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☆ Bluesky’s user base has doubled in the past 90 days. Is it a mass exodus from X?
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-13 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Bluesky’s user base has doubled in the past 90 days — on Tuesday the company said it had gained 1 million new sign-ups in the past week alone, bringing it to more than 15 million total users. “X usage is at an all-time high and continues to surge,” X CEO Linda Yaccarino said in a post Wednesday. Bluesky also saw daily visits jump on Election Day and the day after to 1.2 million and 1.3 million, respectively, up from around 800,000 in the days before. On Bluesky, daily users more than doubled from-mid October to the post-election week. In the run-up to the election, Musk spread false and misleading claims about Trump’s competitor, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Persons: Bluesky rocketed, Elon, Musk, Donald Trump, Charlie Warzel, New York Times ’ Mara Gay, Don Lemon, X, White supremacists, Linda Yaccarino, “, Similarweb, Bluesky, ” David Carr, we’ve, Ed Zitron, EZPR, Zitron, Mike Isaac, ”, Trump, MAGA, Kamala Harris, Vivek Ramaswamy, Vladimir Zelensky, Musk’s Starlink, That’s, – CNN’s Liam Reilly, Matt Egan Organizations: New, New York CNN, Apple, New York Times, CNN, Guardian, ” New York Times, Trump, Twitter, “ Department, Government Locations: New York, anecdotally, Bluesky, ”, Russia

☆ AI means anyone can be a victim of deepfake porn. Here’s how to protect yourself
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —“All we have to have is just a human form to be a victim.” That’s how lawyer Carrie Goldberg describes the risk of deepfake porn in the age of artificial intelligence. In the past year, targets of AI-generated, nonconsensual pornographic images have ranged from prominent women like Taylor Swift and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to high school girls. Goldberg said that for people targeted by AI-generated sexual images, the first step — however counterintuitive — should be to screenshot them. The fight to address nonconsensual explicit images and deepfakes has received rare bipartisan support. (AI-generated sexual images of children typically fall under child sexual abuse material laws.)

Persons: ”, Carrie Goldberg, they’ve, Taylor Swift, Alexandria Ocasio, Cortez, Goldberg, C.A, Clare Duffy, ” Goldberg, deepfakes, Republican Sen, Ted Cruz, —, Democratic Sen, Amy Klobuchar, “ There’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, Nonprofit, Capitol, Republican, Democratic Locations: New York, Alexandria, York

☆ ‘Your body, my choice’ and other attacks on women surge on social media following election
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-11 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Sexist and abusive attacks on women, like “your body, my choice” and “get back to the kitchen,” have surged across social media since Donald Trump’s reelection, according to an analysis from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. An X post from White nationalist and Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes last Tuesday night saying, “Your body, my choice. And a number of women on TikTok posted videos saying their comments had been filled with users posting the phrase. “Your body, my choice” is an apparent subversion the phrase “my body, my choice,” which was used by women as a rallying cry in support of reproductive rights. In some cases, X and TikTok users responded to posts saying “your body, my choice” with vague threats of retaliatory violence.

Persons: “, Donald Trump’s, Nick Fuentes, ”, “ Nick Fuentes ”, Trump, JD Vance, deriding, Kamala Harris, “ Young, Jon Miller, TikTok Organizations: New, New York CNN, Institute for Strategic, White, ISD, Federal Locations: New York, TikTok, Korean

☆ Google and Meta are blocking political ads to combat misinformation. Some experts say it’s too late
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

Meta last week began blocking advertisers from creating or running new ads about US social issues, elections or politics across its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram. But experts say that previous moves by social media companies — such as cutting their own internal safety teams — could undercut their current efforts. Former President Donald Trump and many of his supporters have already made repeated false claims that Democrats are cheating in the election. But since then, those companies have made cuts to those teams and walked back policies designed to restrict false claims about politics and elections. Last year, they said they would no longer remove false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Persons: TikTok, Elon Musk, Donald Trump, What’s, Twitter, Musk, we’ve, ”, Sacha Haworth, ” Imran Ahmed, “ It’s, —, Trump, Helene, Harris, Ahmed’s CCDH, Ahmed, ” Ahmed, Leslie Miller, ” Mann, X, Biden, Kamala, Kamala Harris Organizations: New, New York CNN, Facebook, Google, Meta, Capitol, Tech, Center, CNN, Biden, Trump, YouTube, ” Meta, Associated Press, Integrity Locations: New York, Milton, U.S

