Meta has managed to get 33 US states to agree on something
An unusually united front among more than three dozen states suggests lawmakers are taking online health risks seriously, not unlike the way they pushed back decades ago on Big Tobacco.
2023-10-25 18:57
Microsoft surpasses Alphabet in cloud race with OpenAI bet, enterprise focus
By Aditya Soni Microsoft is outstripping Alphabet in the race to make money from generative artificial intelligence through
2023-10-25 18:47
Amazon discloses 181 million users in EU in first store transparency report
(Corrects to add dropped word "store" in headline and paragraph 1) By Supantha Mukherjee STOCKHOLM (Reuters) -Amazon has more than
2023-10-25 18:16
Meta is being sued by 41 states over ‘addictive’ content allegedly harmful to children
Mark Zuckerberg's Meta is facing lawsuits from 41 states alleging there are addictive features aimed at hooking young users. The filings allege that Meta knowingly uses features on their platforms Instagram and Facebook to pull in and addict children. States are also claiming that Meta's algorithms were designed to coerce children into harmful content with features like "infinite scroll" and persistent notifications hoooking young users to continue using the app. Meta has been accused of violating federal privacy laws for children and consumer protection laws. The 233-page joint complaint obtained by Deadline, states: "Research has shown that young people's use of Meta's Social Media Platforms is associated with depression, anxiety, insomnia, interference with education and daily life, and many other negative outcomes. "Nonetheless, Meta has continued to deny and downplay these harmful effects to the pubic and to promote its Platforms as safe for young users." The complaint also said that the company's "motive is profit, and in seeking to maximise its financial gains, Meta has repeatedly misled the pubic about the substantial dangers of its Social Media Platforms." Weighing in on the lawsuit, a Meta spokesperson said: "We share the attorney general's commitment to providing teens with safe, positive experiences online, and have already introduced over 30 tools to support teens and their families. We're disappointed that instead of working productively with companies across the industry to create clear, age-appropriate standards for the many apps teens use, the attorneys general have chosen this path." In May, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called social media a "profound risk" for youth and encouraged parents to restrict their children's access to it. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel 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.
2023-10-25 17:25
Kokusai Electric Soars 28% After Japan’s Biggest IPO Since 2018
Japanese chip-equipment maker Kokusai Electric Corp. jumped in Tokyo on Wednesday after the largest initial public offering in
2023-10-25 16:24
Toyota aims to put 1,000 km-range Lexus EV on the road by 2026
TOKYO Toyota unveiled a Lexus concept car with a roughly 1,000 kilometre range on Wednesday that it aims
2023-10-25 14:16
UK Startup Investment Hits $15 Billion This Year Due to US Money
UK startups have attracted $4.9 billion in investment in the third quarter in part thanks to US backers,
2023-10-25 13:28
Battery firm LG Energy Solution Q3 profit rises 40% on increased US output
By Heekyong Yang and Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean battery firm LG Energy Solution (LGES) on Wednesday posted a
2023-10-25 08:48
China Ousts Defense Minister, Ending Mystery Over His Status
China’s Li Shangfu became the nation’s shortest-serving defense minister ever, ending months of speculation over his status, as
2023-10-25 08:25
Microsoft's AI bets boost cloud business, Alphabet yet to find silver lining
By Akash Sriram and Anna Tong Google-parent Alphabet's cloud business suffered as long-time rival Microsoft's took off in
2023-10-25 07:49
More than 500 potential cyber attacks logged every second, BT says
More than 46 million signals of potential cyber attacks are spotted by cyber security experts every day around the world, according to new data from BT. The telecoms giant said more than 530 signals of potential attack were logged per second. It said hackers were relentlessly scanning devices connected to the internet looking for weaknesses by using automation and machine learning to identify vulnerabilities in cyber defences. The BT data showed that over the last 12 months the IT, defence, banking and insurance sectors were the most targeted by cyber criminals, followed by the retail, hospitality and education industries. According to the figures, around 785,000 cyber attacks also targeted charities over the last year. The company warned that these trends should be of greater concern when over half of businesses (61%) told a BT survey in May that they find keeping up with cyber security measures increasingly difficult. BT has published the figures to mark Cyber Security Awareness Month, and has also launched a new podcast series called True Cybercrime Stories by BT, which details the true stories behind