|
The decision is an early victory for the artificial intelligence company in a rancorous legal battle with the Department of Defense.
|
|
OpenAI has "indefinitely" abandoned plans to release an a erotic chatbot for adults following concerns from employees and investors, the company confirmed to The Financial Times. Plans for such a feature, first announced in October 2025 for release in December last year, had already been delayed while company debated whether to release it all. It's the second app OpenAI has decided to shelf this week, after announcing on Tuesday that it was shutting down its Sora video generator.
The adult-oriented chatbot, reportedly called "Citron mode," is now on hold with no planned release date. The company reportedly had difficulty training models that previously avoided erotic content and also removing illegal behavior like bestiality or incest, two people familiar with the matter told the FT.
Open AI said that it wanted to conduct long-term research on the effects of erotic chats and user attachment to AI, adding that there was currently not yet enough "empirical evidence" on the subject. The company also said it wanted to focus on its core productivity tools like coding assistants and drop "side quests" like Sora and the erotic chatbot.
The idea for adult features came after OpenAI announced that it would add parental controls and automatic age detection features for ChatGPT. CEO Sam Altman said back in October that the company had always been careful about such issues over concerns around unhealthy AI attachments, but felt comfortable that it could "safely relax the restrictions in most ca
|
|
The European Union has opened a formal investigation into whether Snapchat has breached Digital Services Act (DSA) regulations regarding the safeguarding of children using its app.
Regulators say that the company, whose audience demographic has always skewed young, may not be doing enough to protect minors from grooming and "recruitment for criminal purposes." The EU is also looking into whether Snapchat's younger users are too easily accessing information on how to buy illegal drugs and age-restricted products.
Brussels argues that while Snapchat requires users to be at least 13 years of age to sign up for an account, its self-declaration age assurance system may not be an adequate means of ensuring those younger than the minimum age can't engage with the platform. The European Commission also says the current measures fail to assess whether users are younger than 17 years old, which it says is necessary for an "age-appropriate experience." It also alleges that adults are able to exploit the current system to lie about their own age and impersonate minors.
Investigators believe that the app itself doesn't allow for other users to report accounts they suspect are being used by people younger than the minimum age requirements. Moreover, they argue that reporting illegal content found on the app is not easy enough, and that Snapchat may not be informing its users about "possibilities for redress."
Other issues being looked at by the European Commission include child and teen accounts being recommended to other users by Snapchat's Find Friends feature and insufficient guidance on available account safety features.
The investigators are now in the process of gath
|
|
English Wikipedia has banned the use of generative AI when writing or rewriting articles. The platform says it came to this decision because using AI to whip up copy "often violates several of Wikipedia's core content policies."
There are a couple of minor exceptions. Editors can use large language models (LLMs) to refine their own writing, but only if the copy is checked for accuracy. The policy states that this is because LLMs "can go beyond what you ask of them and change the meaning of the text such that it is not supported by the sources cited."
Editors can also use LLMs to assist with language translation. However, they must be fluent enough in both languages to catch errors. Once again, the information must be checked for inaccuracies.
"My genuine hope is that this can spark a broader change. Empower communities on other platforms, and see this become a grassroots movement of users deciding whether AI should be welcome in their communities, and to what extent," Wikipedia administrator Chaotic Enby wrote. The administrator also called the policy a "pushback against enshittification and the forceful push of AI by so many companies in these last few years."
There is one thing worth noting. Wikipedia is not a monolith. Each Wikipedia site has its own independent rules and editing teams. Some may decide to embrace LLMs. However, others may go even further. Spanish Wikipedia, for instance, has fully banned the use of LLMs,
|
|
POP Smart Button owners began sharing the end-of-line emails from Logitech late last month, which noted that the buttons would cease working on October 15, giving them only slightly more than two weeks' notice.
"For close to a decade, we have maintained the POP ecosystem, but as technology evolves, we have made the decision to end support for the device," Logitech's email reads. "As of October 15, your POP button(s) and the connected hub will no longer be supported and will lose all functionality."
Logitech added that it would give POP button owners a promo code giving them a 15-percent discount on Logitech and Ultimate Ears products (Logitech owns the Ultimate Ears audio brand).
Annoyed POP button owners on Reddit didn't hold back about the prospect of their devices being turned into paperweights.
"This is why, ‘local first'" wrote one user, while another complained, "12 buttons and 3 hubs in my home are going to become beautiful useless [pieces] of tech. Why?"
|
|