☆ Elon Musk cancels X town hall event minutes after it started following yet another round of technical problems
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-04 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

But the event on X ended just a few minutes after it started, when Musk encountered technical difficulties. The X Spaces event Musk started immediately following the town hall, lasted one minute and appeared to have no audio. He also said he would not restart his Q&A and encouraged followers to listen to his Rogan interview instead. The Monday night town hall marks just the latest election-related event that Musk attempted to host on X that was plagued by technical difficulties. An August interview between Musk and Trump that was streamed on X was delayed by more than 40 minutes because of glitches.

Persons: CNN — Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Musk, Joe Rogan, “, Trump, we’re, ”, ” Musk, Rogan, Ron DeSantis ’ Organizations: CNN, Trump, Florida Gov

☆ How well is Apple’s AI iPhone really selling? We’ll get the first signs soon
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company’s Apple Intelligence AI tools would “supercharge” the iPhone 16 when he introduced the new device last month. Now the world is about to get its first glimpse of whether the promise of Apple’s artificial intelligence technology is also supercharging deflated iPhone sales. That means people who bought the iPhone 16 in the first month it was on sale didn’t have access to those AI features until just recently. That figure will include sales of earlier iPhone models that happened during the quarter, too, but could indicate that the iPhone 16 helped raise sales slightly. In the year-ago quarter, when the iPhone 15 launched, iPhone sales grew about 2.8% year-over-year.

Persons: Tim Cook, supercharge, Wall, ”, Angelo Zino, Dan Ives Organizations: New, New York CNN, Apple, Apple Intelligence, Wall, CFRA Locations: New York, China

☆ ‘There are no guardrails.’ This mom believes an AI chatbot is responsible for her son’s suicide
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-30 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Globally: The International Association for Suicide Prevention and Befrienders Worldwide have contact information for crisis centers around the world. Garcia believes Character.AI is responsible for the death of her 14-year-old son, Sewell Setzer III, who died by suicide in February, according to a lawsuit she filed against the company last week. When Garcia first heard he was interacting with an AI chatbot, she said she thought it was something like a video game. However, within months of starting to use the platform, Setzer became “noticeably withdrawn, spent more and more time alone in his bedroom, and began suffering from low self-esteem. “There were no suicide pop-up boxes that said, ‘If you need help, please call the suicide crisis hotline.’ None of that,” she said.

Persons: Megan Garcia, Garcia, Character.AI, Sewell Setzer III, Setzer, “, ” Garcia, ” –, Character.AI's chatbots, chatbot Setzer, she, ” “, ”, Gabby Jones, I’m, That’s, ” Setzer, Matthew Bergman, Bergman, Sewell, Noam Shazeer, Daniel De Freitas, weren’t Organizations: New, New York CNN, International Association for Suicide Prevention, Befrienders, CNN, Trust, Safety, Prevention, Junior Varsity, Bloomberg, Getty, Character.AI, Social Media, Law Center, Meta, Google, Apple Locations: New York, Florida, Brooklyn , New York

☆ Influencers are playing a big role in the 2024 election. There’s no way to tell who’s getting paid for their endorsements
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-29 | by ( Clare Duffy | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

Angelo was paid by a Democratic political action committee for the post, a fact that’s clearly noted in the caption. Campaigning moves to social mediaIn 2024, political content posted by social media creators has become just as important as traditional celebrity endorsements — if not more. Together, the two organizations paid 15 social media creators to produce content encouraging Latinos to vote. Election advertisements are overseen by a different agency, the Federal Elections Commission, which lacks a similar disclosure rule for individuals who are paid to make endorsements on social media. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has since 2020 allowed paid political content from influencers, so long as the organization paying for it is registered in its ad library.

