United News of Bangladesh

Elon Musk is in a legal fight with Microsoft but made a friendly virtual appearance at the software giant's annual technology showcase to reveal that his Grok artificial intelligence chatbot will now be hosted on Microsoft's data centers. “It’s fantastic to have you at our developer conference,” Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said to Musk in a pre-recorded video conversation broadcast Monday at Microsoft's Build conference in Seattle. Musk last year sued Microsoft and its close business partner OpenAI in a dispute over Musk's foundational contributions to OpenAI, which Musk helped start. Musk now runs his own AI company, xAI, maker of Grok, a competitor to OpenAI's ChatGPT. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman also spoke with Nadella via live video call earlier at Monday's conference. Musk's deal means that the latest versions of xAI's Grok models will be hosted on Microsoft's Azure cloud computing platform, alongside competing models from OpenAI and other companies, including Facebook parent Meta Platforms, Europe-based AI startups Mistral and Black Forest Labs and Chinese company DeepSeek. Microsoft confirms supplying AI to Israeli military, denies use in Gaza attacks The Grok partnership comes just days after xAI had to fix the chatbot to stop it from repeatedly bringing up South African racial politics and the subject of “white genocide” in public interactions with users of Musk's social media platform X. The company blamed an employee's “unauthorized modification” for the unsolicited commentary, which mirrored South Africa-born Musk's own focus on the topic. Musk didn't address last week's controversy in his chat with Nadella but described honesty as the “best policy” for AI safety. “We have and will make mistakes, but we aspire to correct them very quickly,” Musk said. Nadella was interrupted by protest over Gaza Monday's Build conference also became the latest Microsoft event to be interrupted by a protest over the company's work with the Israeli government. Microsoft has previously fired employees who protested company events, including its 50th anniversary party in April. “Satya, how about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians?" a protesting employee shouted in the first minutes of Nadella's introductory talk Monday. "How about you show how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?” Nadella continued his presentation as the protesters were escorted out. Microsoft acknowledged last week that it provided AI services to the Israeli military for the war in Gaza but said it has found no evidence to date that its Azure platform and AI technologies were used to target or harm people in Gaza. Microsoft to lay off about 3% of workforce Microsoft didn't immediately return an emailed request for comment about the protest Monday. Microsoft introduces new AI coding agent Microsoft-owned GitHub also used the Seattle gathering to introduce a new AI coding “agent” to help programmers build new software. The company already offers a Copilot coding assistant but the promise of so-called AI agents is that they can do more work on their own on a user's behalf. The updated tool is supposed to work best on tasks of “low-to-medium complexity” in codebases that are already well-tested, handling “boring tasks” while people “focus on the interesting work,” according to Microsoft's announcement. The new tool arrives just a week after Microsoft began laying off hundreds of its own software engineers in Washington's Puget Sound region as part of global cuts of nearly 3% of its total workforce, amounting to about 6,000 workers.

Starlink, a Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) satellite internet provider owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, has officially started its operations in Bangladesh. The announcement was made on Tuesday (20 May) in a Facebook post by Faiz Ahmad Taiyeb, Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser. “On Monday (19 May) afternoon, they informed me over a phone call and confirmed the matter this morning on their X handle,” he said. “Initially, Starlink is launching with two packages – Starlink Residence and Residence Lite. The monthly cost is Tk 6,000 for one and Tk 4,200 for the other. A one-time cost of Tk 47,000 will be required for setup equipment,” he added. Faiz Ahmad also said there will be no speed or data limits. Individuals will be able to use unlimited data at speeds of up to 300 Mbps. Customers in Bangladesh can start placing orders from today. “With this, Sir’s (CA's) expectation of launching within 90 days has been fulfilled,” he said. He went on to say, “Although expensive, this creates a sustainable alternative for premium customers to access high-quality and high-speed internet services.” “In addition, companies will have opportunities to expand their business into areas where fibre or high-speed internet services are yet to reach. NGOs, freelancers, and entrepreneurs will benefit from uninterrupted, high-speed internet throughout the year,” said the Special Assistant to the Chief Adviser. BTRC issues licenses to Starlink to operate in Bangladesh The Chief Adviser on Tuesday congratulated all involved as Starlink officially started its operations in Bangladesh, says his Deputy Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad Majumder. Prof Yunus on February 14 held an extensive video discussion with Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, and owner of Tesla and X, to explore future collaboration and to make further progress to introduce Starlink satellite internet service in Bangladesh. On April 28, Chief Adviser Prof Yunus officially approved the license for Starlink to begin operations in Bangladesh, marking a significant step towards improving connectivity, especially in remote and underserved areas. On April 7, Starlink applied to the BTRC for a licence to operate in the country under the regulatory framework titled ‘Guidelines for Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) Satellite Services Operators in Bangladesh’. CA Prof Yunus approves Starlink’s license to operate in Bangladesh On March 25, Prof Yunus directed the relevant authorities to ensure the commercial launch of Starlink’s satellite broadband internet service in Bangladesh within 90 days. In accordance with this guideline, Starlink submitted a formal application along with the applicable fees and required documents. A decision to issue the license was taken in principle during a meeting of the commission on April 21. Starlink becomes a new addition to Bangladesh’s internet landscape, marking the country as the second in South Asia—after Sri Lanka—to host services from the global satellite internet provider.

