By David Shepardson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Aviation Administration said on Tuesday it had adopted a new aircraft certification policy requiring key flight control design changes to be considered “major” like the system involved in two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes in 2018 and 2019.

In late 2020, Congress passed sweeping legislation to reform how the FAA certifies new airplanes, including requiring manufacturers to disclose to the FAA certain safety-critical information, including information on systems that manipulate flight controls without direct pilot input or commands after the crashes that killed 346 people.

The FAA said Tuesday it was also issuing additional guidance to airplane manufacturers on how to identify safety-critical information and said both new steps will “improve aircraft certification safety.”

Boeing did not disclose key details to the FAA of a safety system called MCAS, which was linked to both fatal crashes and designed to help counter a tendency of the MAX to pitch up.

Boeing said it continues “to work transparently with the FAA to ensure we continue to meet all requirements in the certification process.” Planemaker Airbus did not immediately comment.

A U.S. House of Representatives report said Boeing failed to classify MCAS as a safety-critical system, which would have attracted greater FAA scrutiny during the certification process, and said the “FAA failed in its oversight of Boeing and its certification of the aircraft.”

The crashes, which have cost Boeing more than $20 billion in compensation, production costs, and fines, led to a 20-month grounding for the best-selling plane.

The FAA is still considering whether to certify two additional variants of the MAX – the smaller MAX 7 and larger MAX 10.

The FAA said in July it would establish milestones during certification to help “assess whether any design changes to airplane systems should be considered novel or unusual, and therefore require additional scrutiny.”

Last year, the FAA granted Boeing a shorter regulatory compliance program extension than the planemaker sought, so it can ensure the company implements “required improvements.”

(Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Robert Birsel)

Elon Musk Touts Cybertruck Production Nightmare amid Delays

Tesla has dug a grave for itself as it tries to integrate every kind of feature and technology on the Cybertruck. That’s the sentiment echoed by CEO Elon Musk, who believes it could take 12 to 18 months for the automaker to hit any high volumes with its next-generation piece of technology.

Cybertruck Nightmare

A stainless body that is corrosion resistant is not the only thing that Tesla has to worry about as it eyes mass Cybertruck production. It will be the first high-voltage vehicle designed for faster charging. The fact that the car is dependent on battery cells produced in-house presents a unique set of challenges.

Over the years, Tesla has relied on batteries produced by other companies to power Model X and Model S. However, as it seeks to integrate faster charging, Tesla is moving battery production in-house, presenting yet another manufacturing headache.

The EV giant has already taken orders for the Cybertruck, with pricing starting from $39,000 and ranging to $69,900. However, it has removed price and specifications from its website, having been hit with production delays.

The delay is mainly attributed to Musk’s pushing to use an ultrahard stainless steel alloy similar to the one SpaceX uses on its Starship. While stainless steel is a perfect fit for the vehicle as it resists corrosion and does not need to be painted, it is costly and difficult to shape and weld together.

Consequently, Cybertruck is slowly emerging as another manufacturing headache similar to the challenges that Tesla has faced with Model X. Six years later; Tesla is yet to achieve high-volume production with its flagship Model X sport utility car.

Like the Cybertruck, the Model X comes with all kinds of cool things that people could ever imagine as Tesla sought to affirm its status in self-driving cars. Musk has termed the Model X the Fabergé egg of cars, featuring symbols of opulence integrated into precious metals and gemstones. Musk has already insisted it was a terrible strategy to incorporate all cool things at once instead of starting simple and adding things slowly over time.

Simplicity has already proved to be the real deal, going to the level of success that Tesla has enjoyed with the Model 3 Sedan and the Model Y SUV. The two cars have broken into the mainstream, affirming Tesla as the most valuable electric vehicle automaker.

The simplicity of the two vehicles, as they do not come with all the fancy features or high-end technologies, has allowed Tesla to ramp up production. In return, the automaker has fulfilled the ever-growing demand for electric vehicles.

Production Delays

However, that is not expected with Cybertruck, which comes with various features and technologies. Musk reiterating that it will take 12 to 18 months of blood, sweat, and tears to achieve high volumes affirms the work that needs to be done. It is highly unlikely that the EV giant will reach an annualized production rate of 250,000 Cybertruck by 2025.

Tesla is unlikely to go slow on the Cybertruck, even with one analyst on Wall Street reiterating it would be good for the company’s shares. Musk has made it his intention to transform pickup trucks, which he insists have looked more or less the same over the last century.

