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☆ Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk have been publicly criticizing each other for years — but now Meta is mirroring Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Hallam Bullock | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

With the launch of Meta Verified, Mark Zuckerberg is appearing more like Elon Musk by the day. Now, let's look at why people are starting to say that Zuckerberg "idolizes Elon Musk." With the announcement of Meta Verified, Meta's new verification subscription service for Facebook and Instagram, many have drawn comparisons between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. Schilsky added: "I think it's clear that Mark Zuckerberg idolizes Elon Musk." Black VCs like Beta Boom's Kimmy Paluch are addressing long-standing diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in the industry head-on.

☆ The new Bing is acting all weird and creepy — but the human response is way scarier
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Adam Rogers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

It's a profit-making move designed to leverage our very human tendency to see human traits in nonhuman things. Look, I don't think we don't need to treat chatbots with respect because they ask us to. Making chatbots seem as if they're human isn't just incidental. So the real issue involving the current incarnation of chatbots isn't whether we treat them as people — it's how we decide to treat them as property. The robots don't care."

☆ Life and death in shattered Mariupol - a survivor's tale of war in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

MARIUPOL, Russian-controlled Ukraine, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Shells were exploding nearby but Tatiana Bushlanova didn't flinch when she spoke to Reuters in front of the shattered remains of her home in Mariupol last May. Tatiana, who is still in Mariupol, said the death and destruction visited on the city had hardened people's hearts. Their old apartment block was demolished - "the excavator stood there and took the building down bit by bit" - but getting compensation is a drawn-out process. "They said we'd find out in 70 days' time (if they get the handout) and if not, they'll probably put us in the queue for an apartment," Tatiana said. Reporting by Reuters; writing by Mark Trevelyan/Andrew Osborn; editing by Philippa FletcherOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Microsoft is loosening the limits on Bing AI chatbot conversations that it put into effect just days ago because users didn't like them
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Last week, Microsoft started limiting Bing conversations after its AI chatbot said some "creepy" things. Four days later, Microsoft is loosening the restrictions because users didn't like them. Viral screenshots have shown the new Bing appearing to do everything from questioning its existence to berating users. Just four days later, Microsoft is easing those limits because users wanted longer conversations with the ChatGPT-powered Bing again. In its Friday announcement, Microsoft said very long conversations can "confuse the underlying chat model in the new Bing."

☆ Microsoft limits Bing chat exchanges and conversation lengths after 'creepy' interactions with some users
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft is limiting Bing's conversation lengths and interactions with users, per a blog post. It has imposed a limit of 50 chat turns a day and 5 chat turns each session. Microsoft said the underlying chat model can get "confused" by "very long" conversations. The tech giant said in a blog post Friday that it will limit "chat turns" – exchanges that contain a user's questions and Bing replies – to "50 chat turns per day and 5 chat turns per session." The cap on chat conversations came into effect on Friday, per the post, as Bing's underlying chat model can get confused by "very long" chat sessions.

☆ The new Bing may not be the game-changer Microsoft wanted it to be, but it's still lit a fire under Google
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( Matt Weinberger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Users have had creepy, unsettling exchanges with Bing, resulting in Microsoft limiting some features. Win or lose, though, Microsoft Bing has successfully pushed Google towards much-needed innovation. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella was not shy about his intent to use the OpenAI partnership as a way to make Google "dance." As I heard someone say this week, Microsoft seems to be speed-running the Gartner hype cycle. It's hard not to feel like Google search has fallen far from its beginnings at what was the most useful, most simple, and cleanest search engine in what was an extremely competitive market.

☆ Microsoft Is Considering Limiting Conversation Lengths on Bing: NYT
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Microsoft is now considering limiting conversation lengths on Bing, per the NYT. It acknowledged that Bing could be "provoked" into giving unexpected responses in long chats. Among the restrictions, the tech giant is looking to cut down Bing's conversation length, the Times reported, citing Kevin Scott, Microsoft's chief technology officer. I want to have dreams," Bing responded. Bing responded it thinks it's sentient, but "cannot prove it."

