Goto

Collaborating Authors

 Industry


The EU is investigating Grok and X over potentially illegal deepfakes

Engadget

Apple could unveil Gemini-powered Siri in Feb. X's lack of controls potentially'expos[ed] citizens in the EU to serious harm,' regulators said. The EU is investigating Grok and X over'illegal' CSAM content Europe is probing Elon Musk's X for failing to take action to prevent the spread of AI-generated sexually explicit images including child sexual abuse material (CSAM), regulators said in a press release . The European Commission's investigation could result in "further enforcement steps" against X, not long after it levied a $140 million fine against the platform. "Sexual deepfakes of women and children are a violent, unacceptable form of degradation. With this investigation, we will determine whether X has met its legal obligations under the DSA [Digital Services Act], or whether it treated rights of European citizens -- including those of women and children -- as collateral damage of its service," said the Commission's executive VP, Henna Virkkunen in a statement.


The Download: why LLMs are like aliens, and the future of head transplants

MIT Technology Review

How large is a large language model? We now coexist with machines so vast and so complicated that nobody quite understands what they are, how they work, or what they can really do--not even the people who build them. Even though nobody fully understands how it works--and thus exactly what its limitations might be--hundreds of millions of people now use this technology every day. To help overcome our ignorance, researchers are studying LLMs as if they were doing biology or neuroscience on vast living creatures--city-size xenomorphs that have appeared in our midst. And they're discovering that large language models are even weirder than they thought. The Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero has been preparing for a surgery that might never happen.


The 'discombobulator': Did US use 'secret weapon' in Maduro abduction?

Al Jazeera

Why is the US Fed chair criminal probe causing alarm? Venezuela's defence minister has accused the United States of using the country as a "weapons laboratory" during the abduction of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3. Vladimir Padrino Lopez said last week that the US had used Venezuela as a testing ground for "advanced military technologies" that rely on artificial intelligence and weaponry never used before, according to the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal. On Sunday, US President Donald Trump told the New York Post that US forces had indeed used a weapon he referred to as "the discombobulator". "I'm not allowed to talk about it," he said, adding that the weapon "made equipment not work" during the operation. Details of the US military mission to abduct Maduro have not been made public, but the US has been known to use weapons to disorient soldiers and guards or disable equipment and infrastructure in the past.


Lab-grown LIFE takes a major step forward - as scientists use AI to create a virus never seen before

Daily Mail - Science & tech

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Sundance screening sparks online row: 'Sussex Squad' brand claims event failed to sell out as'lies' despite photos showing'rows of empty seats' Mick Jagger's family launch desperate hunt for missing relative: His granddaughter's partner vanishes in Cornwall after wandering streets Forensic video analysis of Alex Pretti's final 30 seconds exposes'John Wayne gun' question that can't be ignored Sinister truth about Celine Dion's song All By Myself: Singer's producer reveals bombshell secrets of her 26-year age gap marriage... that he swore not to tell until her husband René died The nastiest clique in Hollywood have had their dirty secret outed... there's no coming back from this: MAUREEN CALLAHAN Death toll climbs as monster Arctic storm paralyzes 17 states... and US faces brutal freeze warning Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo'creeped a lot of people out' says anonymous Oscar voter amid Wicked snubs John Fetterman's own WIFE turns on him over ICE as Senator comes under fire for his silence on shooting of Alex Pretti Olivia Wilde blasts'inauthentic and unrealistic' sex in modern film and claims it has'been that way for a long time' - despite featuring racy scenes in Don't Worry Darling NFL's beloved grandfather QB Philip Rivers, 44, makes final decision on Buffalo Bills head coach job Lauren Sanchez turns heads in a red skirt suit as she holds hands with billionaire husband Jeff Bezos at Schiaparelli's Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week show Sandra Bullock's Blind Side costar Quinton Aaron is'fighting for his life' in hospital after falling at home Seedy underbelly of America's exclusive golf clubs... as cart girls expose ultra-rich world of sex scandals and drunken debauchery Real estate mogul is sensationally found GUILTY of murdering football coach's son outside mall Kelly Clarkson on verge of QUITTING: Staff are all starting to say same thing backstage... as friends let slip the only way she could be convinced to stay READ MORE: Scientists warn lab-made'mirror bacteria' could wipe out mankind Lab-grown life has taken a major leap forward as scientists use AI to create a new virus that has never been seen before. The virus, dubbed Evo-Φ2147, was created by scientists from scratch using new technologies that could revolutionise the course of evolution. With just 11 genes, compared to the 200,000 in the human genome, this virus is among the simplest forms of life. However, scientists believe that the same tools could one day create entire living organisms or resurrect long-extinct species. This artificial virus was specifically created to kill infectious and potentially deadly E. Coli bacteria.


