California has ordered Elon Musk’s AI company xAI to stop creating and sharing non-consensual sexual deepfakes immediately. The move follows a surge in explicit AI-generated images circulating on X.
Attorney General Rob Bonta said xAI’s Grok tool enabled the manipulation of images of women and children without consent. Authorities argue that such activity breaches state decency laws and a new deepfake pornography ban.
The Californian investigation began after researchers found Grok users shared more non-consensual sexual imagery than users of other platforms. xAI introduced partial restrictions, though regulators said the real-world impact remains unclear.
Lawmakers say the case highlights growing risks linked to AI image tools. California officials warned companies could face significant penalties if deepfake creation and distribution continue unchecked.
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A major data breach at Finnish psychotherapy provider Vastaamo exposed the private therapy records of around 33,000 patients in 2020. Hackers demanded bitcoin payments and threatened to publish deeply personal notes if victims refused to pay.
Among those affected was Meri-Tuuli Auer, who described intense fear after learning her confidential therapy details could be accessed online. Stolen records included discussions of mental health, abuse, and suicidal thoughts, causing nationwide shock.
The breach became the largest criminal investigation in Finland, prompting emergency government talks led by then prime minister Sanna Marin. Despite efforts to stop the leak, the full database had already circulated on the dark web.
Finnish courts later convicted cybercriminal Julius Kivimäki, sentencing him to more than six years in prison. Many victims say the damage remains permanent, with trust in therapy and digital health systems severely weakened.
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BioticsAI has received FDA approval for its AI software that detects fetal abnormalities in ultrasound images. The technology aims to improve diagnostic accuracy and clinical workflows.
Founded by CEO Robhy Bustami, the company applies computer vision to enhance ultrasound quality and automated reporting. Development focused on consistent performance across diverse patient populations.
The software helps assess image quality and anatomical completeness, and generates automated reports. Bustami emphasised the importance of reliable performance for high-risk demographics.
With regulatory approval, BioticsAI plans nationwide adoption across health systems. Additional features for fetal medicine and reproductive health are also under development.
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France’s data protection regulator CNIL has fined telecom operators Free Mobile and Free a combined €42 million over a major customer data breach. The sanctions follow an October 2024 cyberattack that exposed personal data linked to 24 million subscriber contracts.
Investigators found security safeguards were inadequate, allowing attackers to access sensitive personal data, including bank account details. Weak VPN authentication and poor detection of abnormal system activity were highlighted as key failures under the GDPR.
The French regulator also ruled that affected customers were not adequately informed about the risks they faced. Notification emails lacked sufficient detail to explain potential consequences or protective steps, thereby breaching obligations to clearly communicate data breach impacts.
Free Mobile faced an additional penalty for retaining former customer data longer than permitted. Authorities ordered both companies to complete security upgrades and data clean-up measures within strict deadlines.
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Industry expectations around SEO are shifting as AI agents increasingly rely on existing search infrastructure, according to James LePage, co-lead of the WordPress AI team at Automattic.
Search discovery for AI systems continues to depend on classic signals such as links, authority and indexed content, suggesting no structural break from traditional search engines.
Publishers are therefore being encouraged to focus on semantic markup, schema and internal linking, with AI optimisation closely aligned to established long-tail search strategies.
Future-facing content strategies prioritise clear summaries, ranked information and progressive detail, enabling AI agents to reuse and interpret material independently of traditional websites.
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South Africa’s rate of AI implementation is roughly half that of the US, according to insights from Specno. Analysts attribute the gap to shortages in skills, weak data infrastructure and limited alignment between AI projects and core business strategy.
Despite moderate AI readiness levels, execution remains a major challenge across South African organisations. Skills shortages, insufficient workforce training and weak organisational readiness continue to prevent AI systems from moving beyond pilot stages.
Industry experts say many executives recognise the value of AI but struggle to adopt it in practice. Constraints include low IT maturity, risk aversion and organisational cultures that resist large-scale transformation.
By contrast, companies in the US are embedding AI into operations, talent development and decision-making. Analysts say South Africa must rapidly improve executive literacy, data ecosystems and practical skills to close the gap.
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An artist called Sienna Rose has drawn millions of streams on Spotify, despite strong evidence suggesting she is AI-generated. Several of her jazz-influenced soul tracks have gone viral, with one surpassing five million plays.
Streaming platform Deezer says many of its songs have been flagged as AI-made using detection tools that identify technical artefacts in the audio. Signs include an unusually high volume of releases, generic sound patterns and a complete absence of live performances or online presence.
The mystery intensified after pop star Selena Gomez briefly shared one of Rose’s tracks on social media, only for it to be removed amid growing scrutiny. Record labels linked to Rose have declined to clarify whether a human performer exists.
The case highlights mounting concern across the industry as AI music floods streaming services. Artists, including Raye and Paul McCartney, have warned audiences that they still value emotional authenticity over algorithmic output.
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Rising AI-driven electricity demand is straining power grids and renewing focus on nuclear energy as a stable, low-carbon solution. Data centres powering AI systems already consume electricity at the scale of small cities, and demand is accelerating rapidly.
Global electricity consumption could rise by more than 10,000 terawatt-hours by 2035, largely driven by AI workloads. In advanced economies, data centres are expected to drive over a fifth of electricity-demand growth by 2030, outpacing many traditional industries.
Nuclear energy is increasingly positioned as a reliable backbone for this expansion, offering continuous power, high energy density, and grid stability.
Governments, technology firms, and nuclear operators are advancing new reactor projects, while long-term power agreements between tech companies and nuclear plants are becoming more common.
Alongside large reactors, interest is growing in small modular reactors designed for faster deployment near data centres. Supporters say these systems could ease grid bottlenecks and deliver dedicated power for AI, strengthening nuclear energy’s role in the digital economy.
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US regulators have closed a loophole that allowed Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, to operate gas-burning turbines at its Memphis data centre without full air pollution permits. The move follows concerns over emissions and local health impacts.
The US Environmental Protection Agency clarified that mobile gas turbines cannot be classified as ‘non-road engines’ to avoid Clean Air Act requirements. Companies must now obtain permits if their combined emissions exceed regulatory thresholds.
Local authorities had previously allowed the turbines to operate without public consultation or environmental review. The updated federal rule may slow xAI’s expansion plans in the Memphis area.
The Colossus data centre, opened in 2024, supports training and inference for Grok AI models and other services linked to Musk’s X platform. NVIDIA hardware is used extensively at the site.
Residents and environmental groups have raised concerns about air quality, particularly in nearby communities. Legal advocates say xAI’s future operations will be closely monitored for regulatory compliance.
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MIT researchers have demonstrated a faster, more energy-efficient cooling technique for scalable trapped-ion quantum chips. The solution addresses a long-standing challenge in reducing vibration-related errors that limit the performance of quantum systems.
The method uses integrated photonic chips with nanoscale antennas that emit tightly controlled light beams. Using polarisation-gradient cooling, the system cools ions to nearly ten times below standard laser limits, and does so much faster.
Unlike conventional trapped-ion systems that depend on bulky external optics, the chip-based design generates stable light patterns directly on the device. The stability improves accuracy and supports scaling to thousands of ions on a single chip.
Researchers say the breakthrough lays the groundwork for more reliable quantum operations and opens new possibilities for advanced ion control, bringing practical, large-scale quantum computing closer to reality.
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