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The Morning Download: All About Amazon's Algorithms
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Good morning, CIOs. The story of a change to Amazon.com Inc.'s search system to feature listings more profitable for the company shines the spotlight on the outsize role algorithms play in defining success (and generating calls for oversight). The Wall Street Journal's Dana Mattioli documents a yearslong battle over the search adjustment between executives who run Amazon’s retail businesses in Seattle and the company’s search team, which opposed the move.
Meet A9. Named for the “A” in “Algorithms” plus its nine other letters, the Silicon Valley-based group that controls search and ranking pushed back against requests from Amazon’s retail divisions to juice sales of in-house projects, saying the move would conflict with Chief Executive Jeff Bezos’s “customer obsession” mantra. Once independent, the unit now reports to Amazon.com Inc.'s retail chief.
Why it matters. Any tweak to Amazon’s search system has broad implications because the giant’s rankings can make or break a product. U.S. and the European Union currently are examining Amazon’s dual role—as marketplace operator and seller of its own branded products.
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PHOTO: ERIC PIERMONT/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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The workforce-education puzzle. As educators and businesses point fingers at each other over where responsibility lies for reskilling the workforce, one thing is clear: More training on all levels, from soft to hard skills, is needed, says CIO Journal Columnist Gary J. Beach.
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Facial-recognition technology was demonstrated at an artificial-intelligence conference in Shanghai in August. PHOTO: ROMAN PILIPEY/SHUTTERSTOCK
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Face off. China is seeing competition in facial recognition and other surveillance technologies which the country has deployed at home and abroad. At least 75 countries around the world host artificial intelligence to surveil citizens, according to a new report by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. China's Huawei Technologies Co. is a top vendor with International Business Machines Corp. the top U.S. firm. (WSJ)
Israel prepares to unleash AI on health care. Israel is looking to combine decades of its citizens' medical data into a giant unified system, making it easier to apply AI technology that could one day help make health care less expensive, more effective and better tailored to individuals everywhere. The Wall Street Journal's Dov Lieber has the story.
A head start. "Israel’s health-care system already is globally recognized as a leader in using digitally stored data for public health-care delivery. This includes HMO programs and activities such as constantly running algorithms on their patients’ data to detect signs of kidney disease or colon cancer."
A potential windfall for Israel's startups. More than 500 Israeli-based startups work in digital health in Israel and together have raised capital in excess of $500 million in 2018, according to Start-Up Nation Central, a Tel Aviv nonprofit that connects businesses to Israel’s tech companies.
Not quite U.S. bound. "Creating a similar system in the U.S. could be difficult, since most U.S. medical providers aren’t digitally connected, or compatible, and must adhere to strict national privacy laws. In Israel, the four government-run HMOs have kept digital records in compatible formats for all patients since the early 1990s."
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The Federal Trade Commission in a letter complained to the Justice Department’s antitrust division. PHOTO: ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG NEWS
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U.S. antitrust enforcers signal discord over tech probes. The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department have launched high-profile scrutiny of tech giants such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Facebook Inc. In a letter sent late last week to the Justice Department, the FTC complained about the department’s behavior. A turf battle over government scrutiny of Facebook is a key point of contention, raising concerns that the tension could eventually derail the agencies’ focus on Big Tech. (WSJ)
Apple to fight EU tax order. Apple Inc. is launching a legal challenge against a 2016 European Union ruling that called upon the company to pay $14 billion in back taxes to Ireland. (WSJ)
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SAP's German users ask company for help. An SAP SE user community in Germany called upon the business software company to provide help in moving customers to its cloud-based S/4HANA database. “SAP must provide an out-of-the-box solution without customers having to do their own development work,” said Marco Lenck, head of SAP User Group at an event Tuesday. (Reuters)
Tech startups driving the economy. And not just in the ways one would think. Spending by startups account for 10% of revenue earned by tech giants—in cloud spend and advertising among other things—and more than 0.4% of economic activity worldwide. (FT)
Labor groups press New York to protect app-based workers. A California bill that classifies workers as employees rather than independent contractors has unions in New York pushing for a similar measure. (WSJ)
Australia links China to pre-election cyberattack. An attack on the country's parliament and three political parties in the run up to Australia's May general elections was the work of China’s Ministry of State Security, according to a report by Australia’s cyber intelligence agency. (Reuters)
WeWait. WeCo., WeWork’s parent, is expected to postpone its initial public offering after investors questioned how much the company is worth and raised concerns about its corporate governance. The company had been valued at $47 billion in a fundraising exercise this year with SoftBank Group Corp., but in recent days its executives and underwriters had become resigned to something closer to between $15 billion and $20 billion or possibly lower. (WSJ)
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Everything Else You Need to Know
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American officials say intelligence indicates that Iran was the staging ground for a debilitating attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil industry. (WSJ)
With no vehicles being built, the walkout involving roughly 46,000 full-time workers could dent GM’s profit by $50 million to $100 million daily, analysts say. (WSJ)
The House Oversight and Reform Committee has requested documents from Elaine Chao for an inquiry into whether she has used her role as head of the Transportation Department to benefit her family. (WSJ)
Netflix has struck a five-year deal to become the exclusive worldwide streaming home of “Seinfeld,” the hit NBC comedy from the 1990s. (WSJ)
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