Sex is a big market for the AI industry. ChatGPT won't be the first to try to profit from it
OpenAI has announced that ChatGPT will soon engage in "erotica for verified adults." CEO Sam Altman says the company aims to allow more user freedom for adults while setting limits for teens. OpenAI isn't the first to explore sexualized AI, but previous attempts have faced legal and societal challenges. Altman believes OpenAI isn't the "moral police" and wants to differentiate content similar to how Hollywood differentiates R-rated movies. This move could help OpenAI, which is losing money, turn a profit. However, experts express concerns about the impact on real-world relationships and the potential for misuse.
Meta adds parental controls for AI-teen interactions
Meta is adding parental controls to kids’ interactions with artificial intelligence chatbots — including the ability to turn off one-on-one chats with AI characters altogether. However, parents won’t be able to turn off Meta’s AI assistant. Meta says the AI assistant will “will remain available to offer helpful information and educational opportunities, with default, age-appropriate protections in place to help keep teens safe.” Parents who don’t want to turn off chats with all AI characters will also be able to block specific characters.
White House joins Bluesky and immediately trolls Trump opponents
WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House has joined Bluesky, the social media platform of choice of many in the left-leaning online world. In its inaugural post, the White House account offered a sizzle reel of the administration’s memes, trolls and messages from President Donald Trump’s nine months since returning to office. Disgruntled X users began flocking to Bluesky after billionaire Elon Musk took over Twitter (now known as X) in 2022, and the platform reported a surge in new users late last year. It remains small compared to more established online spaces such as X, but it has emerged as an alternative for those looking for a different mood.
Australia sharing tips on curbing social media for children before age limit starts in December
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The Australian government has begun a public education campaign with tips on how to wean children off social media ahead of a world-first national 16-year age limit taking effect. Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said Friday that information on her agency’s website explained the new laws. It also offered checklists and conversation starters about ways to make the transition. Facebook, YouTube and other platforms could be fined millions starting in December if they don’t take steps to prevent young Australians from holding accounts. Australia’s age restriction is being watched closely. The Danish government last week proposed legislating an age limit of 15.
Big Tech is paying millions to train teachers on AI, in a push to bring chatbots into classrooms
SAN ANTONIO (AP) — The country’s largest teachers unions are teaming up with tech companies like Microsoft and OpenAI to help educators build literacy in artificial intelligence. The tech giants are paying for training for teachers to apply AI skills in the classroom. For the companies, the partnerships are also opportunities to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance. American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten says skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry is able to provide resources that schools do not have on their own.
Microsoft: Russia, China increasingly using AI to escalate cyberattacks on the US
WASHINGTON (AP) — Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are using artificial intelligence to improve their cyberattacks on U.S. companies, governments and individuals, according to new research from Microsoft. The tech giant published its annual digital threats report on Thursday, highlighting the latest tactics and techniques used by foreign adversaries like Russia as well as criminal cyber gangs. Microsoft's researchers found that hackers are increasingly targeting critical public systems like hospitals, and using AI to automate some of the work. They are also using AI to create lifelike video and audio that can be used to create digital human clones that can be used to deceive people, apply for remote jobs or gain illegal access to sensitive networks.
Microsoft pushes AI updates in Windows 11 as it ends support for Windows 10
Microsoft is encouraging people to talk to their laptops with new AI updates to Windows 11. But millions of computer users are still using Windows 10 as Microsoft ends free security support this week for the older operating system. Consumer advocates have spent months petitioning Microsoft to extend technical support for an estimated hundreds of millions of devices running Windows 10 that will no longer get automatic security fixes. Microsoft is pushing consumers to upgrade to Windows 11, which sometimes requires getting a new computer.
Energy Department offers $1.6 billion loan guarantee to upgrade transmission lines across Midwest
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Energy says it has finalized a $1.6 billion loan guarantee to a subsidiary of one of the nation’s largest power companies to upgrade nearly 5,000 miles of transmission lines across five states, mostly in the Midwest, for largely fossil fuel-run energy. The project by AEP Transmission, a subsidiary of Ohio-based American Electric Power, will help meet surging electricity demand from data centers and artificial intelligence. The project will upgrade power lines in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia. Thursday’s announcement deepens the Trump administration’s commitment to traditional, polluting energy sources even as it works to discourage the U.S. from clean energy use.
US prosecutors charge Smartmatic in alleged $1M Philippines bribery case
MIAMI (AP) — Federal prosecutors have charged voting technology firm Smartmatic with money laundering and other crimes arising from more than $1 million in bribes several executives allegedly paid to election officials in the Philippines. The payments, between 2015 and 2018, were made to obtain a contract with the Philippines government to help run that country’s 2016 presidential election and secure the timely payment for its work, according to a superseding indictment filed Thursday in Miami federal court. Three former executives of Smartmatic, including co-founder Roger Pinate, were previously charged in 2024 but at the time Smartmatic was not named as a defendant.
Throwback styles meet modern tech for a retro revival in our living rooms
It might start with a cassette deck that streams Spotify and charges your phone. It doesn’t have to stop there. In the design world, a retro revival is underway. There are mushroom-shaped lamps, walnut stereo consoles, daisy dishware, neon Polaroid cameras. It’s like our homes just hustled over from “One Day at a Time” or moonwalked in from “Thriller”-era 1982. Welcome to the retro reset, where ’70s, ’80s and ’90s aesthetics are getting a second life. It’s not just in fashion and film but in home décor and tech — the overall feel of life.
