Wednesday newspaper round-up: AI, Tesla, hydrogen, Odey
The head of the UK’s financial regulator is to warn that banks, investors and insurers will have to ramp up their spending to combat scammers using artificial intelligence to commit fraud. Nikhil Rathi, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will say that there are risks of “cyber fraud, cyber-attacks and identity fraud increasing in scale and sophistication and effectiveness” as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more widespread, in a speech in London on Wednesday. – Guardian
A US judge has ruled that Microsoft may go forward with its planned $69bn acquisition of video game maker Activision Blizzard, while the UK competition watchdog said it was ready to discuss changes answering its concerns over the deal. The US competition watchdog, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), had originally asked the judge to stop the proposed deal, arguing it would give Microsoft, maker of the Xbox gaming console, exclusive access to Activision games including the bestselling Call of Duty. – Guardian
Elon Musk’s Tesla is poised to gatecrash Britain’s energy market by selling electricity to households. Tesla is developing plans to register as an electricity provider with the industry regulator and launch a “retail electricity product in the UK”, a job listing has revealed. – Telegraph
Plans to use hydrogen for heating and cooking in up to 2,000 homes in Cheshire have been scrapped after opposition from residents. Cadent, the gas network company, and British Gas, the household energy supplier, hoped to convert part of Whitby in Ellesmere Port into a world-first “hydrogen village” trial as they attempt to prove that the clean-burning fuel can be used as a replacement for planet-warming natural gas. – The Times
The City regulator has been urged to ensure that Odey Asset Management retains assets in the event that the hedge fund has to cover any redress to women who allege they were sexually assaulted by the firm’s founder. Jill Greenfield, a lawyer representing two women who claim they were assaulted by Crispin Odey, has written to the Financial Conduct Authority to ask the watchdog to ringfence funds that might be needed if litigation results in damages being awarded. – The Times