Author: Trendici

MPs in Oxfordshire and Hampshire leave the social media site following controversy surrounding AI tool Grok.

Generative AI, we are repeatedly told, is a transformative and complicated technology. So complicated that its own creators are unable to explain why it acts the way it does, and so transformative that we’d be fools to stand in the way of progress. Even when progress resembles a machine for undressing strangers without their consent on an unprecedented scale, as has been the case of late with Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot.UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer seems to have so fully bought into the grand lie of the AI bubble that he was willing to announce:”I have been informed this morning…

Norberto ParedesBBC Mundo, CaracasGetty ImagesVenezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado may hold the Nobel Peace Prize, but she knows there is only one foreign endorsement that really matters: Donald Trump’s. She will meet the US president at the White House on Thursday, after publicly offering to share her Nobel with him – a prize he has long coveted.Trump has said it would be an “honour” to accept the award, although the Norwegian Nobel Institute said legally it is not possible to transfer the prize. Previously, Trump had criticised the Nobel committee for bypassing him and giving Machado the award.Largely, he…

The UK economy grew by a faster-than-expected 0.3% in November after car production rebounded and the services sector got a boost.Growth was driven by an increase in industrial output, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, helped by the return to production at Jaguar Land Rover’s facilities following the cyber-attack at the carmaker.With the Budget on 26 November, there was also an increase in services driven by activities such as accounting and tax consultancy.November’s growth figure was stronger than analysts’ expectations of a 0.1% increase.Businesses across the construction, industrial production and services sector told the ONS in November they were…

Kia will “continue to study” opportunities in the city car market, its European marketing chief has told Autocar, suggesting that an EV1 could join the petrol Picanto. The Korean firm’s president and CEO, Ho Sung Song, confirmed to Autocar last year that “homework” for a sub-€25,000 (£22,000) electric city car was ongoing. That new model is tipped to arrive before the end of the decade and would rival the likes of the forthcoming Renault Twingo and Volkswagen ID 1. Kia has just unveiled the EV2 crossover at the Brussels motor show, a model that will be sold only in Europe, due to its small size…

ExpressVPN is back on sale again, and its two-year plans are up to 78 percent off right now. You can get the Advanced tier for $101 for 28 months. This is marked down from the $392 that this time frame normally costs. On a per-month basis, it works out to roughly $3.59 for the promo period.We’ve consistently liked ExpressVPN because it’s fast, easy to use and widely available across a large global server network. In fact, it’s our current pick for best premium VPN. One of the biggest drawbacks has always been its high cost, and this deal temporarily solves…

Elon Musk’s AI model Grok will no longer be able to edit photos of real people to show them in revealing clothing in jurisdictions where it is illegal, after widespread concern over sexualised AI deepfakes.”We have implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing,” reads an announcement on X.Reacting to the ban, the UK government claimed “vindication” after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called on X to control its AI tool.The change was announced hours after California’s top prosecutor said the state was probing the spread of sexualised…

The government is to announce new powers making it easier to mobilise tens of thousands of former armed forces personnel to prepare for war.New rules will mean reservists remain on call for an extra decade, and lower the threshold for them being called into service.The changes will form part of legislation for the armed forces being published in parliament later.While some of its provisions are technical measures the government has to renew at regular intervals, other parts of the legislation are seen by ministers as a crucial part of the conversation about Britain’s readiness for conflict.The measures affect the segments…

California authorities have launched an investigation into xAI following weeks of reports that the chatbot was generating sexualized images of children. “xAI appears to be facilitating the large-scale production of deepfake nonconsensual intimate images that are being used to harass women and girls across the internet, including via the social media platform X,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office said in a statement.The statement cited a report that “more than half of the 20,000 images generated by xAI between Christmas and New Years depicted people in minimal clothing,” including some that appeared to be children. “We have zero tolerance for…

ReutersProtester shielding themself from tear gas in MinneapolisAn Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer has shot a man in the leg in the US city of Minneapolis, where an ICE agent shot dead a woman last week.In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said federal officers initially pursued the man in a car chase because he was illegally in the US from Venezuela.The City of Minneapolis confirmed a man was shot and taken to hospital for non-life threatening injuries. An ICE officer was also taken to hospital to be treated for injuries, the DHS said.Minneapolis city officials said…