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US trade regulator opens investigation into AI giants including Anthropic and OpenAI
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is opening an industry-wide investigation into the potential risks AI companies pose to consumers, including Anthropic and OpenAI. It is the first US enforcement action to examine rogue AI agents, amid growing concern after a series of incidents involving autonomous systems. The FTC plans to demand information and testimony…
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Blind visitor threatens British Museum over Bayeux Tapestry access
A blind visitor, Dr Yusuf Ali Osman, has threatened legal action against the British Museum, alleging disability discrimination after he was told that programmed audio-described tours of the Bayeux Tapestry might not be prioritised. His lawyers say the museum should have anticipated disabled visitors’ needs under the Equality Act. The case raises questions about how…
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Teen researcher uncovered flaw granting admin access to Microsoft’s Titan databases
A 16-year-old security researcher named Faav discovered a critical authentication vulnerability in Microsoft’s Titan analytics service that allowed him to gain administrator access to internal databases containing an estimated 17.3 trillion rows of data. Working with an AI hackbot he built called Antares, Faav exploited a flaw in the service’s Azure Cloud Services API that…
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The AI Tamagotchis are coming
Meta and OpenAI are preparing dedicated AI hardware after earlier devices from other companies drew frustration and backlash. Both appear to be introducing their software agents first, in the hope that people will find them useful and then want to interact with them through physical devices. Meta plans to launch its pendant-like Muse Charm before…
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10 ’90s Albums Dexter and the Moonrocks Think Everyone Should Own
Dexter and the Moonrocks frontman James Tuffs has picked ten 1990s albums that shaped his musical tastes and that he thinks music fans should own. The feature connects the band’s “Western Space Grunge” sound and growing popularity with a decade of rock influences, including grunge, post-grunge, alt-country and pop-punk. Tuffs says his father’s music collection…
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Pete Davidson Slams Body Shaming of Ex-Fiancée Ariana Grande
Pete Davidson criticised the online harassment and body shaming directed at his former fiancée, Ariana Grande, after renewed scrutiny of her appearance. He said the abuse was “fucked up”, while describing Grande as strong and saying he believed she would cope. The pair dated and became engaged in 2018, but Davidson said they are no…
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Reddit will limit Old Reddit access to recent users amid scraping concerns
Reddit is restricting access to Old Reddit, its 21-year-old classic desktop version, to users who have actively used it within the last six months. The company is implementing this change as part of its ongoing efforts to combat AI scraping, which it has identified as a significant problem on the platform. New accounts will no…
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Senate Democrats reject bill requiring datacentres to fund power upgrades
Senate Democrats blocked a bill intended to stop datacentre-related power costs being passed on to households and businesses. The Ratepayer Protection Act received 57 votes in favour and 43 against, short of the 60 needed to advance; opponents said it would not effectively curb datacentres’ growing electricity use. The bill would have required utilities to…
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Dems kill Republican’s chances of lowering Americans’ electricity bills in key election flashpoint
Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, blocked the Republican “Ratepayer Protection Act” on Wednesday, despite it passing the House with bipartisan support. The bill aimed to require artificial intelligence companies and data centres to bear the costs of rising electricity rates—a major concern for voters in the midterm elections. Democrats argued the legislation was a…
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Reddit to restrict Old Reddit access and end RSS feeds amid scraping concerns
Reddit plans to further restrict access to Old Reddit, its classic browsing experience, to curb scraping and automated traffic. In the next few months, users will need to be logged in and to have used Old Reddit within the previous six months; the company says this covers most Old Reddit users. Reddit also says RSS…