US reportedly urges allies to block use of Huawei equipment

New York (CNN)The United States is urging its allies to stop using Huawei telecommunications equipment because the Chinese company poses a securitythreat, according to a published report.

The Wall Street Journal, citing sources familiar with the discussions, reports that US officials are pushing countries that host American military bases to ban the use of Huawei equipment from their wireless and internet networks.

The US military uses secure networks for its most sensitive communications, but it is concerned that much of its traffic still moves over commercial network countries such as Germany, Italy and Japan, the Journal reported. US officials are meeting with government representatives and telecom executives in the other countries to urge them to exclude Huawei equipment from government and commercial networks.

Huawei equipment increases the risk of cyberattacks and could allow China to spy on communications or disable connections in the fast growing "internet of things," the US officials argue.

"We engage with countries around the world about our concerns regarding cyberthreats in telecommunications infrastructure," an unnamed US official told the Journal. "As they're looking to move to 5G, we remind them of those concerns. There are additional complexities to 5G networks that make them more vulnerable to cyberattacks."

Huawei told CNN Business Friday that its equipment is trusted by customers in 170 countries and by 46 of the world's 50largest telecommunications companies.

"Huawei is surprised by the behaviors of the US government detailed in the article," it said. "If a government's behavior extends beyond its jurisdiction, such activity should not be encouraged. Huawei firmly believes that our partners and customers will make the right choice based on their own judgment and experience of working with Huawei."

US intelligence officials have expressed concern about the safety of products made by Huawei and another Chinese tech firm, ZTE. The Pentagon in May ordered stores on American military bases to stop selling smartphones made by the companies. And in February, top officials from the CIA, NSA, FBI and the Defense Intelligence Agency told a Senate committee that those firms' smartphones posed a security threat to American customers.

CNN's Samuel Burke contributed to this report.

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AI & robots: Virtue for humankind or useful capitalist tool?

Unless the politics of the governments around the world change, robots and AI will become the next blow to the living standards of ordinary people.

There are an increasing number of stories in the media about robots becoming a big part of our future and the need to have democratic openness overseeing the rise of internet companies. But I was stunned to read an articleby Rohan Silva in the Evening Standard about the breath-taking advances in the use of robots around the world.

Armed robots are already on patrol in China. At one railway station robots standing 1.6 metres tall are on guard with cameras and facial recognition software to track suspicious people or wanted criminals. Reportedly, robots have "electrically charged riot control tools" that enable them to arrest suspects. In Beijing's Tiananmen Square robots have stun guns as they oversee the crowds.

Silva reports that in Dubai the government plans robots will be a quarter of the police force by 2030. In India's Uttar Pradesh the council has drones with loud speakers and strobe lighting to use for the breakup of protesters. These drones can also fire tear gas pellets, pepper spray and paintballs.

In America New Jersey's city police have created Citizen Virtual Patrol which encourages the public to access videos from the city's CCTV network in order to warn the police of anything suspicious. Other cities are also using algorithms to identify where the next crime will take place. One example in Los Angeles is the PredPole system run by the police to predict where crimes are next likely to erupt. And it's not just in LA. There are now over ninety cities using this system of predictive policing in America.

Japan is on the same track. In the city of Kyoto their computers have studied over 100,000 previous crimes to predict where similar crimes would occur in the future. Police then move to these areas to deter the criminals and search suspects that have been identified.

If I had read this article on April 1 I would have assumed it was an April Fool's joke. I have never seen anything like this on the streets of London where we have seen a huge surge in crime. I suppose it won't be long before London's mayor sends staff off to China and LA to see if their tactics can be used here.

We've had predictions that the robots could wipe out millions of jobs and massively increase poverty. There's also the question of human rights and the right to privacy. The Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz, the World Bank's former chief economist and now professor at Columbia University, delivered a speech at the prestigious Royal Society in London in September this year on how artificial intelligence will transform our lives. It could lead to a better society with people having to work less, but only if there is proper control of the firms who are becoming global giants on the back of AI. But Stiglitz also warned things could go the other way with a real reduction in the quality of our life and the undermining of democracy. He said "AI and robotization have the potential to increase the productivity of the economy and… that could make everybody better off… but only if they are well managed."

