Good Wednesday morning. Big Tech races to bring AI models to public, ANOTHER US health system hit with cyberattack. First time getting the Mo Newsletter? Subscribe now.

Good morning,

Another example of why we can’t have nice things 🫣… A portal linking New York City to Dublin via a livestream was temporarily shut down after less than a week because people were flashing and flipping-off the camera. In one incident, someone in Ireland flashed a picture of the burning Twin Towers from 9/11.

• The Dublin City Council is closing the 24/7 visual art installation, for now, and plans to implement “technical solutions” in response to inappropriate behavior.

• The founder of the concept had intended for users “embrace the beauty of global interconnectedness.”

Palm to forehead 🤦‍♀️ Have a good one!

Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren

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🤖 TECH GIANTS RACE TO AI SUPREMACY

The Artificial Intelligence war is heating up, with several major advances announced this week from Google and OpenAI.

• Google announced new AI integrations into the search engine and a new AI-powered assistant. It could mean the beginning of the end to the internet as we have known it for decades. Google’s AI Overviews will generate summary above traditional results for all US users, potentially saving them from having to navigate to a website.

• Meanwhile, OpenAI rolled out its latest AI model, ChatGPT-4o, aiming to change the landscape of how humans and AI converse.

CHATGPT LEADS THE WAY
ChatGPT-4o (lower case "o," for "omni") features a female voice that can answer questions faster than previous generations of voice-bots and has a more human tone — think joking, apologizing, dealing with interruptions. The announcement comes ahead of a potential deal between OpenAI and Apple to put ChatGPT in iPhones — which could cement the company’s domination of the space. Notably, Microsoft is a huge backer of OpenAI

• ChatGPT-4o has visual, audio and text abilities in 50 languages. And the best part: It will be free to all users.

  • The AI assistant can read notes or solve math problems through a phone's camera, in addition to detecting the emotion in a person’s voice or guide a breathing exercise.

    • Parents frustrated with kids’ fourth grade math homework might have a free tutor AND therapist 😉 

• In response to the announcement, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman tweeted “her,” appearing to reference the 2013 film by the same name where Joaquin Phoenix’s character becomes fascinated with a new operating system "Samantha" (Scarlett Johansson).

• The company is also said to be developing an AI-powered search engine.

OVER AT GOOGLE
Pretty soon, billions of Google users will start to see AI-generated summaries at the top of their search results, as the company begins to incorporate the technology. For Google, it was embrace AI or be replaced by it.

• The summaries will be called AI Overviews, and roll out in the US this week. It is meant to give you a general answer to your query instead of just providing links.

• The company also launched a “multimodal” AI assistant called Project Astra. It can use the camera and microphone on the user device to provide assistance as you go about your day.

• Google also revealed Veo, which generates video from text prompts; Imagen 3 for pictures; and Lyria for music.

MAJOR CONCERNS
The Washington Post headline about AI Overviews reads “Web publishers brace for carnage as Google adds AI answers.”

The existing internet paradigm—where search engines were just a means to an end—could quickly turn into a world where you never have to leave Google. It also means the $2 trillion dollar company only further tightens its grip on the internet.

• A robust AI Overview could eventually threaten the survival of millions of creators and publishers who rely on Google for web traffic.

• Google responds that the technology gives a brief AI-generated summary (which it looks to be paraphrasing from other websites) followed by clickable links to other websites.

🩺 CYBERATTACK CAUSES HOSPITALS TO DIVERT PATIENTS

There is no timeline for fully restoring computer systems for one of the largest health systems in the US. Ascension, which operates 140 hospitals across 19 states, is experiencing a significant cyberattack — leading medical staff to have to use paper records and divert ambulances to other facilities.

The ransomware attack — typically involving cybercriminals locking targets out of computer systems and demanding payment — is a reminder of the vulnerability of the US health care system.

RIPPLE EFFECTS
The attack was first detected last Wednesday. Ascension is a non-profit and one of the five biggest health systems in the US.

