Political lists

HiddenLayer AI Threat Landscape Report Finds That 77% of Companies Identified Breaches to Their AI in the Past Year

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, March 6, 2024

AUSTIN, Texas, March 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- HiddenLayer, the leading security provider for artificial intelligence (AI) models and assets, today released its inaugural AI Threat Landscape Report highlighting the pervasive use of AI and the risks involved in its deployment. Nearly all surveyed companies, 98%, consider at least some of their AI models crucial to their business success, and 77% identified breaches to their AI in the past year. Yet only 14% of IT leaders said their respective companies are planning and testing for adversarial attacks on AI models.

Key Points: 
  • Nearly all surveyed companies, 98%, consider at least some of their AI models crucial to their business success, and 77% identified breaches to their AI in the past year.
  • Yet only 14% of IT leaders said their respective companies are planning and testing for adversarial attacks on AI models.
  • The survey uncovered AI's widespread utilization by today's businesses as companies have, on average, a staggering 1,689 AI models in production.
  • In response, security for AI has become a priority, with 94% of IT leaders allocating budgets to secure their AI in 2024.

Representative Josh Gottheimer Continues Bipartisan Momentum for Main Street Growth Act

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 29, 2024

CHICAGO, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dream Exchange is pleased to announce that Representative Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey's 5th district has officially signed on as the newest sponsor of the Main Street Growth Act.

Key Points: 
  • CHICAGO, Feb. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Dream Exchange is pleased to announce that Representative Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey's 5th district has officially signed on as the newest sponsor of the Main Street Growth Act.
  • Representative Gottheimer, a key figure in the Democratic Party, boasts a diverse and influential career that spans politics and business.
  • The growing bipartisan support for the Main Street Growth Act highlights a collective acknowledgment of the need to prioritize the financial health of America's small businesses.
  • With this Act, we're not simply leveling the playing field; we're fostering an environment where the best and brightest can succeed.

Precision in Knowledge: BCC Research's Contribution to Developing a Competitive Advantage through Consulting Services

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 28, 2024

BOSTON, Feb. 28, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- BCC Research has been at the forefront of market research for more than 50 years, offering unmatched insights that are redefining industries all over the world. Their dedication to providing accurate, creative, and flexible intelligence has gained us the respect of elite institutions worldwide. With a history based on exacting process and thorough knowledge, their diversified team of professionals works nonstop to identify industry trends, anticipate disruptions, and highlight possibilities. BCC Research finds great satisfaction in providing clients with actionable intelligence that motivates them to make bold, well-thought-out decisions that will influence their businesses' futures in an increasingly cutthroat market.

Key Points: 
  • At BCC Research, it's simple: clients outline their needs, and they deliver.
  • Whether it's a big or small project, BCC Research has clients covered with custom research .
  • If what clients need isn't in the standard reports, they provide tailor-made consulting services.
  • Clients can count on BCC Research for reliable insights and thorough coverage that fits exactly what they're looking for.

CRAIG WILLIAMS CHALLENGES DAVE SUNDAY TO A SERIES OF 10 DEBATES AROUND PA

Retrieved on: 
Friday, February 23, 2024

PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Craig Williams, former Federal Prosecutor, Marine Combat Veteran, and State Representative, emerged as a formidable advocate for justice and safety at the Philadelphia Criminal Inn of Court's Attorney General Forum last evening. As the most qualified Republican candidate for Pennsylvania Attorney General, Williams directly engaged with four Democrat challengers, underscoring his unwavering dedication and principled approach to tackling the state's urgent crime issues.

Key Points: 
  • The discussion revolved around the Gun Violence Task Force, which Rep. Williams re-designed in 2022 legislation to focus on felony gun prosecution in Philadelphia.
  • It was the same "hiding" strategy deployed in the endorsement process, which party bosses invoked virtually with no debates.
  • In contrast, Craig Williams, undeterred by being a more qualified underdog, stepped into the forum ready to advocate for the tough, necessary measures to make Pennsylvania safe.
  • With that, Williams issued a debate challenge to Sunday, who so far has been able to avoid being on stage with Williams.

WaFd, Inc. Announces Increase in its Cash Dividend to 26 Cents Per Share

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Today, the Board of Directors of WaFd, Inc. (Nasdaq: WAFD) (the “Company”), announced an increase to the regular quarterly cash dividend to 26 cents per share.

Key Points: 
  • Today, the Board of Directors of WaFd, Inc. (Nasdaq: WAFD) (the “Company”), announced an increase to the regular quarterly cash dividend to 26 cents per share.
  • The dividend will be paid March 8, 2024, to common shareholders of record as of February 23, 2024.
  • This will be the Company’s 164th consecutive quarterly cash dividend.
  • Any such statements are made in reliance on the “safe harbor” protections provided under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

FCC bans robocalls using deepfake voice clones − but AI-generated disinformation still looms over elections

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, February 8, 2024

The Federal Communications Commission on Feb. 8, 2024, outlawed robocalls that use voices generated by artificial intelligence.

Key Points: 
  • The Federal Communications Commission on Feb. 8, 2024, outlawed robocalls that use voices generated by artificial intelligence.
  • The 1991 Telephone Consumer Protection Act bans artificial voices in robocalls.
  • The FCC’s Feb. 8 ruling declares that AI-generated voices, including clones of real people’s voices, are artificial and therefore banned by law.
  • The move follows on the heels of a robocall on Jan. 21, 2024, from what sounded like President Joe Biden.

