In this MadTech Podcast episode, Aimee Newell Tarín is joined by Mat Broughton and Alessandro De Zanche, independent monetisation consultant at ADZ Strategies, to get into the latest going on in ad tech. 

They discuss the UN secretary general’s calls to ban fossil fuel ads, Silicon Valley’s uproar over an AI safety bill in California, and TikTok’s attempt to provide reliable and authoritative information in the run-up to the UK general election. 

UN Secretary General calls for ban on fossil fuel ads (The Guardian)

The UN’s Secretary General has called for governments and companies to place bans on advertisements for coal, oil and gas. He said “Many in the fossil-fuel industry have shamelessly greenwashed, even as they have sought to delay climate action with lobbying, legal threats and massive ad campaigns.” 

Uproar over new Californian AI safety bill (Financial Times) 

Members leading the AI industry are protesting against a proposed California state bill which would force tech companies to adhere to a strict safety framework regulating the technology. The bill was passed by the California Senate last month, and is now set for a vote from its general assembly in August. It requires AI groups in the state to give their guarantee to a new state body that they will not develop models with “hazardous capability”. Under the proposed regulation, developers would have to report on their safety testing and introduce a “kill switch” to shut down their models. Critics have accused the bill of being overly restrictive, and say it will drive AI leaders to relocate. 

TikTok Implements Protection Measures (Social Media Today) 

With the UK General Election date now set, TikTok announced a new, dedicated in-app General Election centre to provide reliable and authoritative information for users ahead of the poll. With the update, TikTok is looking to dispel misinformation and manipulation by providing official information.