Big Tech told Congress there’s loads of competition. This chart says otherwise The antitrust crew have dominated the market post-COVID crash Apple is the antitrust crew’s best performing tech giant But the divide between the US tech giants and smaller firms is severe since the enormous stock market crash that occurred in March. The graph below charts the past year’s market performance of Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Alphabet against theS&P Small Cap 600 Information Technologyindex, as tracked by Invesco’s corresponding ETF (PSCT)....

EU policymakers recently proposed a sweeping set of regulations called the Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA). If made law, the AIA would offer European citizens the strictest, most comprehensive protections against predatory AI systems on the planet. And big tech is terrified. Up front:The Center for Data Innovation published a report on Sunday titled “How Much Will the AIA Cost Europe?” According to the organization’s research: The AIA will cost the European economy €31 billion over the next five years and reduce AI investments by almost 20 percent....

With their competitive advantage in emerging technologies like AI and machine learning, big tech companies have been moving into and disrupting traditional industries, from Airbnb’s impact on the hospitality industry to Uber’s upending of taxi and other mobility services. Now big tech has its sights set on the world of finance with the launch of Google Pay, the Apple Card, Facebook’s Libra, and Amazon’s loans for SMEs. But, while these technologies could help big tech gain an advantage in countering the ever evolving threat from cybercriminals, detecting fraud, and automating processes like loan applications and credit checks, AI ethics could also become one of its biggest challenges....

Biggest challenges and opportunities of expanding a tech business across Europe Growing in Europe isn’t easy but there’s plenty of support A fragmented market In reality, European tech businesses are confronted with a clear set of challenges that can impact growth prospects. “I think Europe is doomed and I’m really pessimistic because of the systemic nature of Europe’s fragmentation, which unfortunately doesn’t help European startups or companies achieve global scale as you can do in the US or in China,” saysDavid Gurle, a seasoned tech entrepreneur, and CEO of Symphony....

Biggest quasar since the Big Bang spotted by astronomers Understanding the gravity of the situation In the video above, take a look at the ancient quasar PJ352–15. (Video credit: Chandra X-ray Observatory). Despite their popular image, black holes do not draw material directly into their clutches before slowly digesting their prey like an interstellar sarlaac. Material orbiting ablack holeneedsto lose energy and speed before falling past the event horizon — the “point of no return for material falling into a black hole....