Microsoft to unveil AI devices and features ahead of developer conference

 Microsoft plans to announce several pieces of hardware and software related to consumer devices on Monday at an event at its Redmond, Washington, campus.

The Windows maker is expected to reveal a new version of its Surface Pro tablet and Surface Laptop that feature Qualcomm chips based on Arm Holdings' architecture.

After Intel's processors dominated the personal computer market for decades, Qualcomm and other makers of lower-power Arm components have tried to compete in the Windows-PC market.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chips include a so-called neural processing unit that is designed to accelerate AI-focused applications, such as Microsoft's Copilot software.

Microsoft's product event, a day before the start of its annual developer conference, is open to journalists and industry analysts who attend in person. It will not be live-streamed.

Microsoft aims to extend its early advantage in the race to produce AI tools that consumers are willing to pay for. Its partnership with ChatGPT maker OpenAI allowed it to jump ahead of Alphabet, as other Big Tech companies race to dominate the emerging field.

Last week, OpenAI and Alphabet's Google showcased dueling AI technologies that can respond via voice in real time and be interrupted, both hallmarks of realistic voice conversations that AI voice assistants have found challenging. Google also announced it was rolling out several generative AI features to its lucrative search engine.

The PC industry has been under increasing pressure from Apple since the company launched its custom chips based on designs from Arm and ditched Intel's processors. The Apple-designed processors have given Mac computers superior battery life and speedier performance than rivals' chips that use more energy.

Microsoft tapped Qualcomm to lead the effort to move the Windows operating system to Arm's chip designs in 2016. Qualcomm has exclusivity on Microsoft Windows devices that expires this year. Other chip designers such as Nvidia have efforts under way to make their own Arm-based PC chips, Reuters has previously reported.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/microsoft-unveil-ai-devices-features-100141507.html

'Fearing AI 'Take Over', 'Godfather Of AI' Advises UK Govt To Start UBI'

 by Tristan Greene via CoinTelegraph.com,

Geoffrey Hinton, a world-renowned artificial intelligence (AI) expert often referred to as the “Godfather of AI,” recently consulted with members of the United Kingdom’s government at Downing Street, where he advised lawmakers to consider adopting a universal basic income (UBI) to address the impending threat of job losses.

Until recently, Hinton worked for Google, developing high-level AI features for neural networks. This underlying technology powers most modern generative AI systems, such as Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

According to Hinton, the AI revolution will mostly benefit the rich. Laypersons, blue-collar workers, and those employed in jobs that can be automated stand to lose their means of income and “that’s going to be bad for society,” he recently told the BBC in an interview.

“I was consulted by people in Downing Street,” said Hinton, “and I advised them that universal basic income was a good idea.”

Hinton isn’t the only major player in the field of AI who believes that we’ll need UBI to offset the impact automation will have on the human economy.

Before becoming one of the most famous CEOs in the tech industry, OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman studied under Hinton and helped pioneer the neural network. These days, Altman is known for his tenure as OpenAI’s top brass, as well as his full-throated support for UBI.

Altman’s other venture, Worldcoin, is focused on providing UBI through the adoption of a cryptocurrency token provided free of charge to anyone who signs up for the service and submits to a retinal scan to verify their identity.

Aside from saving humanity from employment displacement through the advent of UBI, both Hinton and Altman have expressed their belief that AI could pose an existential threat to humanity.

Hinton reportedly left his post at Google to speak more freely about his concerns over the impact AI could have on the future of our species. For his part, Altman claims the entire reason he co-founded OpenAI with Elon Musk and others was to ensure that advanced AI systems were developed carefully and for the benefit of humanity.

In his recent BBC interview, Hinton said we may only have a handful of years before the threat becomes imminent:

“My guess is in between five and 20 years from now there’s a probability of half that we’ll have to confront the problem of AI trying to take over.”

https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/fearing-ai-take-over-godfather-ai-advises-uk-govt-start-ubi

AstraZeneca to Pay Pfizer $107.5M in Damages in Tagrisso Patent Tussle

 Pfizer, through its Wyeth unit, is entitled to receive $107.5 million in damages from AstraZeneca after a Delaware federal jury on Friday found that the British-Swedish pharma’s cancer drug Tagrisso (osimertinib) violated patient protections.

Voting unanimously, the jury found that AstraZeneca infringed on three claims of Wyeth’s so-called ‘312 patent and one claim of the ‘162 patent. These violations held for both the second-line and first-line adjuvant use of Tagrisso. At the same time, the jury found no evidence that AstraZeneca’s infringement of Wyeth’s patents was willful.