By Yuka Obayashi and Muyu Xu

TOKYO/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Oil moved in a narrow range on Wednesday as investors turned cautious ahead of a crucial OPEC+ meeting to decide output policy in the next months, while a supply disruption in the Black Sea provided a floor for prices.

Brent crude futures dipped 3 cents to $81.65 a barrel at 0338 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 12 cents, or 0.2%, at $76.53 a barrel.

Both benchmarks gained about 2% on Tuesday on the possibility the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies such as Russia (OPEC+), will extend or deepen supply cuts, as well as concerns over Kazakh oil output and a weaker U.S. dollar.

“Investors covered short positions ahead of the OPEC+ meeting amid worries over supply disruption from Kazakhstan,” said Hiroyuki Kikukawa, president of NS Trading, a unit of Nissan Securities.

“All eyes are on OPEC+ policy and demand outlook toward the end of this year, but WTI is expected to hover around $76, with a range of $5 each above and below, for a while unless OPEC+ significantly expands production cuts,” he said.

OPEC+ is due to hold an online ministerial meeting on Thursday to discuss 2024 production targets, after delaying the meeting from Nov. 26.

The talks will be difficult and a rollover of the previous agreement is possible rather than deeper production cuts, four OPEC+ sources said.

“If they (OPEC+) fail to come to a preliminary deal, we cannot rule out the risk that the meeting is further delayed, which would likely put some downward pressure on oil prices,” said Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey, analysts from ING bank, in a note to clients.

“The outlook for the oil market in 2024 will largely depend on OPEC+ policy.”

The premium on front-month loading Brent contracts over ones loading in six months climbed to a two-week high, suggesting a build up of concerns about supply deficits in the long-term.

A severe storm in the Black Sea region has disrupted up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil exports from Kazakhstan and Russia, according to state’s officials and port agent data, fuelling concerns of short-term supply tightness.

Kazakhstan’s largest oilfields are cutting combined daily oil output by 56% from Nov. 27, the Kazakh energy ministry said.

Oil also found support from the dollar’s weakness and a drop in U.S. crude inventories.

The dollar languished near a three-month trough against its major peers on Wednesday as expectations mount the Federal Reserve could begin lowering rates by early next year.

A weaker dollar typically supports oil prices as it makes oil cheaper for those holding other currencies.

Meanwhile, U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 817,000 barrels last week, according to market sources citing American Petroleum Institute figures.

Eight analysts polled by Reuters estimated on average that crude inventories fell by about 900,000 barrels in the week to Nov. 24. Weekly U.S. government data on stockpiles is due on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi and Muyu Xu; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Kim Coghill)

By Tom Westbrook

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian stocks briefly made one-week highs on Wednesday, bonds rallied and the dollar sank on new hints at U.S. interest rate cuts, while the New Zealand dollar jumped after its central bank said another hike may be necessary if inflation proves stubborn.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.5% in early trade before weakness in Hong Kong tech shares dragged it back to flat.

Japan’s Nikkei fell 0.2%. The New Zealand dollar was last up 1.1% at a four-month high of $0.6207, having blown past resistance.

The U.S. dollar, meanwhile, slid to fresh multi-month lows on the euro, yen, sterling, the Australian dollar, yuan and Swiss franc. Gold hit a seven-month high above $2,051 an ounce.

Overnight Fed Governor Christopher Waller – an influential and previously hawkish voice at the U.S. central bank – told the American Enterprise Institute that rate cuts could begin in a matter of months, provided inflation keeps falling.

Fed funds futures rallied on the remark to price more than hundred basis points of cuts in 2024 and 40% chance they begin as soon as March. Two-year Treasury yields fell sharply and along with the dollar fell further still in Asia.

“The market clearly moved on Governor Waller’s opening up the possibility of cuts,” said Tapas Strickland, head of market economics at National Australia Bank in Sydney. Waller’s remark echoed earlier comments made by Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

The two-year yield hit its lowest since mid-July at 4.70% and the benchmark 10-year yield fell 4 bps to its lowest since September at 4.30%.

The dollar was last down 0.5% at 146.68 yen, its lowest since Sept. 12 and a drop of nearly 2% in three days. It touched a 3-1/2 month low at $1.1017 per euro. [FRX/]

Waller said that if the decline in inflation continues, “for several more months … three months, four months, five months … we could start lowering the policy rate just because inflation is lower.”

“There is no reason to say we will keep it really high,” he said.

