The month in technology: Amazon hands out health advice and Huawei makes job cuts at its US research arm

Amazon delves into robots and health advice

Amazon is working on an improved version of its Echo speaker and is making progress on its home robot, nicknamed Vesta, reports Bloomberg. Both products are being developed by Amazon Lab126, an internal department for R&D based in Sunnyvale, California.

The online retailer’s home robot will be able to travel on wheels and can be controlled by Alexa voice commands, according to reports. It is also thought to be waist-high and capable of moving around on its own using built-in cameras.

Since its launch in 2015, the Echo has dominated the smart speaker market and is expected to grab 63% of the US market this year, according to eMarketer.

In other news, Amazon Alexa can now provide expert health information through a partnership with the NHS.

The AI assistant will begin automatically pulling information from the NHS website when users ask for health-related advice on treatment and symptoms of illnesses.

“We want to empower every patient to take better control of their healthcare and technology. This is a great example of how people can access reliable, world-leading NHS advice from the comfort of their home, reducing the pressure on our hardworking GPs and pharmacists,” said Matt Hancock, secretary of state for health and social care.

“Through the NHS Long Term Plan, we want to embrace the advances in technology to build a health and care system that is fit for the future and NHSX [a new joint unit] will drive this revolution to bring the benefits to every patient, clinician and carer.”

Facebook and BA facing data breach fines

Facebook is facing a record $5bn fine from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the misuse of user data relating to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, said to be the largest ever fine levied by the federal government on a tech firm.

The FTC has been investigating Facebook over its relationship with Cambridge Analytica since March last year. The investigation looked at whether the social media giant had violated the terms of a 2011 consent it signed requiring it to be clear with users about how their data is being shared by third parties.

The $5bn fine, which was approved by the FTC in a 3-2 vote, still needs to be approved by the Justice Department’s civil division.

Elsewhere, British Airways is facing a £183m fine from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for a GDPR-related security breach in September 2018.

The incident involved traffic to BA’s website being diverted to a fraudulent site, with 500,000 customers’ personal data compromised.

In a statement, the ICO said its investigation found that information was compromised by poor security arrangements at the company, including login, name and address details, payment card and travel booking details.

BA said it was “surprised and disappointed” at the size of the fine, which equates to 1.5% of the airline’s global turnover in 2017.

Microsoft invests $1bn in OpenAI

Microsoft is ploughing $1bn into San Francisco-based research lab OpenAI, dedicated to creating artificial general intelligence (AGI) where a machine can think like a human.

The investment will make Microsoft the exclusive provider of cloud computing services to OpenAI and the two companies will collaborate on developing new technologies.

“The creation of AGI will be the most important technological development in human history, with the potential to shape the trajectory of humanity,” said Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI. “Our mission is to ensure that AGI technology benefits all of humanity, and we’re working with Microsoft to build the supercomputing foundation on which we’ll build AGI.”

Elon Musk-backed OpenAI will tap into Microsoft’s datacentres to run its experiments using the company’s Azure cloud platform, reports the FT.

“AI is one of the most transformative technologies of our time and has the potential to help solve many of our world’s most pressing challenges,” said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. “By bringing together OpenAI’s breakthrough technology with new Azure AI supercomputing technologies, our ambition is to democratise AI — while always keeping AI safety front and centre — so everyone can benefit.”

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella at the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Washington (Photography by Scott Eklund/Red Box Pictures)

Huawei cuts over 600 jobs at US research arm

Chinese phone manufacturer Huawei has laid off more than 600 workers from its US-based research arm Futurewei after being placed on a Washington trade blacklist, reports the FT.

Futurewei, which has offices in Silicon Valley and the greater Seattle, Chicago and Dallas areas, employs more than 850 people. The unit, set up in part to work with universities and researchers, recorded $510m in operating costs last year.

Huawei stated the job cuts were “due to the curtailment of business operations” caused by Washington putting Huawei on the US “entity list”. This prevents US companies from directly exporting technology to the telecoms company without a licence. The blacklist also prevents Futurewei from transferring sensitive technologies to its parent company.

The US blacklisted the company in May by adding it to the “entity list” of groups deemed to be acting against national security interests. That followed President Trump signing an executive order over long-term concerns that Huawei maintained close ties with the Chinese government, which the company has denied.