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US official confirms military concerns over China’s access to cloud technology

October 23, 2023 Coin Telegraph

China

The confirmation comes as tensions between the U.S. and China continue to rise.

United States undersecretary of commerce for industry and security Alan Estevez recently told reporters at an event in Tokyo, Japan that the U.S. is currently looking to crack down on Chinese access to U.S. cloud-based technologies.

Speaking to journalists at the Mount Fuji Dialogue policy forum on Oct. 21, Estevez confirmed reports that the U.S. was considering applying similar interventionary measures to China’s cloud technology access as it had to artificial intelligence (AI) chips.

Per a report from Nikkei, Estevez said “cloud-based technologies are already fairly ubiquitous. Now, AI itself is also fairly ubiquitous.”

Estevez continued, clarifying:

“The concern is ... AI in the future will probably command and control military logistics [and] military radar. Electronic warfare capabilities will be advanced. So we want to make sure that we're controlling the use."

As Cointelegraph recently reported, The United States Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security released a memo on Oct. 17 shoring up export controls on AI chips. The new requirements would require establishing a worldwide licensing requirement for the export of controlled chips to any U.S.-embargoed country, China included.

In the wake of the recent AI chip export ban, U.S. market leader Nvidia’s stock slipped by nearly 5% as some experts predicted positive movement for Chinese chip manufacturers.

While it remains unclear at this time if U.S. lawmakers intend to introduce a similar ban on cloud computing technology access — the logistics of which would be dynamically different due to cloud-based services requiring no physical export.

Discussions over potential furtherance of export restrictions between the U.S. and China could be aggravated by recent developments. U.S. allied vessels in the Philippines have faced blockades from Chinese coast guard vessels in recent weeks.

A report from Reuters indicates a “slight collision” occurred on Oct. 22 when a Chinese coast guard vessel attempted to block a Philippine resupply ship from reaching its destination.

In response, the U.S. renewed its pledge to protect Philippine vessels “anywhere in the South China sea.”

Google Cloud to digitize El Salvador’s governance, healthcare and education

August 30, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Cloud Services

Google Cloud and the government of El Salvador have entered into a 7-year partnership to digitize the country’s infrastructure in various sectors.

Google Cloud announced a new partnership with the government of El Salvador on Aug. 29 to establish an office and provide Google Distributed Cloud (GDC) services in the country.

The partnership aims to digitize the country, update government services and improve the healthcare and education systems. The GDC will also help bring infrastructure closer to where data is generated for El Salvador.

Nayib Bukele, the country’s president, said he believes El Salvador is quickly becoming a "hub for innovation.”

“El Salvador is moving forward. We believe technology and foreign investment are key for development.”

He also took to social media and posted about the partnership with a smirking smiley face emoji.

Google plans to establish operations in El Salvador

Official press release from @Google:https://t.co/Fm1i3YizNr
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) August 29, 2023

The partnership will span 7 years, pending full legislative approval, and will help the government digitize projects and processes such as invoicing, permitting and more. According to the announcement, Google Cloud’s entrance into El Salvador marks the first Latin American government to utilize cloud technology.

Thomas Kurian the CEO of Google Cloud said he believes cloud computing can “truly transform” Latin America.

"Access to cloud computing has dramatically expanded across industries and regions throughout the world," he said "enabling both small companies and the public sector to utilize the very same applications and services as more mature markets.”

Cointelegraph has reached out to Google Cloud for additional comments on its recent expansion.

The additional GDC infrastructure will also help support El Salvador’s active stance on Bitcoin (BTC) adoption and integration into society. It allows for Bitcoin full nodes with Ordinal Protocol support.

Additionally, on Aug. 8, El Salvador granted the cryptocurrency exchange Binance a license to offer crypto services to users in the country. Bitcoin has been legal tender there since 2021.

Recently, the Bitcoin Beach initiative took to the classroom and taught over 25,000 students about Bitcoin and helped them earn a “Bitcoin diploma” via the country’s education system.

The country has already seen immediate returns on the program with the example of one teenager who earned the diploma and then returned to his former school to teach educators about the digital asset.

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Axelar partners with Microsoft for hybrid blockchain solutions

July 11, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Through the collaboration, Axelar will be the first cross-chain protocol to join Microsoft’s Azure marketplace.

On July 11, cross-chain protocol Axelar and tech giant Microsoft announced a partnership to bridge public and private blockchains. The collaboration will see Axelar joining Microsoft’s Azure marketplace, becoming the first cross-chain protocol listed on the developer’s online store.