CONDITIONALITY

Waller’s remarks extended what has been a two-week rally in stocks and bonds around the world since a benign U.S. inflation report two weeks ago — except in China where doubts about the economy have investors decidedly downbeat.

Global stocks are up almost 9% in November and are tracking toward their best month in three years. The Hang Seng is flat and hasn’t posted a positive month since July.

The latest negative news came from Meituan which flagged slowing fourth-quarter growth for its mainstay food delivery business. Shares fell 8% to a 3-1/2 year low on Wednesday, despite the company promising a $1 billion buyback.

The Hang Seng fell 0.9% on Wednesday. Mainland blue chips fell 0.4% and are heading for a fourth monthly decline in a row with a 1.9% fall in November. [.HK]

Some analysts are also wary that markets have run with parts of Fed officials’ remarks — flagging possible rate cuts — even though the comments have been conditional on further declines in inflation and on financial conditions staying restrictive.

New Zealand sounded something of a warning note on Wednesday when the central bank slightly lifted its interest rate projections and warned hikes may not be over.

“Bets ought to be guided by conditionality that policy is appropriately tight, not indulged with abandon on over-confidence that Fed is done (premised on linear projections of dis-inflation),” said Mizuho economist Vishnu Varathan.

Elsewhere Australian inflation eased by more than expected. In commodities Brent crude futures steadied to $81.75 a barrel but were set for a monthly drop, while Singapore iron ore futures are up 9.6% in November at $130.50 a tonne.

(Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

(Reuters) – Apple is pulling the plug on its credit card partnership with Goldman Sachs Group, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

The tech giant recently sent a proposal to the Wall Street bank to exit the contract in the next 12 to 15 months, the report said, citing people briefed on the matter. Apple and Goldman had started to roll out a virtual credit card in 2019.

The exit would cover their entire consumer partnership, including the savings account rolled out this year, the report added.

The iPhone maker, when asked about the report, said: “Apple and Goldman Sachs are focused on providing an incredible experience for our customers to help them lead healthier financial lives. The award-winning Apple Card has seen a great reception from consumers, and we will continue to innovate and deliver the best tools and services for them.”

Goldman declined to comment.

Apple in April introduced a high-yield deposit account, which offers an annual percentage yield higher than what Goldman offers for an online savings account at its digital consumer bank, Marcus.

The partnership, which was a part of the bank’s larger strategy to grow its consumer franchise, was extended a year ago through 2029, the report added.

Apple launched its “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) service in the United States earlier in the year, enabled through the Mastercard Installments program, the company said at the time, adding that Goldman was the issuer of the Mastercard payment credential.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas and Arsheeya Bajwa in Bengaluru; additional reporting by Stephen Nellis; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Lincoln Feast.)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks ended with modest gains on Tuesday as investors parsed conflicting remarks from Federal Reserve officials, with upbeat consumer data providing some lift.

All three major U.S. stock indexes lost momentum as the session progressed, but ended the range-bound session in the green.

“Even marathon runners have to pause, to take a breath and a drink of water. That doesn’t mean the race is over,” said Oliver Pursche, senior vice president at Wealthspire Advisors, in New York. “It’s been a very strong November, and investors have every reason to be optimistic into year-end.”

Market participants are now scrutinizing remarks from monetary policymakers ahead of next month’s meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

Fed Governor Christopher Waller said on Tuesday he is “increasingly confident” that the current level of central bank’s policy rate is sufficiently restrictive and even hinted at the possibility of rate cuts in the months ahead should inflation continue to fall closer to the Fed’s 2% target.

Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee touted progress in bringing inflation down at a pace not seen since the 1950s.

On the other hand, remarks from Fed Governor Michelle Bowman suggested another rake hike could be necessary to rein in inflation in a timely manner.

“The (Fed’s) mixed messaging is fairly normal and it occurs every time the Fed is near the end of a cycle, as certain members of the FOMC and certain Fed governors will feel more strongly than others that it’s time to stop (tightening),” Pursche added.

Financial markets have priced in a near-certain 98.9% likelihood that the FOMC will let the Fed funds target rate stand at 5.25%-5.50% when it convenes next month, according to CME’s FedWatch tool.

The crucial holiday shopping season has shifted into high gear, with survey data from the National Retail Federation suggesting consumers plan to spend about 5% more this year.

That corresponds with the Conference Board’s consumer confidence data released early Tuesday, which surprised to the upside due to improved near-term expectations.