House Republicans caught the tech industry by surprise and sparked backlash from state governments after inserting a provision into their flagship tax bill that would block state and local regulation of artificial intelligence for the next ten years. This short but impactful addition, included in the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s broad legislative package, represents a significant victory for the AI industry. Tech companies have long pushed for consistent, minimal regulation as they advance technologies they claim will revolutionize society. Despite its potential scope, the measure faces an uncertain future in the Senate, where procedural constraints may prevent its inclusion in the final version of the GOP bill. “I’m not sure it’ll survive the Byrd Rule,” said Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, referring to the requirement that all elements of a budget reconciliation bill must primarily relate to fiscal matters rather than broader policy initiatives. “That sounds to me like a policy change. I’m not going to speculate what the parliamentarian is going to do but I think it is unlikely to make it,” Cornyn said. Senators in both parties have expressed an interest in artificial intelligence and believe that Congress should take the lead in regulating the technology. But while lawmakers have introduced scores of bills, including some bipartisan efforts, that would impact artificial intelligence, few have seen any meaningful advancement in the deeply divided Congress. RobinRafan named Best Content Creator of 2025 at Kidlon-Powered 4th BIFA Awards An exception is a bipartisan bill expected to be signed into law by President Donald Trump next week that would enact stricter penalties on the distribution of intimate “revenge porn” images, both real and AI-generated, without a person’s consent. “AI doesn’t understand state borders, so it is extraordinarily important for the federal government to be the one that sets interstate commerce. It’s in our Constitution. You can’t have a patchwork of 50 states,” said Sen. Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican. But Moreno said he was unsure if the House’s proposed ban could make it through Senate procedure. The AI provision in the bill states that “no state or political subdivision may enforce any law or regulation regulating artificial intelligence models, artificial intelligence systems, or automated decision systems.” The language could bar regulations on systems ranging from popular commercial models like ChatGPT to those that help make decisions about who gets hired or finds housing. State regulations on AI’s usage in business, research, public utilities, educational settings and government would be banned. The congressional pushback against state-led AI regulation is part of a broader move led by the Trump administration to do away with policies and business approaches that have sought to limit AI’s harms and pervasive bias. Half of all U.S. states so far have enacted legislation regulating AI deepfakes in political campaigns, according to a tracker from the watchdog organization Public Citizen. Most of those laws were passed within the last year, as incidents in democratic elections around the globe in 2024 highlighted the threat of lifelike AI audio clips, videos and images to deceive voters. California state Sen. Scott Wiener called the Republican proposal “truly gross” in a social media post. Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, authored landmark legislation last year that would have created first-in-the-nation safety measures for advanced artificial intelligence models. The bill was vetoed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a fellow San Francisco Democrat. “Congress is incapable of meaningful AI regulation to protect the public. It is, however, quite capable of failing to act while also banning states from acting,” Wiener wrote. A bipartisan group of dozens of state attorneys general also sent a letter to Congress on Friday opposing the bill. “AI brings real promise, but also real danger, and South Carolina has been doing the hard work to protect our citizens,” said South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, a Republican, in a statement. “Now, instead of stepping up with real solutions, Congress wants to tie our hands and push a one-size-fits-all mandate from Washington without a clear direction. That’s not leadership, that’s federal overreach.” As the debate unfolds, AI industry leaders are pressing ahead on research while competing with rivals to develop the best — and most widely used —AI systems. They have pushed federal lawmakers for uniform and unintrusive rules on the technology, saying they need to move quickly on the latest models to compete with Chinese firms. Sam Altman, the CEO of ChatGPT maker OpenAI, testified in a Senate hearing last week that a “patchwork” of AI regulations “would be quite burdensome and significantly impair our ability to do what we need to do.” “One federal framework, that is light touch, that we can understand and that lets us move with the speed that this moment calls for seems important and fine,” Altman told Sen. Cynthia Lummis, a Wyoming Republican. And Sen. Ted Cruz floated the idea of a 10-year “learning period” for AI at the same hearing, which included three other tech company executives. “Would you support a 10-year learning period on states issuing comprehensive AI regulation, or some form of federal preemption to create an even playing field for AI developers and employers?” asked the Texas Republican. Altman responded that he was “not sure what a 10-year learning period means, but I think having one federal approach focused on light touch and an even playing field sounds great to me.”        

