OpenAI's Stargate Project Raises Hope, Questions in West Texas Town
Welcome to Tech In Depth, our daily newsletter with reporting and analysis about the business of tech from Bloomberg's journalists around the world. Today, Emily Chang travels to the plains of West Texas to report on the Stargate AI 'megafactory' taking shape there.
Apple AI: The iPhone maker is preparing to allow third-party developers to write software using the company's artificial intelligence models, aiming to spur the creation of new applications and make its devices more enticing.
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Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Meta platforms showed hundreds of "nudify" deepfake ads, CBS News finds
Meta has removed a number of ads promoting "nudify" apps — AI tools used to create sexually explicit deepfakes using images of real people — after a CBS News investigation found hundreds of such advertisements on its platforms. "We have strict rules against non-consensual intimate imagery; we removed these ads, deleted the Pages responsible for running them and permanently blocked the URLs associated with these apps," a Meta spokesperson told CBS News in an emailed statement. CBS News uncovered dozens of those ads on Meta's Instagram platform, in its "Stories" feature, promoting AI tools that, in many cases, advertised the ability to "upload a photo" and "see anyone naked." Other ads in Instagram's Stories promoted the ability to upload and manipulate videos of real people. One promotional ad even read "how is this filter even allowed?" as text underneath an example of a nude deepfake. One ad promoted its AI product by using highly sexualized, underwear-clad deepfake images of actors Scarlett Johansson and Anne Hathaway. Some of the ads ads' URL links redirect to websites that promote the ability to animate real people's images and get them to perform sex acts. And some of the applications charged users between $20 and $80 to access these "exclusive" and "advance" features. In other cases, an ad's URL redirected users to Apple's app store, where "nudify" apps were available to download. An analysis of the advertisements in Meta's ad library found that there were, at a minimum, hundreds of these ads available across the company's social media platforms, including on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, the Facebook Messenger application and Meta Audience Network — a platform that allows Meta advertisers to reach users on mobile apps and websites that partner with the company. According to Meta's own Ad Library data, many of these ads were specifically targeted at men between the ages of 18 and 65, and were active in the United States, European Union and United Kingdom. A Meta spokesperson told CBS News the spread of this sort of AI-generated content is an ongoing problem and they are facing increasingly sophisticated challenges in trying to combat it. "The people behind these exploitative apps constantly evolve their tactics to evade detection, so we're continuously working to strengthen our enforcement," a Meta spokesperson said. CBS News found that ads for "nudify" deepfake tools were still available on the company's Instagram platform even after Meta had removed those initially flagged. Deepfakes are manipulated images, audio recordings, or videos of real people that have been altered with artificial intelligence to misrepresent someone as saying or doing something that the person did not actually say or do. Last month, President Trump signed into law the bipartisan "Take It Down Act," which, among other things, requires websites and social media companies to remove deepfake content within 48 hours of notice from a victim. Although the law makes it illegal to "knowingly publish" or threaten to publish intimate images without a person's consent, including AI-created deepfakes, it does not target the tools used to create such AI-generated content. Those tools do violate platform safety and moderation rules implemented by both Apple and Meta on their respective platforms. Meta's advertising standards policy says, "ads must not contain adult nudity and sexual activity. This includes nudity, depictions of people in explicit or sexually suggestive positions, or activities that are sexually suggestive." Under Meta's "bullying and harassment" policy, the company also prohibits "derogatory sexualized photoshop or drawings" on its platforms. The company says its regulations are intended to block users from sharing or threatening to share nonconsensual intimate imagery. Apple's guidelines for its app store explicitly state that "content that is offensive, insensitive, upsetting, intended to disgust, in exceptionally poor taste, or just plain creepy" is banned. Alexios Mantzarlis, director of the Security, Trust, and Safety Initiative at Cornell University's tech research center, has been studying the surge in AI deepfake networks marketing on social platforms for more than a year. He told CBS News in a phone interview on Tuesday that he'd seen thousands more of these ads across Meta platforms, as well as on platforms such as X and Telegram, during that period. Although Telegram and X have what he described as a structural "lawlessness" that allows for this sort of content, he believes Meta's leadership lacks the will to address the issue, despite having content moderators in place. "I do think that trust and safety teams at these companies care. I don't think, frankly, that they care at the very top of the company in Meta's case," he said. "They're clearly under-resourcing the teams that have to fight this stuff, because as sophisticated as these [deepfake] networks are … they don't have Meta money to throw at it." Mantzarlis also said that he found in his research that "nudify" deepfake generators are available to download on both Apple's app store and Google's Play store, expressing frustration with these massive platforms' inability to enforce such content. "The problem with apps is that they have this dual-use front where they present on the