Later in the week, the Commerce Department is due to release its second estimate for third-quarter Gross Domestic Product, and its broad-ranging Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report, which covers income, spending and crucially, inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83.51 points, or 0.24%, to 35,416.98, the S&P 500 gained 4.46 points, or 0.10%, at 4,554.89 and the Nasdaq Composite added 40.73 points, or 0.29%, at 14,281.76.

Eight of the 11 major sectors of the S&P 500 closed in positive territory, with consumer discretionary shares posting the largest percentage gain. Healthcare stocks suffered the day’s biggest percentage loss.

Boeing advanced 1.4% after RBC Capital Markets upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “sector perform.”

U.S.-listed shares of Chinese e-commerce firm PDD Holdings surged 18.1% after the company beat revenue estimates.

Affirm Holdings jumped 11.5%, extending its Cyber Monday boost.

Chipmaker Micron Technology’s shares slid 1.8% after the company said it expects higher first-quarter operating expenses than previously forecast.

Advancing issues outnumbered decliners on the NYSE by a 1.24-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.07-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 20 new 52-week highs and one new low; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 61 new highs and 103 new lows.

Volume on U.S. exchanges was 10.03 billion shares, compared with the 10.41 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Additional reporting by Shristi Achar A and Amruta Khandekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Chang)

By Josh Smith and Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) -After decades of satellite surveillance by foreign governments and analysts, North Korea has sent its first spy satellite on a global orbit with a message to the world: we can watch you too.

On Tuesday North Korean state media said leader Kim Jong Un had reviewed spy satellite photos of the White House, Pentagon and U.S. aircraft carriers at the naval base of Norfolk.

North Korea last week successfully launched its first reconnaissance satellite, which it has said was designed to monitor U.S. and South Korean military movements.

Since then state media has reported the satellite photographed cities and military bases in South Korea, Guam, and Italy, in addition to Washington.

“Remember when you got that toy you always wanted at Xmas and were so excited you wanted to tell everyone about it?” Chad O’Carroll, founder of the North Korea-focused website NK News, said of the KCNA reports in a post on X.

So far, Pyongyang has not released any imagery, leaving analysts and foreign governments to debate how capable the new satellite actually is.

South Korea, which said on Tuesday the Nov. 30 launch date for its own first spy satellite on a U.S. Falcon 9 rocket would be delayed by weather, has said the North’s satellite capabilities could not be verified.

In Washington, the Pentagon said North Korea’s satellite did enter orbit but did not comment on Pyongyang’s claims about the images it had captured.

“I will say that there are plenty of images of the Pentagon and the White House online,” Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters.

There’s no reason to doubt that the satellite could see the large areas or warships North Korea claimed it could, as even a medium-resolution camera could offer Pyongyang that capability, said Dave Schmerler, a satellite imagery expert at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).

“But how useful those images are depends on what they want to use them for,” he said.

For medium-resolution satellites to be useful in a conflict, North Korea will need to launch many more to allow more frequent passes over key sites, Schmerler said, a goal that the North’s space agency has said it is pursuing.

“It’s a big leap for them going from zero to something, but until we can see the images they’re collecting, we’re speculating on its use cases,” he said.

Jeffrey Lewis, another researcher at CNS, said a state media photo of Kim examining the satellite images with his daughter suggest they may be panchromatic, a type of black-and-white photography that is sensitive to all wavelengths of visible light.

North Korea released panchromatic imagery of downtown Seoul after a rocket launch in December 2022 in what it said was a test of the satellite control, image taking and data downlink for its eventual military reconnaissance satellite.

Tuesday’s photos were the latest in a series of images of what KCNA described as “major target regions”.

Kim also inspected satellite photos of the Andersen Air Force Base in the U.S. Western Pacific territory of Guam and a U.S. shipyard and airbase in Norfolk and Newport, where four nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and a British aircraft carrier were spotted, KCNA said.

Commercial imagery of those cities on Nov. 27, the day North Korea says it captured its photographs, was not immediately available.

The United States and South Korea have condemned the satellite launch as a violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions banning any use of ballistic technology.

(Reporting by Hyonhee ShinEditing by Chris Reese, Gerry Doyle and Sandra Maler)

(Reuters) -Canadian miner First Quantum Minerals suspended commercial production at its flagship Cobre Panama mine on Tuesday after the Panama Supreme Court ruled its contract to operate the mine as unconstitutional.

