This Could Be the Start of Amazon’s Next Robot Revolution

This Could Be the Start of Amazon’s Next Robot Revolution

In 2012, Amazon quietly acquired a robotics startup called Kiva Systems, a move that dramatically improved the efficiency of its ecommerce operations and kickstarted a wider revolution in warehouse automation. Last week, the ecommerce giant announced another deal that could prove similarly profound, agreeing to hire the founders of Covariant, a startup that has been…

The Internet Archive Loses Its Appeal of a Major Copyright Case

The Internet Archive Loses Its Appeal of a Major Copyright Case

The Internet Archive has lost a major legal battle—in a decision that could have a significant impact on the future of internet history. Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled against the long-running digital archive, upholding an earlier ruling in Hachette v. Internet Archive that found that one of the Internet…

AI-Fakes Detection Is Failing Voters in the Global South

AI-Fakes Detection Is Failing Voters in the Global South

But it’s not just that models can’t recognize accents, languages, syntax, or faces less common in Western countries. “A lot of the initial deepfake detection tools were trained on high quality media,” says Gregory. But in much of the world, including Africa, cheap Chinese smartphone brands that offer stripped-down features dominate the market. The photos…

Major Sites Are Saying No to Apple’s AI Scraping

Major Sites Are Saying No to Apple’s AI Scraping

In a separate analysis conducted this week, data journalist Ben Welsh found that just over a quarter of the news websites he surveyed (294 of 1,167 primarily English-language, US-based publications) are blocking Applebot-Extended. In comparison, Welsh found that 53 percent of the news websites in his sample block OpenAI’s bot. Google introduced its own AI-specific…

Telegram Faces a Reckoning in Europe. Other Founders Should Beware

Telegram Faces a Reckoning in Europe. Other Founders Should Beware

“[Elon] Musk and fellow executives should be reminded of their criminal liability,” said Bruce Daisley, a former executive at Twitter who worked at the company’s British office, days after British protesters tried to set fire to a hotel for asylum seekers. But Telegram has provoked politicians more than any other platform. What could be called…

Generative AI Transformed English Homework. Math Is Next

Generative AI Transformed English Homework. Math Is Next

ChatGPT has already wreaked havoc on classrooms and changed how teachers approach writing homework, since OpenAI publicly launched the generative AI chatbot in late 2022. School administrators rushed to try to detect AI-generated essays, and in turn, students scrambled to find out how to cloak their synthetic compositions. But by focusing on writing assignments, educators…

Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Charged Over Alleged Criminal Activity on the App

Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Charged Over Alleged Criminal Activity on the App

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov is forbidden from leaving French territory after being charged for complicity in running an online platform that allegedly enabled the spread of sexual images of children, creating an uncertain future for the messaging app that has become one of the world’s biggest social media platforms. Durov was arrested on Saturday at…

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s Arrest Linked to Sweeping Criminal Investigation

Telegram CEO Pavel Durov’s Arrest Linked to Sweeping Criminal Investigation

French prosecutors gave preliminary information in a press release on Monday about the investigation into Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, who was arrested suddenly on Saturday at Paris’ Le Bourget airport. Durov has not yet been charged with any crime, but officials said that he is being held as part of an investigation “against person unnamed”…