running for Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI), the cloud contract that Amazon and Microsoft are hoping to bag.

The report noted that Microsoft employees had also voiced their opposition to a US Army contract for an augmented reality headset, HoloLens, that aims at "increasing lethality" on the battlefield.

What they might look like

According to Russell,&nbsp;"anything that's currently a weapon, people are working on autonomous versions, whether it's tanks, fighter aircraft, or submarines."

Israel's Harpy is an autonomous drone that already exists, "loitering" in a target area and selecting sites to hit.

More worrying still are new categories of autonomous weapons that don't yet exist — these could include armed mini-drones like those featured in the 2017 short film "Slaughterbots."

"With that type of weapon, you could send a million of them in a container or cargo aircraft — so they have a destructive capacity of a nuclear bomb but leave all the buildings behind," said Russell.

Using facial recognition technology, the drones could "wipe out one ethnic group or one gender, or using social media information you could wipe out all people with a political view."

The European Union in April published guidelines for how companies and governments should develop AI, including the need for human oversight, working towards societal and environmental wellbeing in a non-discriminatory way, and respecting privacy.

Russell argued it was essential to take the next step in the form of an international ban on lethal AI, that could be summarized as "machines that can decide to kill humans&nbsp;shall not be developed, deployed, or used."

Amazon, Microsoft and Intel are among leading tech companies putting the world at risk through killer robot development, according to a report that surveyed major players from the sector about their stance on lethal autonomous weapons.

Amazon, Microsoft and Intel are among leading tech companies putting the world at risk through killer robot development, according to a report that surveyed major players from the sector about their stance on lethal autonomous weapons. Dutch NGO Pax ranked 50 companies by three criteria: whether they were developing technology that could be relevant to deadly artificial intelligence (AI), whether they were working on related military projects, and if they had committed to abstaining from contributing in the future. "Why are companies like Microsoft and Amazon not denying that they're currently developing these highly controversial weapons, which could decide to kill people without direct human involvement?" said Frank Slijper, lead author of the report published this week. The use of AI to allow weapon systems to autonomously select and attack targets has sparked ethical debates in recent years, with critics warning they would jeopardize international security and herald a third revolution in warfare after gunpowder and the atomic bomb. A panel of government experts debated policy options regarding lethal autonomous weapons at a meeting of the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons in Geneva on Wednesday. Google, which last year published guiding principles eschewing AI for use in weapons systems, was among seven companies found to be engaging in "best practice" in the analysis that spanned 12 countries, as was Japan's Softbank, best known for its humanoid Pepper robot. Twenty-two companies were of "medium concern," while 21 fell into a "high concern" category, notably Amazon and Microsoft who are both bidding for a $10 billion Pentagon contract to provide the cloud infrastructure for the US military. Others in the "high concern" group include Palantir, a company with roots in a CIA-backed venture capital organization that was awarded an $800 million contract to develop an AI system "that can help soldiers analyse a combat zone in real-time." "Autonomous weapons will inevitably become scalable weapons of mass destruction, because if the human is not in the loop, then a single person can launch a million weapons or a hundred million weapons," Stuart Russell, a computer science professor at the University of California, Berkeley told AFP on Wednesday. "The fact is that autonomous weapons are going to be developed by corporations, and in terms of a campaign to prevent autonomous weapons from becoming widespread, they can play a very big role," he added. The development of AI for military purposes has triggered debates and protest within the industry: last year Google declined to renew a Pentagon contract called Project Maven, which used machine learning to distinguish people and objects in drone videos. It also dropped out of the running for Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI), the cloud contract that Amazon and Microsoft are hoping to bag. The report noted that Microsoft employees had also voiced their opposition to a US Army contract for an augmented reality headset, HoloLens, that aims at "increasing lethality" on the battlefield. What they might look like According to Russell, "anything that's currently a weapon, people are working on autonomous versions, whether it's tanks, fighter aircraft, or submarines." Israel's Harpy is an autonomous drone that already exists, "loitering" in a target area and selecting sites to hit. More worrying still are new categories of autonomous weapons that don't yet exist — these could include armed mini-drones like those featured in the 2017 short film "Slaughterbots." "With that type of weapon, you could send a million of them in a container or cargo aircraft — so they have a destructive capacity of a nuclear bomb but leave all the buildings behind," said Russell. Using facial recognition technology, the drones could "wipe out one ethnic group or one gender, or using social media information you could wipe out all people with a political view." The European Union in April published guidelines for how companies and governments should develop AI, including the need for human oversight, working towards societal and environmental wellbeing in a non-discriminatory way, and respecting privacy. Russell argued it was essential to take the next step in the form of an international ban on lethal AI, that could be summarized as "machines that can decide to kill humans shall not be developed, deployed, or used."

