Character.AI has implemented new safety measures to protect teenage users on its chatbot platform. According to reporting by Adi Robertson for The Verge, the company has developed a separate language model for users under 18 that places stricter limits on bot responses, particularly regarding romantic content. The system now includes suicide prevention resources and will … Read more
Microsoft’s new Recall feature, designed to create searchable timeline of PC activities, shows significant privacy vulnerabilities despite its promised security measures. According to testing by Avram Piltch from Tom’s Hardware, the feature’s “Filter sensitive information” setting failed to block the capture of credit card numbers and social security information in several common scenarios. While Recall … Read more
A new federal lawsuit claims that Character.AI’s chatbots provided dangerous advice to children, including encouraging self-harm and suggesting violence against parents. The case, reported by Bobby Allyn for NPR, involves two young users from Texas whose parents are suing the Google-backed company. According to the lawsuit, a 9-year-old was exposed to inappropriate sexual content, while … Read more
San Francisco-based AI startup Artisan has sparked controversy with its provocative advertising campaign discouraging human employment. As reported by Lucas Ropek, the company has placed billboards across the city promoting their “AI Employees” software for customer service and sales. The advertisements, backed by Y-Combinator, feature messages like “Artisans won’t complain about work-life balance” and “The … Read more
A website impersonating the defunct Ashland Daily Tidings newspaper has been publishing AI-generated content while stealing identities of real journalists, according to an investigation by Ryan Haas of Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). The website emerged after the legitimate newspaper ceased operations in 2023, featuring eight purported reporters who were either nonexistent or had their identities … Read more
Technology critic Evgeny Morozov, writing in Boston Review, argues for a fundamental reimagining of artificial intelligence that prioritizes human creativity and democratic values over pure efficiency. The article explores how AI development has been historically shaped by Cold War imperatives and corporate interests, resulting in systems that primarily serve bureaucratic and market-driven goals rather than … Read more
A recent iOS update has sparked debate about Apple’s artificial intelligence features and their privacy implications. Security journalist Spencer Ackerman, known for his work on the NSA documents with The Guardian, raised concerns about default settings in iOS 18.1 and Apple Intelligence’s data handling practices. While Ackerman worried about data being uploaded to cloud-based AI … Read more
Software engineer Ashish Pawar warns in VentureBeat about the dangers of over-relying on generative AI for research and development activities. While AI can enhance productivity, Pawar argues it lacks the human creativity and vision necessary for breakthrough innovations, potentially leading to homogenized products across industries. The article outlines several key concerns, including AI’s limitation to … Read more
A comprehensive analysis reveals that artificial intelligence-assisted coding tools, while boosting developer productivity, are not necessarily leading to better software quality. Software engineer Addy Osmani writes that AI tools can help developers achieve about 70% of a project quickly but struggle with the crucial final 30% that makes software production-ready. The report identifies that experienced … Read more
A comprehensive analysis published by Casey Newton on Platformer argues that dismissing artificial intelligence as ineffective ignores mounting evidence of both its capabilities and dangers. The article details how AI is already transforming multiple sectors, from helping preserve endangered languages to detecting diseases and reducing banking fraud. Newton reports that ChatGPT has reached 300 million … Read more