Persons: ” influencer Mikey Angelo, who’s, Angelo, they’ve, ’, they’re, “, ”, Krysten Stein, Jake Paul, Donald Trump, Trump, ” Paul, Tim Walz, Matt Nelson, Walz, Nelson, Paul, Kamala Harris ’, Harris, “ It’s, Danielle Butterfield, Butterfield, ” Butterfield, Influencers, Trump’s, Axios, Jack Posobiec, Riley Gaines, Tana Mongeau, Mongeau, she’d, ” Mongeau, they’d, Mitchell Katz, Ellen Weintraub, Shana Broussard, George W, Bush, aren’t, TikTok, Somos, Ari Cohn, ” Cohn, Robert Weissman, ” Weissman, Cate Domino, Domino Organizations: New, New York CNN, Democratic, influencers, Commission, Pew Research Center, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College, YouTube, Convention, USA, Somos, CNN, NCAA, Democratic National Committee, Republican National Committee, Federal Trade Commission, Federal Elections Commission, FEC, Facebook, Public Citizen Locations: New York, Trump

☆ Big Tech CEOs are calling up Trump, seeking to rekindle their relationship with former president ahead of Election Day
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-27 | by ( Steve Contorno | Alayna Treene | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The stepped-up push by some of the world’s most influential Big Tech leaders to speak with the former president ahead of Election Day comes amid an exceptionally tight race between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. And it’s the latest sign of the greater business community seeking to rekindle a relationship with the former president in anticipation of a potential second term. I don’t want to have him, his administration, going after us,’” a person close to Trump told CNN. “If you look at Google lately, I think you’re going to see they’ve become much more inclined towards Trump,” the former president told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “Let me tell you: All of those companies will be set free, if you have the right president,” Trump said.

Persons: Donald Trump, Tim Cook chatted, Trump, Sundar Pichai, “, ” Trump, Joe Rogan’s, Andy Jassy, Mark Zuckerberg, Kamala Harris, Elon Musk, Musk, ’, Evan Vucci, Jassy, Jeff Bezos, Michael M, Zuckerberg, he’s, Joe Biden’s, ”, Hugh Hewitt, “ They’re, Cook, ” CNN’s Clare Duffy, Kate Sullivan Organizations: CNN —, Trump, Apple, Las, Google, Republican, Amazon, CNN, Meta, Big Tech, Mar, Department of Justice, Silicon, Washington Post, Getty, Associated Press, titans, Facebook, Biden’s Department of Justice, Economic, of Chicago, European Union Locations: Europe, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania, Butler , Pennsylvania, New York City, Austin , Texas, Menlo Park , California, Harris

☆ Elon Musk’s dozens of meetings with presidents, prime ministers and political candidates show his growing political influence
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-25 | by ( Clare Duffy | Way Mullery | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

New York CNN —Over the past three years, Elon Musk has met dozens of times with presidents, prime ministers, lawmakers, government officials and political candidates from around the world. Other meetings, such as a recent conversation with Argentine President Javier Milei, the world only glimpses through the billionaire’s social media posts. Recently, Musk’s political activism has begun to have a tangible impact on his companies: Brands pulled their advertisements from X, tanking its value. CNN’s analysis also suggests that Musk has, in particular, worked to develop influence among a set of right-leaning world leaders, including Modi, Bolsonaro, Milei and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Now, as he campaigns for Trump, Musk may be setting himself up for his most prominent political role yet: a position in a possible future Trump White House.

