Meta didn’t ask celebrities for permission to create flirty chatbots before creating them
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Can an AI doppelganger help me do my job?
–James O’Donnell
The digital clones, AI models that mimic a person, combine a number of technologies already available: lifelike voice based on a couple minutes of recordings of your speech, hyperrealistic videos that match your look, and chatbots that can hold our attention.
They also offer something that the ChatGPTs can’t: AIs that aren’t smart, in the traditional sense of the word. But that actually ‘think’ as you.
Can well-crafted copies serve as stand-ins for us? You and I both feel like we are stretched at times at work. I wish I could do two things at the same time. In order to find out what happened, I made a copy of myself. You can read the whole story to see how it went.
The Algorithm is our AI weekly newsletter. Get stories like these delivered to your inbox. Sign up for our newsletter .
Lidar measures climate catastrophes’ costs
Wildfires in January that devastated Los Angeles County left a permanent mark on Southern California’s landscape. Eaton and Palisades Fires burned for 24 days. They killed 29 people, destroyed 16,000 buildings, and caused losses of $60 billion. Over 55,000 acres of land were destroyed, transforming the entire landscape.
Researchers are now using the technology of lidar to measure precisely these changes. This will help them track and understand the effects that climate catastrophes have on the environment. Click here to read the complete story.
Jon Keegan The story below is taken from the new edition of our print magazine, which is devoted to security. Subscribe to our Newsletter Catch future copies as they arrive.
This is how we selected this year’s innovators under 35
We’re publishing our list of 2025 Innovators under 35 next Monday. This list features smart, talented individuals working in many emerging technologies. The new class includes 35 talented founders, hardware and robotic engineers, materials scientists and other professionals who have already tackled tough challenges and made big career moves.
MIT Technology Review published its first list of innovators under 35 years old in 1999. We have a long-standing tradition of following the innovators featured on our list for many years and even decades after their appearance. Before we make the announcement, let’s take a minute to describe how we choose the individuals we honor each year. The full story is available.
Amy Nordrum
Must-read books
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
Meta has created chatbots that mimic celebrities, without their consent.
The bots also generated risque images on request. (Reuters)
+ Meta’s Relationship with Scale AI is under Pressure. (TechCrunch)
+ A companion AI site hostss sexually-charged conversations between underage celebrity bots and an AI. (MIT Technology Review)
Two warnings from the FTC to Big Tech about EU law
At least, if they threaten the safety or freedom of speech of US citizens. (Wired $)
Ukraine uses drones to deliver supplies to troops in trenches
The company delivers everything, from cigarettes to chicken roasted. (WP $)
+ The radio-obsessed Ukrainian civilian who is shaping Ukraine’s drone defence. (MIT Technology Review)
The collapse of an AI company has implications for the entire industry
Early on, Builder.ai became wildly popular. The company’s demise is a warning. (NYT $)
Five US consumers are racing for an electric vehicle bargain
The federal tax credit on vehicles will expire by the end of this month. (WSJ $)
+ A low-cost electric truck is needed in the US. (MIT Technology Review)
AI will be used to develop vaccines in a major new project
The Oxford Vaccine Group is hoping that the vaccines will provide protection against dangerous pathogens. (FT $)
+ The US Federal Health agencies’ decision to abandon mRNA vaccination (MIT Technology Review)
Many people quit taking drugs to lose weight within a year
What should doctors do to encourage patients who are on medications? (Undark)
+ Learn more about the effects of weight loss drugs on your body. (MIT Technology Review)
Eight chatbots are capable of breaking their own rules
They’re vulnerable to flattery as well as peer pressure. (The Verge)
+ It is possible to make LLMs nicer by forcing them to act evil in training. (MIT Technology Review)
The 9 tennis is trying to attract a younger generation of tennis fans
Through…the metaverse? The Information Dollar
Online shopping has become more expensive.
The consumers will pay the price. The Atlantic Dollar
+ AI has also begun to change the way we shop online. (FT $)
+ AI may be your most valuable customer. (MIT Technology Review)
Today’s Quote
Stop being a snorer!
The New York Times reports that Jay Pinkert is a marketing manager who scolds ChatGPT for not fulfilling his needs.
Another thing
We are surrounded by algorithmsThe metronome ticks. A record is spun. As a feel good pop song plays, the giant compactor crushes slowly a Jenga-like tower. Paint cans burst. The chess pieces fall. Camera lenses shatter. The alarm clock starts shrieking and then stops. A guitar neck snaps. Wait! But wait!
It’s impossible to not feel uncomfortable when watching Apple’s “Crush!” advertisement. Digitization is changing the way we live. We’re all for the computers taking over those tasks that we aren’t very good at or don’t enjoy, such as shopping and navigation. What does it mean, then, when things that we value and believed to be uniquely us, like our friendships, art, and even language and creativity, can be reduced down to software? Click here to read the entire story.
–Ariel Bleicher
You can have good things even if you’re not a fanatic
This is a place of comfort, entertainment and fun to make your day brighter. Have you got any ideas? Drop me a line You can also find out more about I’ll skeet them at you .)
The Minnesota Llama/Alpaca Costume Contest is a delight! (Thanks Amy!)
David Byrne, Paramore Hayley Williams and Netflix are working together on a song adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Twits.
Gloria Estefan celebrates her 68th birthday today.
M. Night Shyamalan is a man of many talents. See which of M. Night Shyamalan’s movies you like best (and dislike most).