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Generative AI has enabled the production of child sexual abuse images to skyrocket. Now the leading investigator of child exploitation in the US is experimenting with using AI to distinguish AI-generated images from material depicting real victims, according to a new government filing. The Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Crimes Center, which investigates child exploitation…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. How AI and Wikipedia have sent vulnerable languages into a doom spiral Wikipedia is the most ambitious multilingual project after the Bible: There are editions in over 340 languages, and a further 400…

When Kenneth Wehr started managing the Greenlandic-language version of Wikipedia four years ago, his first act was to delete almost everything. It had to go, he thought, if it had any chance of surviving. Wehr, who’s 26, isn’t from Greenland—he grew up in Germany—but he had become obsessed with the island, an autonomous Danish territory,…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. It’s surprisingly easy to stumble into a relationship with an AI chatbot The news: The first large-scale computational analysis of the Reddit community r/MyBoyfriendIsAI, which is dedicated to discussing AI relationships, found that…

Separating AI reality from hyped-up fiction isn’t always easy. That’s why we’ve created the AI Hype Index—a simple, at-a-glance summary of everything you need to know about the state of the industry. Millions of us use chatbots every day, even though we don’t really know how they work or how using them affects us. In…

It’s a tale as old as time. Looking for help with her art project, she strikes up a conversation with her assistant. One thing leads to another, and suddenly she has a boyfriend she’s introducing to her friends and family. The twist? Her new companion is an AI chatbot.  The first large-scale computational analysis of…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. AI models are using material from retracted scientific papers The news: Some AI chatbots rely on flawed research from retracted scientific papers to answer questions, according to recent studies. In one such study, researchers…

Some AI chatbots rely on flawed research from retracted scientific papers to answer questions, according to recent studies. The findings, confirmed by MIT Technology Review, raise questions about how reliable AI tools are at evaluating scientific research and could complicate efforts by countries and industries seeking to invest in AI tools for scientists. AI search…

This is today’s edition of The Download, our weekday newsletter that provides a daily dose of what’s going on in the world of technology. AI-designed viruses are here and already killing bacteria Artificial intelligence can draw cat pictures and write emails. Now the same technology can compose a working genome. A research team in California says it…

Artificial intelligence can draw cat pictures and write emails. Now the same technology can compose a working genome. A research team in California says it used AI to propose new genetic codes for viruses—and managed to get several of these viruses to replicate and kill bacteria. The scientists, based at Stanford University and the nonprofit…