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How Bad Is Plagiarism, Really?

The New Yorker

How Bad Is Plagiarism, Really? From ancient Rome to the era of A.I., people have prized originality, but the line where influence ends and cribbing begins is notoriously blurry. One pleasing facet of plagiarism is that, in the eyes of the law, it doesn't exist. I could come over later, bring a few beers, and we could, you know, get down to some serious humanizing. Hard to resist, these days, given what's at stake. For students with assignments to complete, who have already vanquished their desolation by asking ChatGPT to compose an essay on their behalf, a humanizer is an A.I. tool that takes what has been produced, puts it through a further digital mill, and makes it sound as if it had emerged from a verifiable person. Among the companies that offer such tools are StealthWriter, HIX AI, and QuillBot. Anyone who has buttered and blitzed a mountain of mashed potatoes into a purée will understand.


Mexico City's 'Xoli' Chatbot Will Help World Cup Tourists Navigate the City

WIRED

The launch of "Xoli" adds to the technological efforts promoted by the federal government to turn the 2026 World Cup into an engine of development for the entire country. Xoli, the new chatbot, is named after the axolotl, a salamander with external gills. The Government of Mexico City has launched Xoli, a chatbot that will provide information on services, tourism, and cultural offerings. The platform was designed to meet the demand of the millions of visitors expected to arrive during the 2026 FIFA World Cup . However, the authorities assure that the tool will remain active once the sporting event is over, with the aim of promoting economic activities and facilitating access to public services in the capital.


French prosecutors suspect Musk encouraged deepfakes row to inflate X value

The Japan Times

Elon Musk-owned X's Grok AI chatbot stirred outrage earlier this year over it generating images of naked women and girls without their consent. Paris - French prosecutors said Saturday they had alerted U.S. authorities to a suspicion that tech tycoon Elon Musk had encouraged controversy over sexualized deepfakes on X to artificially increase the value of his company. The social media network's Grok AI chatbot stirred outrage earlier this year over it generating images of naked women and girls without their consent. The controversy sparked by sexually explicit deepfakes generated by Grok (X's AI) may have been deliberately generated in order to artificially boost the value of companies X and xAI, the Paris prosecutor's office said, confirming a report in Le Monde newspaper on Friday. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. By subscribing, you can help us get the story right.


Anthropic Denies It Could Sabotage AI Tools During War

WIRED

The Department of Defense alleges the AI developer could manipulate models in the middle of war. Company executives argue that's impossible. Anthropic cannot manipulate its generative AI model Claude once the US military has it running, an executive wrote in a court filing on Friday. The statement was made in response to accusations from the Trump administration about the company potentially tampering with its AI tools during war . "Anthropic has never had the ability to cause Claude to stop working, alter its functionality, shut off access, or otherwise influence or imperil military operations," Thiyagu Ramasamy, Anthropic's head of public sector, wrote .


There Aren't a Lot of Reasons to Get Excited About a New Amazon Smartphone

WIRED

There Aren't a Lot of Reasons to Get Excited About a New Amazon Smartphone The company is reportedly building a new AI-powered mobile device. If Amazon follows through on the plan, experts warn it would be next to impossible to break into a crowded market. Reuters reports that Amazon's Devices and Services unit is working on a smartphone--dubbed Transformer--with Amazon's Alexa+ AI assistant and shopping as a major focus of the experience. It's unclear what this smartphone would cost, how much Amazon is spending to develop Transformer, and what operating system it will run. There's no word on when it will launch, and there's still also a chance the project could be scrapped altogether.


'A Rigged and Dangerous Product': The Wildest Week for Prediction Markets Yet

WIRED

As the prediction market boom continues, backlash is growing, too, with Arizona filing criminal charges against Kalshi and public outcry after Polymarket traders threatened a journalist. Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour posted a video on Wednesday of six men decked out in business casual doing push-ups on the sidewalk. "This is how Kalshi Q1 board meeting ended," he wrote on X. The board members are laughing and smiling in the video after their impromptu cardio session, and the mood is jubilant. The next day, it became clear that the team had ample reason to celebrate: Kalshi had just raised $1 billion at a $22 billion valuation, making the company worth on paper roughly double what it was only a few months ago.


This Matter-compatible smart light switch is 2 for 20 now

PCWorld

When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. The TP-Link Tapo S505 smart light switch is on sale at Amazon. Grab this 2-pack for just $20 while the deal lasts. My smart home life became so much better once I swapped out my old light switches for Tapo ones. The benefits were many, including that I no longer had to get off the couch to turn off the lights--great in the winter when I was already cozy under the blankets!


Your next PC will likely run on AI agents

PCWorld

PCWorld reports that AI is evolving beyond simple chatbots to become autonomous agents that directly control PC functions and applications. Major tech companies are developing agentic AI systems, including Anthropic's Claude tools, OpenAI's upcoming superapp, and Google's Gemini Mac app with desktop intelligence features. This shift toward AI agents managing tasks like software development and data analysis represents a fundamental change in how users will interact with their computers. Remember when ChatGPT was just an AI chatbox that sat on your desktop? That was, like, so December.


Senior European journalist suspended over AI-generated quotes

The Guardian

Peter Vandermeersch admitted using AI to'wrongly put words into people's mouths'. Peter Vandermeersch admitted using AI to'wrongly put words into people's mouths'. Mediahuis suspends Peter Vandermeersch, who says he'fell into trap of hallucinations', after investigation by newspaper where he was once editor-in-chief The publisher of the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf and the Irish Independent has suspended one of its senior journalists after he admitted using AI to "wrongly put words into people's mouths". Peter Vandermeersch, the former head of the Irish operations at Mediahuis, said he "fell into the trap of hallucinations" - the term for AI-generated errors - when using the technology . Vandermeersch, a fellow of "journalism and society" at the European publishing group, has been suspended from his role.


OpenAI is developing a unified AI 'superapp' for desktop users

PCWorld

OpenAI is developing a unified desktop superapp that will integrate ChatGPT, Codex, and Atlas into a single application, according to PCWorld's coverage of The Wall Street Journal report. This consolidation aims to reduce service fragmentation and improve overall quality for users accessing OpenAI's various AI tools. The superapp represents a significant shift toward streamlined AI services, potentially making OpenAI's offerings more accessible and efficient for desktop users. It seems you'll soon be able to access most of OpenAI's services in one place on your computer.