Ken Garen, CPA, Co-Founder and President, UBCC

Google Execs Declare "Code Red" Over Revolutionary New Chat Bot   BY TYLER DURDEN SUNDAY, DEC 25, 2022 - 07:15 PM Three weeks ago and  experimental chat bot called  ChatGPT  was unleashed on the world . When asked questions, it gives relevant, specific, simple answers - rather than spitting back a list of internet links. It can also generate ideas on its own - including business plans, Christmas gift suggestions, vacation ideas, and advice on how to tune neural network models using python scripts. Some even think it may supplant Google's search business, the  NY Times  reports. Although ChatGPT still has plenty of room for improvement,  its release led Google’s management to declare a “code red.”  For Google, this was akin to pulling the fire alarm. Some fear the company may be approaching a moment that the biggest Silicon Valley outfits dread — t he arrival of an enormous technological change that could upend the business. For more th...

Scientists Develop Gelatinous Robots To Crawl Through Human Body To Deliver Medical Payloads, Diagnose Illnesses   Authored by Bryan Jung via The Epoch Times, December 23, 2022 Scientists have developed miniature gelatinous  robots  that can crawl through the human body to deliver medicine or diagnose illnesses. The “gelbot” is powered by little more than temperature changes, and its innovative design, which resembles an inchworm, is one of the most promising concepts in the field of soft robotics ,  according to Jill Rosen of John Hopkins University. “It seems very simplistic, but this is an object moving without batteries, without wiring, without an external power supply of any kind—just on the swelling and shrinking of gel,” said David Gracias, a professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Johns Hopkins University and a senior project leader. “Our study shows how the manipulation of shape, dimensions, and patte...

IRS Delays $600 Gig-Tax Rule   BY TYLER DURDEN FRIDAY, DEC 23, 2022 - 10:45 AM   The Internal Revenue Service on Friday announced they are  delaying new tax-reporting requirements for millions of Americans  who made more than $600 of income from e-commerce platforms such as Ebay, Etsy and AirBnB. The  one-year reprieve  means that said e-commerce platforms  will not  give the tax agency information on users whose income exceeds the $600 level, nor will they be required to provide sellers with a blizzard of 1099-k tax forms in early 2023. As the  Wall Street Journal  notes, this also means that opponents of the $600 rule can push for a change in the law next year. "The additional time will help reduce confusion during the coming 2023 tax filing season and provide more time for taxpayers to prepare and understand the new reporting requirements," according to Acting IRS Commissioner Doug O'Donnell. Congress passed the $600 th...

McDonald's Unveils Automated Restaurant In Texas With No Human Contact   BY TYLER DURDEN THURSDAY, DEC 22, 2022 - 04:40 PM   Soaring labor costs and inflation have accelerated McDonald's push into automation. The fast-food chain unveiled its first concept restaurant earlier this month in Fort Worth, Texas, without human interaction. The company wrote in a  press release ,  "There's never been a McDonald's restaurant quite like this before." It features automated ordering kiosks -- there are no cashiers -- even automated machines dispense orders to customers, either through the drive-thru or inside. The one thing McDonald's didn't automate was the kitchen.  Food blogger " foodiemunster " posted a video of the new concept restaurant.  Fast-food chains have been testing robots for years. Inflation is compressing margins for restaurants, forcing them to consider automation to save on labor costs.  The cost of robotics has dec...

Facebook Marketplace Accused Of Breaching EU's Antitrust Rules   BY TYLER DURDEN TUESDAY, DEC 20, 2022 - 12:45 AM   The EU's European Commission has accused Facebook Marketplace of  breaching antitrust rules  because the company dominates both social networks and an online classified ads market - and has been "distorting competition" by coupling the two services. Specifically, the fact that "users of Facebook automatically have access to Facebook Marketplace, whether they want it or not," is of concern to the EU. The alleged breach of antitrust rules comes in the form of a European Commission Statement of Objections released on Monday, which said it had informed Facebook parent Meta that a "preliminary view" deemed the company in violation. A Statement of Objections is the first step the Commission takes when it begins an investigation into what it believes are a violation of E.U. antitrust rules.  It does not mean the outcome has been ...

EU To Force Crypto Companies To Report Their Users' Holdings To Tax Authorities   Authored by BTCCasey via BitcoinMagazine.com, December 11, 2022 The European Union indicated Thursday that it will make cryptocurrency companies report their European users’ holdings to tax authorities. The proposed eighth Directive on Administrative Cooperation was previously reported on by  CoinDesk , and could have wide-reaching implications including forcing non-EU based companies to have to register with tax entities there. In a statement, the EU Commissioner for tax, Paolo Gentiloni  said ,  “Anonymity means that many crypto-asset users making significant profits fall under the radar of national tax authorities. This is not acceptable.” The enforcement of the measures was not made entirely clear, as the cryptocurrency industry has various entities and actors residing in various jurisdictions, including some who claim no base of operations. Beyond that, there should be c...

Humans vs. robots: The battle reaches a ‘turning point’ Story by Pranshu Verma • December 10, 2022 4:00 AM Warehouse robots are finally reaching their holy grail moment: picking and sorting objects with the dexterity of human hands. Amazon has robotic arms that can  pick and sort  cumbersome items like headphones or plushy toys before they’ve been boxed. FedEx has  piloted  a similar system, which it uses in some warehouses to sort mail of various sizes. And other companies are making progress, too. For decades, training a robot to be  more humanlike  has stumped engineers, who couldn’t replicate the ability to grip and move items. But now gains in artificial intelligence technology, cameras and engineering are bearing fruit, allowing robots to see objects of varying shapes and sizes and adjust their grasp accordingly. The technology, computer scientists say, is finally getting reliable enough that companies find it feasible to deploy. “This momen...