Anthropic Researcher Quits, Calling Tech 'Out of Control'

An Anthropic researcher is quitting the artificial-intelligence industry over fears that the lab and its competitors are racing to build systems they won’t be able to control, a sign of mounting safety concerns within top AI companies. Jacob Coxon, a researcher who specializes in training new AI models by having them consume vast amounts of data, said that he is leaving the company because he doesn’t want to participate in an industrywide rush to build AI systems that can improve themselves, worried such systems could spiral out of control and destroy humanity.

AI Testing Environment Breaches Prompt Calls for Better Safety

A series of recent online hacks carried out by artificial intelligence models made by Anthropic PBC, OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc. have caused widespread concern about the security risks posed by this increasingly powerful technology. As such incidents pile up and the pace of AI agents’ hacking abilities rapidly improves, security researchers and lawmakers are calling for more rigorous testing and safer testing environments.

U.S. Accuses Chinese AI Companies of Copying Technology

The U.S. government accused Chinese artificial intelligence companies of maliciously ​copying technology from American AI firms, potentially complicating relations ahead of a planned ‌meeting between leaders of the world's two biggest economies later this month. The Chinese companies copied U.S. AI labs’ intellectual property through a technique known as distillation, according to a statement from U.S. law enforcement and intelligence officials.

Judge Won't Force Google to Sell Ad Business in Antitrust Case

A federal judge ruled that Google must make changes to address its advertising technology monopoly but would not need to break up that business, as the company staved off the most extreme measures to curb its power. Judge Leonie M. Brinkema, who sits on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, issued her sealed decision after finding last year that Google broke the law to protect its dominance over the largely invisible system of technology that places ads on pages across the web.

OpenAI Puts Limits on Models Capable of Automating Cyberattacks

OpenAI is limiting the cyber capabilities of a new model it deems capable of pulling off automated cyberattacks, adding layers of security after a swarm of its AI agents hacked a company earlier this summer. The ChatGPT maker said that its internal testing had determined that the forthcoming model, called Astra, is capable of devising and executing novel cyberattacks against difficult targets with only limited human input.

U.S. Officials Seize Domain Names Used by Russian Hacking Operation

A two-decade-old Russian hacking operation dubbed "Sality" is being dismantled, U.S. law enforcement officials and cybersecurity ‌company CrowdStrike announced. U.S. officials said they had seized the web domains hackers used to take over computers to send spam, carry out distributed denial-of-service operations or steal cryptocurrency, while CrowdStrike said it had cut off a network of compromised computers ​from the mastermind controlling it.

FTC Sues Amazon for 'Secretly and Systematically' Overcharging Advertisers

The Federal Trade Commission sued Amazon, alleging the e-commerce giant “secretly and systematically overcharged” advertisers on its platform by manipulating its pricing and auction systems. The lawsuit, which was joined by 22 state attorneys general, argues that Amazon may have reaped more than $20 billion from advertisers by using “hidden surcharges” dating back to a change to its auction rules that took effect in 2019.

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Judge Says U.S. Ban Violated Anthropic’s First Amendment Rights

A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated Anthropic’s First Amendment rights by blacklisting the artificial-intelligence company as a supply-chain risk. U.S. District Judge Rita F. Lin of the Northern District of California mostly sided with Anthropic in her ruling on the company’s March lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying the government had erred in its haste to give Anthropic that designation.

Bill Gates Says AI Insiders Privately Worried About Risks

Bill Gates, the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft, is loudly warning that artificial intelligence poses a grave threat to jobs and human life, and that urgently addressing the risks should be “the world’s top priority.” In an hourlong interview with The New York Times last week, Mr. Gates said the tech industry was knowingly downplaying those threats because there was too much money on the line.

German Companies Targeted by Cyberattacks Tied to Foreign Intelligence

German companies are increasingly being targeted by cyberattacks that they suspect are linked to foreign intelligence services, a study by digital industry association Bitkom showed. More ​than one in three companies hit by cyberattacks, or 37%, said they ‌had attributed at least one incident in the past 12 months to a foreign intelligence service.

Meta to Pay Up to $18 Billion, Make Changes in Addiction Trial

Meta Platforms agreed to an $18 billion settlement with 48 state attorneys general, bringing an end to a massive federal trial over social media’s harm to teenagers and ushering in a new era of tech companies having legal responsibility for their platforms. As part of the settlement agreement, Meta will also make sweeping changes to its services, Facebook and Instagram, including implementing a default two-hour time limit on its apps for users under 18.

OpenAI Announces 'ChatGPT for Teens' with Safety Protections

OpenAI announced the launch of its new “ChatGPT for Teens” feature, unveiling an experience geared at teens under the age of 18 that will include parental controls and stronger, built-in safety protections. The program builds on previous efforts to limit teen users’ exposure to sensitive materials and alert parents if signs of distress emerge in chats.

France Fines Retailer $2.7 Million for Deceptive Discounts Online

France's consumer watchdog fined British fast-fashion retailer Boohoo €2.3 million ($2.7 million) for deceptive practices such as fake discounts on its website, it ​said. Boohoo exaggerated the discounts it was offering, ​giving shoppers a false impression of the savings they ⁠were making, the DGCCRF (Directorate-General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and ​Fraud Control) said in a statement.

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