Oakland
OpenAI sues Elon Musk claiming 'bad-faith tactics'
The countersuit opens up a new front in the high-stakes battle between two Silicon Valley heavyweights. "Elon's nonstop actions against us are just bad-faith tactics to slow down OpenAI and seize control of the leading AI innovations for his personal benefit," OpenAI said in a statement on Wednesday. "Today, we countersued to stop him." Last week, a federal judge in Oakland, California, set a March 2026 trial date in Mr Musk's suit in a bid to fast-track the legal fight. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers previously declined to grant Mr Musk an injunction that would temporarily halt OpenAI's conversion from a non-profit to a for-profit company.
Apple is said to be developing a revamped Health app with a built-in AI doctor
An AI overhaul may be on the horizon for Apple's Health app. In the Power On newsletter, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reports that Apple is working on a much more comprehensive version of its Health app under the code name Project Mulberry, with plans to integrate an AI agent that would somewhat "replicate" a doctor and act as a personal health coach. In addition to making lifestyle recommendations based on users' health data, the app will reportedly include educational videos from real doctors about an array of health topics. The Health app will also put a new emphasis on food tracking, and may even offer form correction tips for workouts using the device's camera, Gurman reports. The service, unofficially being referred to as Health, could arrive with iOS 19.4, which Gurman says is expected to be released next spring or summer. In the meantime, Apple reportedly has doctors on staff whose data is being used to train the AI agent, and it's planning to open a studio near Oakland, California where they can film content.
Judge denies Musk's initial bid to halt OpenAI's for-profit shift but sets trial for fall
A US judge on Tuesday denied Elon Musk's request for a preliminary injunction to pause OpenAI's transition to a for-profit model but agreed to hear a trial in the fall of this year, the latest turn in the high-stakes legal fight. The tech billionaire does not have "the high burden required for a preliminary injunction" to block the conversion of OpenAI, said Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, a US district judge in Oakland, California. But Rogers wrote in the order that she wanted to resolve the lawsuit quickly given "the public interest at stake and potential for harm if a conversion contrary to law occurred". Musk and OpenAI, which he co-founded as a non-profit in 2015 but left before it took off, have been embroiled in a yearlong legal battle. The CEO of Tesla and X, formerly Twitter, accuses OpenAI of straying from its founding mission to develop artificial intelligence for the good of humanity, not corporate profit.
Apple to pay 95m to settle claims Siri listened to users' private conversations
Apple has agreed to pay 95m in cash to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit claiming that its voice-activated assistant Siri violated users' privacy, listening to them without their consent. A preliminary settlement was filed on Tuesday night in the Oakland, California, federal court, and requires approval by US district judge Jeffrey White. Voice assistants typically react when people use "hot words" such as "Hey, Siri". Two plaintiffs said their mentions of Air Jordan sneakers and Olive Garden restaurants triggered ads for those products. Another said he was served ads for a brand name surgical treatment after discussing it, he thought privately, with his doctor.
Apple to Pay 95 Million to Settle Lawsuit Accusing Siri of Eavesdropping. What to Know
Apple has agreed to pay 95 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the privacy-minded company of deploying its virtual assistant Siri to eavesdrop on people using its iPhone and other trendy devices. The proposed settlement filed Tuesday in an Oakland, California, federal court would resolve a 5-year-old lawsuit revolving around allegations that Apple surreptitiously activated Siri to record conversations through iPhones and other devices equipped with the virtual assistant for more than a decade. The alleged recordings occurred even when people didn't seek to activate the virtual assistant with the trigger words, "Hey, Siri." Some of the recorded conversations were then shared with advertisers in an attempt to sell their products to consumers more likely to be interested in the goods and services, the lawsuit asserted. The allegations about a snoopy Siri contradicted Apple's long-running commitment to protect the privacy of its customers -- a crusade that CEO Tim Cook has often framed as a fight to preserve "a fundamental human right."
Apple to pay 95 million settlement for Siri listening to your private conversations
Apple has agreed to pay 95 million in a class-action settlement alleging that private Siri conversations were inadvertently recorded and listened to by third-party contractors. If U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White approves the proposed settlement, filed on Tuesday in Oakland, CA, federal court, users impacted will receive up to 20 per Apple device with Siri, such as the iPhone and Apple Watch. The lawsuit centers around customer complaints that Siri was unintentionally activated and a 2019 report from a whistleblower via The Guardian that Apple contractors heard voice recordings while testing for quality control. This included "confidential medical information, drug deals, and recordings of couples having sex," according to the investigation. Siri is only supposed to activate upon hearing the wake word "hey Siri," but there were reported instances of Siri being triggered by other things -- such as the sound of a zipper, an Apple Watch being raised in a certain way, and hearing a voice.
Apple agrees to settle a 2019 Siri privacy lawsuit for 95 million
Apple has moved to settle a five-year-old class action lawsuit over Siri privacy. Reuters reports that the proposed settlement was filed on Tuesday in Oakland, CA. The company agreed to pay 95 million to class members, estimated to be tens of millions of Siri-enabled device owners. US District Judge Jeffrey White needs to approve the settlement before it becomes official. The lawsuit stemmed from a 2019 report that Apple quality control contractors could regularly hear sensitive info accidentally recorded by the voice assistant's "Hey Siri" feature. The clips were said to include medical information, criminal activities and even "sexual encounters."
A Robot for Lash Extensions
Getting lash extensions can be an uncomfortable process, involving lying with tape under your eyes on a bed for two hours. Chief technology officer Nathan Harding co-founded Luum Lash when he realized it could be improved by using robots. Luum swaps sharp application instruments for soft-tipped plastic tools, uses a safety mechanism to detach instruments from the machine before they poke a client, and employs machine learning to apply lashes more efficiently and precisely. An appointment that usually takes two to three hours takes one and a half with Luum. Luum lash artists, primarily working from the Lash Lab in Oakland, Calif., can see "up to four times the clients" daily as they could operate without the robot, says CEO Jo Lawson.
Who is Nicole Shanahan? Meet the wealthy entrepreneur RFK Jr selected as his VP running mate
Kennedy initially launched his presidential bid as a Democrat last April, but he later announced an independent run in October. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced Tuesday that attorney and tech entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan will be his vice presidential running mate heading into the November general election. A native of Oakland, California, the 38-year-old Shanahan is a philanthropist with a long history of donating to Democrat and left-leaning causes, including supporting President Biden in his 2020 election bid before switching to Kennedy when he launched his own run for the Democrat nomination last year. Kennedy announced Shanahan by praising her insight into "how Big Tech uses AI to manipulate the public," her athletic ability, and willingness to be a "partner" in a number of policy areas, including on securing the border. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., left, and entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan, right.
AI comes to the world of beauty as eyelash robot uses artificial intelligence to place fake lashes
Artificial intelligence is making its way into esthetics with a new application in eyelash extensions. A Bay Area-based company called Luum has released an AI-powered eyelash extension machine, currently available at only a few select California locations. Nathan Harding, CEO and co-founder of Luum, who is based in Oakland, California, told Fox News Digital in an interview that the company is using robotics and AI to "completely transform the experience of eyelash extensions." "For the client, it's going to be super fast, super comfortable and super consistent," he said. "And the provider will be able to do three times the appointments they could do otherwise."