• Health care workers continue using paper records to track patient conditions, write prescriptions and order tests as the electronic medical records system used to document patients' medical histories is down.

• In addition, the company said that MyChart — a portal for patients to see their records and message providers — was unavailable.

  • An Ascension physician told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that doctors are "flying blind" without the medical records system.

Whether Ascension has paid a ransom — which the US government urges groups NOT to do — has not been disclosed. UnitedHealth Group, which faced a massive attack earlier this year against its Change group, admitted last month that it paid $22 million ransom in bitcoin to hackers.

LARGER PROBLEM
The Change Healthcare cyberattack and ensuing outage disrupted operations across the country’s pharmacies, hospitals and medical practices. Providers could not get paid and consumers were unable to use coupons they rely on to afford prescription drugs.

• The difference between the attacks: Change Healthcare incident primarily affected financial operations with healthcare providers continuing patient care. The Ascension hack is significantly disrupting systems directly related to patient care.

• The FBI received the most reports of ransomware attacks on health-care infrastructure (249) compared to any sector it tracked last year.

• As cybersecurity incidents increase, the debate intensifies over the voluntary nature of security measures.

  • A spokesperson from the Department of Health and Human Services says the Ascension hack highlights the urgent need for stronger cybersecurity in healthcare.

  • The American Hospital Association says guidelines should remain voluntary. It opposes the Biden administration’s proposed mandatory measures saying they would unfairly penalize hospitals using third-party technologies that can get hacked.

⏳ SPEED READ

🚨NATION

📌 The ship that struck the Key Bridge had electrical problems in port, the NTSB says (NPR)

📌 Trump allies show up in court to show support (AXIOS)

📌 Nine year old boy narrowly missed in drive-by shooting caught on home security camera (NBC NEWS)

📌 Harvard’s Gaza encampment ends after administration agrees to meet (GUARDIAN)

🌎 AROUND THE WORLD

📌 Unique King Charles portrait unveiled, first since coronation (BBC)

📌 Whistleblower who exposed alleged war crimes in Afghanistan jailed for leaking documents (CNN)

📌 Ongoing Brazil floods raise specter of climate migration (NBC NEWS)

📌 German church puts on Taylor Swift-themed service in bid to boost attendance (AOL)

📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH

📌 Bumble wants to let ‘AI dating concierge’ do the dating for you (NEW YORK POST) Bumble apologizes for its anti-celibacy ad fumble (VERGE)

📌 Biden hikes tariffs on Chinese EVs, solar cells, steel, aluminum — and snipes at Trump (AP)

📌 Red Lobster closes dozens of locations as bankruptcy filing looms (FOX BUSINESS)

📌 More than 200 million seniors face extreme heat risks in coming decades, study finds (NPR)

📌 Students borrowing from the federal government this fall will face the highest interest rate in more than a decade (NBC NEWS)

🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

📌 Aaron Rodgers says he considered RFK Jr. VP slot, admires Vladimir Putin (AWFUL ANNOUNCING)

📌 Tom Brady says Netflix roast affected his kids and he wouldn’t do it again (VARIETY)

📌 ABC taps 61 year old school administrator to lead inaugural season of ‘The Golden Bachelorette’ (DEADLINE)

📌 Prince Harry, Meghan Markle's Archewell Foundation back 'in good standing' after being declared ‘delinquent’ (FOX NEWS)

📌 Elle Woods goes to high school in Reese Witherspoon-produced 'Legally Blonde' prequel (USA TODAY)

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🗓 ON THIS DAY: MAY 15

• 1928: Mickey Mouse makes his debut in a test screening of the silent animated short “Plane Crazy” — the first Mickey Mouse cartoon to be widely distributed.

• 1940: The first McDonald’s restaurant opened in San Bernardino, California by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald, originally focused on barbecue.

• 1980: Elmo made his first named appearance on ‘Sesame Street.’

• 1982: “Ebony And Ivory” became Paul McCartney's biggest hit post-Beatles, leading the Billboard Hot 100 chats for seven weeks.