DOJ warns AI hiring and productivity tools can violate anti-discrimination law

Federal agencies are the latest to alert companies to potential bias in AI recruiting tools. As the APnotes, the Justice Department and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) have warned employers that AI hiring and productivity systems can violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. These technologies might discriminate against people with disabilities by unfairly ruling out job candidates, applying incorrect performance monitoring, asking for illegal sensitive info or limiting pay raises and promotions.

Accordingly, the government bodies have released documents (DOJ, EEOC) outlining the ADA’s requirements and offering help to improve the fairness of workplace AI systems. Businesses should ensure their AI allows for reasonable accommodations.They should also consider how any of their automated tools might affect people with various disabilities.

There’s no guarantee companies will follow the advice. However, it comes amid mounting pressure on companies to temper their uses of AI for recruiting and worker tracking. California recently enacted a productivity quota law banning algorithms that violate health, labor and safety regulations, or lead to firings of people who can’t meet dangerous quotas. New York City, meanwhile, now requires that AI hiring systems pass yearly audits looking for discrimination. Companies that don’t heed the new warnings could face serious legal repercussions at multiple levels.

Oura sues smart ring rival Circular for allegedly copying technology

Even smart rings aren’t immune to patent wars. Wareablenotes Oura has sued fledgling rival Circular for allegedly violating patents covering both ring design and biometric data collection. Circular’s upcoming wearable allegedly copies Oura’s work by both stuffing electronics into a cavity and gathering info to generate an overall energy score.

Oura said it asked Circular to cease and desist in January, roughly a year after the newcomer started its crowdfunding campaign. Circular took on lawyers to review the patents in response.

Circular unsurprisingly objected to the lawsuit and characterized it as an attempt to stifle competition. In a statement, a spokesperson told Wareable that pursuing a monopoly has “never driven innovation.” Oura supposedly wants the smart ring market to itself, in other words.

It’s not certain which side will prevail. While the patents are broad, effectively covering many attempts to make smart rings, the US Patent Office did approve them. Circular may have to challenge the patents themselves to prevail in court, not just dispute their relevance to its particular finger-based technology.

Update 5/13/22 7:30pm ET: “At ŌURA, we embrace creativity and innovation in health technology, including from our competitors,” an Oura spokesperson told Engadget via email. “However, what we cannot accept is direct copying, as this does nothing to help consumers or advance our industry. The lawsuit filed against Circular addresses willful infringement of at least two ŌURA patents.”

Samsung is reportedly raising its chipmaking prices by up to 20 percent

Samsung’s chip foundry clients will soon have to pay considerably more for the company’s services. According to Bloomberg, the tech giant is already in talks with its clients about charging around 15 to 20 percent more to manufacture their chips, depending on how sophisticated their products are. Samsung is only the latest company in the industry to raise its prices in an effort to keep up with the growing costs of procuring materials in the midst of the global supply chain crisis. 

Bloomberg says companies that need chips manufactured on legacy nodes would be facing the biggest price hike, which will be applied sometime in the second half of this year. Apparently, Samsung is already done negotiating with some of its clients, but it’s still currently in discussion with others. Samsung’s foundry business achieved its highest ever first quarter sales for the first three months of 2022. While the company is optimistic about its future, it’s also expecting the global component shortage to continue having an impact on its business. Manufacturing costs are rising by up to an average of 30 percent, as well, which means foundry businesses have to charge more to make a profit. Rival foundries like TSMC’s already raised prices by 20 percent last year and will charge even more in 2023. 

Bloomberg Intelligence Analyst Masahiro Wakasugi said: “This is an inevitable move for Samsung. Some customers may accept higher prices if they can get chips earlier than others.”

Seeing as Samsung has cutting-edge gear its competitors don’t have and other foundries are raising prices anyway, its clients will most likely agree to pay its new prices. And since the price hike affects the whole industry, we can likely expect to pay more for cars, smartphones, consoles and other devices in the future.

