Prominent personalities

Amazon launches first Kuiper satellites to challenge Starlink

Amazon has launched the first 27 satellites of its Project Kuiper broadband network into low-Earth orbit, marking a major step in its $10bn plan to deliver global internet coverage and rival Elon Musk’s Starlink.

The satellites were launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida, after weather delays earlier this month. They are the first of over 3,200 that Amazon intends to deploy, with the aim of reaching underserved and remote areas around the world.

Project Kuiper, announced in 2019, has been slow to get off the ground. Amazon must deploy at least half its satellite constellation—1,618 units—by mid-2026 to meet US regulatory requirements, though analysts expect the company to seek an extension.

The launch puts Amazon into direct competition with SpaceX, which has already deployed over 8,000 Starlink satellites and serves more than 5 million users across 125 countries.

While SpaceX dominates the sector, Amazon hopes its strengths in cloud computing and consumer devices will give Kuiper an edge.

Jeff Bezos said he expects both Kuiper and Starlink to succeed, citing strong global demand for satellite internet. Kuiper consumer terminals will sell for under $400 and come in various sizes, including one comparable to a Kindle.

Amazon has booked 83 future launches with partners including ULA, Arianespace, and Bezos’s Blue Origin, making it the biggest satellite launch programme in history.

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Deepfake victims gain new rights with House-approved bill

The US House of Representatives has passed the ‘Take It Down’ Act with overwhelming bipartisan support, aiming to protect Americans from the spread of deepfake and revenge pornography.

The bill, approved by a 409-2 vote, criminalises the distribution of non-consensual intimate imagery—including AI-generated content—and now heads to President Donald Trump for his signature.

First Lady Melania Trump, who returned to public advocacy earlier this year, played a key role in supporting the legislation. She lobbied lawmakers last month and celebrated the bill’s passage, saying she was honoured to help guide it through Congress.

The White House confirmed she will attend the signing ceremony.

The law requires social media platforms and similar websites to remove such harmful content upon request from victims, instead of allowing it to remain unchecked.

Victims of deepfake pornography have included both public figures such as Taylor Swift and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and private individuals like high school students.

Introduced by Republican Senator Ted Cruz and backed by Democratic lawmakers including Amy Klobuchar and Madeleine Dean, the bill reflects growing concern across party lines about online abuse.

Melania Trump, echoing her earlier ‘Be Best’ initiative, stressed the need to ensure young people—especially girls—can navigate the internet safely instead of being left vulnerable to digital exploitation.

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AI voice hacks put fake Musk and Zuckerberg at crosswalks

Crosswalk buttons in several Californian cities have been hacked to play AI-generated voices impersonating tech moguls Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, delivering bizarre and satirical messages to pedestrians.

The spoof messages, which mock the CEOs with lines like ‘Can we be friends?’ and ‘Cooking our grandparents’ brains with AI slop,’ have been heard in Palo Alto, Redwood City, and Menlo Park.

US Palo Alto officials confirmed that 12 intersections were affected and the audio systems have since been disabled.

While the crosswalk signals themselves remain operational, authorities are investigating how the hack was carried out. Similar issues are being addressed in nearby cities, with local governments moving quickly to secure the compromised systems.

The prank, which uses AI voice cloning, appears to layer these spoofed messages on top of the usual accessibility features rather than replacing them entirely.

Though clearly comedic in intent, the incident has raised concerns about the growing ease with which public systems can be manipulated using generative technologies.

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ChatGPT accused of enabling fake document creation

Concerns over digital security have intensified after reports revealed that OpenAI’s ChatGPT has been used to generate fake identification cards.

The incident follows the recent introduction of a popular Ghibli-style feature, which led to a sharp rise in usage and viral image generation across social platforms.

Among the fakes circulating online were forged versions of India’s Aadhaar ID, created with fabricated names, photos, and even QR codes.

While the Ghibli release helped push ChatGPT past 150 million active users, the tool’s advanced capabilities have now drawn criticism.

Some users demonstrated how the AI could replicate Aadhaar and PAN cards with surprising accuracy, even using images of well-known figures like OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Tesla’s Elon Musk. The ease with which these near-perfect replicas were produced has raised alarms about identity theft and fraud.

The emergence of AI-generated IDs has reignited calls for clearer AI regulation and transparency. Critics are questioning how AI systems have access to the formatting of official documents, with accusations that sensitive datasets may be feeding model development.

As generative AI continues to evolve, pressure is mounting on both developers and regulators to address the growing risk of misuse.

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OpenAI’s Sam Altman responds to Miyazaki’s AI animation concerns

The recent viral trend of AI-generated Ghibli-style images has taken the internet by storm. Using OpenAI’s GPT-4o image generator, users have been transforming photos, from historic moments to everyday scenes, into Studio Ghibli-style renditions.

A trend like this has caught the attention of notable figures, including celebrities and political personalities, sparking both excitement and controversy.

While some praise the trend for democratising art, others argue that it infringes on copyright and undermines the efforts of traditional artists. The debate intensified when Hayao Miyazaki, the co-founder of Studio Ghibli, became a focal point.

