Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff apologizes for saying San Francisco needs National Guard troops
Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff appears to be backtracking on comments calling for the National Guard to patrol San Francisco. “After listening to my fellow San Franciscans and local officials, I do not believe the National Guard is necessary to protect San Francisco after the largest and most secure Dream Force in history,” Benioff […]
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff apologizes for saying San Francisco needs National Guard troops
Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff appears to be backtracking on comments calling for the National Guard to patrol San Francisco. “After listening to my fellow San Franciscans and local officials, I do not believe the National Guard is necessary to protect San Francisco after the largest and most secure Dream Force in history,” Benioff […]
WhatsApp changes terms to ban generic chatbots from platform
Meta-owned chat app WhatsApp changed its business API policies this week, banning generic chatbots from its platform. The move is likely to impact WhatsApp-based assistants from companies such as OpenAI, Perplexity, Khosla Ventures-backed Luzia, and General Catalyst-backed Poke. Focusing on general-purpose chatbots, the company has added a new section to its business API terminology that […]
Silicon Valley surprises AI safety advocates
Silicon Valley leaders, including White House AI and cryptocurrency czar David Sachs and OpenAI chief strategy officer Jason Kwon, sparked controversy online this week with comments about groups promoting AI safety. In other cases, he argued that some AI safety advocates are not as noble as they appear, acting in their own interests or the […]
Senate Republicans deepfaked Chuck Schumer, but X isn’t taking it down
Senate Republicans shared a deepfake video of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer that makes it appear as though Democrats are celebrating the 16-day government shutdown. The deepfake shows an AI-generated Schumer repeating the phrase “Every day gets better for us,” which are actual words taken out of context from a Punchbowl News article. In the […]
AI tools run on fracked gas and bulldozed land in Texas
The AI era is giving fracking a second act, a surprising development for an industry that even during the boom years of the early 2010s was criticized by climate change advocates for polluted water tables, man-made earthquakes, and the persistence of fossil fuels. AI companies are building large data centers near major gas production areas, […]
Trump’s Energy Department decides to keep at least one Biden-era energy plan in place
The Department of Energy announced Thursday that it has finalized a $1.6 billion loan guarantee to replace nearly 5,000 miles of power lines. Power grid upgrades will ease the flow of power in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma and West Virginia. The project would address transmission lines owned by American Electric Power (AEP) and would not […]
Should AI do everything? OpenAI thinks so
Silicon Valley rules? It’s not cool to be cautious. As OpenAI removes guardrails and venture capitalists criticize companies like Anthropic for supporting AI safety regulations, it’s becoming clearer who the industry thinks should lead AI development. In this episode of Equity, Kirsten Kolosek, Anthony Ha, and Max Zeff talk about how the lines between innovation […]
SB 243 to ChatGPT: Why it’s “uncool” to be cautious about AI
Silicon Valley rules? It’s not cool to be cautious. As OpenAI removes guardrails and venture capitalists criticize companies like Anthropic for supporting AI safety regulations, it’s becoming clearer who the industry thinks should lead AI development. In this episode of Equity, Kirsten Kolosek, Anthony Ha, and Max Zeff talk about how the lines between innovation […]
Facebook’s AI can now suggest edits to photos left on your phone
A Facebook feature that lets you suggest edits to Meta AI on photos saved in your phone’s camera roll but not yet shared is now rolling out to all users in the US and Canada. The company announced Friday that users can now choose whether to receive these sharing suggestions. You’ll then be prompted to […]