Persons: Elon Musk, Benjamin Netanyahu, Javier Milei, Musk, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, ”, Ron DeSantis, Robert F, Kennedy, Jr, Donald Trump, Kamala Harris, “ He’s, he’s, James Lewis, it’s, Tesla, “, ” Lewis, “ They’re, Jair, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Li Qiang, Emmanuel Macron, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Narendra Modi, William Klepper, you’ve, ” Musk, Modi, Giorgia Meloni, India’s Modi Organizations: New, New York CNN, Argentine, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Putin, Gov, Trump, Center for Strategic, International Studies, Indian, Columbia Business School, Brands, SpaceX, Italian, Elon, Trump White House, Department of Government Locations: New York, Israel, South Africa, United States, Brazil, Nuevo Leon, Shanghai, China, Turkish, California, Italy, India, Argentina, ”

☆ Almost anything goes on social media — as long as it doesn’t make billionaires feel even a little bit unsafe
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-24 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN —The billionaires who control social media want to be clear about what’s OK to post online and what’s not. For X (formerly Twitter), just about anything goes, including neo-Nazi propaganda, crypto scams and porn (as long as it’s labeled properly). Anyone can do the same thing — Sweeney just made it slightly more convenient. It’s just not clear that Meta cares as much about its users’ privacy and wellbeing as it does about Zuckerberg’s. At a Senate hearing in January, Zuckerberg apologized to families who said their children had been harmed by social media.

Persons: CNN Business ’, it’s, Milton, Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Sweeney, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Taylor Swift, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, “, ” Sweeney, he’s, Sweeney, Taylor Swift’s, Swift, — Sweeney, Clare Duffy, Zuckerberg, …, Gee Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Facebook, Disney, CNN, Elon, Twitter, Meta Locations: New York, Florida, Bluesky, America

☆ X changed its terms of service to let its AI train on everyone’s posts. Now users are up in arms
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-21 | by ( Ramishah Maruf | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —When X unveiled its newest terms of service, which go into effect on November 15, users quickly picked up on one change. Using content to train AI has become a major issue as the technology booms. On X, artists and others in creative roles are fretting about their work being used – not just on X – to train computers that could someday replace human creators entirely. Other X users say they are concerned about personal information in their tweets being used that way. X’s terms said any users who continue to use their products or services on or after November 15 would be agreeing to the updated terms.

Persons: X, ”, Alex Fink, Fink, CNN’s Clare Duffy Organizations: New, New York CNN, Services, Musk, Court, Northern, Northern District of, Companies, Google, Microsoft, CNN Locations: New York, Northern District, Northern District of Texas, Tarrant County , Texas, Tarrant, Austin , Texas

☆ Meta fires employees for spending food allowances on personal items like acne pads and wine glasses
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-17 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Meta fired around two dozen employees from its Los Angeles office for misusing company meal credits for things like laundry detergent, wine glasses and acne treatment pads, a source familiar with the company confirmed to CNN. Many of the social media giant’s corporate offices feature elaborate food services to provide employees with meals as a perk. Meta’s two-year-old office near New York City’s Penn Station, for example, features a cafeteria that feels like an upscale food court, with various stalls all free for staff. An internal investigation found that some LA-based employees used the meal funds to purchase things other than food instead, or had meals delivered to their homes, the source said. Meta’s median total annual compensation for individual employees (other than CEO Mark Zuckerberg) is $379,050, the company said in a regulatory filing earlier this year.

Persons: Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, Tracy Clayton, ” Meta, Jane Manchun Wong, Zuckerberg Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, Financial Times, Meta, ”, Reality Labs Locations: New York, Los Angeles, “, Instagram

☆ SpaceX sues California regulator, claiming launches blocked due to Elon Musk’s politics
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

New York CNN —Elon Musk’s SpaceX has accused a California regulator of political discrimination after it voted to block the rocket company from conducting more launches on the state’s central coast. SpaceX also conducts commercial launches from the base to deliver its Starlink satellites into orbit. But the California Coastal Commission opposed the plan. At the meeting, commissioners “raised other concerns wholly unrelated to coastal effects,” SpaceX alleged in the complaint, filed in California Central District Court. Joshua Smith, public information officer for the California Coastal Commission, told CNN the agency declined to comment on the lawsuit.