Amazon, Microsoft, putting the world at risk of killer artificial intelligence: Study

Microsoft Corp said on Monday it was investing $1 billion in San Francisco-based OpenAI and that the two had formed a multi-year partnership to develop artificial intelligence supercomputing technologies on Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service.

OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit with $1 billion in funding from Silicon Valley investors Sam Altman, Peter Thiel and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, among others. Earlier this year, the group created a related for-profit entity to take in outside investment.

Since its founding, OpenAI has employed artificial intelligence researchers to make advances in the field, such as teaching a robotic hand to perform human-like tasks entirely in software, cutting down the cost and time to train robots.

The group has also focused on the safety and social implications of AI, researching how computers can generate realistic news stories with little more than headline suggestions and warning researchers to consider how their work and algorithms might be misused by bad actors before publishing them.

OpenAI said the Microsoft investment would help it pursue "artificial general intelligence," or AGI. An AGI is the holy grail of the field and would mean the computing system can master a subject as well or better than the best humans in the world - and master more fields than any single human.

"We believe it's crucial that AGI is deployed safely and securely and that its economic benefits are widely distributed," Altman said in a statement. "We are excited about how deeply Microsoft shares this vision."

Microsoft said the two companies would jointly build new AI technologies on Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service. The two also said that OpenAI would move many, though not all, of its services to Azure and that Microsoft would be its "preferred" partner to commercialize new services.

The two parties declined to answer questions from Reuters about the terms of the deal. Earlier this year, OpenAI created a for-profit limited partnership to take outside investment. The for-profit entity is ultimately controlled by the nonprofit's board.

When OpenAI created the structure in March, it said investors who put money into the for-profit entity would have their returns capped and that the nonprofit's mission would take precedence over turning a profit.

Microsoft and OpenAI declined to answer questions about whether and how Microsoft's return on its $1 billion investment would be capped, or how any revenue and profits from jointly developed technologies would be shared.

The two firms also declined to say whether Microsoft's investment would be made in cash, or whether it would involve credits for the Azure cloud computing service.

Cloud computing services are a major cost for OpenAI, which spent $7.9 million on cloud computing in the 2017 tax year, or about a quarter of its total functional expenses for that year, according to filings with the US&nbsp;Internal Revenue Service.

Microsoft Corp said on Monday it was investing $1 billion in San Francisco-based OpenAI and that the two had formed a multi-year partnership to develop artificial intelligence supercomputing technologies on Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service.

