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Billionaire investor Frank McCourt, former owner and chairman of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Dodger Stadium, says he is investigating the legality of the Trump administrations deal that would see TikTok purchased by a coalition that reportedly includes Oracle, Silver Lake and the Saudi-owned MGX. In an interview with CNN’s Terms of Service podcast, McCourt stopped short of saying he would challenge the deal in court or attempt to join the ownership group. But the information that has been publicly released so far is insufficient and doesn’t address whether the national security concerns with TikTok have been addressed, he said. The status of the sale of TikTok in the U.S. remains in limbo as China and the U.S. continue jockeying over trade issues and rare-earth materials. Ive asked and engaged some really smart people to analyze (the deal) the best they can, with the information available, because there are still missing pieces with what this all means, McCourt told CNN. Project Liberty, a non-profit initiative that seeks to transform how the internet works, teamed with several private equity funds, Shark Tank judge Kevin OLeary, Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian and others to, submit a bid to buy TikTok in the weeks before Donald Trump took office. That offer proposed buying TikTok without its algorithm, which China had been unwilling to allow to be sold previously. The Project Liberty offer, which called itself the Peoples Bid for TikTok, valued TikTok’s American operations (without the algorithm) at $20 billion $6 billion more than the deal brokered by the White House. The group said it planned to restructure the social media company to collect less data on users and would use a new algorithm created by the Project Liberty nonprofit instead. The White House’s proposed deal did not address which companies or investors would make up the coalition that would own and operate the U.S. version of TikTok. And there was no justification or explanation for the $14-billion valuation (ByteDance has an estimated value of $330 billion so the low figure for TikTok’s U.S. operations left investors confused). It’s also still unknown if the U.S. will take a revenue stream from the new company, though Trump said the U.S. comes out great in the deal. Perhaps most importantly, though, is where China stands on things. Trump has said Chinese President Xi Jinping gave the White House deal the go ahead. Yet no representatives of ByteDance attended the signing ceremony for the executive order. And China’s government has not commented about the deal since the EO was signed. McCourt, to be clear, isn’t objecting to the White House deal at this point, but says it’s “too early to say” what next steps hell take in response to it. One area of interest to him, though, is the privacy guards that will be put into place. Big tech platforms are scraping and accumulating our data, hyper, micro-profiling us, and now theyre not just selling us ads, but theyre manipulating us, he said. Our data is our personhood in a digital age We should share what we want to share about ourselves. If TikTok is out of his reach, McCourt says he still has plans for the Project Liberty technology that he had hoped would run the site. He plans to transform it into an AI agent that controls when and how a user’s personal information is shared as they explore the Web and interact with other AI systems.
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E-Commerce
In a sign of the times, Boy Scouts can now earn merit badges in artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity as they learn tech survival skills. The Boy Scouts of America, which rebranded itself as Scouting America back in February, counts about 1 million Scouts in its ranks. The 115-year-old organization has traditionally offered badges to encourage kids to learn outdoor survival skills like first aid, hiking, and cooking, as well as soft skills like public speaking, communication, and citizenship in the world. (Here’s a look at all 141 badges.) “The introduction of the artificial intelligence and cybersecurity merit badges marks another step forward as we continue our mission of preparing for life, Roger Krone, president of Scouting America told Fast Company. As technology continues to shape every aspect of our lives . . . these merit badges empower Scouts with foundational knowledge in two of the most critical and rapidly evolving fields.” The merit badges introduce Scouts to the fundamentals of AI and automation through hands-on activities and real-world examples in daily life and school that examine ethical concerns like bias and privacy, according to the Scouting America website. To earn the new badges, Scouts learn key AI concepts (machine learning, narrow AI, superintelligent AI, tasks, triggers, workflows, and variables), investigate deepfakes, and practice how to communicate effectively with AI. The badges are designed to interact with the Scoutly chatbot. Like many older organizations, Scouting America is hoping to stay relevant in a world in which today’s younger generations are increasingly digitally savvy and dependent on technologyand the new badges are the organization’s way of doing so, CNN reported. It’s also a way for Scouting America to retain younger members at a time when the organization is losing them. It now has about half of its membership of 2 million from 2018down from its peak of 5 million in 1972, according to The Associated Press. But what the group has lost in membership, it has gained in inclusivity and diversity. Since allowing females to join in 2018, the organization today includes more than 176,000 girls and young women. It has allowed gay members since 2013.
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E-Commerce
Youve just lost your job. It hard. It’s really, really hard. Theres the initial shock, rage or panicbut then its time to immediately hop on the endless merry-go-round of excruciating applications, unresponsive recruiters, pleading LinkedIn DMs, and occasional existential crises. You can quickly feel hopeless, all alone, adrift, angry, and at wits end. Thats where we come in. Fast Companythe go-to authority on career development, workplace innovation, and business newsis debuting Between Jobs: a brand new pop-up newsletter, written for folks freshly out of work and on Day 1 of navigating their new normal. Want to hire a ghostwriter for your LinkedIn profile, but not sure where to start? Is your new cash flow triggering a panic attack? Tempted to go on a tweetstorm about your old boss and need to be talked down? Were here to help. Between Jobs is your indispensable unemployment resource, as well as a constant, knowledgeable companion to stand beside you on every step of the journey, from filing for unemployment to negotiating an offer. Each issue is chockfull of deep reporting, bite-sized action items, and step-by-step instructions on what to do next. From professors to therapists, and HR pros to CEOsBetween Jobs fills your inbox with expert insight to make the job search work for you. (And to end it as soon as possible.) Here’s what you’ll get: Week 1: Digesting the shock, forming a plan Week 2: Resumes: How to revamp, optimize, and dazzle Week 3: Leveraging LinkedIn: the best strategies Week 4: Fortifying your finances Week 5: Safeguarding your sanity Week 6: Tools of the trade: Gig-landing apps, services, and hacks Week 7: Networking: as important as (and easier than) you think Week 8: The home stretch: landing the gig And more . . .
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E-Commerce
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