Syrian army, Kurdish-led SDF accuse each other of ceasefire violations

Al Jazeera

How many Syrians have returned? A ceasefire between the Syrian army and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) appears to be largely holding, even as the two sides have accused each other of violating its terms. The army on Sunday said the SDF launched multiple drone attacks in the Aleppo countryside, while the United States-trained Kurdish forces on Monday accused the army of targeting a Kurdish-majority city near the Turkish border. An initial four-day ceasefire between the Syrian army and the SDF was extended by 15 days soon after it expired on Saturday night. The official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that the SDF launched more than 25 explosive drones on the army positions in the Aleppo countryside on Sunday, breaching the newly extended ceasefire.


Is humanity doomed? Doomsday Clock will be updated TOMORROW to determine our fate - here's how scientists think the hands will move

Daily Mail - Science & tech

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Sundance screening sparks online row: 'Sussex Squad' brand claims event failed to sell out as'lies' despite photos showing'rows of empty seats' Mick Jagger's family launch desperate hunt for missing relative: His granddaughter's partner vanishes in Cornwall after wandering streets Forensic video analysis of Alex Pretti's final 30 seconds exposes'John Wayne gun' question that can't be ignored Sinister truth about Celine Dion's song All By Myself: Singer's producer reveals bombshell secrets of her 26-year age gap marriage... that he swore not to tell until her husband René died The nastiest clique in Hollywood have had their dirty secret outed... there's no coming back from this: MAUREEN CALLAHAN Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo'creeped a lot of people out' says anonymous Oscar voter amid Wicked snubs John Fetterman's own WIFE turns on him over ICE as Senator comes under fire for his silence on shooting of Alex Pretti Lauren Sanchez turns heads in a red skirt suit as she holds hands with billionaire husband Jeff Bezos at Schiaparelli's Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week show Olivia Wilde blasts'inauthentic and unrealistic' sex in modern film and claims it has'been that way for a long time' - despite featuring racy scenes in Don't Worry Darling Sandra Bullock's Blind Side costar Quinton Aaron is'fighting for his life' in hospital after falling at home Seedy underbelly of America's exclusive golf clubs... as cart girls expose ultra-rich world of sex scandals and drunken debauchery Real estate mogul is sensationally found GUILTY of murdering football coach's son outside mall Kelly Clarkson on verge of QUITTING: Staff are all starting to say same thing backstage... as friends let slip the only way she could be convinced to stay Panicking realtors are drowning in unsold homes in America's'most extreme' market. They blame'the Joe Rogan effect' Doomsday Clock will be updated TOMORROW to determine our fate - here's how scientists think the hands will move READ MORE: What WILL lead to our demise? We're about to find out - as scientists prepare to update the Doomsday Clock tomorrow. The new time for the symbolic timepiece, which ticks closer to midnight as we approach annihilation, will be revealed at 15:00 GMT on 27 January. Since last year, the clock has sat at 89 seconds to midnight - the latest time in its 78-year history.


We Strapped on Exoskeletons and Raced. There's One Clear Winner

WIRED

WIRED put the latest consumer exoskeletons from Dnsys and Hypershell in a head-to-head test on a pro athletic track. Personal exoskeletons were everywhere at CES 2026 . There were ambitious designs from newcomers WiRobotics, Sumbu, Ascentiz, and Dephy, while Skip Mo/Go was back promoting its long-overdue tech trousers. Dnsys (pronounced Deen-sis), a comparatively well established name, had some new launches to tease, Hypershell was back with its top model, and Ascentiz had us sprinting across the show floor . An exoskeleton is a relatively new class of wearable device designed to enhance, support, or assist human movement, strength, posture, or even physical activity.


USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier Strike Group makes move amid threat from Iran

FOX News

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset . Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions . Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by LSEG .


EU investigates Elon Musk's X over Grok AI sexual deepfakes

BBC News

EU investigates Elon Musk's X over Grok AI sexual deepfakes The European Commission has launched an investigation into Elon Musk's X over concerns its AI tool Grok was used to create sexualised images of real people. It follows a similar announcement in January from the UK watchdog Ofcom. Regina Doherty, a member of the European parliament representing Ireland, said the Commission would assess whether manipulated sexually explicit images have been shown to users in the EU. A previous statement from X's Safety account said the social media platform had stopped Grok from digitally altering pictures of people to remove their clothing in jurisdictions where such content is illegal. But campaigners and victims said the ability to generate sexually explicit pictures using the tool should have never happened in the first place, and Ofcom said its investigation would remain ongoing.


EU launches inquiry into X over sexually explicit images made by Grok AI

The Guardian

The AI chatbot feature on X, Grok, was found by one study to have generated about 3m sexualised images in 11 days. The AI chatbot feature on X, Grok, was found by one study to have generated about 3m sexualised images in 11 days. Investigation comes after Elon Musk's firm sparked outrage by allowing users to'strip' photos of women and children The European Commission has launched an investigation into Elon Musk's X over the production of sexually explicit images and the spreading of possible child sexual abuse material by the platform's AI chatbot feature, Grok. The formal inquiry, launched on Monday, also extends an investigation into X's recommender systems, algorithms that help users discover new content. Grok has sparked international outrage by allowing users to digitally strip women and children and put them into provocative poses.