The Latest AI News. (16 Apr) OpenAI has announced that it will no longer test whether its AI models can be used to manipulate people; (19 Apr) Users saying “please” and “thank you” to the chat bot costs the company “tens of millions” of dollars in electricity costs for computer processing; (9 Apr) A man driving in Indonesia followed Google Maps directions off an unfinished bridge. (20 May) The Chicago Sun-Times used an AI bot to produce a summer reading list, which it later published. None of the titles exist. (25 May) A new version of ChatGPT bypassed instructions to shut itself down and kept running during a controlled test. (5 Jun) Lockheed-Martin, the world’s largest arms manufacturer, launched a program to place AI warfighting systems in a kind of head-to-head combat in what they call an “AI Fight Club”.
The latest crime waves. (11 May) 14 people were arrested in Northern Afghanistan for singing and playing musical instruments. (16 May) A woman in Sarnia, Ontario was jailed after biting a grocery store security guard. (16 May) EMS responders in Pennsylvania were called to a school after a kindergarten kid handed out “jello shots”, which is jello laced with alcohol, to classmates. (9 Jun) A women’s sexual wellness company promoting “orgasmic meditation” was convicted of forced labour charges when it was revealed that clients be required to have sex with the investors as part of the therapy.
The latest from Florid Florida. (14 Apr) Two women in Florida were arrested for selling human remains on Facebook. (11 Jun) A Sam’s Club outlet in Florida had to destroy over $10,000 worth of canned goods after a man was arrested for disorderly conduct and criminal mischief after being caught peeing on two pallets of Spam and Vienna Sausages. (15 Jun) A Pinellas man hiring a prostitute called 9-1-1 after the prostitute refused to have sex with him. He was arrested and charged with misuse of the 9-1-1 system. (16 Jun) A 72 year-old Florida man has been arrested after making around 16,000 calls to 911 over the space of 5 years, his most recent being the 647 calls to harass his neighbour across the street. He was charged with stalking, harassment and resisting arrest.
The latest in climate change. (18 May) A baby hammerhead shark fell from the sky and on to a golf course in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. (8 June) According to scientists, the gas clouds produced by the feces of penguins may block sunlight and help cool Antarctica.
This is how you win the lotto. (14 Apr) A former derivatives trader from Deutsche Bank and a Tasmanian professional gambler spent $25.8 million to buy 99% of all Texas lottery tickets and won the $95 million jackpot, netting a $69.2 million profit.
Death to tyrants, a fallen crown and boobies. (18 Apr) The Consolidated Independent School District of Lamar, Texas, has banned the state of Virginia from internet searches in its schools to children under 11, due to the Virginia state flag seal depicting the Roman Goddess Virtus brandishing a sword and spear, and standing over a dead body and a fallen crown, with the caption “Sic Semper Tyrannis“, meaning “Thus always to tyrants”. This flag dates back to the birth of the nation in 1776. It was banned because Virtus is depicted with an exposed breast, in violation of a ban on depictions of frontal nudity in the state’s school system libraries. According to the Texas Freedom to Read Project, this has “unlocked a new level of dystopian, book-banning, and censorship hell in Texas.”