The leader of the U.S. Space Force is pressing forward with a proposal to transfer personnel from Air National Guard units to support the growing needs of the relatively new military branch. However, several state governors are pushing back, arguing that the move undermines their authority over their respective National Guard forces. The plan would impact a total of just 578 service members across six states and the Air National Guard headquarters. Rather than establishing a separate Space Force National Guard — which officials say would be inefficient due to its small size — the initiative aims to integrate these personnel directly into the Space Force structure. “We’re actively evaluating where we want to place our part-time workforce and the roles they’ll fill,” said Gen. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations, during remarks at a POLITICO conference on Thursday. The Space Force was established by President Donald Trump in late 2019, during his first term. In the years since, the Air Force has transferred its space missions into the now five-year-old military branch — except for the 578 positions still contained in the Air National Guard, which is part of the Air Force. In the 2025 defense bill, Congress mandated that those positions move over to the Space Force as well. Cyber crooks stole customer information, demanded $20 million ransom payment: Coinbase The transferred service members would be a part-time force like they are now, just serving under the Space Force instead of their state units. But space missions are some of the most lucrative across the military and private sector and the states that lose space mission service member billets are potentially losing highly valuable part-time workforce members if they have to move away to transfer in to the Space Force. Last month, the National Governors Association said the transfers violate their right to retain control over their state units. “We urge that any transfers cease immediately and that there be direct and open engagement with governors,” the Association said in April. The group was not immediately available to comment on Space Force’s plan. “There’s a lot of concern in the National Guard about these individuals who are highly skilled that want to be in the Guard being transferred out,” Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin said at an Air Force manpower hearing this week. The contention between the states and the Space Force has meant the service hasn’t so far been able to approach individual members about transferring in. According to the legislation, each National Guard will get the option to either stay with their units — and get re-trained in another specialty — or join the Space Force. Even if they do transfer into the Space Force, their positions would remain located in those same states for at least the next 10 years, according to the 2025 legislation. The affected personnel include 33 from Alaska, 126 from California, 119 from Colorado, 75 from Florida, 130 from Hawaii, 69 from Ohio and 26 from Air National Guard headquarters.      