Regarding the validity of Wyeth’s claims, the jurors also voted unanimously that AstraZeneca had not presented “clear and convincing evidence” that the patents were invalid. The jury rejected all of AstraZeneca’s validity challenges to Wyeth’s patents, including lack of enablement, written description, anticipation and obviousness.

Wyeth, which Pfizer acquired in 2009, sued AstraZeneca in 2021 claiming that Tagrisso infringes on two key patents. The first, dubbed the ‘314 patent, covers methods for treating non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients resistant to gefitinib and/or erlotinib with an EGFR blocker that covalently binds to the protein’s cysteine 773 residue.

AstraZeneca also was found to have violated Wyeth’s ‘162 patent, which protects using these irreversible inhibitors to treat gefitinib- or erlotinib-resistant NSCLC patients with the specific T790M mutation on the EGFR protein.

The two technologies are used by Wyeth and Puma Biotechnology’s Nerlynx (neratinib), a kinase inhibitor that—like Tagrisso—irreversibly binds to EGFR. Nerlynx is indicated for HER2-positive breast cancer.

The original lawsuit also lists California-based biotech Puma—the exclusive licensee of the patents in question—as a plaintiff, but AstraZeneca in March 2024 successfully convinced a Delaware court to boot the biotech off the case.

First approved by the FDA in November 2015 for the treatment of NSCLC patients carrying the T790M EGFR mutation, Tagrisso is a targeted cancer therapy that works by targeting and inhibiting specific mutant forms of the EGFR protein. This mechanism of action disrupts the cancer cells’ growth and proliferation.

Since winning its first regulatory approval, Tagrisso has become one of AstraZeneca’s strongest assets. In the first quarter of 2024, Tagrisso was the company’s best-selling cancer growing 15% to bring in nearly $1.6 billion. Across all of AstraZeneca’s pharmaceutical assets, Tagrisso was outperformed only by the diabetes treatment Farxiga (dapagliflozin). In 2023, Tagrisso brought in nearly $5.8 billion.

https://www.biospace.com/article/astrazeneca-to-pay-pfizer-107-5m-in-damages-in-tagrisso-patent-tussle/

Focusing on the Quality of Your Reps

 During my recent workouts at my gym, I've noticed how much more I get out of the weight machines if I take my time going through the reps.  I have a standard circuit that I go through, beginning with legs, then upper body, then flexibility.  When I slow down my pace at each of the stations--and especially when I take my time extending my body fully through each of the exercises--I get much more out of each set of reps.  On a bench press, for example, it's what I do at the very beginning of the press and at the full extension of my arms that makes the difference.  Taking my time at the most challenging points in the exercise provides a much better workout.

In trading, the reps we put in are our reviews of markets, what we did, and what we could/should have done.  When I worked with active traders in Chicago, I was impressed by the time they spent reviewing the past day's trade bar-by-bar in replay mode.  They didn't just go over charts and whiz through their reviews.  Rather, they slowed down the review, talked out loud what they were seeing bar by bar, and rehearsed making the right decisions.  As I learned from my workouts at the gym, the quality of the reps determined what they took away.  

A review of performance, to be effective, must be a workout.

We build our trading psychology in the course of performing and engaging in deliberate practice.  We can solicit advice from others, but ultimately it's the workouts that make the winners.  Jeff Holden of SMB Capital and I have been challenging developing traders to write up their daily takeaways to cement their learning.  Similarly, experienced traders at the firm put together daily report cards of their trading and monthly reviews.  Some of the writeups are nice summaries.  Others are workouts.

The time and effort we put into our reps determine our level of fitness.  Focusing on One Good Trade is what builds good trading.

Brett Steenbarger, Ph.D

https://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2024/05/focusing-on-quality-of-your-reps.html

Strategic Importance Of Russia's Reportedly Planned Afghan Oil Hub

 by Andrew Korybko via Substack,

Continued maritime exports to the Indian Ocean Region across the Baltic, Black, and Mediterranean Seas might be deemed strategically undependable due to tensions with the West, hence the need to pioneer a more reliable alternative.

Afghanistan’s acting Industry and Trade Minister Nooruddin Azizi told Reuters earlier this month that his country agreed with Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to build a logistics hub in its northwestern Herat province, which he said will also facilitate the export of Russian oil to South Asia via road and rail routes. The outlet noted that he’s particularly optimistic about Russia exporting this resource to Pakistan in the coming future, though they’ve yet to reach a strategic energy deal despite several years of negotiations.