The contested contract gave First Quantum a 20-year mining right with an option to extend for another 20 years in return for $375 million in annual revenue to Panama.

Cobre Panama accounts for about 1% of global copper production and contributes to about 5% of Panama’s gross domestic product.

A look at the events since December last year as the ruling puts the company on the long and unpredictable road of international arbitration:

2022

Dec. 15: Panama orders First Quantum to pause operations at Cobre Panama after missing a deadline to finalize a deal that would have increased payments to the government.

Dec. 24: First Quantum starts arbitration process against Panama.

2023

Feb 23: First Quantum suspends ore processing at the mine.

March 8: Panama and First Quantum agree on the final text for a contract to operate the mine.

March 15: First Quantum resumes operations at Cobre Panama.

Sept. 9: First Quantum reaches a deal over wages with the workers union at Cobre Panama.

Oct. 3: Panama’s government authorizes the withdrawal of the proposed contract to regulate operations of First Quantum’s local unit.

Oct 10: Panama’s cabinet approves a modified version of the government’s contract.

Oct 20: Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo gives final approval of a law authorizing a new long-term contract for the mine.

Oct 24: Police arrest nearly 50 protesters in confrontations over the new contract.

Oct 27: Cortizo says the country will reject all new mining projects after widespread protests against the deal.

Oct 29: Cortizo says Panama will hold a referendum to decide whether to scrap the contract with the Canadian miner.

Oct 30: Panama’s electoral court says currently there are not “conditions” to hold a referendum on the disputed mining contract.

Nov 2: Panama’s lawmakers scratch provisions to cancel the contract with First Quantum from a proposed bill banning new mining concessions in the country.

Nov. 7: Two people taking part in an anti-government protest in Panama are shot dead by an assailant.

Nov. 13: First Quantum says reduced ore processing at mine as protesters block access to ports.

Nov. 16: The company and workers at the mine reach an agreement guaranteeing salaries as protests continue.

Nov. 24: Panama’s top court starts deliberations to rule on several constitutional challenges to the contract.

Nov. 27: The company says it hopes to avoid arbitration with Panama’s government by resolving disagreements during a 90-day period for talks.

Nov. 28: First Quantum says it was suspending commercial production at the Cobre Panama mine after the Panama Supreme Court ruled its contract to operate the copper mine as “unconstitutional”.

(Reporting by Seher Dareen, Sourasis Bose and Roshia Sabu in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Arun Koyyur)

By Greg Bensinger

(Reuters) -Amazon is trying to lure big corporate customers to it AWS cloud computing service with a new chatbot for businesses, and by offering to guard them against legal and reputational damage that can come from the output of artificial intelligence.

The new chatbot, called Q, is designed to help with productivity by helping workers summarize important documents and support tickets and chat via communication apps such as Slack, the company announced at its annual cloud computing conference Tuesday in Las Vegas. The software can also automatically make changes to businesses source code, speeding development, the company said.

The new software arrives roughly a year after OpenAI’s ChatGPT burst onto the scene, setting off a frenzy of investment in generative AI startups. Alphabet and others have announced their own chatbots, which can have human-like conversations with users to help with daily tasks.

AWS CEO Adam Selipsky, at Amazon’s annual cloud computing conference in Las Vegas, announced a new safeguard against objectionable content on generative AI applications, called Guardrails for Bedrock. The service allows users to filter out harmful content, he said.

Because generative AI is trained on publicly available content, offensive words or other objectionable content can slip through into results from users’ prompts. That is particularly problematic for younger users, in times of global conflict or during elections when generative AI’s output in search results can influence opinion.

Safety advocates have cautioned that generative AI could operate out of the control of its human creators and pump out increasingly dangerous content or operate entire systems without oversight. In particular, they worry about the software putting influential – and convincing – content on social media sites like X and Facebook.

Selipsky said the new service was important for customers to put limits they see fit on the generative AI they use.

“For example, a bank could configure an online assistant to refrain from providing investment advice,” said Selipsky. “Or, to prevent inappropriate content, an e-commerce site could ensure that its online assistant doesn’t use hate speech or insults.”

As part of its appeal to corporations, Amazon said the Q chatbot will offer businesses limits so that it can keep sensitive data from employees who should not have access to it. Pricing will start at $20 per user, per year.

Also at the conference, Amazon announced it would indemnify its customers against lawsuits based on the misuse of copyrighted materials. Stock photography company Getty Images, for instance, sued Stability AI earlier this year, alleging it scraped its website for images without permission.