WASHINGTON (AP) — Microsoft has confirmed providing advanced artificial intelligence and cloud services to the Israeli military during the Gaza conflict, including support for efforts to locate and rescue hostages. However, the tech giant insists there is no evidence its technologies were used to harm civilians in Gaza. In a blog post published Thursday, Microsoft acknowledged its involvement in the war following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed around 1,200 Israelis and triggered a war in Gaza, where tens of thousands have since died. This marks the company’s first public statement on its support to Israel’s military. The announcement comes months after an Associated Press investigation revealed Microsoft's previously undisclosed ties with Israel’s Ministry of Defense, showing a sharp increase in the military’s use of Microsoft’s AI services after the October assault. The military reportedly used Microsoft’s Azure platform to process surveillance data, which could be integrated with its AI-driven targeting systems. While Microsoft said its support included cloud services, translation tools, and cyber defense assistance, it also stressed that the help was limited, selectively approved, and aimed at saving hostages. The company claimed it had not found evidence that its technologies were used to intentionally target civilians or violate its ethical use policies. Prompted by employee protests and media scrutiny, Microsoft launched an internal review and hired an external firm for further investigation. However, the company has not disclosed the name of the external firm, the full report, or whether Israeli officials were consulted during the process. The blog post also noted Microsoft lacks visibility into how its products are used once deployed on customer servers or third-party platforms, limiting its ability to fully track their usage in war zones. Israel’s military also has cloud and AI contracts with other U.S. tech giants including Google, Amazon, and Palantir. Like its competitors, Microsoft said it enforces usage restrictions through its Acceptable Use Policy and AI Code of Conduct, asserting that no violations had been identified. Experts say Microsoft’s statement sets a notable precedent in corporate responsibility. Emelia Probasco of Georgetown University remarked it is rare for a tech company to impose ethical usage terms on a government engaged in active conflict. Nevertheless, critics remain skeptical. “No Azure for Apartheid,” a group of Microsoft employees and alumni, accused the company of attempting to polish its image rather than address real accountability concerns. Former employee Hossam Nasr, who was fired after organizing a vigil for Palestinians, criticized the company for not releasing the full investigation report. Cindy Cohn of the Electronic Frontier Foundation welcomed Microsoft’s partial transparency but emphasized that many questions remain unanswered—especially regarding how Israeli forces are using Microsoft tools in military operations that have led to high civilian casualties. Israeli raids, such as one in Rafah in February and another in Nuseirat in June, have rescued hostages but resulted in hundreds of Palestinian deaths, fueling continued debate over the ethical implications of AI in modern warfare.  

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange based in the U.S., said Thursday that criminals had improperly obtained personal data on the exchange’s customers for use in crypto-stealing scams and were demanding a $20 million payment not to publicly release the info. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said in a social media post that criminals had bribed some of the company’s customer service agents who live outside the U.S. to hand over personal data on customers, like names, dates of birth and partial social security numbers. “(The stolen data) allows them to conduct social engineering attacks where they can call our customers impersonating Coinbase customer support and try to trick them into sending their funds to the attackers,” Armstrong said. Social engineering is a popular hacking strategy, as humans tend to be the weakest link in any network. Many large companies have suffered hacks and data breaches as a result of such scams in recent years. DoorDash delivery driver pleads guilty to stealing $2.5 million in deliveries scam Coinbase did not specify how many customers had their data stolen or fell prey to social engineering scams. But the company did pledge to reimburse any who did. Coinbase shares fell 6% in trading around midday. The shares are still up about 22% this month due to gains in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Coinbase estimated that it would have to spend between $180 million to $400 million “relating to remediation costs and voluntary customer reimbursements relating to this incident.” The SEC filing said that the company had, “in previous months,” detected some of its customer service agents “accessing data without business need.” Those employees had been fired, and the company said it stepped up its fraud prevention efforts. Coinbase said it received an email from the attackers on Sunday demanding a ransom of $20 million worth of bitcoin not to publicly release the customer data they had stolen. Armstrong said the company was refusing to pay the ransom and would instead offer a $20 million bounty for anyone who provided information that led to the attackers’ arrest. Nvidia to send 18,000 AI chips to Saudi Arabia “For these would-be extortionists or anyone seeking to harm Coinbase customers, know that we will prosecute you and bring you to justice,” Armstrong said. “And know you have my answer.”