Even in the absence of one, it might be more convenient for Russia to export oil to India and other countries in its namesake ocean’s region via the North-South Transport Corridor’s Arabian Sea and Gulf ports, which Herat is connected to by the new railway to Iran’s border town of Khaf. Continued maritime exports to the region across the Baltic, Black, and Mediterranean Seas might be deemed strategically undependable due to tensions with the West, hence the need to pioneer a more reliable alternative.

Furthermore, the creation of that selfsame alternative right on Pakistan’s doorstep might incentivize its de facto military rulers to finally reach a strategic energy deal with Russia instead of continuing to dillydally indefinitely as a favor to their American patrons, thus unlocking their full trade potential. Azizi is optimistic that this might indeed occur after revealing on the sidelines of last week’s annual Russia-Islamic World Forum that he hopes to sign a transit deal with Russia, Pakistan, and Turkmenistan.

He also told Sputnik about his government’s vision of facilitating Russian oil exports to South Asia via Afghanistan that he earlier shared with Reuters, though Moscow has yet to confirm its participation in these plans, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t interested. Talks with Pakistan are presumably ongoing behind the scenes as suggested by Azizi’s optimistic media claims, which adds more context to the possibility of Russia inviting Pakistan to participate in the “Outreach”/“BRICS-Plus” Summit in October.

The preceding hyperlinked analysis explains how this could inadvertently offend Russia’s decades-long strategic partners in India, while these three here, here, and here detail its pro-BRI policymaking faction that emerged over the past year and the influence that it’s exerting over these calculations. The relevance to the present piece is that this profitable opportunity might convince the Kremlin to invite Pakistan to the aforesaid summit with a view towards increasing the odds of clinching an energy deal.

Leaving aside the unintended consequences that this could have for Russian-Indian relations in the event that Prime Minister Narendra Modi skips the summit out of protest on whatever pretext, improved Russian-Pakistani relations could  lead to the Russian-mediated improvement of Afghan-Pakistani ones. It was analyzed in August 2022 that “The Taliban Envisions Russia Playing A Big Role In The Group’s Geo-Economic Balancing Act”, which is aimed at maintaining Afghanistan’s sovereignty vis-à-vis Pakistan.

It's beyond the scope of the present piece to explain, but these two analyses here and here detail their spiraling security dilemma that brought them to the brink of war in early 2023 and still remains tense. If Pakistan at least partially liberates itself from the American yoke enough to finally seal its long-negotiated strategic energy deal with Russia, then it therefore follows that it would have to improve ties with Afghanistan as well in order to facilitate the planned large-scale transit of oil via that country.

Russia, which has equally excellent relations with both in spite of occasional disputes such as Moscow’s disappointment with the Taliban’s refusal to form an ethno-politically inclusive government that respects women’s rights and suspicions about Pakistan arming Ukraine, could naturally mediate these talks. Any successful outcome would reinforce Moscow’s “Ummah Pivot” from the past few years that can be learned more about here, here, and here, the last of which specifically covers its Afghan dimension.

Russia – or rather its rapidly emerging and newly influential pro-BRI policymaking faction – might calculate that these benefits outweigh the potential loss of soft power in Indian society that would occur if it invites Pakistan to October’s summit in order to set the above into motion. India’s defiance of the US’ sanctions threats over its newly sealed Chabahar port deal with Iran and reaffirmation of its interest in continuing to scale trade with Russia might convince it that the tangible consequences would be nil.

This latest possible development in Russia’s “Ummah Pivot”, which requires finalizing a long-negotiated strategic energy deal with Pakistan and then mediating an improvement in Afghan-Pakistani relations, largely hinges on Russia’s reportedly planned Afghan oil hub that Azizi was the first to publicly reveal. If substantive progress is made on this by summer’s end, then that’ll greatly raise the chances that Russia invites Pakistan to October’s summit, while a lack therefore would keep the odds at their present level.

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/analyzing-strategic-importance-russias-reportedly-planned-afghan-oil-hub

Judge In Trump Case Says Concerned With Special Counsel Jack Smith

 by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

The federal judge overseeing one of the criminal cases against former President Donald Trump on May 19 expressed concern and disappointment with special counsel Jack Smith.

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, an appointee of President Trump, said that Mr. Smith and his team have taken inconsistent positions during the case as it pertains to keeping some information sealed, or hidden from the public.

“In two separate filings related to sealing, the special counsel stated, without qualification, that he had no objection to full unsealing of previously sealed docket entries related to allegations of prosecutorial misconduct. In light of that repeated representation, and in the absence of any defense objection, the court unsealed those materials consistent with the general presumption in favor of public access,” Judge Cannon of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida wrote in an order.