Persons: New York CNN — Elon, “, Mike, Wilson, ‘, Musk, ’, Gretchen Newsom, Newsom, Gavin Newsom, Donald Trump, Hurricane Helene, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Biden, Kamala, ”, Joshua Smith Organizations: New, New York CNN, SpaceX, California Coastal, US Air Force, US Space Force, NASA, Vandenberg Space Force Base, California Coastal Commission, Court, US Justice Department, “, FEMA, ”, California Gov, CNN Locations: New York, California, Santa Barbara , California

☆ Influencers rode out Hurricane Milton for the content. Why are we watching?
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-12 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

He then decided to stay put for Hurricane Milton, posting about his prep and decision to ride out the latest storm. But the trend was a reminder of how social media can make dangerous situations worse. TikTok also directed users who watched or searched for Hurricane Milton content to information from the US Federal Emergency Management Agency. But social media users (myself absolutely included) also incentivize this kind of creator behavior, by scrolling and watching. Many of the creators who shared content from the heart of the storm racked up thousands of likes and comments.

Persons: Milton, Instagram influencer, “, Why’s y’all, Hurricane Helene, Hurricane Milton, Hurricane Helene —, it’s, ”, Brooke Erin Duffy, ” Duffy, TikTok, Instagram, Duffy, Krysten Stein, ” Stein Organizations: New, New York CNN, Sarasota, Tampa, Hurricane, Cornell University ., Hurricane Milton, Federal Emergency Management Agency, CNN, University of Cincinnati Blue Ash College, “ Locations: New York, Florida, Sarasota, Tampa, Hurricane

☆ US government considers a breakup of Google
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-09 | by ( Clare Duffy | Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The US Department of Justice in a court filing Tuesday night said it may recommend dismantling Google’s core businesses, separating Google’s search business from Android, Chrome and the Google Play app store. “That would prevent Google from using products such as Chrome, Play, and Android to advantage Google search and Google search-related products and features — including emerging search access points and features, such as artificial intelligence — over rivals or new entrants,” the government said in its court filing. The case had been described as the biggest tech antitrust case since the US government’s antitrust showdown with Microsoft at the turn of the millennium. Whatever ultimately happens to Google could set the stage for potential remedies in other, ongoing antitrust cases against tech giants. Google faces a separate case brought by DOJ attorneys, along with 17 states, who allege that its advertising business is anticompetitive.

Persons: ”, Amit Mehta, ” Kent Walker Organizations: CNN, Baby, Google, US Department of Justice, Android, Apple, Microsoft, DOJ, Meta, Ticketmaster

☆ TikTok sued by 14 states over alleged harms to children’s mental health
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-08 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

New York CNN —A bipartisan group of 14 attorneys general from across the country filed lawsuits on Tuesday against TikTok, alleging that the platform has “addicted” young people and harmed their mental health. And last month, 42 state attorneys general called on US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to require labels on social media apps warning of their potential harm to young users. It also alleges that TikTok “challenges,” viral trends where users try to replicate videos created by others, can encourage dangerous behavior among young users. TikTok previously cooperated with New York authorities to remove subway surfing content, the New York Times reported in January. The lawsuit seeks financial penalties against TikTok, including a requirement that the platform repay any profits it received from ads directed to New York teens or pre-teens.

Persons: TikTok, Letitia James, Rob Bonta, Vivek Murthy, ”, Alex Haurek, “ We’re, ” TikTok, “, James, “ TikTok, James ’, ” James ’, CNN’s Matt Egan Organizations: New, New York CNN, New York, US Justice Department, Harvard, New York Times, US, ”, TikTok Locations: New York, California, United States, New, Brooklyn

☆ Devastation from Hurricane Helene could bring semiconductor chipmaking to a halt
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-02 | by ( Clare Duffy | Dianne Gallagher | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

In addition to this, our teams are joining the local taskforces to try to restore the most basic services and bring further supplies to Spruce Pine,” The Quartz Corp said in a statement. The Quartz Corp facility near Spruce Pine, North Carolina, is seen during a CNN flyover of the area on Monday, September 30. And while quartz is abundant around the world, the kind of ultra-high-purity quartz mined in Spruce Pine is not. The Spruce Pine mines provide an estimated 80% to 90% of the world’s high-purity quartz — experts say the exact amount is proprietary and unknown — supplying semiconductor manufacturers like chipmaking giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company. However, Wang said that despite the scale of the devastation in Spruce Pine, there is still reason for optimism.

