Episode Transcript
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Anthropic warns ai virtual employeescould pose security risks within a year.
People wonder if the US isintentionally torpedoing.
Its tech leadership and Appleremoves available now from
its AI promotional material.
Welcome to hashtag Trending.
I'm your host, Jim Love.
Let's get into it.
Anthropic, one of the leading artificialintelligence companies anticipates
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that AI powered virtual employeescould begin operating within corporate
networks as soon as next year,according to its Chief Information
Security officer Jason Clinton.
This development raises some significantsecurity concerns as organizations
will need to reevaluate how theymanage digital identities and access
controls to prevent potential breaches.
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Clinton emphasized that securingAI employee accounts, determining
appropriate access levels and assigningaccountability for the actions of
these new AI employees are majorchallenges that enterprises will face.
there's even a risk that these newAI employees could be exploited
or even act dangerously, such asinterfering with critical systems
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like continuous integration platforms.
With current IT teams alreadyoverwhelmed by credential
management and cyber threats.
The addition of AI agents complicatesthe landscape even further.
The growing importance of non-humanidentity management has spurred
cybersecurity firms to develop solutions
Microsoft is already introducinga host of independent AI agents,
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essentially non-human employeesthat will perform specific tasks.
and this is no doubt, just the firstin a series of AI employees that will
be joining the corporate workforces.
So your next desk matemight be an AI employee.
Welcome to the Brave New World.
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The United States has long been a magnetfor global tech talent fueling its
dominance in technology and innovation.
However, recent policy shifts haveraised questions about whether the
US is jeopardizing that position.
Simultaneously, China is makingsignificant strides in scientific
research and challengingAmerica's traditional leadership.
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Recent US policies have introducedstricter visa regulations
for international students,especially those from China.
Proclamation 1 0 0 4 3 signed in2020 suspended entry for certain
Chinese students and researchersciting national security concerns.
This led to the revocation of over 1000visas affecting students from some of
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China's most prestigious universities.
In 2025, the Trump administrationfurther intensified these measures.
Over 4,700 students were removedfrom the US Immigration database,
increasing their risk of deportation.
Legislation has also been proposed toban Chinese nationals from advanced
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STEM programs raising concernsabout the future of international
collaboration in US academia.
The new US crackdown at immigrantsis also having a chilling effect.
Here's just two stories
NBC News covered a story recently abouta Harvard Medical School professor
who was working on a groundbreakingmicroscope, which could lead to
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breakthroughs in cancer detection.
But the scientist who developed thescript that run that technology has been
in a detention center for two months,
.30-year-old Russian born Casina Petrova.
A renowned scientist is fightingdeportation to Russia where she fears
she will be imprisoned because of herprotests against the war in Ukraine.
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And TechCrunch reported on another case ofan AI doctoral student in California who
had their student visa record terminatedputting their immigration status at risk.
The students said they'd been studyingin the US for nearly a decade, starting
as an undergraduate, and they have nocriminal record, but they had had some
interaction with the police many yearsbefore they entered graduate school.
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That would put me on thedeportation line as well.
The article quoted Yong Yu, amachine learning professor at
Caltech who said, the US government'shard line stance on student visas
is harming the talent pipeline.
The cumulative effect is making theUS a significantly less appealing
destination for talented researchers,and because research is highly
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specialized, when a doctoral studentis pulled from a project, it can set
the project back by months or years.
Now there's many more examples ofthis and how it's having an impact.
A recent nature survey found that 75%of scientists are considering leaving
the country due to policy disruptionsunder the Trump administration.
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And this potential exodus threatens toerode the US longstanding leadership
in scientific research and innovation.
Meanwhile, while the US tightensits borders, China is investing
heavily in scientific research andeducation Between 2018 and 2023, nine
of the top 10 producers of Englishlanguage research on chip design and
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fabrication were Chinese institutions.
This surge positions China atthe forefront of next generation
semiconductor technology.
Yeah.
recently China decided that they weregoing to cut off TMSC, one of the
biggest producers of chips in theworld in favor of their own technology.
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they've also replaced NVIDIA'sH 20 chips with chips from
their own producer, Huawei.
Moreover, Chinese universities areexpanding opportunities for PhD graduates
offering more positions and fundingcompared to their Western counterparts.
This trend is attracting talent thatmight have previously considered
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the US for advanced studies.
Contrasting with the US approach,Canada is enhancing its appeal to
STEM students and professionals.
Ontario that houses Silicon ValleyNorth and tech universities such as the
University of Waterloo and the Universityof Toronto, where many breakthroughs in AI
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research come from have long been a feedersystem for US companies and universities.
That may no longer be the case.
And even with the economic disruptionshappening in Ontario where the province
has cut back on university programs,they're increasing funding to STEM
programs and they're increasing fundingto boost reading, writing, and math
skills, laying a strong foundationfor future scientific endeavors
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and students at our universities.
As well, even though there's beenrecent pressure to tighten immigration
numbers in Canada, all of the politicalparties in the recent election
have said that highly qualifiedimmigrants will always be welcome.
So the US' restrictive visa policiesand reduced funding for scientific
research may have long-termconsequences by limiting access for
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international students and researchers.
The country risks diminishingits innovation capacity and
its global competitiveness, asmany people have pointed out.
There is no way that the US cangenerate the number of engineers
that it needs, even if it couldbring chip production on shore.
And meanwhile.
Nations like China and Canadaare capitalizing on these shifts,
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positioning themselves as newleaders in science and technology.
As the global landscape evolves,the US faces a critical decision,
adapt its policies to maintain itsleadership or risk ceding ground to
more welcoming and proactive nations.
Apple has removed the available nowlabel from its Apple intelligence
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promotional materials following arecommendation from the National
Advertising Division, NAD, part of theBetter Business Bureau National Programs.
The NAD concluded that the phrasewas misleading and suggested at.
AI powered features includingpriority notifications, gen,
Moji, image, playground, and Chat,GPT integration were immediately
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accessible with the iPhone 16 launch.
However, apple only released some ofthese features initially with further
capabilities introduced in later updates.
But the NAD also criticized the inadequatefootnote clarifications and pointed
out that Apple's claim included AIenhanced Siri that had not yet launched.
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In response, apple updated itsmaterials and discontinued a related
promotional video featuring Bella Ramsey.
Although Apple disagrees with some ofNA's findings, it is agreed to comply
with the recommendations to ensuretransparency in its advertising.
It is pretty sad when it takes the BetterBusiness Bureau to tell one of the world's
largest and most sophisticated techfirms that they're missing the boat on
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AI and over promoting it just a smidgen.
and as much as we might appreciatethe fair warning that Apple's
falling behind in AI as thatfamous country song lyric goes.
Tell me something I don'tknow, and that's our show.
Love to hear your comments.
As always, you can reach meat editorial@technewsday.ca.
(09:16):
You can find me on LinkedIn.
A lot of people do or on YouTube.
Just drop a note under the video.
I'm your host, Jim Love.
Have a wonderful Wednesday.