AI-generated avatars are flooding social media feeds, promoting products and building loyal audiences, often without disclosing that they are not real people. Charlie Warzel reports for The Atlantic, drawing on an interview with New York Times technology reporter Tiffany Hsu, who has investigated the rise of synthetic influencers selling supplements and other consumer products. One …
The companies behind AI-powered search tools like Google’s AI Mode and ChatGPT are increasingly shaping which brands consumers discover. The SEO industry is racing to exploit that influence, and some of the tactics are already working. The Verge reports on a growing wave of manipulation attempts targeting AI search systems. One widespread tactic involves companies …
Romance novelist Coral Hart produces over 200 books annually using artificial intelligence, earning six figures from sales on Amazon. What once took her months now takes 45 minutes per novel. Alexandra Alter reports for The New York Times that the romance industry is rapidly adopting AI writing tools, despite significant controversy within the community. Hart, …
Governments in the United Kingdom and Ireland are taking legislative action to address the misuse of artificial intelligence in creating non-consensual images and voice recordings. The UK government is enforcing a law this week that makes it a criminal offense to create or request non-consensual intimate images. This move specifically targets tools like the Grok …
Mathias Schindler, a longtime Wikipedia contributor and co-founder of Wikimedia Germany, reports on a troubling discovery at the 39C3 conference in Hamburg. While developing a tool to check ISBN checksums in German Wikipedia, he uncovered a significant problem: articles containing completely fabricated literature references generated by large language models. The issue emerged when Schindler found …
A Toronto magazine editor’s routine fact-check has exposed what appears to be an elaborate fraud spanning dozens of publications worldwide. The case reveals how artificial intelligence tools have made fabricating journalism remarkably easy. Nicholas Hune-Brown reports for The Local about his discovery of a writer named Victoria Goldiee, whose work contained fabricated quotes, invented sources …
A suspected AI-generated image showing false damage to a railway bridge halted 32 trains following an earthquake in Lancashire and the southern Lake District. The BBC reports that Network Rail stopped services across Carlisle Bridge in Lancaster at 00:30 GMT on Thursday after the manipulated picture appeared on social media. A BBC journalist analysed the …
The search engine Kagi has launched a feature called SlopStop to combat low-quality, AI-generated content. The system allows users to flag and help downrank what the company calls “AI slop” in web, image, and video search results. Kagi reports on its company blog that it defines AI slop as deceptive or low-value content created to …
Real estate agents are increasingly using generative artificial intelligence to create marketing materials for properties. Kat Tenbarge reports for Wired that agents use AI tools to generate videos from photos, virtually furnish empty rooms, and write listing descriptions. An expert from the National Association of Realtors estimates that a vast majority of real estate professionals …
Spotify is introducing a series of policy changes to manage AI-generated content on its platform. The updates include a new system for labeling AI music, a spam filter to catch fraudulent uploads, and a clearer ban on unauthorized voice clones. Sarah Perez reports for TechCrunch. For labeling, the company will adopt the upcoming DDEX industry …