Eurobites: AI models missing the EU mark – report

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Ethiopia launches Ethio Telecom share sale; Colt connects data centers on US East Coast; MWC Kigali postponed.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

October 17, 2024

3 Min Read
Abstract AI image
(Source: Skorzewiak/Alamy Stock Photo)
  • Artificial intelligence models are falling short of European regulations in areas such as cyber resilience and discriminatory output, according to a Reuters report citing data from a new AI testing tool designed by Swiss startup LatticeFlow AI. The company's "Large Language Model (LLM) Checker" software highlighted the failings, suggesting work needs to be done to ensure compliance in these areas. The EU's AI Act is due to come into effect gradually over the next couple of years – companies failing to comply with its strictures could be fined €35 million (US$38 million), or 7% of global annual turnover, whichever is the highest.

  • The Ethiopian government has launched a sale of 10% of the shares in state-owned Ethio Telecom to the general public. As AFP reports, the share sale was originally launched in 2021, but was temporarily halted in the face of economic challenges, before resuming at the end of 2022. Last year, the government said it planned to sell 45% of the operator. Ethio Telecom was the sole operator in Ethiopia until October 2022, when Safaricom switched on its mobile network in the nation's capital, Addis Ababa.

  • UK-based Colt Technology Services is connecting subsea cable landing stations to East Coast data centers in the US. Colt has five subsea cables connecting Europe and the US, and owns the two cable landing stations in the US where these cables reach the shore. Phase one of the build is now complete with the service fully operational, connecting Long Island, New York with data center hubs in Hudson Street and 8th Avenue in New York City. Routes will be ready for service between now and mid-2025.

  • The GSMA has decided to postpone MWC Kigali – which was due to taken place from October 29-31 – without giving a reason. In a statement, it said: "We recognise the inconvenience this may cause to our participants. A new date in 2025 will be announced." The cancellation may be linked to recent cases of the Marburg virus disease (MVD) in Rwanda – the country's Ministry of Health reported cases of the disease less than a month ago.

  • Intelsat has cut the ribbon on a new satellite cellular backhaul service platform in Lagos, Nigeria. The hope is that the platform will help mobile network operators and Internet service providers extend their coverage in Nigeria and other parts of West Africa.

  • Ofcom, the UK communications regulator, has told social media companies that they could face hefty fines if they fail to comply with the forthcoming (and long-gestated) Online Safety Act, the BBC reports. The regulator's boss, Melanie Dawes, said in a radio interview that companies will have three months from when the guidance is finalized to carry out risk assessments and make any changes needed to keep users of social media platforms safe. Ofcom will have the power to fine companies failing to comply with the regulation up to 10% of annual global turnover and block non-compliant sites. The Act is due to come into force early in 2025.

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About the Author

Paul Rainford

Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, a rocky outcrop off the English coast that is home only to a colony of technology journalists and several thousand puffins.

He has worked as a writer and copy editor since the age of William Caxton, covering the design industry, D-list celebs, tourism and much, much more.

During the noughties Paul took time out from his page proofs and marker pens to run a small hotel with his other half in the wilds of Exmoor. There he developed a range of skills including carrying cooked breakfasts, lying to unwanted guests and stopping leaks with old towels.

Now back, slightly befuddled, in the world of online journalism, Paul is thoroughly engaged with the modern world, regularly firing up his VHS video recorder and accidentally sending text messages to strangers using a chipped Nokia feature phone.

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