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    Reports: Facebook’s Zuckerberg to testify before Congress

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1930 Views
    In this May 25, 2017, file photo, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg delivers the commencement address at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
    NEW YORK (AP) --

    Published reports say Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is planning to testify before Congress about how his company collects and uses people's data.

    Citing unnamed sources, CNN said in a report Tuesday that Zuckerberg has "come to terms" with the fact that he'll have to testify in a matter of weeks. A Facebook representative said the company has received invitations to appear before congress and is talking to legislators but would not confirm Zuckerberg's attendance.

    Zuckerberg said last week in a CNN interview that he'd be "happy to" testify if he is the right person to do it. The company is facing unprecedented scrutiny following reports that a data mining firm used ill-gotten data from tens of millions of its users to try to influence elections.

    A spokeswoman for the House Energy and Commerce Committee said Tuesday that reports of Zuckerberg's confirmed attendance are "incorrect." But she added that the committee is "continuing to work with Facebook to determine a day and time for Mr. Zuckerberg to testify."

    Tags:FacebookMark Zuckerberg



    Ex-OpenAI engineer who raised legal concerns about the technology he helped build has died

    Saturday, December 21, 2024
    Suchir Balaji poses for a photo in Hawaii in 2018. Balaji was a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who died in November 2024. (Balaji Ramamurthy via AP)

    Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26.

    Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI's strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products.

    "We are devastated to learn of this incredibly sad news and our hearts go out to Suchir's loved ones during this difficult time," said a statement from OpenAI.

    Balaji was found dead in his San Francisco apartment on Nov. 26 in what police said "appeared to be a suicide. No evidence of foul play was found during the initial investigation." The city's chief medical examiner's office confirmed the manner of death to be suicide.

    His parents Poornima Ramarao and Balaji Ramamurthy said they are still seeking answers, describing their son as a "happy, smart and brave young man" who loved to hike and recently returned from a trip with friends.

    Balaji grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and first arrived at the fledgling AI research lab for a 2018 summer internship while studying computer science at the University of California, Berkeley. He returned a few years later to work at OpenAI, where one of his first projects, called WebGPT, helped pave the way for ChatGPT.

    "Suchir's contributions to this project were essential, and it wouldn't have succeeded without him," said OpenAI co-founder John Schulman in a social media post memorializing Balaji. Schulman, who recruited Balaji to his team, said what... Read More

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