Happy Friday! As the annual tech discount chaos of Black Friday (good deals and more) approaches, European policymakers have proposed easing some of the EU’s strict rules on artificial intelligence and data privacy. The move aims to remove barriers to tech companies and encourage business growth in the region, potentially marking a major pivot away from the bloc’s reputation as the industry’s toughest regulator.
The changes will allow AI companies to access shared personal data to train their models, as well as changes to GDPR cookie rules. Instead of constant pop-ups, users can set preferences once in their browser and consent with one click. (Okay, I’m into it.)
Stricter rules for “high-risk” AI applications, originally scheduled for next summer, may be delayed until appropriate support tools are in place. Critics are warning it could be seen as Europe bowing to pressure from Big Tech and political change in the US. The proposal is now before the European Parliament.
– Matt Smith
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Follotoy’s Kumma was willing to talk about BDSM and knives.
folotoy
A company selling AI-enabled toys suspended sales after a consumer safety report found some restrictions on what could be written on its toys. A report by the US public interest research group Education Fund found that Foltoy’s products would discuss everything from explicit sexual topics such as BDSM to “advice on where a child can find matches or knives”. All of the toys appear to use OpenAI’s GPT-4o model to naturally respond to children’s questions and comments. That setup was clearly missing strict limits on the subjects the toys would respond to.
Foltoy has opted to suspend sales of its products while it conducts a “company-wide, end-to-end security audit of all products.”
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xAI appears to be refuting posts claiming its CEO is fitter than LeBron James.
XAI is once again going nuclear with Grok over a series of posts on XAI after a series of outrageous claims by the chatbot. The company is not only cleaning up pro-Hitler posts but also showering flattering praise on its CEO Elon Musk. Over the past few days, Grok began offering extremely over-the-top opinions about Musk. The bot claimed that Musk is the “undisputed pinnacle of overall fitness” and that he is even fitter than LeBron James (hah!). It also said that he is smarter than Einstein and would win a fight against Mike Tyson.
Musk is blaming “adverse signals” for Groke’s derailment. “Earlier today, Grok was unfortunately bullied into saying ridiculously positive things about me,” he wrote. He did not explain how direct questions could be considered “adversarial”.
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A sturdy case for an indoor pizza oven.
Engadget
Two years ago, Oni attempted an indoor pizza-making party with Volt 12. It had flaws, but had enough redeeming features (and interest) to warrant a follow-up. The Volt 2 ($699) is completely new, with a sleeker design that’s slightly smaller than the first generation. It is also cheaper than the original. Read on for the full review.
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Farewell, Friday work commitments.
Chrono Divide Project (via) pc gamer) lets you play 2000 rts red alert 2 In Chrome, Edge or Safari. It also works in mobile browsers. It supports cross-platform multiplayer using all the original maps. red alert 2The single-player campaign mode is still a work in progress. The project website said: “The ultimate goal is to reach feature parity with the original vanilla red alert 2 engine.”
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