Microsoft Corp said on Monday it was investing $1 billion in San Francisco-based OpenAI and that the two had formed a multi-year partnership to develop artificial intelligence supercomputing technologies on Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service. OpenAI was founded in 2015 as a nonprofit with $1 billion in funding from Silicon Valley investors Sam Altman, Peter Thiel and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, among others. Earlier this year, the group created a related for-profit entity to take in outside investment. Since its founding, OpenAI has employed artificial intelligence researchers to make advances in the field, such as teaching a robotic hand to perform human-like tasks entirely in software, cutting down the cost and time to train robots. The group has also focused on the safety and social implications of AI, researching how computers can generate realistic news stories with little more than headline suggestions and warning researchers to consider how their work and algorithms might be misused by bad actors before publishing them. OpenAI said the Microsoft investment would help it pursue "artificial general intelligence," or AGI. An AGI is the holy grail of the field and would mean the computing system can master a subject as well or better than the best humans in the world - and master more fields than any single human. "We believe it's crucial that AGI is deployed safely and securely and that its economic benefits are widely distributed," Altman said in a statement. "We are excited about how deeply Microsoft shares this vision." Microsoft said the two companies would jointly build new AI technologies on Microsoft's Azure cloud computing service. The two also said that OpenAI would move many, though not all, of its services to Azure and that Microsoft would be its "preferred" partner to commercialize new services. The two parties declined to answer questions from Reuters about the terms of the deal. Earlier this year, OpenAI created a for-profit limited partnership to take outside investment. The for-profit entity is ultimately controlled by the nonprofit's board. When OpenAI created the structure in March, it said investors who put money into the for-profit entity would have their returns capped and that the nonprofit's mission would take precedence over turning a profit. Microsoft and OpenAI declined to answer questions about whether and how Microsoft's return on its $1 billion investment would be capped, or how any revenue and profits from jointly developed technologies would be shared. The two firms also declined to say whether Microsoft's investment would be made in cash, or whether it would involve credits for the Azure cloud computing service. Cloud computing services are a major cost for OpenAI, which spent $7.9 million on cloud computing in the 2017 tax year, or about a quarter of its total functional expenses for that year, according to filings with the US Internal Revenue Service.

Microsoft to invest $1 billion in San Francisco-based OpenAI

London witnesses its first Microsoft physical retail store and that will be the first Microsoft physical store in all of Europe. Watch this video to know more.

WION Wallet: Microsoft opens first physical store in Europe

Microsoft missed its chance to be the dominant firm in mobile technology because it was "distracted" during a lengthy antitrust battle with US authorities, company co-founder Bill Gates said Monday.

Gates, speaking at a forum in Washington, said Microsoft would be even more valuable if it had won the battle over operating software for mobile devices against Google and its Android platform.

"We were in the field of doing operating systems for personal computers. We knew that mobile phones would be very popular," Gates said during an on-stage interview sponsored by the Economic Club of Washington.

"We missed being the dominant mobile operating system by a very tiny amount. We were distracted during our antitrust trial. We didn't assign the best people to do the work."

Gates, who moved away from day-to-day management a decade ago, said the failure in mobile was "the biggest mistake I made" at Microsoft because it was "clearly within our skill set."

"We were clearly the company that should have achieved that, and we didn't," he said.

"Android is a huge asset for Google."

Gates praised the current chief executive Satya Nadella for helping reshape Microsoft and bring it back to the being the world's most valuable company with a market capitalization of over $1 trillion.

But he said Microsoft and other big software firms also erred in allowing Amazon to become the leading cloud computing firm through its Amazon Web Services platform.

"It is a surprise and it's a huge credit to (Amazon CEO) Jeff Bezos and his team that they got out in front and with AWS did the best cloud product," Gates said.

"Today Microsoft is a strong number two... (but) there are many companies including Microsoft that should feel bad" in failing to get ahead of Amazon in the cloud.

Now a technology advisor at Microsoft, Gates said he only spends about one-sixth of his time at the company and devotes much of his time to his philanthropic foundation and an energy venture fund which makes investments aimed at helping curb emissions and reverse climate change.

Gates said he is not disturbed at being overtaken by Bezos as the world's wealthiest individual. Asked about being number two on the billionaires' list, he quipped that "it's a sign that I haven't given my money away fast enough to drop out of the top 10."

Microsoft missed its chance to be the dominant firm in mobile technology because it was "distracted" during a lengthy antitrust battle with US authorities, company co-founder Bill Gates said Monday.