Injecting confusion

  • Compounding this problem in this case is the application of AI to clone Biden’s voice.
  • In a media ecosystem full of noise, scrambled signals such as deepfake robocalls make it virtually impossible to tell facts from fakes.
  • Though the audio and video output is usually choppy and stilted, when the audio is delivered via a robocall it’s very believable.

Context is key

  • What we found was that no single piece of media is reliable on its face; rather, context matters for making an interpretation.
  • When it comes to AI-enhanced disinformation, the believability of deepfakes hinges on where you see or hear them or who shares them.
  • How this is done varies, depending on the method of distribution: robocalls, social media, email, text message or websites.

Timely, accurate, local knowledge

  • It’s also important for the public to understand what new audio and visual manipulation technology is capable of.
  • I believe society needs to learn to venerate what I call TALK: timely, accurate, local knowledge.
  • I believe that it’s important to design social media systems that value timely, accurate, local knowledge over disruption and divisiveness.


Joan Donovan is on the board of Free Press and the founder of the Critical Internet Studies Institute.

Russia’s next election is likely to put Putin in power for longer than anyone since Peter the Great

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

It is inevitable that the incumbent president, Vladimir Putin, will win.

Key Points: 
  • It is inevitable that the incumbent president, Vladimir Putin, will win.
  • Putin has been in power (whether as president or as prime minister) since 2000.
  • In the last presidential election in 2018, the Communist candidate came second to Putin, (12% of the vote compared to Putin’s 77%).

Opposition candidates?

  • Some potential candidates who wanted to stand in opposition to Putin – and in specific opposition to the war in Ukraine – have, on dubious bureaucratic grounds, been refused permission to do so.
  • But it is a brave candidate who might try and oppose the sitting president in this election.
  • In the past, leading opposition figures in Putin’s Russia who stood up to him and who questioned his authority have tended to be dealt with harshly.
  • The liberal Boris Nemtsov was killed, for instance, in 2015 outside the Kremlin (supposedly by agents linked to Putin’s FSB).
  • And other leading Putin critics such as Alexei Navalny and Mikhail Khodorkovsky have been sent to jail in Siberia.

Putin’s future

  • President Alexander Lukashenko was almost unseated by a wave of street protests in the wake of what appeared to be a “sham” election.
  • Indeed, Putin himself was given a severe shock in 2011 when the same thing happened in Russia.
  • Thousands of protestors came out onto the streets of Moscow and St Petersburg after seemingly fraudulent elections.
  • So, despite all the temptations, he needs to keep this forthcoming presidential election as seemingly “free” and fair as possible.


Rod Thornton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

Toast Restaurant Technology Selected by Choice Hotels as Brand Standard for Two Upscale Brands

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Toast (NYSE: TOST), the digital technology platform built for restaurants, today announced an innovative collaboration with Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH) to make its Toast for Hotel Restaurants technology a brand standard for two of Choice’s upscale brands, Cambria Hotels and Radisson.

Key Points: 
  • Toast (NYSE: TOST), the digital technology platform built for restaurants, today announced an innovative collaboration with Choice Hotels International (NYSE: CHH) to make its Toast for Hotel Restaurants technology a brand standard for two of Choice’s upscale brands, Cambria Hotels and Radisson.
  • Cambria and Radisson will implement Toast technology as a brand standard by summer 2025 for Cambria and by the beginning of 2026 for Radisson properties.
  • Cambria and Radisson hotels, along with most of Choice Hotels’ portfolio of brands, are connected by the award-winning loyalty program Choice Privileges.
  • “We are delighted to be implementing Toast technology as a brand standard for Cambria and Radisson properties and to offer Toast to other Choice Hotels brands as a Qualified Vendor.”

WaFd, Inc. Receives Regulatory Approval for Acquisition of Luther Burbank Corporation

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, January 30, 2024

This merger will expand WaFd Bank’s footprint to nine western states with the addition of ten California branches of Luther Burbank.

Key Points: 
  • This merger will expand WaFd Bank’s footprint to nine western states with the addition of ten California branches of Luther Burbank.
  • “Regulatory approval of this merger with Luther Burbank affirms WaFd Bank’s position as an important financial resource for the communities we serve,” said Brent Beardall, President, and Chief Executive Officer of WaFd Bank.
  • System and brand integration efforts are expected to be completed in the first week of March 2024 so that Luther Burbank customers can quickly and efficiently access the WaFd Bank platform and service offerings.
  • As previously announced, WaFd will be welcoming two directors from Luther Burbank to join the WaFd, Inc. and WaFd Bank Boards of Directors.

New Book by Michael Ashcroft 'Red Queen? The Unauthorised Biography of Angela Rayner'

Retrieved on: 
Monday, January 22, 2024

LONDON, Jan. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Angela Rayner is one of the most arresting figures in British politics today. A self-declared socialist, she pursued an unorthodox route into politics, leaving school aged 16 while pregnant having gained no formal qualifications. After becoming a care worker, she was a trade union representative before entering the House of Commons in 2015 as the Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne. She served as the Shadow Secretary of State for Education for four years from 2016 and was elected deputy leader of the Labour Party in April 2020.

Key Points: 
  • A self-declared socialist, she pursued an unorthodox route into politics, leaving school aged 16 while pregnant having gained no formal qualifications.
  • After becoming a care worker, she was a trade union representative before entering the House of Commons in 2015 as the Labour MP for Ashton-under-Lyne.
  • Michael Ashcroft's new book follows the journey of a politician who has quickly become an outspoken and charismatic presence in British public life.
  • Lord Ashcroft is an award-winning author who has written twenty-seven other books, largely on politics and bravery.