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The former boss of Twitter who was fired by Elon Musk is suing the social media company for failing to pay his legal bills.

Parag Agrawal, who ran Twitter from November 2021 to October 2022, was sacked and escorted out of Twitter’s San Francisco headquarters the day Mr Musk completed his $44bn takeover.

Along with other executives, his employment was ended “with cause” after Mr Musk accused them of misleading him and investors about the number of fake user accounts on the social media platform.

But along with former general counsel Vijaya Gadde and former finance chief Ned Segal, Mr Agrawal is now suing the company for failing to cover about $1m in personal legal expenses as it battles investigations by American authorities.

It is common for companies to pay the legal expenses of current and former executives during investigations into the company’s conduct.

However, Mr Agrawal’s lawsuit claims Twitter refused to honour its “obligations” despite the executives incurring “significant” legal costs related to investigations by the US Department for Justice and the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to filings with a Delaware court first reported by the Financial Times.

Twitter has become embroiled in various disputes since Mr Musk’s takeover, including with the Federal Trade Commission and the company’s San Francisco landlord.

 

5 things to start your day 

1) Ultra-low interest rates will return in Britain, IMF says – Ageing population coupled with low productivity will tame inflation

2) Revealed: teachers unions make £120m bet on hedge funds – Criticism comes as the National Education Union threatens prolonged strike action

3) ‘Government-funded’ BBC is biased, claims Elon Musk – Row with national broadcaster over Twitter label escalates

4) FTX bosses joked about losing millions of dollars, damning report claims – Disgraced founder Sam Bankman-Fried accused of ‘hubris, incompetence, and greed’

5) Why a fake Pope picture could herald the end of humanity – Silicon Valley heavyweights clash over the risks of super-powerful AI

What happened overnight 

Stocks mostly grew in Asia on Tuesday after a mixed session on Wall Street, dominated by speculation the Federal Reserve may tap the brakes again on financial markets and the economy by raising interest rates.

Shares climbed in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Shanghai. Meanwhile, US futures inched up higher and oil prices also gained.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index shot up 1.4pc to 28,013.86 and South Korea’s Kospi advanced 1.4pc to 2,546.07. 

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.7pc to 20,481.02, while the S&P/ASX 200 climbed 1.3pc to 7,314.00. The Shanghai Composite index dipped 0.2pc to 3,310.00.

In Japan, the new central bank governor indicated late on Monday that he expects to keep its ultra-low interest rate policy in place without drastic changes.



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