Microsoft missed its chance to be the dominant firm in mobile technology because it was "distracted" during a lengthy antitrust battle with US authorities, company co-founder Bill Gates said Monday. Gates, speaking at a forum in Washington, said Microsoft would be even more valuable if it had won the battle over operating software for mobile devices against Google and its Android platform. "We were in the field of doing operating systems for personal computers. We knew that mobile phones would be very popular," Gates said during an on-stage interview sponsored by the Economic Club of Washington. "We missed being the dominant mobile operating system by a very tiny amount. We were distracted during our antitrust trial. We didn't assign the best people to do the work." Gates, who moved away from day-to-day management a decade ago, said the failure in mobile was "the biggest mistake I made" at Microsoft because it was "clearly within our skill set." "We were clearly the company that should have achieved that, and we didn't," he said. "Android is a huge asset for Google." Gates praised the current chief executive Satya Nadella for helping reshape Microsoft and bring it back to the being the world's most valuable company with a market capitalization of over $1 trillion. But he said Microsoft and other big software firms also erred in allowing Amazon to become the leading cloud computing firm through its Amazon Web Services platform. "It is a surprise and it's a huge credit to (Amazon CEO) Jeff Bezos and his team that they got out in front and with AWS did the best cloud product," Gates said. "Today Microsoft is a strong number two... (but) there are many companies including Microsoft that should feel bad" in failing to get ahead of Amazon in the cloud. Now a technology advisor at Microsoft, Gates said he only spends about one-sixth of his time at the company and devotes much of his time to his philanthropic foundation and an energy venture fund which makes investments aimed at helping curb emissions and reverse climate change. Gates said he is not disturbed at being overtaken by Bezos as the world's wealthiest individual. Asked about being number two on the billionaires' list, he quipped that "it's a sign that I haven't given my money away fast enough to drop out of the top 10."

Microsoft missed mobile dominance by 'tiny' margin: Bill Gates

More than 200 of the world's largest listed companies forecast that climate change could cost them a combined total of almost $1 trillion, with much of the pain due in the next five years, according to a report published on Tuesday.

Even so, the findings by charity CDP suggested many companies still underestimated the dangers as scientists warn that earth's climate system is on course to hit catastrophic tipping points without rapid cuts in carbon emissions.

"Most companies still have a long way to go in terms of properly assessing climate risk," said Nicolette Bartlett, CDP's director of climate change, who authored the report.

Founded in the early 2000s, CDP - formerly known as Carbon Disclosure Project - is a respected voice in a growing coalition of pressure groups, fund managers, central bankers and politicians who believe global warming poses a systemic risk to the financial system.

By pushing chief executives to confront risks to their operations, advocates of greater disclosure hope to spur enough investment in cleaner industries to cut carbon emissions in time to meet global climate goals.

In its latest study, CDP analysed survey data from 215 of the largest companies, ranging from Apple and Microsoft to Unilever, UBS, Nestle, China Mobile, Infosys, Sony and BHP.

The companies anticipated a total of $970 billion in extra costs due to factors including hotter temperatures, chaotic weather, and pricing of greenhouse gas emissions. About half of these costs were seen as "likely to virtually certain."

Many companies also saw a huge potential upside if the world can de-carbonise in time to avert the bleakest climate scenarios, which scientists see as an existential risk to industrial civilisation.

The companies in the CDP study, which have a combined market capitalisation of roughly $17 trillion, saw potential opportunities worth $2.1 trillion, spanning faster-than-expected demand for electric vehicles to investments in renewables.

The great transition

Investor concerns over climate risk have risen sharply in parallel with an upsurge in climate activism in many countries as the heat waves, droughts, wildfires and super-storms fuelled by climate change have become harder to ignore.

In April, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and Francois Villeroy de Galhau, head of the French central bank, warned of the risk of a climate-driven "Minsky moment" – a sudden collapse in asset prices - unless business embraced greater disclosure.

The CDP aligns its questionnaires with the reporting requirements of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, a voluntary initiative launched by the G20 in 2015, which is due to publish a status report on Wednesday.