It is not just Stiglitz raising these concerns. Andy Haldane, chief economist at the Bank of England, has said "large swathes of Britain's workforce face unemployment as AI and other technologies automate more jobs." A similar prediction came in a report by the accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers in July that AI could create even more jobs than it destroys but pointed out the problems switching from one job to another.

Stiglitz further cautioned that although AI can help people with their work it can also replace the workers. At Addenbrooke's hospital in Cambridge cancer specialists are spending less time on radiotherapy for men with prostate cancer because the AI they are using clearly shows up the infected gland when the patient is scanned. This means treatment starts earlier and is more precise. But other AI operations which are identifying breast cancer and other forms could lead to a real cut in jobs for radiologists.

Most of the jobs at risk are in low-skilled roles such as call centres, cashiers and truck drivers. We can create many more new jobs in care for the elderly and providing support for the growing number of children with mental health problems but that would mean governments increasing tax on global corporations to pay for the creation of these new jobs as these giant tech firms wipe out millions of other jobs across the planet.

The rising power of the tech firms imperils our right to privacy with companies now able to access their customers smart phones and gather data which can then be used to increase their sales. "Which is the easier way to make a buck: figuring out a better way to exploit somebody or making a better product? With the new AI, it looks like the answer is finding a better way to exploit somebody," Stiglitz stated. He also warned that governments and tech giants are taking no action to prevent these abuses, so he is proposing strong measures that should be brought in quickly with new regulators having the power to decide what data the tech firms can capture and for what purpose. Transparency must reveal what they are doing.

Governments must act to curb the growing powers of these monopolies but also to tax them in order to ensure that government can create new jobs as AI and robots wipe out millions in the years to come. If we don't make these changes, Stiglitz states "We're going towards a greater wage inequality, greater income and wealth inequality and probably more unemployment and a more divided society… By changing the rules we could wind up with a richer society, with the fruits more equally divided and quite possibly where people have a shorter working week… We could go down to thirty or twenty-five hours a week."

The World Bank has a very different view saying that the robot age is nothing to worry about. They say this fourth industrial revolution will create many more jobs than it destroys. In the World Bank's World Development Report it promises that automation will create jobs to meet future needs of which we are not yet aware. It rightly points out that governments need to increase investment in education so that we will have the skills for what is coming. It also argues governments should reduce labour laws and regulations as these could stop companies using robots to replace humans.

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Amazing Deals You Can Get Only on Cyber Monday

Thanksgiving and Black Friday are ripe for great buys as retailers battle it out with deep discounts. But they also keep plenty of deals in reserve for Cyber Monday, making it a great day — or in some cases, a great few days – to pounce if you have your eye on something. While many retailers wait to unveil their Cyber Monday deals until after the dust has settled from Black Friday, we've managed to confirm some of them early. Whether you're shopping for a loved one — or yourself — here are some deals to watch for.

TARGET: 15% OFF EVERYTHING

Target shoppers get an automatic 15 percent off sitewide on Cyber Monday only this year, no coupon code required. REDcard holders can save an additional 5 percent, and two-day shipping is free this holiday season — no minimum purchase required. A couple of already-announced deals include the Swagtron Metro Hoverboard for $150, down from $230, and the iRobot Roomba 960 for $450, down from $700. Shop on Cyber Monday and you'll get 15 percent off on top of those sale prices. 

AMAZON: CYBER WEEK BONANZA

Amazon isn't content to limit deals to a single day, so look for deep discounts to begin Monday but continue all week. Prime members will receive early access to Lightning Deals 30 minutes before they open up to non-Prime shoppers. If you have Alexa, you'll even get access to some deals Sunday evening — Amazon devices like Fire tablets, Kindles, and Echo voice assistants are a safe bet — but only if you use Alexa to shop. 

LENOVO: DOORBUSTERS UP TO HALF OFF

Need a new computer? Lenovo is holding back a few pretty sweet bargains for Cyber Monday shoppers. Doorbusters that day will include a wide range of laptops at up to half off. Confirmed deals include the IdeaPad S330 for just $149, down from $219, and a powerful ThinkPad X1 Carbon for $900, down from $1,809.

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