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Musk’s AI chatbot faces global backlash over sexualized images of women and children
LONDON (AP) — Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok is facing a backlash from governments around the world after a recent surge in sexualized images of women and children generated without consent by the artificial intelligence-powered tool. On Tuesday, Britain’s top technology official demanded that Musk’s social media platform X take urgent action while a Polish…
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At CES, auto and tech companies transform cars into proactive companions
LAS VEGAS (AP) — In a vision of the near future shared at CES, a girl slides into the back seat of her parents’ car and the cabin instantly comes alive. The vehicle recognizes her, knows it’s her birthday and cues up her favorite song without a word spoken. “Think of the car as having…
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Ex-BlackBerry employees claim firm has ‘toxic’ and ‘boys’ club’ culture: court docs
New court documents filed in a lawsuit against BlackBerry Ltd. allege at least three women were fired after reporting the tech firm had a “boys’ club” culture. The documents were filed in support of former BlackBerry chief marketing officer Neelam Sandhu, who launched a lawsuit against the Waterloo, Ont.-based cybersecurity firm and CEO John Giamatteo…
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Worker who leaked plans to build golf courses in Florida parks files whistleblower suit
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A former worker who leaked information about plans by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to build golf courses and hotels in Florida state parks has filed a whistleblower lawsuit. James Gaddis alleges that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection retaliated against him for sharing details of the proposals, which caused bipartisan…
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Montana Supreme Court declares 2021 abortion restrictions unconstitutional
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Montana’s Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that struck down as unconstitutional several laws restricting abortion access, including a ban beyond 20 weeks of gestation. The measures approved by Republican lawmakers in 2021 had been blocked since a judge issued a preliminary injunction against them that year. While the case…
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Cabinet minister breaks silence about 2019 workplace harassment probe
Manitoba’s sole cabinet minister has defended her work at a Winnipeg college and said she’s being unjustly targeted more than five years after an investigation concluded she had harassed an employee. At least three employees of Red River College Polytechnic filed separate complaints about the behaviour of their boss, Rebecca Chartrand, in 2019. Chartrand, who…
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Southern Baptist delegates at national meeting overwhelmingly call for banning same-sex marriage
DALLAS (AP) — Southern Baptist delegates at their national meeting overwhelmingly endorsed a ban on same-sex marriage — including a call for a reversal of the U.S. Supreme Court’s 10-year-old precedent legalizing it nationwide. They also called for legislators to curtail sports betting and to support policies that promote childbearing. The votes Tuesday came at…
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New AI minister says Canada won’t ‘over-index’ on AI regulation
Canada’s new minister of artificial intelligence said Tuesday he’ll put less emphasis on AI regulation and more on finding ways to harness the technology’s economic benefits. In his first speech since becoming Canada’s first-ever AI minister, Evan Solomon said Canada will move away from “over-indexing on warnings and regulation” to make sure the economy benefits…
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How scammers are using AI to steal college financial aid
It was an unusual question coming from a police officer. Heather Brady was napping at home in San Francisco on a Sunday afternoon when the officer knocked on her door to ask: Had she applied to Arizona Western College? She had not, and as the officer suspected, somebody else had applied to Arizona community colleges…
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Transparency advocates call for independent review of Access to Information Act
Transparency advocates say a coming federal review of the Access to Information Act should be overseen by an independent panel — not the government — to avoid the pitfalls of the last such exercise. In a letter sent Monday to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Treasury Board President Shafqat Ali, civil society groups, academics and…
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Dozens of states sue to block the sale of 23andMe personal genetic data without customer consent
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia on Monday filed a lawsuit in bankruptcy court seeking to block the sale of personal genetic data by 23andMe without customer consent. The lawsuit comes as a biotechnology company seeks the court’s approval to buy the struggling firm. Biological samples, DNA data, health-related traits…