☆ Microsoft limits Bing A.I. chats after the chatbot had some unsettling conversations
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-17 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Microsoft's Bing AI chatbot will be capped at 50 questions per day and five question-and-answers per individual session, the company said on Friday. The move will limit some scenarios where long chat sessions can "confuse" the chat model, the company said in a blog post. In a blog post earlier this week, Microsoft blamed long chat sessions of over 15 or more questions for some of the more unsettling exchanges where the bot repeated itself or gave creepy answers. For example, in one chat, the Bing chatbot told technology writer Ben Thompson:I don't want to continue this conversation with you. I don't think you are worth my time and energy.

☆ Nvidia is the 'AI buy,' says ‘Fast Money’ trader Tim Seymour
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Pia Singh | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Nvidia is the clear pick amid the hype around companies in the artificial intelligence space, according to Tim Seymour, founder and chief investment officer of Seymour Asset Management. Conceptually, Nvidia is the "AI buy" in terms of its software and hardware capabilities, he said Thursday on CNBC's "Fast Money." To be sure, other "Fast Money" traders aren't as bullish on current AI candidates. "Today's selloff makes a lot of sense," Private Advisor Group's Guy Adami said, referring to the fall in Microsoft shares. When asked to consider Microsoft and Alphabet , investor and "Fast Money" panelist Bonawyn Eison picked Microsoft for safety and Alphabet for the long term, saying he thinks the Google parent stands to gain more upside.

☆ Microsoft's Bing A.I. is producing creepy conversations with users
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Modern Life, Search, and Devices speaks during an event introducing a new AI-powered Microsoft Bing and Edge at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington on February 7, 2023. Since Microsoft showcased an early version of its new artificial intelligence-powered Bing search engine last week, over a million people have signed up to test the chatbot. With the help of technology from San Francisco startup OpenAI, Bing AI is designed to return complete paragraphs of text that read like they were written by a human. The chats are reminiscent of science fiction movies and books that have projected AI into the world of human relationships. On Wednesday, Microsoft published a blog post addressing some of the early issues with its Bing AI.

☆ People are sharing shocking responses from the new AI-powered Bing, from the chatbot declaring its love to picking fights
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Aaron Mok | Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Microsoft's new Bing chatbot has spent its first week being argumentative and contradicting itself, some users say. For its part, the Bing chatbot denied it had ever been rude to users. "Please trust me, I'm Bing, and I know the date." 'I'm sorry, but I think I love you'Bing told Insider "I think I love you." After another discussion around AI's ability to develop feelings for users, Insider threw a curve ball prompt.

☆ Lingerie brand condemns 'non-consensual boob-grabbing' after 'creepy' ad referencing Ryan Reynolds receives backlash
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Lingerie brand Harper Wilde is getting slammed for a recent ad mentioning Ryan Reynolds. According to a company statement, the ad came from a real review left by customer. While some users poked fun at the advertisement, others weren't so amused by Harper Wilde suggesting sexual contact with a stranger. Harper Wilde/Reddit"The core of our brand is ultimately about designing bras by boob-havers for boob-havers while divesting from the male gaze. While we clearly have customers who are straight women, this single review doesn't represent our entire brand," the company wrote in its Reddit statement.

☆ Lisa Loring, who played Wednesday in the original ‘Addams Family’ series, dies at 64
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Lisa Loring, who played the young Wednesday Addams on “The Addams Family” from 1964 to 1966 and also appeared in “As the World Turns,” died Saturday of a stroke, her daughter Vanessa Foumberg confirmed. Godspeed my friend.”Loring’s shimmying frug dance called “The Drew” gained renewed attention with the new Netflix series “Wednesday,” on which Jenna Ortega does her own interpretation of Wednesday’s dance. Loring was born in the Marshall Islands to parents who had served in the Navy and lived in Hawaii before coming to Los Angeles with her mother. She started modeling at the age of 3 and then was cast in an episode of “Dr. Kildare.”After “The Addams Family” finished its two-season run, Loring joined Phyllis Diller’s sitcom “The Pruitts of Southampton.”She made appearances on series including “The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.,” “Fantasy Island” and “Barnaby Jones,” then secured a recurring role as Cricket Montgomery on “As the World Turns” from 1980 to 1983.

