TNB Tech Minute: Justice Department Probes Super Micro Computer

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[00:00:16] [SPEAKER_01]: Here's your TNB Tech Minute for Thursday, September 26th. I'm Zoe Thomas for The

[00:00:22] [SPEAKER_01]: Wall Street Journal. We exclusively report that the Justice Department is

[00:00:26] [SPEAKER_01]: probing server maker Super Micro Computer following a critical report by

[00:00:30] [SPEAKER_01]: an activist short-selling firm. That's according to people familiar with the

[00:00:34] [SPEAKER_01]: matter who say the probe is at an early stage. Super Micro's business took off

[00:00:39] [SPEAKER_01]: with the artificial intelligence boom. In August, short-seller Hindenburg Research

[00:00:44] [SPEAKER_01]: said it placed bets against Super Micro's stock. Hindenburg published a

[00:00:49] [SPEAKER_01]: report focused in part on allegations made by a former employee who accused

[00:00:55] [SPEAKER_01]: the company of accounting violations. The report also focused on transactions

[00:00:59] [SPEAKER_01]: between Super Micro and companies run by family members of its CEO. A prosecutor

[00:01:05] [SPEAKER_01]: at the US Attorney's Office has asked for information that appeared to be

[00:01:09] [SPEAKER_01]: connected to the former employee. A Super Micro spokesman declined to comment, as

[00:01:14] [SPEAKER_01]: did a spokesman for the US Attorney's Office. Questions raised by the journal

[00:01:19] [SPEAKER_01]: Science are casting doubt on Meta's claims that Facebook doesn't polarize

[00:01:24] [SPEAKER_01]: Americans. An editorial published today warns that changes made after the 2020

[00:01:30] [SPEAKER_01]: election may have swayed the conclusions of a prominent study published in the

[00:01:35] [SPEAKER_01]: journal last year, which Meta has cited to support its position. That 2023

[00:01:40] [SPEAKER_01]: research paper concluded disabling Facebook's algorithm didn't lower

[00:01:45] [SPEAKER_01]: polarization or exposure to misinformation, but did reduce

[00:01:49] [SPEAKER_01]: satisfaction with Facebook. Meta said it was transparent with researchers about

[00:01:54] [SPEAKER_01]: the actions it took during the study and had no control over the paper's

[00:01:58] [SPEAKER_01]: conclusions. Science's editors felt they needed to make the caveat to the

[00:02:03] [SPEAKER_01]: original paper prominent with this editorial, according to Science's editor-in-chief.

[00:02:08] [SPEAKER_01]: And we exclusively report medical robotics startup Mendera has

[00:02:13] [SPEAKER_01]: secured $73 million in new venture capital. It's a sign of investor interest

[00:02:18] [SPEAKER_01]: in seeing technology used more in health care. Mendera has developed a robotic

[00:02:23] [SPEAKER_01]: system that when combined with ultrasound makes needle-based procedures

[00:02:27] [SPEAKER_01]: like biopsies and other common medical procedures more precise. For a deeper dive

[00:02:32] [SPEAKER_01]: into what's happening in tech, check out Friday's Tech News Briefing podcast.