Persons: Hurricane Helene, Helene, —, ”, Seaver Wang, Spencer Bost, ” Bost, ’ ” Sibelco, “, Sibelco, that’s, Gregory Allen, David Bader, CSIS’s Allen, Wang, ” Wang Organizations: New, New York CNN, Quartz Corp, Breakthrough Institute, Downtown, CNN, Belgian, Wadhwani Center, AI, Technologies, Center for Strategic, International, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Institute for Data Science, New Jersey Institute of Technology Locations: New York, North Carolina, Hurricane, Spruce Pine, United States, Sibelco, Silicon, Downtown Spruce, Norwegian, Spruce, Spruce Pine , North Carolina, “

☆ ‘Comfortable, fun, familiar’: Microsoft’s bid to make its AI chatbot more enjoyable to talk to
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-01 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Microsoft on Tuesday announced a major update to Copilot, its AI system, that it says marks the first step toward creating an “AI companion” for users. The updated Copilot has new capabilities, including real-time voice interactions and the ability to interpret images and text on users’ screens. Copilot’s update also reflects Microsoft’s specific vision for how everyday people will use AI as the technology develops. Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman contends that people need AI to be more than a productivity tool, they need it to be a kind of digital friend. “I think in the future, the first thought you’re going to have is, ‘Hey, Copilot,’” Suleyman told CNN in an interview ahead of Tuesday’s announcement.

Persons: ”, Bing, it’s, Mustafa Suleyman, “, you’re, ’ ” Suleyman, “ You’re, “ It’s, chatbot, ” Suleyman, “ it’s, Scarlett Johansson Organizations: New, New York CNN, Microsoft, Google, CNN, New York Times, Reuters, Financial Times, Labs, Windows Locations: New York

☆ Apple’s iPhone 16 hasn’t gotten a hot start, analysts estimate, but some still counting on ‘super cycle’
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-30 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Apple needed the iPhone 16 to be a big seller after years of sluggish iPhone sales. In particular, demand for the higher priced iPhone 16 Pro devices were down sharply year-over-year compared with the iPhone 15 launch. Analysts say there appears to have been greater demand for the lower priced iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus devices than the Pro and Pro Max, which could affect the average selling price and overall iPhone sales revenue. In the first weekend of presales, Apple sold 9.8 million iPhone 16 Pros and 17.1 million iPhone 16 Pro Max devices, down 27% and 16% year-over-year, respectively, according to Kuo. “It’s all about a monster holiday quarter and the supercycle begins for iPhone 16 in our view,” Ives told CNN in an email.

Persons: New York CNN — Apple, Long, It’s, it’s, Chi Kuo, Dan Ives, Angelo Zino, Pro Max, Kuo, Zino, ” Zino, ” Kuo, Lex Chiew, CFRA’s Zino, Mike Sievert, “, ” Ives Organizations: New, New York CNN, Apple, TF International Securities, Research, Pro, Apple Intelligence, iOS, Mobile, CNBC, CNN Locations: New York, China, ”, presales

☆ Meta is bringing the voices of Judi Dench, John Cena and Keegan-Michael Key to AI chatbot
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Facebook and Instagram users will now be able to talk to voices that sound a lot like John Cena and Judy Dench. Parent company Meta (META) announced Wednesday that it is adding voice conversations and celebrity voices to its artificial intelligence chatbot, Meta AI. Now, instead of simply messaging with the chatbot, users can have real-time conversations and can choose from a selection of computer-generated or celebrity voices. The company partnered with Cena and Dench, as well as actors Kristen Bell, Awkwafina and Keegan-Michael Key, to train the chatbot to replicate their voices. Previously, influencers could train AI to have text conversations with their followers; now, followers will be able to have full, quasi-video calls with the AI versions of influencers who use the tool.

