Three of Shopify’s top execs announce their exit, the U.S. announces sanctions on Russia over the SolarWinds hack; and the EU considers a ban on AI and facial recognition.
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Thursday, April 15 and I’m your host Baneet Braich.
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Everything is fine. That’s the message Shopify delivered this week after announcing that three of its top executives were leaving the e-commerce giant. On Shopify’s website, CEO Tobi Lutke announce that Shopify’s chief talent officer, chief legal officer and chief technology officer will “transition out of their current roles” in the coming months for “individual reasons.” The three are the latest in the string of top-level departures, which come during changing times for the company as it plans expanding fulfillment across North America.
Twitter is buzzing after the Associated Press reported that The White House is announcing sanctions on Russia, including the expulsion of 10 Russian officials following a massive supply chain cyberattack involving the solution provider SolarWinds. The sanctions, which target more than 30 Russian entities, come two days after a call between President Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The U.S. has linked the cyberattack to a Russian intelligence agency.
The EU is considering a ban on AI for mass surveillance and social credit scores from technology
And lastly, Politico’s reporting suggesting that the European Union is considering a ban on the use of AI across a number of services is drawing a lot of attention. The EU wants to ban the use of AI in mass surveillance and social credit scores, according to a leaked proposal. Reporting suggests some use cases would be policed in a similar way to the EU’s regulation of digital privacy under GDPR legislation.
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. Make sure to sign up for our Daily IT Wire Newsletter to get all the news that matters directly in your inbox every day. Plus, episode one of Hashtag Trending in French, hosted by our own Catherine Morin from Quebec, drops this weekend. I’m Baneet Braich, thanks for listening!