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2025-02-04 23:48:24| Engadget

Google has made one of the most substantive changes to its AI principles since first publishing them in 2018. In a change spotted by The Washington Post, the search giant edited the document to remove pledges it had made promising it would not "design or deploy" AI tools for use in weapons or surveillance technology. Previously, those guidelines included a section titled "applications we will not pursue," which is not present in the current version of the document. Instead, there's now a section titled "responsible development and deployment." There, Google says it will implement "appropriate human oversight, due diligence, and feedback mechanisms to align with user goals, social responsibility, and widely accepted principles of international law and human rights." That's a far broader commitment than the specific ones the company made as recently as the end of last month when the prior version of its AI principles was still live on its website. For instance, as it relates to weapons, the company previously said it would not design AI for use in "weapons or other technologies whose principal purpose or implementation is to cause or directly facilitate injury to people. As for AI surveillance tools, the company said it would not develop tech that violates "internationally accepted norms." Google When asked for comment, a Google spokesperson pointed Engadget to a blog post the company published on Thursday. In it, DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis and James Manyika, senior vice president of research, labs, technology and society at Google, say AI's emergence as a "general-purpose technology" necessitated a policy change.  "We believe democracies should lead in AI development, guided by core values like freedom, equality, and respect for human rights. And we believe that companies, governments, and organizations sharing these values should work together to create AI that protects people, promotes global growth, and supports national security," the two wrote. " Guided by our AI Principles, we will continue to focus on AI research and applications that align with our mission, our scientific focus, and our areas of expertise, and stay consistent with widely accepted principles of international law and human rights always evaluating specific work by carefully assessing whether the benefits substantially outweigh potential risks." When Google first published its AI principles in 2018, it did so in the aftermath of Project Maven. It was a controversial government contract that, had Google decided to renew it, would have seen the company provide AI software to the Department of Defense for analyzing drone footage. Dozens of Google employees quit the company in protest of the contract, with thousands more signing a petition in opposition. When Google eventually published its new guidelines, CEO Sundar Pichai reportedly told staff his hope was they would stand "the test of time." By 2021, however, Google began pursuing military contracts again, with what was reportedly an "aggressive" bid for the Pentagon's Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability cloud contract. At the start of this year, The Washington Post reported that Google employees had repeatedly worked with Israel's Defense Ministry to expand the government's use of AI tools.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ai/google-now-thinks-its-ok-to-use-ai-for-weapons-and-surveillance-224824373.html?src=rss


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2025-02-04 22:21:31| Engadget

Reddit has temporarily banned the subreddit r/WhitePeopleTwitter after Elon Musk complained about the community. The subreddit is currently inaccessible with a message from Reddit stating that the community has been banned for 72 hours due to a prevalence of violent content. The popular subreddit is known for posting funny tweets and memes from X. On Monday, an X account called Reddit Lies posted screenshots from a thread on r/WhitePeopleTwitter in which users were discussing the identities of the individuals with ties to Musk who have reportedly played a key role in the takeover of technical systems within the federal government. A Reddit spokesperson pointed to the message in r/WhitePeopleTwitter notifying users about the ban, but declined to comment further. This subreddit has been temporarily banned due to a prevalence of violent content. Inciting and glorifying violence or doxing are against Reddits platform-wide Rules. It will reopen in 72 hours, during which Reddit will support moderators and provide resources to keep Reddit a healthy place for discussion and debate. The company also permanently banned a subreddit called r/IsElonDeadYet for breaking its rules around violent content, according to a notice posted to the community. Reddit Musk has used his role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to enter federal agencies and take control of their systems and install a potentially illegal server at the US Office of Personnel Management. Musk has reportedly been helped by a group of very young engineers with little work experience. Those individuals have been the subject of much speculation online amid reports that they have helped him take control of secure systems within the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Treasury Department. Musk has repeatedly accused people who post the names of his DOGE associates on X of breaking the law (to be clear: doing so absolutely is not a crime). He made a similar claim in response to the screenshots from r/WhitePeopleTwitter posted by Reddit Lies, saying they have broken the law. Engadget was unable to verify the Reddit comments posted by the account, but it included statements like time to hunt and this nazi stooge needs to be shot. In a letter addressed to Musk, interim US Attorney Ed Martin offered his assistance in protecting the DOGE work from threats. We will not tolerate threats against DOGE workers or law-breaking by the disgruntled, he wrote on X Monday. Any threats, confrontations, or any actions in any way that impact their work may break numerous laws, he wrote. Many Reddit users have grown increasingly frustrated with Musk, who was once a popular figure on the site. Last month, dozens of subreddits announced that they were banning links to X following Musks speech at President Donald Trumps inauguration in which he made an apparent Nazi salute. Have a tip about Reddit or other information to share? Get in touch by email at karissa.bell [at] engadget.com or message securely on Signal at karissabe.51. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/reddit-temporarily-bans-rwhitepeopletwitter-after-elon-musk-claimed-it-had-broken-the-law-212131945.html?src=rss


