AI doesn’t care about authors, but Meta should | Letters

Andrew Vincent makes a good point in that, very often, artists are already expected to behave like artificial intelligence (Letters, 6 April). But of course creativity is not simply a matter of training on the work of others. Innovative artists make decisions towards low-probability outcomes; imitation, meanwhile, seeks high-probability outcomes.As things stand, generative AI models are imitation engines – and they do not celebrate their sources, they conceal them. Writers carry forward ideas and techniques, yes, but an immeasurable part of human creativity comes from the certain knowledge that we will one day die

EU to build AI gigafactories in €20bn push to catch up with US and China

The EU has revealed details of a €20bn (£17bn) plan to create new sites equipped with vast supercomputers in Europe to develop the next generation of artificial intelligence models, while opening the door to amending its landmark law that regulates the technology.Publishing a strategy to turn Europe into an “AI continent”, the European Commission vice-president Henna Virkkunen said the technology was at the heart of making Europe more competitive, secure and technologically sovereign, adding: “The global race for AI is far from over.”The EU is attempting to catch up with the US and China, which have taken a lead in pioneering the technology that increasingly powers shopping websites and self-driving cars, generates text, and is predicted to play a transformative role in healthcare, security, defence and advanced manufacturing, among other sectors.The US has a commanding lead in AI, far ahead of China. A report from Stanford University this week said 40 “notable AI models” – meaning influential – were produced by institutions in the US in 2024, compared with 15 in China and three in Europe (all French)

Online suicide forum investigated under new UK digital safety laws

The UK communications regulator has announced its first investigation under the new digital safety laws with an inquiry into an online suicide forum.Ofcom is investigating whether the site breached the Online Safety Act by failing to put in place adequate measures to shield its users from illegal content.The law requires tech platforms to tackle illegal material – such as encouraging suicide – or face the threat of fines of up to £18m or 10% of global revenue. In extreme cases, Ofcom also has the power to block access to a site or app in the UK.Ofcom, which is not naming the forum under investigation, said it was focusing on whether the site had put appropriate measures in place to protect UK users, whether it had failed to complete an assessment of the harms the site could cause, as required under the legislation, and whether it had responded adequately to a request for information

Australian government gave $2.7m to Elon Musk’s X for advertisements in billionaire’s first year as owner

The Australian government spent nearly $3m of taxpayer dollars advertising on Twitter/X in the first year after the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, took over the platform, despite warnings of brand reputation damage that caused the government to initially pause ads.Data obtained by Guardian Australia, after a protracted freedom of information battle with the federal finance department, revealed $2.7m was spent between November 2022 and November 2023. Musk finalised his purchase of the platform on 28 October 2022.The data covers all ad spending on government department campaigns including health advisories and messaging around budget initiatives

Ex-Google boss Eric Schmidt buys £42m London mansion

The former boss of Google, Eric Schmidt, has bought a Holland Park mansion for nearly £42m, in the latest in a string of big transactions in London’s prime real estate market.Schmidt, who was the chief executive of Google from 2001 to 2011, bought the double-fronted stuccoed mansion in west London, last May, according to the Financial Times.The Grade II-listed building also comes with mews houses at the back and was last bought in 2022 for £36.2m, according to official records at the Land Registry. Its sale is the latest in a series of high-profile deals in London’s prime real estate market, after the recent £139m sale of a 40-bedroom mansion inside Regent’s Park

Meta blocks livestreaming by teenagers on Instagram

Meta is expanding its safety measures for teenagers on Instagram with a block on livestreaming, as the social media company extends its under-18 safeguards to the Facebook and Messenger platforms.Under-16s will be barred from using Instagram’s Live feature unless they have parental permission. They will also require parental permission to turn off a feature that blurs images containing suspected nudity in their direct messages.The changes were announced alongside the extension of Instagram’s teen accounts system to Facebook and Messenger. Teen accounts were introduced last year and placed under-18s by default into a setting that includes giving parents the ability to set daily time limits for using the app, to block teenagers from using Instagram at certain times and to see the accounts with which their child is exchanging messages