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    Russian exhibitors barred from CES 2023

    By SHOOTUpdated:No Comments1103 Views
    A worker drives down a hallway during preparations at the Las Vegas Convention Center before the start of the CES tech show, Monday, Jan. 2, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)
    LAS VEGAS (AP) --

    CES is not allowing Russian companies to display their gadgets at the annual tech show because of the country's invasion of Ukraine.

    A spokesperson for the Consumer Technology Association, the trade group putting together the event in Las Vegas, said the move has only impacted one potential exhibitor.

    The organization did not immediately respond to an inquiry about how many Russian companies attended past CES events, or if there was less interest from them this year. The U.S. is among about 30 countries that have sanctioned Russia over the invasion.

    CTA president and CEO Gary Shapiro, who previously called the Russian invasion a "tragic and illegal assault on the people and independent nation of Ukraine," said some Ukrainian tech companies and startups will display their gadgets at the Las Vegas show.

    "A lot of people from around the world want to support Ukraine," Shapiro said in an interview, while wearing a Ukrainian flag pin on his jacket lapel. "I know my wife actively seeks out products from Ukraine that she can order. And we have bought stuff from Ukraine directly."

    The tech show is expected to draw up to 100,000 attendees by the time it concludes on Sunday. It kicked off on Tuesday evening with media previews from just some of the 3,000 companies signed up to attend. CES officially opens Thursday. It's open to the media and others in the tech industry, but not the general public.

    Tags:CES 2023Consumer Technology AssociationGary Shapiro



    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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