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2025-02-04 21:10:42| Engadget

Federal employees are suing to disconnect a server, reportedly operated by associates of Elon Musk, from the US Office of Personnel Management. A motion filed today as part of a class action suit and obtained by Wired claims that the new server connected to OPM systems is a violation of federal laws as well as a privacy risk for government staffers. The OPM is essentially the federal government's human resources department, and it houses sensitive personal information about current and prospective employees. The email server is reportedly harvesting information from OPM's data systems, according to the initial lawsuit that is seeking to block Musk's access to that private information. Government agencies are required to conduct privacy assessments before making substantial changes to IT systems under the 2002 E-Government Act, but today's motion alleges the OPM did not perform that assessment before the server was installed.  On Friday, Reuters reported that senior officials at the OPM were locked out of the department's data systems, ostensibly by Musk's allies. "We have no visibility into what they are doing with the computer and data systems," one of the unnamed officials said. "That is creating great concern. There is no oversight. It creates real cybersecurity and hacking implications." Reuters' sources spoke anonymously with the publication out of fear of retaliation. Interim US Attorney Ed Martin has already posted his support for Musk's activities on X. "We will pursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people," he wrote, referring to the Department of Government Efficiency, which Musk spearheads. The OPM isn't the only government agency where Musk may be installing his connections. Wired separately reported that a former employee of the South African billionaire allegedly has direct access to systems in the US Treasury Department. A group of labor unions and retiree advocates has sued the Treasury for granting DOGE permission to access those systems.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/cybersecurity/government-workers-sue-over-potentially-illegal-doge-server-201042201.html?src=rss


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2025-02-04 20:32:52| Engadget

Autonomous vehicle company Cruise is laying off around half of its workforce, according to reporting by TechCrunch. The cuts even extend to the CEO and other top executives. This is part of a major restructuring effort by parent company GM that will eventually see a total shutdown of operations. These layoffs are expected to impact well over 1,000 people and include CEO Marc Whitten, chief safety officer Steve Kenner and global head of public policy Rob Grant. Chief technologist Mo Elshenawy is also being laid off, but will stay on until the end of April to help with the transition. To that end, some of Cruises workforce and resources will carry on. They are being shuffled to the Super Cruise team, which is GMs driver assistance system. These layoffs dont come as too much of a surprise, given that GM already announced it was giving up on the development of robotaxis. The company, however, hasn't stopped chasing the dream of autonomous vehicles. GM is still planning on rolling out driverless cars for personal use at some point in the future. Cruise has had a rough last couple of years. The company faced scrutiny after one of its robotaxis struck a pedestrian and dragged them 20 feet. Prior to the crash, the companys algorithm was fairly notorious for being buggy, as it repeatedly failed to recognize children. The ensuing investigation forced Cruise to stop all operations for its manned robotaxi service. GM was fined $1.5 million for omitting key details about the aforementioned crash. There were also serious layoffs. In recent months, Cruise had resumed some limited activity, though only with human drivers.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/cruise-lays-off-half-its-staff-after-gm-sunsets-robitaxi-program-191417313.html?src=rss


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2025-02-04 20:29:48| Engadget

Netflix has been revamping its games division in recent months, including making adjustments to the library of titles that it offers subscribers at no extra cost. The company has canceled release plans for six games that were previously bound for iOS and Android through its platform. As first reported by What's On Netflix, the company will no longer bring Thirsty Suitors, Compass Point: West and Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game to its library. Nor will it offer three titles from Klei Entertainment: Don't Starve Together, Lab Rat and Rotwood. A Netflix spokesperson confirmed the decision to Engadget, noting that nixing the planned additions was "just a natural part of adjusting our portfolio as we learn more about what our members like." Tales of the Shire, a cozy life sim game featuring hobbits, is still coming to Steam, Nintendo Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S next month. Action RPG Thirsty Suitors received positive reviews when it debuted on PC and consoles in 2023. As for Don't Starve Together, that was a co-op expansion to Don't Starve, a hit survival game from 2013. Netflix has been retooling its games division after bringing in a new leader for the department last summer. It has removed several games from its library and it emerged in October that it had shut its AAA studio, which was dubbed Team Blue. Meanwhile, Leanne Loombe an executive who helped bring the likes of Hades and Grand Theft Auto to Netflix's library while leading second- and third-party development and publishing efforts recently became the head of games at Annapurna Interactive following an exodus there.  Meanwhile, Netflix aims to add more high-profile mainstream games to its catalog the WWE 2K series is on the way later this year. Other areas of focus include its well-known franchises, narrative-driven games, party and couch co-op titles and games for kids, per a recent earnings call.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/netflix-scuttles-plans-to-add-six-previously-announced-games-to-its-service-192946233.html?src=rss


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