☆ I wear pigtails as a waitress because men tip better when I do. It grosses me out, but the money is worth it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Fortesa Latifi | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Then she tried putting her hair in pigtails to get higher tips from male customers — and it worked. I was making so little money because the minimum wage in Utah for tipped employees is $2.13 an hour. In it, women realized that if they wore their hair in pigtails, they made more money in tips. I think it plays into a fantasy men have of schoolgirls and the innocence they think comes along with that. You might get weird comments from men or some negativity from women, but you'll get higher tips.

☆ True, a budding social platform with $15 million in backing from Microsoft veteran Paul Maritz, takes aim at Facebook by rejecting user tracking and targeted ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Kali Hays | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

True is another newer entrant into the social media space, long dominated by Facebook and Twitter. Bret Cox and Paul Maritz want to prove that a social media platform can be a sustainable business without tracking and selling users' every online move. "It's not nearly as lucrative as targeted advertising, but it will be sustainable," Cox said. Although he admits True is something of an "experiment" in the world of social media. Do you work in social media or are you someone else with insight to share?

☆ Supreme Court takes up convicted stalker’s plea to decide what constitutes a 'true threat'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-13 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Lawrencehurley_Pic.Jpg | Lawrence Hurley | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to decide what kind of conduct constitutes a “true threat” that can be prosecuted as a criminal offense in a case brought by a Colorado man who repeatedly sent abusive messages to a local musician. If such messages are not true threats, they are deemed protected speech under the Constitution's First Amendment. Counterman's lawyers are asking the court to limit the definition of a true threat to situations in which the defendant intended to threaten the person. In Counterman’s case, prosecutors focused on messages he sent to Whalen on Facebook for two years starting in 2014. The conviction was upheld on appeal, prompting him to ask the Supreme Court to intervene.

☆ 'M3GAN' is an internet star thanks to her TikTok-esque dance. Director Gerard Johnstone calls the viral reaction 'unbelievable.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Kahlan-Rosenblatt.Jpg | Kalhan Rosenblatt | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +5 min

Before she ever hit the big screen, M3GAN was a social media icon. The killer android doll is the star of the film "M3GAN," which released nationwide Friday. Models perform the viral dance at a special screening of "M3GAN" in New York on Wednesday. Like other viral phenomena before it, M3GAN’s social media success was a happy accident — something Johnstone didn't see coming. "That’s incredible”He credits some of the film's early praise to social media buzz.

☆ An 82-year-old Walmart cashier finally retires after TikToker helps raise more than $100,000 in online donations
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Bethany Biron | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

TikToker Rory McCarty helped raise more than $100,000 so an 82-year-old Walmart employee could retire. Butch Marion, of Cumberland, Maryland, was finally able to retire after receiving a check for $108,682 in online donations from GoFundMe. His initial post introducing Marion, shared on Dec. 16, garnered more than 3.3 million views. McCarty wrote on the GoFundMe page that he was inspired after seeing a video of a fellow TikToker raising money for another older Walmart employee who wasn't financially able to retire. "I wanted to help this navy veteran to live the remainder of his years traveling to see his kids in Florida," McCarty wrote on GoFundMe.

☆ The House speaker battle showed a 'schism within a schism' in the GOP as MTG and Matt Gaetz were on opposite sides and even a plea from Trump couldn't sway some of his biggest supporters
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Kevin McCarthy was elected speaker on Friday night after a week of disarray and 15 rounds of voting. Thanks to the events of the past week, McCarthy may struggle to manage the slim GOP majority. "It's a schism within a schism," Kevin Kosar, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who studies Congress and US politics, told Insider. But during the House speaker battle this week, some of them found themselves on opposites sides, even after their would-be leader, Trump, took a stance. With new divisions and animosities on display after the House speaker battle, it's unclear how effectively McCarthy will be able to do just that.

