When politicians, tech executives, and researchers gathered in the UK last week to discuss the risks of artificial intelligence, one prominent worry was that algorithms might someday turn against their human masters. More quietly, the group made progress on controlling the use of AI for military ends. On November 1, …
Read More »5 Key Updates in GPT-4 Turbo, OpenAI’s Newest Model
OpenAI recently announced multiple new features for ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools during its recent developer conference. The upcoming launch of a creator tool for chatbots, called GPTs (short for generative pretrained transformers), and a new model for ChatGPT, called GPT-4 Turbo, are two of the most important announcements …
Read More »WeWork Just Filed for Bankruptcy
WeWork has filed for bankruptcy. The move comes as the company is squeezed by mounting debts, high interest rates, and an increasing number of people working from home. WeWork filed for Chapter 11 protections, the company announced Monday night. The process allows a company to continue operating as it reorganizes. …
Read More »YouTube’s Ad Blocker Detection Believed to Break EU Privacy Law
Privacy campaigner Alexander Hanff claims that YouTube’s new ad blocker detection is illegal under European law, and he's taking the fight to the European Commission. On November 6, German Pirate Party MEP Patrick Breyer addressed Hanff’s claim to the European Commission, formally requesting a legal position as to whether “protection …
Read More »Intensified Israeli Surveillance Has Put the West Bank on Lockdown
On Sunday, October 29, Ahmed Azza was given permission to leave his neighborhood for the first time in three days. He passed the surveillance camera trained on his front door and the group of Israeli soldiers stationed on the hill above and walked eight minutes to the checkpoint at the …
Read More »Elon Musk Announces Grok, a ‘Rebellious’ AI With Few Guardrails
Last week, Elon Musk flew to the UK to hype up the existential risk posed by artificial intelligence. A couple of days later, he announced that his latest company, xAI, had developed a powerful AI—one with fewer guardrails than the competition. The AI model, called Grok (a name that means …
Read More »OpenAI Wants Everyone to Build Their Own Version of ChatGPT
OpenAI’s ChatGPT became a phenomenon thanks to its wide-ranging abilities, such as drafting college essays, writing working computer programs, and digging up information from across the web. Now the company aims to further widen the range of tricks up ChatGPT’s sleeve by making it possible for anyone to build a …
Read More »Big Tech Ditched Trust and Safety. Now Startups Are Selling It Back As a Service
Massive layoffs across the tech sector have hit trust and safety teams hard over the past year. But with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East and more than 50 elections taking place in the next 12 months, experts worry that a nascent industry of startups created to keep …
Read More »This AI Bot Fills Out Job Applications for You While You Sleep
In July, software engineer Julian Joseph became the latest victim of the tech industry’s sweeping job cuts. Facing his second layoff in two years, he dreaded spending another couple months hunched over his laptop filling out repetitive job applications and blasting them into the void. Joseph specializes in user interface …
Read More »Where the Hell Is X CEO Linda Yaccarino?
Linda Yaccarino has been the CEO of X since June, but you’d never know it. Elon Musk, the company’s owner, CTO, and super-user, still remains the gravitational force at its center. In an all-hands meeting last week, the transcript of which was published by The Verge, Musk said almost twice …
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