In a 2016 documentary, Miyazaki expressed his disdain for AI in animation, calling it ‘an insult to life itself’ and warning that humanity is losing faith in its creativity.

OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, recently addressed these concerns, acknowledging the challenges posed by AI in art but defending its role in broadening access to creative tools. Altman believes that technology empowers more people to contribute, benefiting society as a whole, even if it complicates the art world.

Miyazaki’s comments and Altman’s response highlight a growing divide in the conversation about AI and creativity. As the debate continues, the future of AI in art remains a contentious issue, balancing innovation with respect for traditional artistic practices.

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OpenAI CEO says India leads in AI creativity

Sam Altman sparked interest among Indian users on X after praising the country’s rapid AI adoption and sharing an AI-generated image of himself playing cricket. In his 2 April post, the OpenAI CEO called India’s AI creativity an ‘explosion,’ claiming the country was outpacing the world in adoption rates.

Users questioned why Altman singled out India, with some turning to AI chatbots like Perplexity and Grok for verification. His comments followed a February visit to India, where he met IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and highlighted India as OpenAI’s second-largest market.

Altman’s remarks also came shortly after OpenAI’s GPT-4o update, which enhanced AI-generated images and illustrations. To showcase this, he shared an anime-style image of himself as a cricket player, sporting a Team India jersey.

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Bill Gates foresees AI-driven two-day work weeks

Bill Gates has predicted that AI will reduce work hours significantly, with two-day work weeks becoming a reality in the next decade.

His vision contrasts with views in India, where figures like Narayana Murthy and S.N. Subrahmanyan argue for longer work hours instead of reducing them, believing they are crucial for economic growth.

However, Harsh Goenka and Harish Mariwala, who focus on ambition and productivity instead of hours worked, have a different take. They stress the importance of quality instead of quantity in work hours.

Studies, such as those from Iceland and New Zealand, suggest that reduced working hours can lead to higher productivity and a better work-life balance.

In Iceland, trials reducing weekly hours from 40 to 35 saw workers feeling more energised and less stressed, while New Zealand’s Perpetual Guardian found that employees completed tasks in fewer hours, raising engagement and reducing stress.

Despite Gates’ prediction, the idea of working only two days a week seems extreme, especially considering his past work ethic.

Gates himself worked long hours instead of fewer ones during his early career, fearing mistakes could cost him his company, but he acknowledges that AI and technology have shifted the landscape.

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Meta’s AI research VP Joelle Pineau announces departure

Joelle Pineau, the Vice President of AI research at Meta, announced she will be leaving the company by the end of May, after nearly eight years with the organisation.

Pineau, who joined Meta in 2017, has overseen key AI initiatives, including the FAIR research unit, PyTorch, and the Llama AI models.

In a LinkedIn post, Pineau reflected on her time at Meta, mentioning the creation of groundbreaking AI projects such as PyTorch, FAISS, and Roberta.

She expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work alongside top AI researchers, with the aim of accelerating innovation through open-source contributions.

Pineau, also a professor at McGill University, stated that after her departure, she plans to take some time to reflect before pursuing new ventures. Her departure comes as Meta intensifies its focus on AI, including the recent launch of its Meta AI chatbot in Europe.

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Former Meta AI leaders launch Yutori with $15 million in funding

Two former Meta AI executives have secured $15 million in funding for Yutori, a San Francisco-based startup focused on developing AI personal assistants.

The funding round was led by Radical Ventures, with backing from prominent investors including AI pioneer Fei-Fei Li and Google DeepMind’s Jeff Dean.

Yutori aims to create autonomous AI agents capable of executing complex online tasks without human intervention. Unlike traditional chatbots, these AI assistants will handle real-world actions, from ordering food to managing travel plans, streamlining everyday digital interactions.

The company is also advancing post-training techniques to enhance AI models’ ability to navigate the web efficiently.

With a team of experts who previously worked on Meta’s AI projects, including the development of Llama 3 and Llama 4 models, Yutori is positioning itself at the forefront of AI-driven automation.

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Trump dismisses Signal leak, supports Waltz

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday downplayed the incident in which sensitive military plans for a strike against Yemen’s Houthis were mistakenly shared in a group chat that included a journalist. Trump referred to it as ‘the only glitch in two months’ and insisted that it was ‘not a serious’ issue.

The development, which surprised him when first questioned by reporters, has sparked criticism from Democratic lawmakers accusing the administration of mishandling sensitive information.

The lapse occurred when US National Security Adviser Mike Waltz unintentionally included Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, in a group chat with 18 high-ranking officials discussing military strike plans.

Waltz admitted to the mistake and accepted full responsibility, stating that an aide had mistakenly added Goldberg’s contact to the conversation.

The incident, which took place over the Signal app, has raised concerns due to the app’s public availability and its use for discussing such sensitive matters.

While Trump continued to express support for Waltz, Democratic critics, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have voiced strong disapproval.

Clinton, commenting on the breach, highlighted the irony of the situation, given Trump’s previous criticisms of Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server for sensitive material.

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