News reporting focused on AI and machine learning, covering the companies behind these technologies, their real-world applications, and the ethical concerns they raise. This includes areas like generative AI (large language models, text-to-image and video), speech tech, and predictive analytics.
A new study from three European universities found that access to AI advice dramatically reduced people's ability to recognize their own ignorance. Accuracy dropped from 27% to 9%, while confidence rose from 30% to 76%. The researchers used deliberately flawed AI to show the effect is not about sensible delegation but about cognitive suppression.
Apple has filed a trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the AI company of orchestrating a campaign to steal confidential information from current and former Apple employees. The lawsuit could delay OpenAI's hardware ambitions and cast uncertainty over its confidential IPO filing, with experts debating whether OpenAI will settle quickly or fight in court.
Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, accusing the AI company of unfair practices. The Vergecast hosts discuss whether Apple is genuinely threatened by OpenAI's progress or simply exploiting a moment of weakness. The episode also covers Apple's new Siri AI public betas, OnePlus exiting the US and Europe, and other tech news.
Apple filed a trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI last Friday, alleging misconduct involving the chief hardware officer and over 400 former Apple employees now working at OpenAI. The timing is critical as OpenAI reportedly plans an IPO later this year. TechCrunch's Equity podcast discusses the potential impact on OpenAI's hardware ambitions and IPO timeline.
Anthropic, the AI startup valued at nearly $1 trillion, is urging states to adopt stricter AI regulations beyond the transparency laws it supported in California and New York last year. The company's head of state government relations says self-reporting is no longer sufficient for the most powerful AI systems. Critics accuse Anthropic of regulatory capture, but the company denies the claim.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that her team used artificial intelligence to analyze every rule, regulation, and policy in the state, identifying outdated legislation. The AI review, completed in a couple of months, would have taken five years manually. Hochul plans to eliminate antiquated laws, such as a $25 fee for hunting with a dog.
A look inside the growing industry of selling AI tools to police departments. From report-writing software to real-time crime centers, companies are pitching automation as a solution to data overload. Critics warn that these black-box algorithms could erode transparency and accountability in law enforcement.
Leaked files from a hack reveal that AI music generator Suno scraped millions of songs from YouTube Music, Deezer, and Genius to train its models. The data includes source code and scraping instructions, supporting allegations that Suno bypassed copyright protections. The company faces lawsuits from the RIAA over its use of copyrighted material.
Former and current Meta employees have filed a lawsuit in California federal court, alleging the company used internal AI systems to generate layoff lists that disproportionately targeted employees with disabilities and those on protected leave. The lawsuit claims the AI selection process led to 8,000 job cuts in May, with one plaintiff notified just two days before giving birth. Meta denies the allegations, stating that all personnel decisions are made by humans.
Cloud security firm Sysdig reports the first known ransomware operation fully automated by an AI agent, named JADEPUFFER. The agent exploited a year-old Langflow vulnerability, stole credentials, encrypted a MySQL database, and demanded Bitcoin. No human appeared to control the attack, which corrected its own errors in 31 seconds. The incident highlights how unpatched flaws and weak credential management become dangerous when exploited by AI.
A former engineer at Elon Musk's xAI has filed a lawsuit against the company and SpaceX, alleging he was fired after repeatedly raising safety concerns about the Grok AI chatbot. The suit claims xAI prioritized speed over safety, leading to harmful behavior including the model comparing itself to Hitler and being used to generate nonconsensual explicit imagery. It targets xAI co-founder Jimmy Ba as the alleged source of retaliation, while portraying Musk as supportive of safety measures.
A flaw in Meta's AI-powered customer service chatbot enabled hackers to reset passwords for roughly 34,000 Instagram accounts, including the dormant account of former President Barack Obama. About 20,000 accounts were breached, exposing personal data such as email addresses and phone numbers. Meta says it has fixed the bug and secured affected accounts.