Things to Do in L.A. Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article. 'Cognitive stunting' and the potential threat generative AI poses for children's brains A Los Angeles Unified School District pupil uses an artificial intelligence-assisted learning platform in March 2024. This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here . See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search.

New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani just announced a one-year ban of generative AI tools in public schools for students up to eighth grade. The legislation takes effect during the 2026-2027 school year and will impact around 600,000 students. "This moratorium is a commitment to getting the future right," Mayor Mamdani said. "We will embrace new technology, but only when it serves our students." New York Governor Kathy Hochul added that the state "has been leading the way in our efforts to keep kids focused on learning and growing -- not clicking and scrolling."

The Consumer Affairs Agency has established a group to use generative artificial intelligence technology to more quickly detect investment scams and other fraudulent schemes. The Consumer Affairs Agency said Tuesday it will step up its fight against investment and other fraud promising lucrative returns by using generative artificial intelligence technology to enhance information analysis. A group established within the agency the same day will utilize the technology to find schemes with similar patterns to past fraud cases and malicious business operators to enable quicker intervention, the agency said, announcing a set of measures against the type of scheme that attracts large amounts of money by promising high returns before eventually collapsing. "Recovery is difficult once the damage (from fraud) is done, so it is important to respond quickly," consumer affairs minister Hitoshi Kikawada told a news conference. The new group will run a generative AI system to analyze cases reported to the National Consumer Affairs Center's information system for consultation, which number about 900,000 annually.

Kimi Onoda, minister for intellectual property strategy, speaks to reporters Tuesday about the government's adoption of guiding principles on intellectual rights protection. The government on Tuesday adopted guiding principles on intellectual property protection for generative artificial intelligence operators, calling on such businesses to disclose an outline of data and methods used to train their AI tools. The Principles Code, while not legally binding, is designed to boost transparency related to AI and promote both the protection of intellectual property rights and innovation amid the rapidly spreading use of the cutting-edge technology. Businesses that accept all or part of the code will notify the government and disclose the learning processes, types of learning data and methods of collecting such data for their generative AI models on their websites. The code covers not only domestic businesses but also overseas operators that provide AI systems and services in Japan. There are growing concerns that texts, images and other materials are being used by generative AI for learning without permission, potentially resulting in intellectual property rights violations.

Meta's little vibe-coding app Pocket has now arrived in the US after a brief testing phase in Brazil. The app lets people generate minigames, called gizmos, via prompts. The games get published to a scrollable feed, bringing in a social media component. Users can save gizmos to a favorites list and repost gizmos to their feed. These games make full use of the capabilities available in modern smartphones.

Japan is considering setting out a nonbinding code for generative artificial intelligence businesses to encourage them to disclose their AI training data and methods for collecting such data to the public. A government panel Tuesday broadly approved a plan to adopt what is known as a "principle code" for generative artificial intelligence businesses to protect intellectual property rights by urging firms to disclose their AI training data and methods for collecting such data to the public. A draft code was presented at an online meeting of an expert panel on intellectual property rights in the AI era. It is based on a law on AI-related technology enacted in May 2025 and seeks to balance rights protection with technological innovation. The government will use a "comply or explain" approach, under which it will set out a nonbinding code for generative AI businesses, including system developers and service providers, allowing them to choose either to comply with the code or publicly explain why they will not comply. Firms that decide to comply with the code will announce their compliance on their websites and notify the government.

By 2050, scientists estimate that antibiotic-resistant infections will be associated with more than eight million deaths around the world every year. These are bacterial infections that resist traditional antibiotics like penicillin. They can develop when you eat contaminated food, have an open wound or undergo surgery. E. coli is a good example, as several strains have become highly resistant to conventional antibiotics . They can also arrive as secondary infections, like pneumonia after a virus .

Misato Kaetsu shows on a smartphone an online information board that she created following a major earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture last month. KUMAMOTO - Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has been increasingly utilized to assist relief efforts in the wake of a powerful earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture late last month. At the same time, AI is believed to have been used to create fake videos and other misinformation that were spread on social media, highlighting both the advantages and drawbacks of the technology. Misato Kaetsu, 38, who experienced the quake in the Kumamoto town of Mifune, created an online information board using generative AI on her smartphone while at the evacuation center where she and her family had fled. Those affected by the quake, which registered up to 7, the highest level on Japan's seismic intensity scale, can use the site to share local information, such as the locations of reopened stores and emergency feeding stations. The service was launched just hours after the idea was conceived.

Damage caused by the use of generative AI is becoming a serious concern, including from AI covers, in which people have AI tools learn the voices of singers and voice actors, and sing songs using the professionals' voices. The Justice Ministry has come up with a draft report calling for the protection of the voices and images of famous individuals as the use of generative artificial intelligence grows. The draft report on civil responsibility over the unauthorized use of portraits and voices of famous people was submitted to an expert committee Monday. The ministry will release a final report as early as August after receiving expert feedback. Many things remain unclear regarding what constitutes the illegal use of voices, as no Japanese court ruling has been issued on related rights. The ministry said that it hopes the final report will be used as a reference in lawsuits and AI development.

More people are using generative artificial intelligence to make travel plans for their summer vacation and letting their children use the technology when doing their homework during summer holidays. Six out of 10 people who responded to a survey on this year's summer holidays said they are using generative artificial intelligence to make travel plans. The survey, conducted by Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance on 1,120 people in their 20s to 50s in June, showed that 61.2% of those planning to travel in Japan or abroad refer to generative AI to make travel itineraries, as well as obtain information on local food and transportation. "The main tool people use for planning trips and doing research when they get there is shifting from travel guidebooks to generative AI," the firm said. Asked how they plan to spend their summer holidays, 58.4% said they are going out, down by 6.3 percentage points from last year. The rate of those traveling in Japan was 57.6%, up by 1 percentage point, while the ratio of those traveling overseas halved from 13.5% last year to 6.4%.