Persons: John Cena, Judy Dench, Cena, Dench, Kristen Bell, Awkwafina, Michael Key, Mark Zuckerberg, it’s, OpenAI, Scarlett Johansson, Johansson, Zuckerberg Organizations: New, New York CNN, Facebook, Meta, Keegan, Meta Connect Locations: New York

☆ Mira Murati, OpenAI’s technology chief, becomes the latest exec to leave the company
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-25 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —OpenAI Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati — who has been instrumental in the development of ChatGPT and the artificial intelligence image generator Dall-E — said Wednesday she is leaving the company. “My six-and-a-half years with the OpenAI team have been an extraordinary privilege,” Murati said in a note to the OpenAI team, which she posted to X. Fellow OpenAI co-founder John Schulman exited in August to join rival Anthropic. Murati joined OpenAI’s leadership team in 2018 after working at augmented reality company Ultraleap (then called Leap Motion) and Tesla. During the debacle, Murati joined more than 500 fellow OpenAI employees in threatening to quit if Altman was not brought back to the company.

Persons: Mira Murati —, —, “, ” Murati, “ There’s, shakeup, OpenAI, Ilya Sutskever, John Schulman, Greg Brockman, Murati, Sam Altman, Altman, Mira, ”, ” Altman Organizations: New, New York CNN, OpenAI, Bloomberg, OpenAI’s, Tesla, o1 Locations: New York, Silicon Valley

☆ Social media platforms are using what you create for artificial intelligence. Here’s how to opt out
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-23 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

For companies running AI models, social media platforms offer valuable data. He added that he would opt out of allowing LinkedIn use his data for AI training. Different social platforms vary in terms of the options they give users to opt-out of contributing to AI systems. Here’s where some of the major social media platforms may be using your data to train and run AI models, and how (and if) you can opt out. LinkedInLinkedIn this week began giving users the choice to opt-out of having their data used to train it generative AI models.

Persons: New York CNN — OpenAI, —, ” David Ogiste, “, Elon Musk’s, Grok, ”, X, Snapchat, ’ selfies, Reddit Reddit, Reddit, won’t, private.Meta Organizations: New, New York CNN, LinkedIn, Nobody’s, CNN, Microsoft, ”, Media, Services, Google, Meta, Facebook Locations: New York, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Europe

☆ After CEO was arrested, Telegram says it will now turn some bad actors’ data over to law enforcement
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-23 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The investigation sparked debate about free speech and criminal activity online, but the authorities’ concerns weren’t exactly a surprise. Now, Telegram is making some changes in an effort to reduce criminal activity on the platform, Durov said Monday in a post on the app. “If you still manage to find something unsafe or illegal on Telegram Search, please report it to us via @SearchReport,” Durov wrote. “Telegram Search is meant for finding friends and discovering news, not for promoting illegal goods,” Durov said. It’s unclear how the move to share some user data with law enforcement will impact the ongoing French investigation.

Persons: Pavel Durov, Durov, launderers, White supremacists, ” Durov, “ Organizations: New, New York CNN, Service Locations: New York, France, Israel, United Kingdom

☆ Elon Musk didn’t show up for testimony in a probe over his $44 billion Twitter takeover. Now the SEC wants sanctions
▼ + stars: | 2024-09-20 | by ( Clare Duffy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —The Securities and Exchange Commission intends to seek sanctions against Elon Musk over his failure to appear for testimony in an investigation related to his takeover of Twitter, now called X, the regulator said in a court filing Friday. Earlier this year, a federal judge ordered Musk to testify as part of the SEC’s probe of the billionaire’s $44 billion acquisition. The agency is examining whether Musk followed the law when disclosing his purchases of Twitter stock and whether his statements in relation to the deal were misleading. The SEC asked the court to impose “meaningful conditional relief” if Musk does not appear at the new October testimony date. The SEC also said it intends to file a sanctions motion against Musk to recoup its travel costs for the cancelled testimony and for other relief.

Persons: Elon Musk, Musk, “, ” Musk, ” Organizations: New, New York CNN, Securities, Exchange Commission, Elon, Twitter, Elon Musk's, SEC, SpaceX, Polaris Locations: New York, Los Angeles, East Coast

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