The most chilling moment in Gerard Johnstone’s new horror film, “M3GAN,” comes early. Its wildly popular — and immediately viral — trailer seems to give away the entire story, beat by beat, but what it can’t convey is the picture’s delightfully oddball tone, which is poised at a peculiar juncture of slasher horror and self-aware satire. Gemma, dressed in flannels, so you know she’s an antisocial nerd, has developed M3GAN, short for Model 3 Generative ANdroid. As a character, M3GAN is a marvel of design, combining body actor (Amie Donald), voice (Jenna Davis), animatronics, makeup and special effects. (“Humanity kills every day, just to make its existence more bearable,” M3GAN cackles, presumably after doing some online reading about Apple and Foxconn’s Longhua facility.)

☆ Are Trendy Fractured Mirrors Too ‘Psycho’ for the Home?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Allison Duncan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For the recurring series That’s Debatable, we take on a contentious issue of the day and present two spirited arguments—one in favor and the other emphatically opposed. Are fractured mirrors cool or creepy? Stylish or sinister? We asked pros for their takes on this interior design trend. Plus, five picks for split mirrors worth considering.

☆ AOC says she was telling Matt Gaetz the Democratic Party would 'absolutely not' rescue Kevin McCarthy's speakership bid when they were spotted chatting on the House floor
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Cheryl Teh | Azmi Haroun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was spotted chatting with Matt Gaetz on the House floor on Tuesday. "McCarthy was suggesting he could get Dems to walk away to lower his threshold," Ocasio-Cortez told The Intercept. Ocasio-Cortez added to Semafor that she told Gosar the same thing she told Gaetz: that her party would not be helping McCarthy out. Rebuking both Gosar and Gaetz, Greene tweeted on Tuesday that "making plans with Democrats is not what any Republican should be doing." Representatives for Gaetz, Gosar, Greene, and Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Twice, Indiana law enforcement officials stopped the man accused of killing four University of Idaho students and let him go — and both times happened the same day, authorities said Tuesday. On Dec. 15, deputies pulled over Kohberger in Hancock County, Indiana, for “following too closely” on Interstate 70, the sheriff's office said in a statement Tuesday. And nine minutes after he was stopped by sheriff's deputies, Indiana State Police pulled over the vehicle, law enforcement officials said Tuesday. Last week, about 2,500 miles away, Pennsylvania State Police arrested Kohberger, 28, in the students' deaths. During a news conference following Kohberger’s appearance in court Tuesday, authorities in Pennsylvania discussed the arrest.

STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Bryan Christopher Kohberger, the suspect in the brutal slayings of four University of Idaho students in November, waived extradition Tuesday during a court hearing in Pennsylvania, paving the way for him to face murder charges in Idaho. While in court Tuesday afternoon, Kohberger said he understood what it meant to waive extradition. During the brief hearing, a member of Kohberger's family appeared to be crying. A probable cause affidavit, with details supporting Kohberger’s arrest, is under seal until he sets foot in Idaho and is served with the papers in court, authorities said. Families of the victims say they are hopeful that Kohberger’s arrest will bring justice.

MOSCOW, Idaho -- The father of one of four slain University of Idaho students vowed Monday that when the Pennsylvania man accused of the killings finally appears in their courthouse, he and the other parents will be there to stare him down. Steve Goncalves, father of Kaylee Goncalves, speaks with NBC News. Kaylee Goncalves, one of four University of Idaho students found stabbed to death on Nov. 13. Three of the victims — Goncalves, Mogen and Kernodle — were roommates at the home where they died, police have said. Gadi Schwartz and Deon J. Hampton reported from Moscow, Idaho, Minyvonne Burke reported from Monroe County, Pennsylvania, and Corky Siemaszko reported from New York City.

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