Guardrails for Bedrock is in limited preview today, Amazon said. The Seattle company did not provide additional details about its indemnification policy.

(Reporting by Greg BensingerEditing by Marguerita Choy)

(Reuters) -Rapid advances in artificial intelligence (AI) such as Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT are complicating governments’ efforts to agree laws governing the use of the technology.

Here are the latest steps national and international governing bodies are taking to regulate AI tools:

AUSTRALIA

* Planning regulations

Australia will make search engines draft new codes to prevent the sharing of child sexual abuse material created by AI and the production of deepfake versions of the same material.

BRITAIN

* Planning regulations

Leading AI developers agreed on Nov. 2, at the first global AI Safety Summit in Britain, to work with governments to test new frontier models before they are released to help manage the risks of the developing technology.

More than 25 countries present at the summit, including the U.S. and China, as well as the EU, on Nov. 1 signed a “Bletchley Declaration” to work together and establish a common approach on oversight.

Britain said at the summit it would triple to 300 million pounds ($364 million) its funding for the “AI Research Resource”, comprising two supercomputers which will support research into making advanced AI models safe, a week after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had said Britain would set up the world’s first AI safety institute.

Britain’s data watchdog said in October it had issued Snap Inc’s Snapchat with a preliminary enforcement notice over a possible failure to properly assess the privacy risks of its generative AI chatbot to users, particularly children.

CHINA

* Implemented temporary regulations

Wu Zhaohui, China’s vice minister of science and technology, told the opening session of the AI Safety Summit in Britain on Nov. 1 that Beijing was ready to increase collaboration on AI safety to help build an international “governance framework”.

China published proposed security requirements for firms offering services powered by generative AI in October, including a blacklist of sources that cannot be used to train AI models.

The country issued a set of temporary measures in August, requiring service providers to submit security assessments and receive clearance before releasing mass-market AI products.

EUROPEAN UNION

* Planning regulations

France, Germany and Italy have reached an agreement on how AI should be regulated, according to a joint paper seen by Reuters on Nov. 18. The paper explains that developers of foundation models would have to define model cards, which are used to provide information about a machine learning model.

European lawmakers agreed on Oct. 24 on a critical part of new AI rules outlining the types of systems that will be designated “high risk”, inching closer to a broader agreement on the landmark AI Act which is expected in December, according to five people familiar with the matter.

FRANCE

* Investigating possible breaches

France’s privacy watchdog said in April it was investigating complaints about ChatGPT.

G7

* Seeking input on regulations

The Group of Seven countries agreed on Oct. 30 to an 11-point code of conduct for firms developing advanced AI systems, which “aims to promote safe, secure, and trustworthy AI worldwide”.

ITALY

* Investigating possible breaches

Italy’s data protection authority plans to review AI platforms and hire experts in the field, a top official said in May. ChatGPT was temporarily banned in the country in March, but it was made available again in April.

JAPAN

* Investigating possible breaches

Japan expects to introduce by the end of 2023 regulations that are likely closer to the U.S. attitude than the stringent ones planned in the EU, an official close to deliberations said in July.

The country’s privacy watchdog has warned OpenAI not to collect sensitive data without people’s permission.

POLAND

* Investigating possible breaches

Poland’s Personal Data Protection Office said in September it was investigating OpenAI over a complaint that ChatGPT breaks EU data protection laws.

SPAIN

* Investigating possible breaches

Spain’s data protection agency in April launched a preliminary investigation into potential data breaches by ChatGPT.

UNITED NATIONS

* Planning regulations

The U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on Oct. 26 announced the creation of a 39-member advisory body, composed of tech company executives, government officials and academics, to address issues in the international governance of AI.

UNITED STATES

* Seeking input on regulations

The U.S., Britain and more than a dozen other countries on Nov. 27 unveiled a 20-page non-binding agreement carrying general recommendations on AI such as monitoring systems for abuse, protecting data from tampering and vetting software suppliers.

The U.S. will launch an AI safety institute to evaluate known and emerging risks of so-called “frontier” AI models, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said on Nov. 1 during the AI Safety Summit in Britain.

President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Oct. 30 to require developers of AI systems that pose risks to U.S. national security, the economy, public health or safety to share the results of safety tests with the government.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission opened in July an investigation into OpenAI on claims that it has run afoul of consumer protection laws.

(Compiled by Alessandro Parodi and Amir Orusov in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)