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Russia's invasion of Ukraine has become a defining geopolitical moment for some of the world's biggest AI companies as their platforms have turned into major battlefields for a parallel information war and their data and services have become vital links in the conflict. Russia's invasion of Ukraine is shaping up to be a key proving ground for artificial intelligence, for ill, and perhaps in a few instances, for good too. However, tech platforms have had to make a lot of tough calls about content over the years, but what to do about Russian disinformation isn't usually one of them. Here we have listed the top 10 AI companies featuring their reactions and consequences for the Russian-Ukraine war.
Apple Inc. ceased sales of the iPhone and its other highly prized technology products in Russia following the country's invasion of Ukraine, saying the company stands with all the people who are suffering due to the violence. It's also removing the RT News and Sputnik News applications from App Stores outside of Russia and has disabled traffic and live-incident features in Ukraine as a "safety and precautionary measure" for citizens there.
Facebook has been a key platform to voice dissent in Russia, and the move to limit it also comes as a police crackdown on anti-war street protests in cities across the country. Meta said it is barring Russian state media from running ads or monetizing on its platform anywhere in the world.
Twitter Inc had suspended all advertising in Russia and Ukraine to ensure that promotional posts don't detract from public safety information. Twitter won't show advertising in these markets and has also curbed tweet recommendations that appear in users' timelines from accounts that they don't already follow. This is to limit the spread of misleading and abusive content.
Microsoft is focused on protecting against state-sponsored disinformation campaigns, which have long been commonplace in times of war. The company is continuing to monitor events closely and will make ongoing adjustments to strengthen its detection and disruption mechanisms to avoid the spread of disinformation and promote independent and trusted content.
Google has disabled live traffic data from being displayed on its Maps app in Ukraine. The app displays this information by collecting anonymous data from Android smartphones, which shows how busy roads and different places are. But it has now been switched off in the region temporarily to protect users.
Messaging app Telegram may consider partially or fully restricting the operation of some channels if the situation in Ukraine escalates. In the words of Pavel Durov- founder of Telegram, Telegram channels were increasingly becoming a source of unverified information, and he did not want the app to be used as a tool that may deepen conflicts.
US graphics chipmaker Nvidia has confirmed it is investigating an incident that has reportedly affected its email systems and developer tools for the last two days. In a statement given to TechCrunch, Nvidia said the scope of the incident had yet to be evaluated but the company's commercial systems had not been impacted and continued to function as normal.
Dell Technologies (DELL) has confirmed to Yahoo Finance that it has suspended product sales in Ukraine and Russia. The company's thoughts are with those families who have lost loved ones and all who are impacted. Its top priority, at this time, is supporting its Ukrainian team members as they attempt to relocate to a safe and secure environment.
According to Yahoo Finance, at the request of Ukraine's vice prime minister and minister of digital transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk said Starlink, the internet service offered by SpaceX, is active in Ukraine, with "more terminals en route." A resident of Poland on Twitter also published an email indicating the E.V.-maker has made Superchargers in Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary free to help Ukrainians trying to escape the war.
Intel (INTC) and AMD (AMD) have reportedly suspended chip shipments into Russia. It's important to note that Intel and AMD's ban of chip shipments to Russia does not involve "consumer communication devices," including personal computers, mobile phones, digital cameras, and more.