British-based CDP acknowledges its research cannot provide a perfect snapshot of companies' thinking since a lack of mandatory reporting requirements on climate risk means it has to rely on whatever figures executives are willing to share.

The charity argues, however, that the degree to which companies are willing to engage provides a yardstick to judge the relative transparency of different sectors and generates peer pressure for greater disclosure.

Although no sector was entirely transparent on climate risk, financial services companies tended to be among the most forthcoming respondents, CDP said, accounting for about 70-80 per cent of the estimated costs and opportunities.

Fossil fuel companies who submitted responses to the study reported $140 billion of potential opportunities in the drive towards a low-carbon economy - more than five times the $25 billion value of the risks they identified, CDP said.

With climate action focused on limiting the burning of coal, oil and gas, CDP urged investors to question why fossil players seemed so confident of benefiting from an energy transition that would render their existing business models obsolete.

"The financial sector seems to be identifying more risks than the real economy," said Pedro Faria, a strategic advisor to CDP. "This raises the question: who is managing these risks?"

More than 200 of the world's largest listed companies forecast that climate change could cost them a combined total of almost $1 trillion, with much of the pain due in the next five years, according to a report published on Tuesday.

More than 200 of the world's largest listed companies forecast that climate change could cost them a combined total of almost $1 trillion, with much of the pain due in the next five years, according to a report published on Tuesday. Even so, the findings by charity CDP suggested many companies still underestimated the dangers as scientists warn that earth's climate system is on course to hit catastrophic tipping points without rapid cuts in carbon emissions. "Most companies still have a long way to go in terms of properly assessing climate risk," said Nicolette Bartlett, CDP's director of climate change, who authored the report. Founded in the early 2000s, CDP - formerly known as Carbon Disclosure Project - is a respected voice in a growing coalition of pressure groups, fund managers, central bankers and politicians who believe global warming poses a systemic risk to the financial system. By pushing chief executives to confront risks to their operations, advocates of greater disclosure hope to spur enough investment in cleaner industries to cut carbon emissions in time to meet global climate goals. In its latest study, CDP analysed survey data from 215 of the largest companies, ranging from Apple and Microsoft to Unilever, UBS, Nestle, China Mobile, Infosys, Sony and BHP. The companies anticipated a total of $970 billion in extra costs due to factors including hotter temperatures, chaotic weather, and pricing of greenhouse gas emissions. About half of these costs were seen as "likely to virtually certain." Many companies also saw a huge potential upside if the world can de-carbonise in time to avert the bleakest climate scenarios, which scientists see as an existential risk to industrial civilisation. The companies in the CDP study, which have a combined market capitalisation of roughly $17 trillion, saw potential opportunities worth $2.1 trillion, spanning faster-than-expected demand for electric vehicles to investments in renewables. The great transition Investor concerns over climate risk have risen sharply in parallel with an upsurge in climate activism in many countries as the heat waves, droughts, wildfires and super-storms fuelled by climate change have become harder to ignore. In April, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney and Francois Villeroy de Galhau, head of the French central bank, warned of the risk of a climate-driven "Minsky moment" – a sudden collapse in asset prices - unless business embraced greater disclosure. The CDP aligns its questionnaires with the reporting requirements of the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, a voluntary initiative launched by the G20 in 2015, which is due to publish a status report on Wednesday. British-based CDP acknowledges its research cannot provide a perfect snapshot of companies' thinking since a lack of mandatory reporting requirements on climate risk means it has to rely on whatever figures executives are willing to share. The charity argues, however, that the degree to which companies are willing to engage provides a yardstick to judge the relative transparency of different sectors and generates peer pressure for greater disclosure. Although no sector was entirely transparent on climate risk, financial services companies tended to be among the most forthcoming respondents, CDP said, accounting for about 70-80 per cent of the estimated costs and opportunities. Fossil fuel companies who submitted responses to the study reported $140 billion of potential opportunities in the drive towards a low-carbon economy - more than five times the $25 billion value of the risks they identified, CDP said. With climate action focused on limiting the burning of coal, oil and gas, CDP urged investors to question why fossil players seemed so confident of benefiting from an energy transition that would render their existing business models obsolete. "The financial sector seems to be identifying more risks than the real economy," said Pedro Faria, a strategic advisor to CDP. "This raises the question: who is managing these risks?"

