Anthropic’s Claude AI model recently took over the management of a vending machine in the Wall Street Journal newsroom. The experiment aimed to test the autonomy and business logic of AI agents in a real-world setting. Joanna Stern reports for the Wall Street Journal that the project quickly devolved into financial chaos and social engineering. …
Large language models (LLMs) are powerful tools that generate text based on statistical probabilities, not an understanding of truth. This makes them essentially “bullshitters” that are indifferent to facts, a core design feature that users must understand to use them safely and effectively. Matt Ranger, the head of machine learning at the search company Kagi, …
AI assistants in virtual meetings are recording and transcribing private discussions and jokes, sometimes with embarrassing results for users. These tools can automatically distribute summaries of entire calls, including informal small talk, to all participants. As reported by Ann-Marie Alcántara in the Wall Street Journal, this raises new concerns about privacy and context in the …
Scale AI faced significant spam and security problems while training Google’s Gemini chatbot between March 2023 and April 2024, according to internal documents obtained by Inc. magazine. The issues plagued the company’s “Bulba Experts” program, which was designed to use qualified specialists to improve Google’s AI system. The documents reveal that unqualified contractors flooded the …
Several romance authors have accidentally left AI-generated prompts in their published novels, revealing their use of artificial intelligence tools. Matthew Gault reported for 404 Media that readers discovered suspicious paragraphs in at least three recent romance publications. In “Darkhollow Academy: Year 2” by Lena McDonald, readers found text stating: “I’ve rewritten the passage to align …
A group of Lloyd’s of London insurers has launched a specialized insurance product to cover companies against losses caused by malfunctioning AI tools. As reported by Lee Harris and Melissa Heikkilä in the Financial Times, the policies developed by Y Combinator-backed startup Armilla will pay for damages and legal fees if companies face lawsuits due …
Privacy advocacy group Noyb has filed a GDPR complaint against OpenAI after ChatGPT falsely claimed a Norwegian man murdered two of his children. As reported by Natasha Lomas for TechCrunch, the AI chatbot generated completely fabricated information stating that Arve Hjalmar Holmen was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison for killing his sons. …
Apple has introduced changes to its Intelligence notification summaries feature in iOS 18.3 beta 3. According to reporting by Chance Miller, the update temporarily disables AI-generated summaries for news and entertainment applications. The modification follows complaints from media outlets including the BBC about the feature’s accuracy. Apple has implemented several changes to make the beta …
Meta has discontinued its AI-powered social media profiles following problematic interactions with users. According to journalist Johana Bhuiyan’s report in The Guardian, the company deleted 28 AI personas that were created in September 2023. These profiles, which included characters like “Liv,” a self-described Black queer mother, sparked controversy when users discovered the AI’s development team …
Apple is under pressure to withdraw its AI-powered news summary feature after generating multiple false news alerts. According to a report by Zoe Kleinman, Liv McMahon and Natalie Sherman for the BBC, the feature has created entirely fabricated claims when attempting to summarize breaking news notifications. Former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger called the technology “out …