Internet news

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Google wants its search bar to act on your behalf in AI revamp

Google on Tuesday showed off new plans to turn its famous search bar into an AI assistant that can book restaurants, track news, and contact businesses—just by asking a question.

Internet

US enforces law to crack down on sexual deepfakes

The United States on Tuesday began enforcing a law requiring tech platforms to remove sexual deepfakes and other non-consensual intimate imagery, but experts warned of shortcomings and raised online censorship concerns.

Internet

Crackdown in Southeast Asia pushes scam networks to Sri Lanka

A surge in arrests of suspected foreign scammers in Sri Lanka has authorities concerned that the island is fast becoming a hub for online crime, following sweeping crackdowns in hotspots Cambodia and Myanmar.

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More and more websites want proof you're human: Blame the bots

You're trying to book concert tickets before they sell out. You click the link and before you can make the payment, you're asked to identify traffic lights, bicycles or blurry crosswalks in a grid of tiny images.

Internet

AI content moderation takes a lesson from economics

Spend enough time on the internet, and you'll likely encounter some pretty appalling content. Hate speech tends to flourish on social media and in online communities, particularly those with little to no moderation. Even ...

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YouTube offers deepfake detection to Hollywood

YouTube is offering Hollywood celebrities and entertainers a free detection tool to help combat their deepfakes, expanding the Google-owned video platform's efforts to guard against AI-driven impersonations.

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How AI bias can creep into online content moderation

A University of Queensland study has shown large language models (LLMs) used in AI content moderation may be prone to subtle biases that undermine their neutrality. A team led by data scientist Professor Gianluca Demartini ...

Internet

Meta says testing subscription tier for Instagram

Instagram is testing a pay tier that offers features including letting subscribers discreetly view "Story" posts that normally vanish after 24 hours, Meta told AFP on Monday, confirming a report by news website TechCrunch.

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EU could hit X with fine before 2025 ends

The European Union could fine Elon Musk's X platform for breaking its digital rules by the end of 2025—two years into a probe that has tested the bloc's resolve to police the online space.

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Based in US or Nigeria? Musk's X erupts over location feature

Elon Musk's X erupted in uproar after the rollout of a feature revealing an account's location, exposing what users describe as global troll farms and influence operations on the platform—including in support of Donald Trump.

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Don't expect AI to disrupt Google's monopoly on search

In a recent episode of the podcast "Acquired," venture capitalists and hosts Ben Gilbert and David Rosenthal argued that the horrible roll-out of Google's Bard AI chatbot in February 2023—which led the company's stock to ...

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The most effective online fact-checkers? Your peers

When the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) invited users to flag false or misleading posts, critics initially scoffed. How could the same public that spreads misinformation be trusted to correct it? But a recent ...

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Video podcasts become next streaming battleground

Big tech platforms, including TikTok and Netflix, are all looking to add video podcasts to their content, a rapidly growing format that attracts a young audience prized by advertisers and where YouTube dominates.

Internet

As AI data scrapers sap websites' revenues, some fight back

A swarm of AI "crawlers" is running rampant on the internet, scouring billions of websites for data to feed algorithms at leading tech companies—all without permission or payment, upending the online economy.