some of the world’s most notable cyber attacks. Tris Morgan, manager director for security at BT, said: “The volume of cyber threats in the UK is rising at an alarming rate, so it’s really concerning that so many businesses and public services are leaving themselves open to attack. “The fabric of the modern business has changed, and there’s now more connected tech for hackers to exploit, more valuable data to target and a bigger prize at stake if they make it through. “With more than a million business customers, BT is the first line of cyber defence for organisations across the world – and we’re proud of our long heritage of protecting people, businesses and critical national infrastructure. That’s why we’re launching the True Cybercrime Stories podcast: to shine a light on the shocking impact this crime epidemic can have, raise awareness of the risks and encourage everyone to think about what they could be doing to protect our businesses and essential services.” Read More AI being used to create child abuse imagery, watchdog warns ChatGPT and other chatbots ‘can be tricked into making code for cyber attacks’ Tinder adds Matchmaker feature to let friends recommend potential dates
2023-10-25 07:28
AI being used to create child abuse imagery, watchdog warns
Thousands of AI-generated images depicting real victims of child sexual abuse threaten to “overwhelm” the internet, a watchdog has warned. The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the UK organisation responsible for detecting and removing child sexual abuse imagery from the internet, said its “worst nightmares” have come true. The IWF said criminals were now using the faces and bodies of real children who have appeared in confirmed abuse imagery to create new images of sexual abuse through artificial intelligence technology. The data published by the organisation said the most convincing imagery would be difficult even for trained analysts to distinguish from actual photographs, and some content was now realistic enough to be treated as real imagery under UK law. The IWF warned that the technology was only improving and would pose more obstacles for watchdogs and law enforcement agencies to tackle the problem. The research comes ahead of the UK hosting the AI safety summit next week, where world leaders and tech giants will discuss the developing issues around artificial intelligence. In its latest research, the IWF said it had also found evidence of the commercialisation of AI-generated imagery, and warned that the technology was being used to “nudify” images of children whose clothed images had been uploaded online for legitimate reasons. In addition, it said AI image tech was being used to create images of celebrities who had been “de-aged” and depicted as children in sexual abuse scenarios. In a single month, the IWF said it investigated 11,108 AI images which had been shared on a dark web child abuse forum. Earlier this year, we warned AI imagery could soon become indistinguishable from real pictures of children suffering sexual abuse...We have now passed that point Susie Hargreaves, IWF Of these, 2,978 were confirmed as images which breached UK law and 2,562 were so realistic it said they would need to be treated the same as if they were real abuse images. Susie Hargreaves, chief executive of the IWF, said: “Our worst nightmares have come true. Earlier this year, we warned AI imagery could soon become indistinguishable from real pictures of children suffering sexual abuse, and that we could start to see this imagery proliferating in much greater numbers. We have now passed that point. “Chillingly, we are seeing criminals deliberately training their AI on real victims’ images who have already suffered abuse. “Children who have been raped in the past are now being incorporated into new scenarios because someone, somewhere, wants to see it. “As if it is not enough for victims to know their abuse may be being shared in some dark corner of the internet, now they risk being confronted with new images, of themselves being abused in new and horrendous ways not previously imagined. “This is not a hypothetical situation. We’re seeing this happening now. We’re seeing the numbers rise, and we have seen the sophistication and realism of this imagery reach new levels. “International collaboration is vital. It is an urgent problem which needs action now. If we don’t get a grip on this threat, this material threatens to overwhelm the internet.” The IWF said it feared that a deluge of AI-generated content could divert resources from detecting and removing real abuse, and in some instances could lead to missed opportunities to identify and safeguard real children. Read More More than 500 potential cyber attacks logged every second, BT says ChatGPT and other chatbots ‘can be tricked into making code for cyber attacks’ Tinder adds Matchmaker feature to let friends recommend potential dates Google and Meta withdraw from upcoming Web Summit ‘Game-changing’ facial recognition technology catches prolific shoplifters Facial recognition firm Clearview AI overturns UK data privacy fine
2023-10-25 07:19