Roblox is a popular digital space for kids and teens to congregate while playing their favorite video game, or in the platform's parlance, experience. Now teens ages 13 to 17 who want to access a special feature designed to make those hangouts even more fun will have to verify their age via a video selfie. Roblox announced the new requirement Thursday as part of a slate of safety and privacy measures. Once Roblox estimates the user's age -- via the AI-powered age verification product Persona -- and assigns a qualifying age group to their account, it allows them to take advantage of the new feature, called "Trusted Connections." Teen users can add each other as Trusted Connections, which allows them to communicate via voice and chat without filters.

Fox News anchor Bret Baier examines the U.S. power supply on'Special Report.' The global race to harness the power of artificial intelligence (AI) has begun. President Donald Trump got it right from the start when he issued an executive order in January to strengthen America's AI – the next great technological forefront. From Day One as Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator, it was clear that EPA would have a major hand in permitting reform to cut down barriers that have acted as a roadblock so we can bolster the growth of AI and make America the AI capital of the world. In fact, it's an endeavor so important, it is a core pillar of my Powering the Great American Comeback initiative.

Technology standardization has been something of an elusive holy grail, with new tech emerging faster than standards groups can keep up. Yet, somehow, things eventually come together -- at least for mature systems -- and achieve interoperability, be it email networks or developer tools. Now, a new race against time has come to the fore, with efforts to tame one of the fastest-developing technologies seen to date -- artificial intelligence. Can standards groups, with their purposely slower and highly participative deliberations, stay ahead of the AI curve? And can they achieve standards across a technology as abstract and amorphous as AI, that also shifts every few months?

Last week, Bloomberg reported that Microsoft shared internally that it had saved 500 million in call center costs, thanks to AI -- shortly after the company laid 9,000 people off, the third round in a series of layoffs totaling 15,000. What does this mean for the tech industry -- and job security for humans -- at large? Also: 60% of managers use AI to make decisions now, including whom to promote and fire - does yours? According to Bloomberg, Microsoft's chief commercial officer Judson Althoff shared in a presentation that AI tools were improving productivity across several teams, including sales, customer service, and engineering, noting AI had created over a third of the code for Microsoft's new products. Althoff noted AI had reduced customer service costs by over 500 million while upping employee and customer satisfaction.

Before boarding Marine One on Tuesday afternoon, President Trump challenged two progressive Democrat congresswomen to an intelligence test. President Donald Trump lobbed a signature zinger on Tuesday as he paused to speak with reporters before boarding Marine One en route to an artificial intelligence summit. "[Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez], look, I think she's very nice, but she's very low IQ, and we really don't need low IQ," Trump said, smiling as cameras rolled. He added, "Between her and Crockett, we're going to give them both an IQ test to see who comes out best." TRUMP DARES AOC TO TRY TO IMPEACH HIM: 'MAKE MY DAY' President Donald Trump said AOC and Jasmine Crockett should take IQ tests.

Manila, Philippines – When former Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte was arrested by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March, Sheerah Escuerdo spoke to a local television station, welcoming the politician's detention on charges of murder linked to his war on drugs. Escuerdo, who lost her 18-year-old brother, Ephraim, to Duterte's war, clutched a portrait of her sibling during the interview with News 5 Everywhere as she demanded justice for his killing. Days later, she was shocked to find an AI-generated video of her slain brother circulating on Facebook, in which he said he was alive and accused his sister of lying. Are they paying you to do this?" the computer-generated image of Ephraim said. The video, posted online by a pro-Duterte influencer with 11,000 followers, immediately drew thousands of views on Facebook. One of the comments read, "Fake drug war victims". It was Escudero and her brother's image from her News 5 Everywhere interview that the influencer had used to ...

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes explains how drones are frequently used at the southern border to transport drugs, raising concerns from both sides of the aisle. As reported crossings have dropped dramatically at the border, there is still work to be done on matters of stopping drugs from making their way into the United States, especially in the border state of Arizona, a top state official says. One of the ways that cartels transport drugs is by using drones, a tactic that gained attention after bipartisan legislation signed in the Grand Canyon State gave law enforcement the power to shoot down the small aircraft. "I think what has changed is that we have gotten more control over people crossing over the border, but unfortunately what has not changed is we still have a huge amount of fentanyl that is coming across our border here in Arizona, and that is being flown over the by the Mexican drug cartels with drones," Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said. Fentanyl is being delivered across the border by cartels on drones.

A recent survey from Resume Builder finds that half of managers are using AI to make crucial decisions about their direct reports, including which employees are promoted -- and which are fired. The survey polled 1,342 managers in the US, 60% of whom reported relying on AI to make decisions about their employees: 78% and 77% used the technology to award raises and promotions, respectively, while 66% and 64% used it to determine layoffs and terminations, respectively. More than 20% "frequently let AI make final decisions without human input," though most managers also said they would step in if AI offers a recommendation they disagree with. Specifically, managers reported using AI tools for a range of tasks related to their direct reports, including making training material and employee development plans. Although 91% reported using the technology to assess their reports' performance, Resume Builder's survey questions did not clarify what these assessments entail.

The chatbot embedded in Elon Musk's X that referred to itself as "MechaHitler" and made antisemitic comments last week could be considered terrorism or violent extremism content, an Australian tribunal has heard. But an expert witness for X has argued a large language model cannot be ascribed intent, only the user. The outburst came into focus at an administrative review tribunal hearing on Tuesday where X is challenging a notice issued by the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, in March last year asking the platform to explain how it is taking action against terrorism and violent extremism (TVE) material. X's expert witness, RMIT economics professor Chris Berg, provided evidence to the case that it was an error to assume a large language model can produce such content, because it is the intent of the user prompting the large language model that is critical in defining what can be considered terrorism and violent extremism content. One of eSafety's expert witnesses, Queensland University of Technology law professor Nicolas Suzor, disagreed with Berg, stating it was "absolutely possible for chatbots, generative AI and other tools to have some role in producing so-called synthetic TVE".

Tesla will soon face a jury over a fatal crash involving its autopilot system. The trial, set to begin today in Miami, could be the first legal judgment regarding the increasingly normalized transportation tech. The Elon Musk-owned company has weathered several lawsuits levied against its autopilot driver-assist system in recent years, all of which have previously been dismissed or settled. The latest suit was brought forward by the family of Naibel Benavides, the victim of an April 2019 crash involving a Tesla Model S sedan with an allegedly defective autopilot, and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, who was severely injured in the same south Florida wreck. Benavides, a 22-year-old college student, and Angulo were standing outside an SUV when they were struck by the Tesla, which was driven by George Brian McGee.