The materials that were unsealed, though, contain information such as grand jury details that the special counsel has and continues to say, in all other filings, should be kept sealed. Judge Cannon asked for an explanation of the inconsistency.

“In response to those inquiries, counsel explained that the special counsel took the position on unsealing in order to publicly and transparently refute defense allegations of prosecutorial misconduct raised in pretrial motions,” Judge Cannon wrote.

“Fair enough. But nowhere in that explanation is there any basis to conclude that the special counsel could not have defended the integrity of his Office while simultaneously preserving the witness-safety and Rule 6(e) concerns he has repeatedly told the court, and maintains to this day, are of serious consequence, and which the court has endeavored with diligence to accommodate in its multiple orders on sealing/redaction.”

Judge Cannon described herself as being “disappointed in these developments.”

“The sealing and redaction rules should be applied consistently and fairly upon a sufficient factual and legal showing. And parties should not make requests that undermine any prior representations or positions except upon full disclosure to the court and appropriate briefing,” she added.

The case was brought against President Trump over his alleged mishandling of sensitive documents.

The order came after Mr. Smith and President Trump filed competing proposals for redactions, in response to a May 9 order from the judge that directed the parties to submit the proposals. The order concerns several motions filed by President Trump, including a motion to dismiss the case based on allegations of prosecutorial misconduct, which have not yet been placed on the docket. The proposals for redactions are also not yet public.

Both parties and the judge agree that the names of potential witnesses or information that would clearly identify them should be kept hidden, along with “ancillary names” and personal identifying information such as addresses. Redactions agreed upon by both parties were accepted by the judge in the new order, with a few exceptions. President Trump’s proposed redactions to some witness statements were rejected.

“No basis is provided for these redactions, and the court has previously denied requests to redact the substance of potential witness statements are relied upon in pre-trial motions,” Judge Cannon said.

The judge also turned down a request by the special counsel to redact some of the same information.

Judge Cannon said that for redactions where the parties disagree, she would “accept for now” President Trump’s characterization of portions of the material falling under privilege, pending her review of privilege arguments. She would also accept the special counsel’s position on Rule 6 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, despite the concerns outlined in the order.

The filings with the authorized redactions are now expected to be docketed in the coming days.

Rule 6 states, in part, that a number of people, including government attorneys, must not disclose any matters occurring before a grand jury, with limited exceptions.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/judge-trump-case-says-shes-concerned-special-counsel-jack-smith

'Genetic profile may predict best response to weight-loss drug Wegovy'

 Certain genes may identify patients with obesity who are most likely to respond strongly to Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy, researchers reported on Monday.

The study, released at the Digestive Disease Week meeting in Washington, found a 95% likelihood that patients with this genetic profile would be strong responders to the treatment.

Given the expense of Wegovy, the findings might be used to identify the patients most likely to get the greatest benefit from it, according to Dr. Andres Acosta of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, one of the researchers.

Some people with obesity have a genetic profile that contributes to what is called a "hungry gut" - that is, they feel full during a meal but become hungry again shortly afterward because food leaves their stomach more quickly than in most other people, Acosta said.

The study involved 84 patients prescribed Wegovy for treatment of obesity. Those with the genetic variants associated with "hungry gut" lost an average of 14.4% of their total body weight after nine months on the drug and 19.5% after a year, the study found.

By comparison, study participants without this genetic profile lost 10.3% of their body weight after nine months and nothing more by 12 months.

Acosta said the researchers previously saw a similar pattern in patients taking the weight-loss drug liraglutide, which is marketed under the names Victoza and Saxenda by Novo Nordisk.

While patients without the "hungry gut" genes did lose some weight on Wegovy, they might be able to lose similar amounts with less-expensive therapies, Acosta said. The list price for Wegovy, also called semaglutide, is $1,349.02 per month.

"When you're going to spend this much money," Acosta said, "you have to ask, 'Is there a cheaper approach that will yield the same results in some patients, maybe other medications or surgery?'"

Larger studies are needed to assess the reliability of the "hungry gut" genetic profile in more diverse populations, the researchers said.

If the new results are confirmed, Acosta said, doctors can finally tell some of their patients, "'We know why you are struggling with obesity,' and we can say with confidence, 'This expensive drug will help you,' or, 'Hey, this might not be for you.'"

https://www.yahoo.com/news/genetic-profile-may-predict-best-040251325.html