Largo.ai, an AI-powered analytics platform for the film, television, and advertising sectors, has entered into a strategic alliance with London and Rome-based Brilliant Pictures to create what is being hailed as the world’s first fully AI-automated film sales, production and finance company. Announced during the Cannes Film Festival, the partnership combines Largo.ai’s proprietary data-driven technology with Brilliant Pictures’ slate of projects and industry expertise, reports Variety. The initiative aims to streamline production processes and strengthen strategic positioning to maximise box office and commercial success. Brilliant Pictures’ current development line-up features a post-World War II drama helmed by Oscar-winning director Bille August (“Pelle the Conqueror,” “The Best Intentions”), a feature documentary focused on acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo del Toro (“Pan’s Labyrinth,” “The Shape of Water”), and a new film by Roland Joffé (“The Mission,” “The Killing Fields”). DoorDash delivery driver pleads guilty to stealing $2.5 million in deliveries scam Largo.ai, which recently completed a $7.5 million Series A funding round with actor Sylvester Stallone among its latest investors, was launched in 2020 in collaboration with Swiss technical university EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne). The company currently collaborates with over 600 partners, including major Hollywood studios and global agencies. “We’ve been following Sami and Largo.ai’s trajectory since their early formation,” said Sean O’Kelly, chairman of Brilliant Pictures. “As one of the earliest pioneers of AI-assisted filmmaking, their technology is way ahead of the curve. For us, it’s about making better content in a faster, easier and less risky way…. Working together we hope to set a new standard for AI-assisted filmmaking, embracing the future whilst respecting the creative contributions that make cinema magic.” Largo.ai CEO and co-founder Sami Arpa added, “We are excited to be partnering with Sean and Marc at Brilliant Pictures, who share our vision of pushing the boundaries of AI-assisted movie making. This marks a pivotal point for the adoption curve within the industry.”

A former food delivery driver has admitted to participating in a scheme to defraud DoorDash out of more than $2.5 million by arranging for the company to pay for fake deliveries, according to federal prosecutors. Sayee Chaitanya Reddy Devagiri, 30, of Newport Beach, California, pleaded guilty on Tuesday in federal court in San Jose to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced. Prosecutors said Devagiri collaborated with three others during 2020 and 2021 to carry out the scam, which targeted the San Francisco-based food delivery platform. Prosecutors said Devagiri used customer accounts to place high-value orders and then used an employee’s credential to gain access to DoorDash software and manually reassign the orders to driver accounts that he and others controlled. Devagiri then caused the fraudulent driver accounts to report that the orders had been delivered when they had not, and manipulated DoorDash’s computer systems to pay the fraudulent driver accounts for the nonexistent deliveries, officials said. Xiaomi Redmi Turbo 4 Pro Review: Can It Survive the Competition? Devagiri would then use DoorDash software to change the orders from “delivered” status to “in process” status and manually reassign the orders to driver accounts he and others controlled, beginning the process again, prosecutors said. The now-former employee in the scam pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in November 2023 and admitted to being involved in the scheme, prosecutors said. Devagiri is the third defendant to be convicted of his role in this conspiracy. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. He is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 16.        

U.S. chip maker Nvidia will partner with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund-owned AI startup Humain and will ship 18,000 chips to the Middle Eastern nation to help power a new data center project. The partnership was revealed Tuesday as part of a White House trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has been working to develop its artificial intelligence capacity and strengthen its cloud computing infrastructure with the help of foreign investment. “AI, like electricity and internet, is essential infrastructure for every nation,” said Jensen Huang, founder of Nvidia. “Together with Humain, we are building AI infrastructure for the people and companies of Saudi Arabia to realize the bold vision of the Kingdom.” Microsoft to lay off about 3% of workforce The cutting-edge Blackwell chips will be used in a 500 megawatt data center in Saudi Arabia, according to remarks at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday. The California company said its first deployment will use its GB300 Blackwell chips, which are among Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips at the moment, and which were only officially announced earlier this year.

US chip maker Nvidia will partner with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund-owned AI startup Humain and will ship 18,000 chips to the Middle Eastern nation to help power a new data center project. The partnership was revealed Tuesday as part of a White House trip to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has been working to develop its artificial intelligence capacity and strengthen its cloud computing infrastructure with the help of foreign investment. “AI, like electricity and internet, is essential infrastructure for every nation,” said Jensen Huang, founder of Nvidia. “Together with Humain, we are building AI infrastructure for the people and companies of Saudi Arabia to realize the bold vision of the Kingdom.” US, Saudi sign $142bn weapons deal during Trump visit The cutting-edge Blackwell chips will be used in a 500 megawatt data center in Saudi Arabia, according to remarks at the Saudi-US Investment Forum in Riyadh on Tuesday. The California company said its first deployment will use its GB300 Blackwell chips, which are among Nvidia’s most advanced AI chips at the moment, and which were only officially announced earlier this year.