Kalakshar US

American regulators now appear to be clamping down on generative AI in earnest. The Washington Post has learned the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched an investigation into OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT and DALL-E. Officials have requested documents showing how the company tackles risks stemming from its large language AI models. The FTC is concerned the company may be violating consumer protection laws through “unfair or deceptive” practices that could hurt the public’s privacy, security or reputation.

The Commission is particularly interested in information linked to a bug that leaked ChatGPT users’ sensitive data, including payments and chat histories. While OpenAI said the number of affected users was very small, the FTC is worried this stems from poor security practices. The agency also wants details of any complaints alleging the AI made false or malicious statements about individuals, and info showing how well users understand the accuracy of the products they’re using.

We’ve asked OpenAI for comment. The FTC declined comment and typically doesn’t remark on investigations, but has previously warned that generative AI could run afoul of the law by doing more harm than good to consumers. It could be used to perpetrate scams, run misleading marketing campaigns or lead to discriminatory advertising, for instance. If the government body finds a company in violation, it can apply fines or issue consent decrees that force certain practices.

AI-specific laws and rules aren’t expected in the near future. Even so, the government has stepped up pressure on the tech industry. OpenAI chief Sam Altman testified before the Senate in May, where he defended his company by outlining privacy and safety measures while touting AI’s claimed benefits. He said protections were in place, but that OpenAI would be “increasingly cautious” and continue to upgrade its safeguards.

It’s not clear if the FTC will pursue other generative AI developers, such as Google and Anthropic. The OpenAI investigation shows how the Commission might approach other cases, though, and signals that the regulator is serious about scrutinizing AI developers.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ftc-opens-investigation-into-chatgpt-creator-openai-164551958.html?src=rss 

The problems keep mounting for Celsius founder Alex Mashinsky, as he’s been arrested and charged by federal authorities with fraud. Mashinsky faces seven criminal counts, including securities, commodities and wire fraud, as originally reported by CBS News. He and his company are being independent sued by three government agencies — the FTC, CFTC and SEC. The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that Mashinsky misled customers regarding the nature of his company, making it seem like a bank when it was actually a high-risk investment fund.

Celsius’s former chief revenue officer, Roni Cohen-Pavon, was also arrested, with both Pavon and Mashinsky being charged with manipulating the price of the company’s proprietary crypto token so they could sell their own stock at inflated prices. 

“Mashinsky misrepresented, among other things, the safety of Celsius’s yield-generating activities, Celsius’s profitability, the long-term sustainability of Celsius’ high rewards rates and the risks associated with depositing crypto assets with Celsius,” federal prosecutors wrote in a charging document obtained by CNBC.

Additionally, the FTC reached a $4.7 billion settlement today with Celsius, which nearly matches the record fines levied against Meta in 2019 for violating the privacy of consumers. The company has agreed to these financial terms, but will only make payments once it returns what remains in customer assets as part of ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

This all follows a New York-based lawsuit issued in January that also alleged massive fraud. That suit seeks appropriate damages after Celsius allegedly defrauded investors out of “billions of dollars” in cryptocurrency.

While details are scant on today’s arrest, the New York suit alleges that Mashinsky misled customers about the company’s worsening financial health and failed to register as a commodities and securities dealer, among many other allegations. New York State Attorney General Letitia James alleged that Mashinsky deceived hundreds of thousands of investors, with over 26,000 of them located in New York.

If convicted on all counts, Mashinsky and Pavon face decades in prison. Mashinsky resigned as CEO of Celsius last year and is no longer involved with the company.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/celsius-founder-alex-mashinsky-arrested-and-charged-with-fraud-170235270.html?src=rss 

A group of college professors sued Texas today for banning TikTok on state devices and networks, as reported byThe Washington Post. The plaintiffs say the prohibition compromises their research and teaching while “preventing or seriously impeding faculty from pursuing research that relates to TikTok,” including studying the very disinformation and data-collection practices the restriction claims to address. The plaintiffs say the ban makes it “almost impossible for faculty to use TikTok in their classrooms — whether to teach about TikTok or to use content from TikTok to teach about other subjects.”

The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University filed the lawsuit in the name of the Coalition for Independent Technology Research, an academic research advocacy group the Texas professors are members of. The lawsuit names Governor Greg Abbott and 14 other state and public education officials as defendants. “The government’s authority to control their research and teaching… cannot survive First Amendment scrutiny,” the complaint says.

One example cited by the plaintiffs is Jacqueline Vickery, Associate Professor in the Department of Media Arts at the University of North Texas, who studies and teaches how young people use social media for expression and political organizing. “The ban has forced her to suspend research projects and change her research agenda, alter her teaching methodology, and eliminate course materials,” the complaint reads. “It has also undermined her ability to respond to student questions and to review the work of other researchers, including as part of the peer-review process.”

The lawsuit says that, although faculty at public universities are public employees, the First Amendment shields them from government control over their research and teaching. “Imposing a broad restraint on the research and teaching of public university faculty is not a constitutionally permissible means of protecting Texans’ ‘way of life’ or countering the threat of disinformation,” the suit says, citing Abbott’s comments that he feared the Chinese government “wields TikTok to attack our way of life.” The suit also condemns the double standard of claiming to care about Texans’ privacy while still allowing Meta, Google and Twitter (all American companies) to harvest much of the same data as TikTok.

“The ban is suppressing research about the very concerns that Governor Abbott has raised, about disinformation, about data collection,” Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, told The Washington Post. “There are other ways to address those concerns that don’t impose the same severe burden on faculty and researchers’ First Amendment rights,” he added, as well as their “ability to continue studying what has, like it or not, become a hugely popular and influential communications platform.”

This is the third lawsuit this year challenging state TikTok bans. Two Montana lawsuits funded by the Chinese social media company claim the prohibition violates free speech rights. According toThe New York Times, TikTok is not involved with the Texas suit.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/university-professors-in-texas-are-suing-the-state-over-unconstitutional-tiktok-ban-173100334.html?src=rss 

Sony has revealed when PlayStation 5 players will be able to snap up its new accessibility-focused controller and just how much the peripheral will cost. The Access controller will be available worldwide on December 6th. It costs $90 and preorders will open on July 21st. Folks in Canada will need to pay $120 CAD for the peripheral. It costs £80 in the UK, €90 in Europe and 12,980 yen in Japan.

The highly customizable controller comes with four 3.5mm aux ports, enabling players to connect external buttons, switches and other accessories. The box includes 19 button caps and three stick caps to help users find a configuration that works best for them. For instance, they might prefer a button cap that takes up two button sockets or a dome-shaped stick cap instead of the standard one. In addition, Sony is including 23 swappable button cap tags to help players identify which input they map to each button.

Players can set up as many as 30 profiles for the Access controller with different button mappings and stick settings for each. There’s the option to disable certain buttons to prevent accidental pressing and users will be able to toggle commands on or off.

As Sony previously revealed, folks can pair up to two Access controllers and one DualSense together to create a “single virtual controller.” That means two or even three people could control the same character, granting friends and family members the option to lend a helping hand when needed. 

Isabelle Tomatis, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Brand, Hardware and Peripherals vice-president, wrote in a blog post that the company has been working on the controller for five years with the help of accessibility organizations and experts. The aim was to develop a kit that “enables gamers with disabilities to play more comfortably and for longer periods, empowering more players to share in the joy of gaming.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/sonys-90-ps5-accessibility-controller-arrives-on-december-6th-154922685.html?src=rss