In Brief

French court blocks porn sites over age verification for child protection

Government & Policy /

The Paris Court of Appeal ordered some pornography websites to be blocked on Thursday over failure to implement robust age verification systems that are capable of preventing minors from accessing the adult content, Politico reports. Porn sites Tukif and Xhamster were among several adult websites subject to the order. The sites have been given 15 […]

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India’s central bank orders Sachin Bansal’s Navi to halt loans

Fintech /

India’s central bank ordered four non-bank lenders, including Navi Finserv and DMI Finance, to halt loans from October 21, citing excessive interest rates and regulatory breaches. The Reserve Bank of India said (PDF) the firms violated rules on pricing, income assessment, and asset classification. This action follows months of warnings about responsible lending practices, it

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Apple reportedly worked with a Chinese automaker to develop a battery for its now-canceled car

Transportation /

Apple worked with a Chinese automaker for years to design a battery system for its now-canceled car project. That’s according to Bloomberg, which reports that Apple was collaborating with BYD Co., a Shenzhen-based car company, to develop batteries using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells. Apple contributed engineering expertise, specifically in areas like heat management and

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White House considers expanding Nvidia and AMD’s AI chip export limits to additional countries

Government & Policy /

The Biden administration has privately discussed capping sales of advanced AI chips from Nvidia and AMD to certain Persian Gulf countries in the interest of national security, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The restriction could put a ceiling on export licenses for certain countries, potentially Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are heavily investing

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Meta’s Yann LeCun says worries about A.I.’s existential threat are ‘complete B.S.’

AI /

AI pioneer Yann LeCun doesn’t think artificial intelligence is actually on the verge of becoming intelligent. LeCun — a professor at New York University, senior researcher at Meta, and winner of the prestigious A.M. Turning Award — has been open about his skepticism before, for example tweeting that before we worry about controlling super-intelligent AI,

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TikTok’s research reportedly acknowledges negative effects on teens

Government & Policy /

Court documents suggest that TikTok executives are aware of the app’s potential harm to teenagers, according to reporting by NPR and Kentucky Public Radio. Fourteen U.S. attorneys general sued TikTok earlier this week, claiming that the app harms children’s mental health. Much of the material in those suits was redacted, but reporters were able to

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Apple Intelligence features can also summarize breakup texts for you

Apps /

When Nick Spreen installed the beta of iOS 18.1 to try out upcoming Apple Intelligence features, he probably didn’t expect to receive an AI-generated summary of breakup texts from his then girlfriend. “No longer in a relationship; wants belongings from the apartment,” the AI summarized. After sharing a screenshot of the unfortunate message on X,

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After winning Nobel for foundational AI work, Geoffrey Hinton says he’s proud Ilya Sutskever ‘fired Sam Altman’

AI /

Geoffrey Hinton accepted a Nobel Prize this week, recognizing the foundational work on artificial neural networks that earned him the nickname “godfather of AI.” In a speech Tuesday, Professor Hinton praised one student – alluding to OpenAI’s former Chief Scientist, Ilya Sutskever – for revolting against OpenAI’s CEO. “I was particularly fortunate to have many

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