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Macron defends EU AI rules and vows crackdown on child 'digital abuse'

The Guardian

Emmanuel Macron told delegates at the AI summit: 'Europe is not blindly focused on regulation.' Emmanuel Macron told delegates at the AI summit: 'Europe is not blindly focused on regulation.' Macron defends EU AI rules and vows crackdown on child'digital abuse' Emmanuel Macron has hit back at US criticism of Europe's efforts to regulate AI, vowing to protect children from "digital abuse" during France's presidency of the G7. Speaking at the AI Impact summit in Delhi, the French president called for tougher safeguards after global outrage over Elon Musk's Grok chatbot being used to generate tens of thousands of sexualised images of children, and amid mounting concern about the concentration of AI power in a handful of companies. His remarks were echoed by António Guterres, the UN secretary general, who told delegates - including several US tech billionaires - that "no child should be a test subject for unregulated AI". "The future of AI cannot be decided by a few countries or left to the whims of a few billionaires," Guterres said. "AI must belong to everyone".


World leaders discuss AI future at India's global summit in New Delhi

Al Jazeera

World leaders discuss AI future at India's global summit in New Delhi The fourth, and most high-profile, day of a global artificial intelligence summit in India is under way with world leaders such as United Nations chief Antonio Guterres and French President Emmanuel Macron taking the floor to discuss how to handle the fast-advancing technology that is prompting investment enthusiasm and deep concern in equal measure. The huge gathering in New Delhi is the fourth in a series of international AI meetings that have been taking place since 2023 in France, South Korea and the United Kingdom. Job disruption, child safety and regulations have topped the agenda of this year's edition. The UN chief called on tech tycoons to support a $3bn global fund to ensure open access to the fast-advancing technology for all. The French president also spoke of needing deep involvement: "The message I have come to convey is what is that we are determined to continue to shape the rules of the game, and to do with our allies such as India," Macron said. "Europe is not blindly focused on regulation - Europe is a space for innovation and investment, but it is a safe space."


French Prosecutors Raid X Offices and Summon Musk as U.K. Launches New Probe Into Grok

TIME - Tech

French prosecutors carried out a search on the offices of Elon Musk's social media platform X on Tuesday morning and summoned the billionaire owner to attend a hearing in April. Conducted by the cybercrime unit of the Paris prosecutor's office, along with the French national cyber unit and European Union police agency Europol, the search marks an escalation of the ongoing investigation into X over suspected abuse of algorithms, plus allegations related to deepfake images and wider concerns over posts generated by the platform's AI chatbot, Grok. The office said the search was carried out with "the objective of ultimately ensuring the compliance of the X platform with French law" and in particular, a focus on X's Grok, designed by xAI, which chief prosecutor Laure Beccuau says has led "to the dissemination of Holocaust denial content and sexually explicit deepfakes." Europol spokesperson Jan Op Gen Oorth is quoted as telling Associated Press that the police agency "is supporting the French authorities in this." Musk and former CEO of X, Linda Yaccarino, have both been summoned for "voluntary interviews" with French prosecutors on April 20.


French authorities raid X offices, summon Musk in cybercrime probe

Al Jazeera

French police have raided the Paris offices of X and summoned its owner, Elon Musk, to appear at a hearing, amid an ongoing investigation into the social media giant, the prosecution has said. The search on Tuesday related to an investigation launched in January last year into allegations of biased algorithms and fraudulent data extraction by the platform, the Paris Prosecutor's Office said in a post on X. These included possessing and spreading pornographic images of minors, defamation of personal image related to the creation of sexually explicit "deepfakes", Holocaust denial, and manipulation of an automated data processing system. Prosecutors have also filed requests for "voluntary interviews" of Musk - the billionaire CEO of X's parent company xAI, as well as SpaceX and Tesla - and the platform's former CEO, Linda Yaccarino, on April 20. Other staff at X - known as Twitter before Musk's 2022 purchase of the platform - have been summoned to appear the same week as witnesses, the office said.


Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,435

Al Jazeera

Could Ukraine hold a presidential election right now? Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? 'Ukraine is running out of men, money and time' The death toll from a Russian attack on a passenger train in Ukraine's Kharkiv region on Tuesday rose to six, after the remains of several bodies were recovered from the wreckage, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office said on the Telegram messaging app. At least six people were injured in a Russian missile attack on Ukraine's Zaporizhia region, the head of the regional military administration, Ivan Fedorov, said on Telegram.


Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,413

Al Jazeera

Could Ukraine hold a presidential election right now? Will Europe use frozen Russian assets to fund war? How can Ukraine rebuild China ties? 'Ukraine is running out of men, money and time' More than two dozen countries from the so-called "coalition of the willing", along with Ukraine and the United States, issued a joint declaration, noting that "any settlement" to end Russia's war on Ukraine "will have to be backed up by robust security guarantees for Ukraine". Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, French President Emmanuel Macron, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a separate agreement, declaring their shared intent to deploy multinational forces to support Kyiv's defence and reconstruction if a ceasefire with Russia is agreed on.


Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,389

Al Jazeera

What is in the 28-point US plan for Ukraine? 'Ukraine is running out of men, money and time' Can the US get all sides to end the war? Why is Europe opposing Trump's peace plan? Two people were killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on the Russian city of Saratov, regional Governor Roman Busargin said in a statement on Telegram. An unspecified number of people were also injured in the attack.


French authorities look into Holocaust denial posts from Elon Musk's Grok AI

The Guardian

The Grok chatbot on X has previously spewed antisemitic content and referred to itself as'MechaHitler'. The Grok chatbot on X has previously spewed antisemitic content and referred to itself as'MechaHitler'. French authorities look into Holocaust denial posts from Elon Musk's Grok AI X chatbot suggested gas chambers at Auschwitz-Birkenau were'designed for disinfection' not mass executions French public prosecutors are investigating allegations by government ministers and human rights groups that Grok, Elon Musk's AI chatbot, made statements denying the Holocaust . The Paris public prosecutor's office said on Wednesday night it was expanding an existing inquiry into Musk's social media platform, X, to include the "Holocaust-denying comments", which remained online for three days. Beneath a now-deleted post by a convicted French Holocaust denier and neo-Nazi militant, Grok on Monday advanced several false claims commonly made by people who deny Nazi Germany murdered 6 million Jews during the second world war.


Captain of tanker linked to Russian 'shadow fleet' charged in France

BBC News

Captain of tanker linked to Russian'shadow fleet' charged in France The captain of an oil tanker believed to be part of Russia's shadow fleet of vessels used to evade sanctions has been charged by French authorities. The Chinese national was handed one count of refusing to follow instructions from the French navy and told to attend a court hearing in the northern coastal city of Brest next February. The Boracay left Russia last month and was off the coast of Denmark when unidentified drones forced the temporary closure of several airports last week. The tanker was earlier boarded by French soldiers because it was on a list of vessels subject to EU sanctions for carrying Russian oil exports. Russian President Vladimir Putin called France's actions piracy.


French troops board oil tanker linked to Russian 'shadow fleet'

BBC News

French troops board oil tanker linked to Russian'shadow fleet' French soldiers have boarded an oil tanker believed to be part of Russia's shadow fleet, used to evade sanctions imposed because of the war in Ukraine. The Boracay left Russia last month and was off the coast of Denmark when unidentified drones forced the temporary closure of several airports last week. It has been anchored off western France for a few days. French President Emmanuel Macron said at an EU leaders' summit in Copenhagen on Wednesday that the crew had committed serious offences, but did not elaborate. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia had no knowledge of the vessel.