James Farrell
Latest from James Farrell
Hundreds of Google employees sign letter urging CEO to reject US military AI use
About 600 employees at Google LLC have signed a letter urging Chief Executive Sundar Pichai not to make the company’s artificial intelligence tools available to the Pentagon in classified settings. The open letter, signed mostly by staff working with Google’s AI systems, airs concern over the “ongoing negotiations” between Google and the Department of Defense. ...
US special forces soldier charged for making insider bet on Maduro’s removal
A U.S. special forces soldier who was part of the operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been arrested and charged for allegedly betting on the operation in the prediction market and winning more than $400,000. Federal investigators said Master Sgt. Gannon Ken Van Dyke opened an account with Polymarket in December last year, ...
Kalshi suspends three congressional candidates for making bets on their own elections
Prediction market platform Kalshi said today that it has suspended and fined three congressional candidates from Minnesota, Texas and Virginia for “political insider trading” relating to wagering bets on their own campaigns. The three men are Mark Moran, a former Virginia Democratic primary candidate for Senate, running for U.S. Senate in Virginia, Matt Klein, a ...
Florida attorney general issues subpoenas in ChatGPT probe over FSU shooting
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier today said that the state has opened a criminal investigation into ChatGPT and its parent company, OpenAI Group PBC, over whether the company bears any criminal responsibility for a shooting that happened last year at Florida State University. Last month, Uthmeier announced that his office would open a probe into ...
Seriously? Footwear brand Allbirds says it has just transformed into an AI business
In a surprising and perhaps ridiculous turn of events, the struggling sneaker company that once tried to make shoes eco-sustainable announced today that it has metamorphosed into artificial intelligence firm. The San Francisco-based company, once valued at $4 billion, said it would “pivot its business” to “AI compute infrastructure,” completely abandoning footwear and now with ...
Florida AG opens probe into ChatGPT alleging connection to FSU shooting
Florida’s Attorney General James Uthmeier announced today that his office will open a probe into OpenAI Group PBC over a number of concerns including alleged harm to children, threats to national security, and a possible connection to a mass shooting at Florida State University last year. Uthmeier announced the investigation earlier on X, where he ...
Appeals court rejects Anthropic’s bid to block Pentagon blacklisting
A federal appeals court in Washington DC today rejected Anthropic PBC’s request for a stay in its lawsuit against the Department of Defense. A panel of three judges said the artificial intelligence company had failed to meet the strict requirements for an emergency stay in the case. Anthropic has sued the DOD in two separate ...
Judge issues block on Pentagon’s label of Anthropic as supply chain risk
A U.S. judge today temporarily blocked the Pentagon’s blacklisting of Anthropic PBC after the Department of Defense last month designated the company a “supply chain risk” over disagreements over how it intends to use its chatbot Claude. The spat originated after Anthropic won a contract to provide the Pentagon with access to its Claude series ...
Meta is laying off hundreds of staff across multiple divisions
Meta Platforms Inc. today began laying off hundreds of employees, with the company’s Reality Labs virtual reality division hit the hardest. It’s believed the number of staff who will find themselves without a job could number as many as 700, as Meta bets big on artificial intelligence and winds down its efforts to get its customers ...
Meta ordered to pay $375 million in major child safety trial
A jury today found Meta Platforms Inc. violated New Mexico law in a “historic” case that accused the company of misleading consumers about the safety of its platforms and failing to protect children from exploitation. “The jury’s verdict is a historic victory for every child and family who has paid the price for Meta’s choice ...