Here’s what we have for you today:
• The beginning of another bubble
• What Gates think
• Meta’s advertising problem
Next Tech Bubble?
Another bubble? The OpenAI’s release of ChatGPT and the buzz behind it has put generative AI on the map for venture capitalists and tech firms eager to put money into a smart idea in a downturn where smart ideas feel scarce.
Realistically speaking: Generative AI startups are already securing sky-high valuations despite little evidence of commensurate revenue, let alone profit — reminiscent of the low-interest-rate boom times that saw firms with unproven business models fetch valuations worth billions of dollars despite having little to show.
Where’s the money? The business models are unproven, and running AI involves high computational costs. So, are we now headed for an AI bubble?
Meta on the advertising issue
The change: Meta is rolling out a new machine-learning solution for reducing algorithmic bias in its advertising.
The reason: The Variance Reduction System is the outcome of a lawsuit that saw Meta, formerly known as Facebook, come under fire for its housing ads. According to the case, the company applied algorithms that could serve ads based on characteristics federally protected under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), including sex and race and ethnicity, resulting in discrimination.
An example: “This development marks a pivotal step in the Justice Department’s efforts to hold Meta accountable for unlawful algorithmic bias and discriminatory ad delivery on its platforms,” said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, in a press statement. “Federal monitoring of Meta should send a strong signal to other tech companies that they too will be held accountable for failing to address algorithmic discrimination that runs afoul of our civil rights laws.”
Conclusion: VRS, which is rolling out now in the U.S., carries implications beyond the housing category as well. Meta plans to implement the system for other areas of its sprawling ads business that are affected by federal discrimination laws, including employment and credit ads, later this year.
Bill Gates says he will eventually sell everything
His worth: Microsoft founder Bill Gates said he will donate a vast amount of his fortune to his philanthropic endeavors including much of the farmland he currently owns. Gates at the moment has a net worth of a little north of $100 billion according to Forbes, and he’s now pledging to give away most of his billions.
Previously: In July 2022, Gates first announced he planned to give the majority of his wealth to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation despite the fact that it would knock him off the world’s richest people list.
So far: Gates donated a total of $20 billion to the foundation last year and in a Twitter post, he said, “I have an obligation to return my resources to society in ways that have the greatest impact for reducing suffering and improving lives. And I hope others in positions of great wealth and privilege will step up in this moment too.”