Galen Moore, Axelar’s spokesperson, told Cointelegraph that the initiative would enable Axelar to reach tens of thousands of companies that use Azure, Microsoft’s cloud service. “This has tremendous potential for products that integrate established internet technology with public blockchains in ways that are meaningful for users,” Moore stated.

In the marketplace, developers will have access to tools via the AxelarJS software development kit (SDK), as well as Axelar’s general message passing, which helps developers integrate functionality independently of blockchains and databases.

The companies will also explore the integration of public and private blockchains to support artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Speaking on the nature of these solutions, Axelar co-founder, Sergey Gorbunov, explained that trust in AI needs to come from multiple layers:

“Are the models trained on the data that they’re supposed to be on? Did any private data leak into the models? Are the queries sent to the AI returning accurate results? Can we verify the origins of the data? Without answers to these questions, it’s hard to integrate AI to be a “member” of our societies.“

According to Gorbunov, combining private and public blockchains is the answer. “Blockchains can help establish roots of trust, make sure the data is not tampered with, and keep it hidden within specified jurisdictions,” he said, adding that “connections to public blockchains can be used to prove and establish trust across all consumers, no matter where they query the data from.“

Over 25,000 applications and services are available in Azure’s marketplace for developers and businesses, the company’s website states. A search on the platform reveals at least 200 solutions powered by blockchain technology.

Axelar currently supports 43 blockchains. Last year, it raised $35 million in Series B funding, lifting its market value above $1 billion. Some of the participants in the round include Dragonfly Capital, Polychain Capital and North Island Ventures.

Collect this article as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.

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US reportedly plans to restrict China’s access to cloud computing services

July 5, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Report says sources close to the situation have said U.S. officials plan to restrict Chinese companies’ access to cloud computing services as a security measure.

Officials in the United States are considering restricting China’s access to cloud computing services in an effort to safeguard the country’s advanced technology, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

According to the report, the Biden Administration proposed adding controls to the amount of access China companies will have to U.S.-based cloud computing services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft.

Providers, including those mentioned above, would need government approval prior to providing services that use powerful artificial intelligence (AI) chips to Chinese clients, the WSJ said, citing sources close to the matter.

This would close a major loophole in its already existing sanctions on chip exports, through which national security analysts have suspected Chinese companies have been able to bypass restrictions via cloud services, the report said.

Analysts speculated that Chinese customers could access advanced computing capabilities through cloud services without the need to purchase the sanctioned chips like Nvidia’s A100 chips popularly used in AI development.

According to the sources, the Commerce Department should unveil the new measures in the following weeks, the WSJ reported.

Cointelegraph has reached out to both Google Cloud and AWS for comment, but has not yet received a response.

In October 2022, the U.S. imposed its initial sanctions on Chinese access to semiconductor chips in an effort to slow down industry advancement abroad. Those regulations cut Chinese developers off from more advanced chips on the market.

On June 28, the administration said it was considering tightening the above measures to include clamping down the computing power in chips that are still able to be exported.

The Chinese government then announced on July 3 that it plans to implement controls on exports of gallium and germanium products, both of which are heavily used to produce semiconductors of the caliber needed for AI development.

China is one of the world’s top producers of gallium and germanium. Limited access to these metals could have a potentially negative impact on the chip manufacturing industry.

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Amazon to invest $100M in generative AI center: Report

June 25, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Amazon to invest 0M in generative AI center: Report

AWS is building a $100 million AI center to keep up with increasing competition in cloud infrastructure services.

Amazon's cloud unit, commonly known as AWS, is building a $100 million solution to catch up with Microsoft and Google in the market for generative artificial intelligence.

According to Bloomberg, the upcoming AWS Generative AI Innovation Center will connect Amazon experts in AI and machine learning with clients seeking to build applications based on the latest technologies. In generative AI, algorithms are used to create new content, such as audio, code, images, texts, simulations, and videos.

Amazon said Highspot, Twilio, Ryanair and Lonely Planet will be among the first users of the innovation center. With the new center, the company expects to sell more cloud services amidst an increasing competition in the cloud infrastructure market.

A recent analysis from Synergy Research Group comparing the biggest cloud services providers shows that enterprise spending on cloud solutions reached $63 billion worldwide in the first quarter of 2023, up 20% from the same quarter last year.

Microsoft and Google had the strongest year-over-year growth rates, gaining 23% and 10% in worldwide market share, respectively. Amazon, the leader in cloud infrastructure, kept its 32% market share in Q1.

*Cloud Infrastructure Services Market. Source: Synergy Research Group*

“We will bring our internal AWS experts free-of-charge to a whole bunch of AWS customers, focusing on folks with significant AWS presence, and go help them turbocharge their efforts to get real with generative AI, get beyond the talk,” AWS CEO Adam Selipsky said at Bloomberg’s Tech Summit.

