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Publicly traded companies need to avoid “AI washing” when talking to investors about their use of the technology, according to the head of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Bloomberg News reported. SEC Chair Gary Gensler said Tuesday that companies must clarify for investors what they mean when referring to artificial intelligence. Corporations need to be specific about how they’re using it, risks to operations, and decide if executives’ comments regarding the technology must be disclosed to investors. “As AI disclosures by SEC registrants increase, the basics of good securities lawyering still apply,” Gary Gensler said in a speech at Yale Law School. Companies from a range of industries have been advertising how they’re harnessing AI to improve operations. More than 40% of S&P 500 companies discussed the technology in their annual reports to the SEC, according to a recent Bloomberg Law analysis. Financial firms are also harnessing the technology in everything from lending to trade recommendations. Gensler has previously called AI the “transformative technology of this generation,” but he has also warned about dangers it could pose to financial stability. The SEC recently proposed new regulations to crack down on how brokerages and investment firms use the technology.

Five years ago, 23andMe’s green up-pointing triangle was one of the hottest startups in the world. Millions of people were spitting into its test tubes to learn about their ancestry. Oprah had named its kit one of her favorite things; Lizzo dressed up as one for Halloween; Eddie Murphy name-checked the company on “Saturday Night Live.” 23andMe went public in 2021 and its valuation briefly topped $6 billion. Forbes anointed Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe’s chief executive and a Silicon Valley celebrity, as the “newest self-made billionaire.” Now 23andMe’s valuation has crashed 98% from its peak and Nasdaq has threatened to delist its sub-$1 stock, the Wall Street Journal reported. Wojcicki reduced staff by a quarter last year through three rounds of layoffs and a subsidiary sale. The company has never made a profit and is burning cash so quickly it could run out by 2025. Wojcicki, for her part, isn’t giving up. She’s sticking to her goal to transform 23andMe from a supplier of basic ancestry and health data into a comprehensive healthcare company that develops drugs, offers medical care and sells subscription health reports. She still has to prove the business can sustain itself. She’s raised about $1.4 billion for 23andMe, and spent roughly 80% of it.

Shares of EchoStar, which recently merged with Dish Network, surged after the telecommunications company said it has hired advisers to help evaluate potential strategic alternatives, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The company said it has hired investment bank Houlihan Lokey and law firm White & Case to assist the company in the evaluation process. Its shares recently were up 35% to $17.15. EchoStar, helmed by Chairman Charlie Ergen, recently closed its merger with its sister company Dish Network. The combined company encompasses pay-TV assets, Dish’s burgeoning wireless network and EchoStar’s satellite operations. The merger gave the combined company access to more cash to fund the build-out of Dish’s 5G network. EchoStar yesterday also said that Dish had transferred some of its unencumbered wireless spectrum licenses to a new subsidiary, called EchoStar Wireless Holding. Dish also created another new entity known as the DBS Subscriber Subsidiary, which now holds about 3 million Dish TV subscribers, EchoStar said.

A bipartisan group of congressman on Wednesday unveiled legislation that would require federal agencies and their artificial intelligence vendors to adopt best practices for handling the risks posed by AI, as the U.S. government slowly moves toward regulating the technology, Reuters reported. The proposed bill, sponsored by Democrats Ted Lieu and Don Beyer alongside Republicans Zach Nunn and Marcus Molinaro, is modest in scope but has a chance of becoming law since a Senate version was introduced last November by Republican Jerry Moran and Democrat Mark Warner. If approved, the bill would require federal agencies to adopt AI guidelines unveiled by the Commerce Department last year.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking investment advisers how they use and oversee artificial intelligence, as agency head Gary Gensler continues to express skepticism about the technology, the Wall Street Journal reported. The SEC’s examinations division has sent requests for information on AI-related topics to several investment advisers, part of a process known as a sweep. The agency wants details on topics including AI-related marketing documents, algorithmic models used to manage client portfolios, third-party providers and compliance training, according to one such letter obtained by Vigilant Compliance, a regulatory compliance consulting firm. Karen Barr, the head of the Investment Advisers Association, confirmed that her trade group has heard about the SEC outreach to advisers on the use and governance of AI. The agency’s exercise could be “extremely helpful as the commission considers policy issues relating to these emerging technologies,” she said. The existence of a sweep doesn’t mean the agency suspects misconduct. An SEC spokesman said the agency’s examinations aren’t public and it doesn’t confirm or deny their existence.