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Microsoft CEO says 'privacy is a human right'

SEATTLE — Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says "privacy is a human right" and that internet users should be in control of their data.

Nadella outlined the company's ethical principles Monday as he kicked off its annual conference for software developers.

Nadella didn't mention Facebook's privacy scandals or the data collection practices of rival tech companies, but his comments at the Build conference in Seattle further staked out Microsoft's message that technology should be built for social good.

He says Microsoft is prepared for stricter privacy rules taking effect in Europe on May 25, calling it "sound, good regulation."

He also warned the industry to take an ethical approach to developing artificial intelligence, saying "we should be asking not only what computers can do, but what computers should do. That time has come."

Twitter used spread anti-Semitic messages

Millions of anti-Semitic messages on Twitter have spread negative stereotypes and conspiracy theories about Jews across the social media platform, according to a report Monday by the Anti-Defamation League.

ADL national director and CEO Jonathan Greenblatt said the data showed many used Twitter as a "megaphone to harass and intimidate Jews."

An earlier report from the Jewish civil rights group said anti-Semitic incidents in the U.S. last year had reached the highest tally it has counted in more than two decades. That increase appeared to be fueled by emboldened far-right extremists as well as the "divisive state of our national discourse," Greenblatt said in February.

In the new report, the group estimated that about 3 million Twitter users posted or reposted at least 4.2 million anti-Semitic tweets in English over a 12-month period ending Jan. 28. The finding is based on a reviewed sample of 55,000 tweets and had a 3 percent margin of error, the report said.

Twitter says it has made more than 30 changes to its platform, policies and operations in the past 16 months to protect its users from abuse and hateful images.

Alexa and Cortana cozying up together

Microsoft and Amazon.com may be competing with each other in the cloud-computing market, but in the realm of voice-controlled personal assistants, Cortana and Alexa are forging a friendship.

On Monday, the two companies showed the fruits of a collaboration announced last August to let Amazon's Alexa and Microsoft's Cortana talk to each other. In a demonstration, Cortana executive Megan Saunders used Alexa to order milk and then had the assistant wake Cortana to check her schedule and send email.

Then Alexa Senior Vice President Tom Taylor demonstrated using Cortana at work to check on his restaurant reservation before asking Cortana to raise Alexa to order an Uber. Alexa even declared that she likes Cortana, although neither assistant sang The Turtles' hit "Happy Together."

The mashup is still being tested, but was shown Monday at Microsoft's annual Build conference for developers in Seattle. Technically the integration is running a little late — it was supposed to be available by the end of last year.

Microsoft bets on winning cloud wars

Microsoft has spent the past few years coming up with ways to use artificial intelligence internally. Now it will let customers take advantage of some of these tools while aiming to lure business from Amazon and Google.

The company will let customers use a chip system it built to process AI queries cheaper and faster, called Project Brainwave. The first Brainwave service will speed up image recognition so it's almost instantaneous, said Doug Burger, a distinguished engineer in Microsoft Research, who works on the company's chip development strategy for the cloud.

Microsoft, starting next year, also will sell an AI-sensor device based on the technology in its motion-controlled Kinect gaming sensor. Called Project Kinect for Azure, it will let cloud customers do things like track motion and map the space around them.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella wants to win customers with artificial intelligence tools. Increasingly these services need to operate in Microsoft's own cloud data centers and on customers' connected devices, including factory equipment and drones. As Microsoft, Amazon.com and Google race to add AI products and make their clouds run faster, all are boosting work on customized microprocessors to try to gain an edge.

Egypt to regulate ride-hailing apps

CAIRO — Egypt's parliament has approved a law to govern popular ride-hailing apps Uber and Careem, which had faced legal challenges stemming from regulations designed for traditional taxis.

The new law, as described Monday by state news agency MENA, establishes operating licenses and fees. It requires licensed companies to store user data for 180 days and provide it to Egyptian security authorities upon request.

Uber and Careem welcomed the move.

"This is a major step forward for the ride-sharing industry as Egypt becomes one of the first countries in the Middle East to pass progressive regulations," Uber spokeswoman Shaden Abdellatif said. "We will continue working with the Prime Minister and the Cabinet in the coming months as the law is finalized, and look forward to continuing to serve the millions of Egyptian riders and drivers that rely on Uber."

FROM WIRE REPORTS

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