As part of its strategy to stand up against big tech competitors, Amazon recently debuted Bedrock, an AI solution that allows customers to build out their own ChatGPT-like models. The company also announced the upcoming Titan, which includes two new foundational models developed by Amazon Machine Learning.

On LinkedIn, recent opening positions for AI engineers show Amazon is also preparing to implement a new "search" functionality powered by AI for its online web store, with a ChatGPT-like interface.

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Binance launches Bitcoin mining cloud services amid SEC crackdown in the US

June 15, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Binance

Crypto exchange Binance is currently selling 1 Terahash per second (Th/s) at $10.7280, which is split between the hashrate and electricity costs at $1.17 and $9.558 respectively.

Crypto exchange Binance announced the launch of new subscription-based could mining products dedicated to Bitcoin (BTC) mining.

Starting June 15, users that are interested in Bitcoin mining but lack the equipment can subscribe to Binance’s cloud mining services and purchase hashrates for the same. Hashrate is the computing power required for confirming and legitimizing Bitcoin transactions over the blockchain.

Binance is currently selling 1 Terahash per second (Th/s) at $10.7280, which is split between the hashrate and electricity costs at $1.17 and $9.558 respectively. A higher number of hashrate increases the probability of a higher income in terms of the Bitcoin earned through mining.

*Binance offers Bitcoin mining service via cloud. Source: Binance*

Binance’s BTC mining subscription service will be active for 180 days, or roughly six months. For each TH/s purchased, users will be able to earn 0.0004338 BTC during the timeline.

As the product is launched on Binance’s global website, the service is not available for crypto investors residing in the United States. In a previous statement to Cointelegraph about the recent Securities and Exchange Commission crackdown in the U.S., Binance clarified that “Binance.com is a separate entity and our users will not be impacted by issues at Binance.US."

To fight against the allegations of SEC, Binance.US hired former SEC enforcement co-director George Canellos as part of its legal team.

Reacting the alleged development, “Binance is clearly preparing for a criminal prosecution and continuing to hire the best defense attorneys in the world,” said former SEC internet enforcement chief John Reed Stark on Twitter.

The legal scrutiny began when SEC alleged that Binance's US arm was operating as an unregistered exchange, broker and clearing agency. Following the SEC’s actions, on June 9, Binance.US announced the suspension of the U.S dollar deposits and potentially pausing fiat withdrawals starting as early as June 13.

Student interest in ChatGPT skills on Udemy increased by 4,419% since 2022: Report

May 2, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The latest topic consumption report from Udemy shows an increase in interest in ChatGPT as well as skills related to cloud computing and blockchain.

Udemy’s Global Workplace Learning Index for Q1 2023 indicates that ChatGPT, financial services, and courses aimed at developing students' business teaching skills have experienced a massive uptick in interest from the site’s reported 49 million users.

This likely comes as no surprise as we’re currently experiencing what Wired recently described as a “Wet Hot AI Chatbot Summer,” coming on the heels of OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT.

According to Udemy, topic consumption — the number of users taking courses featuring skills specific to ChatGPT — has risen 4,419%.

*Screenshot of Udemy PDF report. Source: Udemy*

Other top tech skills receiving increased interest from students included Nutanix, Azure Machine Learning, and Amazon Elastic MapReduce — all cloud-related courses with applications in the field of machine learning. Artificial intelligence (AI) art generation also showed an uptick in interest, as did illustration.

The report also summarizes the top three surging skills by popularity for 15 countries. Despite the increase in topic consumption, ChatGPT only managed to break into the top three for the U.S. market, where it sits at the top spot. Artificial intelligence topped the list in Argentina and came in second in Canada.

Also of note, manufacturing, government, and financial services topped the list of surging industries, with related skills seeing outsized growth.

Beyond the tech industry, the report provides figures for skills in the “professional power skills” category. Leading the list is “teaching.” With a 764% increase in topic attention in Q1 2023, related skills were second only to ChatGPT in consumption.

While the report doesn’t state any direct conclusions, it does include a quote from instructor Diego Davilla who says:

"Having a comprehensive understanding of ChatGPT and other emerging AI technologies will be imperative to quickly pivot in today’s era of rapid digital transformation.”

Chatbot technologies are already impacting the cryptocurrency world, with the advent of advanced trading bots capable of interfacing with third party plugins built on ChatGPT and similar platforms becoming increasingly popular.

But the Udemy report also indicates that technologies underpinning blockchain development are seeing a rise in interest as well. Python certifications saw an uptick of 272% and FastAPI skills consumption increased by 102% — both are widely used in the development of blockchain tech.

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