California may experience a power shortage, U.S. wants to restrict China’s access to advanced AI chips, and California is set to pass a digital asset law.
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That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now, welcome to Hashtag Trending. It’s Friday, September 2, and I’m your host, Samira Balsara.
California officials warned that the state may see a power shortage amid a massive heatwave. On Wednesday, the California Independent System Operator issued an emergency alert after maxing out its power supplies. The state generates about 10 per cent of its electricity from hydro. Due to the drought caused by the heatwave, about nine gigawatts of power generating capacity wasn’t available. According to RigZone, One gigawatt can power around 750,000 homes. In response, officials have asked California residents to conserve power between four to nine p.m. The real test for the grid is expected to come next Monday when power demand is forecasted to hit 48 gigawatts.
The U.S. is applying new restrictions to the export of advanced AI chips to China. Both Nvidia and AMD, two of the leading chip designers in the U.S., have been notified by the U.S. government on new restrictions around selling its current AI chips to China, specifically the Nvidia A100 and the AMD MI200. In a statement to Protocol, the US. Department of Commerce said it’s implementing additional actions to protect U.S. national security, which includes preventing China’s acquisition of U.S. technology for its military-civil infusion program.
Digital asset exchanges and crypto companies may need to get a license if a new law comes to pass. The potential seems likely as Digital Financial Asset Law is set to be signed by U.S. governor Gavin Newsom. The proposed law outlines a ban on entities dealing with stablecoins unless they’re issued by a bank, or have a license from the California Department of Financial Protection. It also requires licensed stablecoin issuers to hold securities as a reserve, and that the value must be calculated using industry standard means. If passed, the law would come into effect in 2025.
An AI generated artwork came in first place at an art competition, causing outrage among human artists. The artwork depicts a spacey setting, featuring people in 1700 attire admiring a planetary outlook. Although it looks like a painting, it was actually generated by an AI called Midjourney and printed on a canvas. The creator said he labeled the artwork as AI-generated beforehand. His placement has made waves on Twitter, where comments range between outrage that a generated image won, and worries that even creative jobs aren’t safe from robot takeover.
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 briefings 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. Also, catch the next episode of Hashtag Tendances, our weekly Hashtag Trending episode in French, which drops every Thursday morning. If you have a suggestion or a tip, drop us a line in the comments or via email. Thank you for listening, I’m Samira Balsara.