ピンチの町工場。一方的なキャンセルをした”元”お取引先に返した言葉とは？ | ネクタイプレゼント | SHAKUNONE（しゃくのね）｜MADEinJAPAN

※これは、知り合いの町工場の社長さんのホントにあった話。わかりやすいように自分の体験のように書いていることと、会社や個人を特定されないよう、一部の情報は事実と異なることをご理解ください。 このたび、Twitterがバズりました。※詳しくはコチラ→https://twitter.com/shakunone/status/1524862227496505344?s=20&…

ミクシィ　社名を「MIXI」へ　企業ロゴも刷新：朝日新聞デジタル

IT大手のミクシィは13日、社名をアルファベット大文字の「MIXI」に変更すると発表した。6月の株主総会で承認を受け、10月に変更する。SNSと同じ「mixi」としていた企業ロゴもすでに変更。新規事業に注力するなかでブランドイメージを刷新したい考え。 木村弘毅社長はこの日の決算会見で「（社名と企業ロゴの統一で）企業…

Apple begins arming store managers with anti-union talking points

As workers at some of its Stores attempt to unionize, Apple is giving talking points to managers to tamp those efforts down, Vice has reported. It’s telling employees that they could lose career opportunities, personal time off and work flexibility, adding that the company will pay “less attention to merit” in union stores. 

The scripts have been given to leaders at multiple Apple Stores, according to Vice. Managers have used the scripts during “downloads,” or employee meetings that start shifts. “There are a lot of things to consider. One is how a union could fundamentally change the way we work,” they reportedly read. “What makes a Store great is having a team that works together well. That can’t always happen when a union represents a Store’s team members.”

Employees of Apple’s Atlanta Cumberland Mall Store were the first to try to unionize, hoping to join the Communications Workers of America (CWA). They’ve complained about relatively low pay for their region, difficult working conditions and limited promotion opportunities. 

“Everybody deserves the opportunity to be able to not worry about whether they can afford food or pay their bills. Everybody deserves to be able to afford to live in the city that they work in,” employee Elli Daniels told Engadget last month. 

Apple didn’t respond directly to Vice about the report, but repeated a statement it has given before. “We are fortunate to have incredible retail team members and we deeply value everything they bring to Apple. We are pleased to offer very strong compensation and benefits for full time and part time employees, including health care, tuition reimbursement, new parental leave, paid family leave, annual stock grants and many other benefits,” it told Vice. Engadget has reached out for comment. 

Apple has reportedly hired the same law firm Starbucks is using for its anti-union campaign and its talking point rhetoric resembles arguments used by Amazon and Starbucks during worker meetings. One Amazon union buster warned employees they could end up with lower pay after unionization, before walking that back under employee questioning. 

However, research has shown that unions improve wages and benefits compared to non-union workers in the same industries, while also narrowing race and gender disparities, as Vice noted. The Atlanta union vote is set for next month, and other stores in Maryland and New York are also reportedly pursuing unionization bids.

オンキヨー、自己破産を申請　負債総額31億円

日経の記事利用サービスについて 企業での記事共有や会議資料への転載・複製、注文印刷などをご希望の方は、リンク先をご覧ください。 詳しくはこちら オンキヨーホームエンターテイメント（大阪府東大阪市）は13日、大阪地裁に自己破産を申請した。負債総額は約31億円。同社は業績不振から2021年8月に上場廃止になって…

ビットコイン急落のさなかにCoinbaseで一時出金が不可能に、倒産によりユーザーの仮想通貨が溶けるリスクも

by Marco Verch Professional Photographer ビットコインやイーサリアムなどが軒並み暴落し仮想通貨市場が混乱している中、大手仮想通貨取引所のCoinbaseで一時資金の取り出しができなくなったと報じられました。Coinbaseは業績の悪化に伴い株価が大きく下落しており、万が一Coinbaseが経営破綻するようなことがあれば、…

平　裕介 on Twitter: “ある研究者が言うには、「性交的な撮影を一括して規制する法律」が必要であり、それは「AVに限らず」「性交的な撮影を行う」場合には事前に「文化庁等に責任者や撮影方法等」の「届出」を必要とし、撮影行為自体を規制する法制度だという… こ… https://t.co/BsuethifgX”

ある研究者が言うには、「性交的な撮影を一括して規制する法律」が必要であり、それは「AVに限らず」「性交的な撮影を行う」場合には事前に「文化庁等に責任者や撮影方法等」の「届出」を必要とし、撮影行為自体を規制する法制度だという… こ… https://t.co/BsuethifgX