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Meta says it’s changing the way it trains AI chatbots to prioritize teen safety, a spokesperson exclusively told TechCrunch, following an investigative report on the company’s lack of AI safeguards for minors. The company says it will now train chatbots to no longer engage with teenage users on self-harm, suicide, disordered eating, or potentially inappropriate romantic conversations. Meta says these are interim changes, and the company will release more robust, long-lasting safety updates for minors in the future. Meta spokesperson Stephanie Otway acknowledged that the company’s chatbots could previously talk with teens about all of these topics in ways the…
MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — The disappearance of U.S. aid in Nigeria’s northeast has threatened a school that supports children who are victims of Boko Haram extremists. Boko Haram, which since 2009 has sought to establish Islamic law in the conflict-battered region, forbids Western education and first rose to global prominence in 2014 after its mass abduction of students in the Chibok village. The Associated Press visited the region to document how U.S. funding cuts has resulted in up to 700 students and 20 teachers being let go by an essential school that benefitted from such support. Ramatu Usman, who was…
WhatsApp said on Friday that it fixed a security bug in its iOS and Mac apps that was being used to stealthily hack into the Apple devices of “specific targeted users.” The Meta-owned messaging app giant said in its security advisory that it fixed the vulnerability, known officially as CVE-2025-55177, which was used alongside a separate flaw found in iOS and Macs, which Apple fixed last week and tracks as CVE-2025-43300. Apple said at the time that the flaw was used in an “extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.” Now we know that dozens of WhatsApp users were targeted…
VENICE, Italy (AP) — Oscar Isaac and Jacob Elordi are expected at the Venice Film Festival Saturday for the world premiere of Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” the kickoff to what’s expected to be the film’s major awards season push.Isaac plays Victor Frankenstein and Elordi is the monster in this adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel, which del Toro has been dreaming about making for decades.“It’s the movie that I’ve been in training for 30 years to do,” del Toro told The Associated Press recently.There may be some disruption outside of the red carpet, however, as an anti-war march is planned…
Tesla has asked a judge to nix the $243 million verdict lodged against the company in a lawsuit involving its Autopilot system, or to allow a new trial to occur, according to a new court filing. The company’s lawyers argue that the verdict, which a jury made earlier this month, “flies in the face of basic Florida tort law, the Due Process Clause, and common sense.” This latest filing by Tesla lawyers tries, once again, to rest all of the blame on the driver George McGee, who helped cause the crash. The jury in the case ultimately decided that the…
One international student after another told the University of Central Missouri this summer that they couldn’t get a visa, and many struggled to even land an interview for one.Even though demand was just as high as ever, half as many new international graduate students showed up for fall classes compared to last year.The decline represents a hit to the bottom line for Central Missouri, a small public university that operates close to its margins with an endowment of only $65 million. International students typically account for nearly a quarter of its tuition revenue.“We aren’t able to subsidize domestic students as…
DETROIT (AP) — This could buy a lot of Labor Day weekend sunblock: Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is estimated at $1 billion, the sixth-largest prize in the game’s history.Powerball, which costs $2 per ticket, is played in 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The jackpot has been growing each week because no one has matched all six numbers since May 31. As ticket sales climbed this week, game officials raised the estimated Saturday night jackpot to $1 billion from $950 million, before taxes. Payments would be spread over 30 years, or a winner can…
California lawmakers struck a deal with Uber and Lyft that will allow app-based drivers to form unions and could make ride-hail fares more affordable. The agreement is a win for gig workers who have long been classified as independent contractors, and thus, ineligible for certain protections that employees receive, like the right to collective bargaining. Gov. Gavin Newsom, alongside Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, announced Friday support for two pieces of legislation that form a pathway for app-based drivers to unionize. Assembly Bill 1340 is sponsored by SEIU California, and Senate Bill 371 is sponsored…
A late Tennessee sheriff who inspired a Hollywood movie about a law enforcement officer who took on organized crime killed his wife in 1967 and led people to believe she was murdered by his enemies, authorities said Friday. Authorities acknowledged that the finding will likely shock many who grew up as Buford Pusser fans and watched 1973’s “Walking Tall,” which immortalized him as a tough but fair sheriff with zero tolerance for crime. The movie was remade in 2004, and many officers joined law enforcement because of his story, according to Mark Davidson, the district attorney for Tennessee’s 25th judicial…
TikTok is giving users new ways to interact with others via direct messages (DMs), the company told TechCrunch on Friday. Users will now be able to send voice notes and share up to nine images or videos in one-to-one and group chats on the platform. With these new features, TikTok is positioning itself as more than just an entertainment platform, aiming to become a place where users interact regularly beyond simply sending each other TikTok videos. Additionally, the new capabilities bring TikTok’s messaging experience more in line with that of other popular social apps and services. With voice notes, users…