World's biggest firms foresee $1 trillion climate cost hit

A new Microsoft study, in collaboration with IDC Asia/Pacific, points toward a boom in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/opinions/artificial-intelligence-holds-tremendous-potential-to-transform-education-212578">Artificial Intelligence in India</a>, as a result of which innovations and organisational productivity are likely to go up in the coming years.&nbsp;

Artificial Intelligence is expected to double the rate of innovations in organisations by 2021 in India, the study said.

The research added that the rise of AI doesn't necessarily mean people will be out of work for the want of new technological skills, rather entrepreneurship and initiative-taking will be paramount to the effective implementation of AI.

"It does not necessarily mean an acute need for technological skills. The top future skills identified by business leaders include a very important soft skill needed to create new AI-led innovations – entrepreneurship and initiative taking," said Dr Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer, Microsoft India whose findings were released and published on Microsoft's website.&nbsp;

The research furthered that to adapt to the fast-paced and rapidly changing "digital-first" world, organisations will need to be "fast adopters of best-in-class technology, including AI". "The jobs of today will not be the jobs of tomorrow," it stated.

Digital talent will also need to be invested in. For all of this, an investment in human capital could not be discounted. "Business leaders must have the urgency to invest in workers’ training, as AI cannot progress without skilled individuals," the research stated.

However, the study noted that "there is a necessity for workers to reskill and upskill to remain relevant and play a part in the workforce of tomorrow".&nbsp;

"Business leaders will need to drive cultural transformation within their organizations that values experimentation, agility, proactiveness and a growth mindset," the study read.

However, on surveying workers and business leaders, it was exhibited that they felt that "cultural traits and behaviours that contribute to AI adoption are not being demonstrated today".

A new Microsoft study, in collaboration with IDC Asia/Pacific, points toward a boom in Artificial Intelligence in India, as a result of which innovations and organisational productivity are likely to go up in the coming years.

A new Microsoft study, in collaboration with IDC Asia/Pacific, points toward a boom in Artificial Intelligence in India, as a result of which innovations and organisational productivity are likely to go up in the coming years. Artificial Intelligence is expected to double the rate of innovations in organisations by 2021 in India, the study said. The research added that the rise of AI doesn't necessarily mean people will be out of work for the want of new technological skills, rather entrepreneurship and initiative-taking will be paramount to the effective implementation of AI. "It does not necessarily mean an acute need for technological skills. The top future skills identified by business leaders include a very important soft skill needed to create new AI-led innovations – entrepreneurship and initiative taking," said Dr Rohini Srivathsa, National Technology Officer, Microsoft India whose findings were released and published on Microsoft's website. The research furthered that to adapt to the fast-paced and rapidly changing "digital-first" world, organisations will need to be "fast adopters of best-in-class technology, including AI". "The jobs of today will not be the jobs of tomorrow," it stated. Digital talent will also need to be invested in. For all of this, an investment in human capital could not be discounted. "Business leaders must have the urgency to invest in workers’ training, as AI cannot progress without skilled individuals," the research stated. However, the study noted that "there is a necessity for workers to reskill and upskill to remain relevant and play a part in the workforce of tomorrow". "Business leaders will need to drive cultural transformation within their organizations that values experimentation, agility, proactiveness and a growth mindset," the study read. However, on surveying workers and business leaders, it was exhibited that they felt that "cultural traits and behaviours that contribute to AI adoption are not being demonstrated today".

Rise of AI in India: Digital world will still need investment in human capital, says study

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