The chief executive of an Indian startup laid off 90% of his support staff after the firm built a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence that he says can handle customer queries much faster than his employees.

Facebook users have shared images of cartoon characters wielding weapons, naked celebrities, and child soldiers – all created using the app’s new AI-generated sticker feature. Parent company Meta unveiled the new feature last week, allowing Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Instagram users to generate stickers with artificial intelligence by writing prompts. “I don’t think anyone involved has thought anything through,” 3D artist and illustrator Pier-Olivier Desbiens wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, who used the tool to create stickers with the prompts ‘Waluigi rifle’, ‘child soldier’, ‘Karl Marx large breasts’ and ‘Trudeau buttocks’. “We really do live in the stupidest future imaginable,” he wrote. Another user shared an AI-generated sticker of conspiracy theorist Alex Jones kissing a dog. “It’s completely unhinged,” they wrote. The Independent has reached out to Meta for comment. The new AI stickers are currently only available to a limited number of English-language users, with Meta yet to confirm whether a wider roll out is planned. “Using technology from Llama 2 and our foundational model for image generation called Emu, our AI tool turns your text prompts into multiple unique, high-quality stickers in seconds,” Meta announced in a blog post last week. “This new feature... provides infinitely more options to convey how you’re feeling at any moment.” Meta claims that billions of stickers are sent by Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and WhatsApp users each month, having first introduced the feature in 2013. Other AI-generated image tools, such as OpenAI’s DALL-E 3, have limits in place to prevent misuse. Users are unable to generate images featuring violent content or real people, though other generative AI platforms exist that do not place limitations on the ways content can be generated. In its blog post announcing the new feature, Meta noted that there was a chance that AI tools could be misused, which is why their introduction is being done on a “step by step” basis. “In keeping with our commitment to responsible AI, we also stress test our products to improve safety performance and regularly collaborate with policymakers, experts in academia and civil society, and others in our industry to advance the responsible use of this technology,” the post stated. “We’ll continue to iterate on and improve these features as the technologies evolve and we see how people use them in their daily lives.” Read More Pixel 8: Google unveils ‘AI-centred’ iPhone rival Facebook and Instagram users face monthly fee for ad-free version Zuckerberg says Metaverse can bring back the dead – virtually Meta just took a step towards its dream of the metaverse

Jozef Puska denied killing the 23-year-old while she was out for a jog in County Offaly.

The marriage was solemnised in a Sikh temple, with the couple performing all traditional rituals.

EXETER, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jun 14, 2023--

By Jason Lange and Nathan Layne WASHINGTON Two groups allied with former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor

By Andrew Hayley BEIJING U.S. incentives to boost consumption of more environmentally friendly fuel has created a new

If you happen to be near the iconic Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, then you stand a chance of getting a photo taken with a ‘giant human poo’ which has been dumped on the shore to mark World Environment Day on Monday. You may well think that plopping a poo on the coastline isn’t exactly a good look on a day designed to draw attention to protecting nature and the planet, but it’s actually made of rescued plastic from south east Asia, and intended to spread a pretty important message. On a webpage explaining their publicity stunt, the New Zealand-based company Better Packaging said: “We’re kicking up a stink because humanity has a problem. We just can’t seem to stop making more and more new plastic, most of it never gets recycled and far too much of it ends up in our oceans. “Basically, we treat plastic like s***.” We see what you did there. They continued: “This giant poop represents the amount of plastic that enters the ocean every 30 seconds. Scary huh. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter “Most of it enters via land, and most of that from Asia. These regions don’t have any formal waste management or recycling infrastructure – plastic just gets thrown ‘away’, buried or burnt. “Eventually, with the next monsoon rains, that plastic will get washed into a ditch, then a stream, a river, and then the ocean. We want to stop that happening!” Hence the four-metre high turd, which is made mostly of recycled plastics and second-hand fishing nets, with a wooden tree structure at its base to “keep it upright”. You wouldn’t want a floppy plop, after all (sorry). The artwork – if we can call it that – is titled "Plastic Pile of S***, 2023". Its unveiling follows a report by the United Nations’ Environment Programme (UNEP) in May which it said plastic pollution could fall by as much as 80 per cent by 2040 if both countries and companies make “deep” shifts in policies and markets through the use of “existing technologies”. “The way we produce, use and dispose of plastics is polluting ecosystems, creating risks for human health and destabilising the climate,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the UNEP. Oh, and if you fancy witnessing the ‘excrement’ but are nowhere near Australia, then you might be in luck, as Better Packaging have said they’d “love to take it ‘on tour’” after going into temporary storage. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Charli D'Ameliodelighted her fans with an early Halloween treat by showcasing her captivating Snow White costume on Instagram

Rights campaigners have urged Tanzania to release three people, including a former legislator, saying they could face treason charges for criticising a deal with an Emirati...

Hundreds gathered on Sunday to remember the three victims of a racist shooting in the Florida city.

Whoopi Goldberg had a blank look and didn't give her opinion as she sat silently, leaning her head on her hand