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Here's the latest tech news from the last 24 hours:

🔬 Revolutionary AI-developed drug enters phase 2 clinical trials
🇪🇺 European tech firms and VCs concerned about over-regulation of AI
💰 Adobe's $20B Figma acquisition under UK regulatory scrutiny
📱 Facebook may let EU users download apps directly from ads
🐦 Twitter now requires to be logged in to view tweets
🎥 YouTube might block ad blocker users

🔬 Revolutionary AI-developed drug enters phase 2 clinical trialsLINK

Insilico Medicine, a company utilizing advanced AI, has developed the first AI-created drug to enter phase 2 clinical trials, aiming to treat Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis, a common and often fatal disease among the elderly.

Insilico's unique approach involves using AI to identify new target proteins and utilizing generative AI models to design molecules that can disrupt the identified protein, significantly accelerating the drug discovery process and potentially reducing failure rates.

The company also sees potential in quantum computing, currently using 50 qubit machines from IBM, suggesting that generative AI for drug development could be one of the significant applications for this technology.

🇪🇺 European tech firms and VCs concerned about over-regulation of AILINK

A new open letter, signed by executives of Europe's biggest companies, warns that the impending AI Act could potentially stifle Europe's competitiveness and technological sovereignty in the AI field.

Changes to the legislation, particularly the new requirements on generative AI tools, could cause disproportionate compliance costs and liability risks, pushing Europe further behind in AI development.

The business leaders propose a risk-based approach for EU laws, to be implemented by a dedicated body and adaptable to new advances and risks, but their concerns have not yet swayed lawmakers overseeing the drafting of the AI Act.

💰 Adobe's $20B Figma acquisition under UK regulatory scrutinyLINK

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally found that Adobe's proposed $20 billion bid for Figma could significantly lessen competition in the UK design market.

The CMA's initial findings have prompted an in-depth "phase 2" investigation, giving the concerned parties five days to submit proposals addressing these concerns.

The CMA noted that Adobe had been developing a new all-in-one design tool, potentially competing with Figma, but this was cancelled ahead of the merger announcement, suggesting the merger could remove a significant competitive threat.

📱 Facebook may let EU users download apps directly from adsLINK

Facebook is considering allowing users in the European Union to directly download apps through ads on its platform, bypassing Google or Apple's app stores.

This move is facilitated by the EU's upcoming Digital Market Act, which requires Apple and Google to allow alternative methods of app downloads apart from their own stores.

Facebook plans to pilot this with a few Android app developers and may launch as early as this year, aiming to increase competition and offer developers more ways to distribute their apps.

🐦 Twitter now requires to be logged in to view tweetsLINK

Twitter has recently implemented a change that requires users to log in to view tweets, which could be an attempt to increase user base growth.

If the new requirement persists, it might negatively affect Twitter's search engine rankings as non-publicly accessible content tends to rank lower.

This move comes amidst various technical issues and rapid policy changes following Elon Musk's involvement in the company's operations.

🎥 YouTube might block ad blocker usersLINK

YouTube is experimenting with a more aggressive approach against ad blockers, including warnings that their player will be blocked after three videos if an ad blocker is in use.

The company has confirmed these alerts are part of an experiment that urges viewers to either allow ads or subscribe to YouTube Premium.

As of now, this new approach only impacts a small number of users, with the potential for broader implementation if it proves effective in addressing YouTube's recent decline in ad revenue.

Other news you might like

Apple reached a $3 trillion market cap again, fueled by a 46% stock surge this year and the recent launch of its AR headset, Apple Vision Pro.LINK

Activision's anti-cheat system for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II uses "hallucinations," or decoy characters, to identify and disrupt suspected cheaters, significantly reducing the use of unfair hardware devices.LINK

Dutch semiconductor companies are now required to obtain government permission before selling certain chip-making equipment abroad, a move aimed at limiting China's access to advanced technologies.LINK

In response to Canada's Online News Act, which demands payment for news content, Google plans to remove Canadian news links from its search results, following Meta's similar protest.LINK

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