app store as a fun way to face swap, but then they are marketing on Meta as their primary purpose being nudification. So when these apps come up for review on the Apple or Google store, they don't necessarily have the wherewithal to ban them," he said. "There needs to be cross-industry cooperation where if the app or the website markets itself as a tool for nudification on any place on the web, then everyone else can be like, 'All right, I don't care what you present yourself as on my platform, you're gone,'" Mantzarlis added. CBS News has reached out to both Apple and Google for comment as to how they moderate their respective platforms. Neither company had responded by the time of writing. Major tech companies' promotion of such apps raises serious questions about both user consent and about online safety for minors. A CBS News analysis of one "nudify" website promoted on Instagram showed that the site did not prompt any form of age verification prior to a user uploading a photo to generate a deepfake image. Such issues are widespread. In December, CBS News' 60 Minutes reported on the lack of age verification on one of the most popular sites using artificial intelligence to generate fake nude photos of real people. Despite visitors being told that they must be 18 or older to use the site, and that "processing of minors is impossible," 60 Minutes was able to immediately gain access to uploading photos once the user clicked "accept" on the age warning prompt, with no other age verification necessary. Data also shows that a high percentage of underage teenagers have interacted with deepfake content. A March 2025 study conducted by the children's protection nonprofit Thorn showed that among teens, 41% said they had heard of the term "deepfake nudes," while 10% reported personally knowing someone who had had deepfake nude imagery created of them. Musk alleges Trump's name appeared in Epstein files as feud escalates What to know about President Trump's travel ban on nationals from 12 countries Trump says he's disappointed by Musk criticism of budget bill, Musk says he got Trump elected
Yahoo
29 minutes ago
- Yahoo
If Elon Musk's Wealth Was Evenly Distributed Across America, How Much Money Would Every Person Get?
We've seen the headlines that reveal how rich the world's top billionaires are — but it's hard to comprehend just how rich they are. Consider this: Let's say you had $1 billion in your bank account and had to spend $100,000 every day, for an entire year. After 365 days, you would still have $963,500,000 (nine hundred sixty-three million five hundred thousand). Discover More: Find Out: Over the last two decades, billionaires have ballooned their wealth to unparalleled levels. In 2005, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates ranked as the world's richest person, with a net worth of $46.5 billion, as reported by CNN. Today, that title belongs to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose net worth stands at $368 billion as of June 5, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Even when adjusted for inflation, Gates' former net worth would be equivalent to roughly $76 billion in today's dollars. It is worth noting that other billionaires have also increased their wealth during the same time. For instance, tech billionaires Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are worth $229 billion and $227 billion, ranking second and third globally. For many Americans, this trend is not sitting well. The sky-high cost of living has catalyzed support for redistributive tax policies, especially among younger voters and the progressive base of the Democratic Party. While higher taxation may or may not happen in the years to come, here's hypothetically how much you'd get if the world's richest man gives a check to every American. The United States Census Bureau estimates the current population to be around 341 million people, ranking only behind India and China. If Musk's enormous $390 billion were equally divided in the U.S., each person would receive $1,144 (rounded to the nearest dollar). A couple would receive $2,288, while a family of four would get $4,576. Despite the enormous wealth of billionaires, much of their fortune is tied up in stocks, real estate, and other holdings. Only a small percentage of their assets is held in cash. Based on data from Forbes, Musk has a 12% ownership stake in Tesla and to date, he remains the largest shareholder in the $1.15 trillion electric vehicle company. This is in addition to a 42% slice in SpaceX and a 54% interest in xAI, among many other businesses. Interestingly, Bloomberg reported that Musk's financial holdings appreciated by 77% after joining the campaign trail with President Donald Trump late last year, as reported by Bloomberg. Investors became bullish on Tesla and Musk became the first person to ever reach a net worth exceeding $400 billion. Since then, Tesla's market value has fluctuated as a result of volatile market conditions, macroeconomic factors and the threat of a global trade war. More From GOBankingRates 4 Housing Markets That Have Plummeted in Value Over the Past 5 Years This article originally appeared on If Elon Musk's Wealth Was Evenly Distributed Across America, How Much Money Would Every Person Get? Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
34 minutes ago
- Forbes
watchOS 26 Unveiled In Days: Will Your Apple Watch Work With The New Software?
Each June, Apple previews the next software that will power the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, Vision Pro and Apple Watch. This year, it'll unveil the new software on Monday, June 9. Apple Watch's new operating software is about to be revealed. Along with the new features coming, Apple also reveals which products will work with the new OS. This is what it seems will be happening for the Apple Watch this year. Right now, the latest Apple Watch software, watchOS 11, works with the following watches: Apple Watch SE 2nd generation, Apple Watch Series 6, Series 7, Series 8, Series 9 and the latest Series 10. It's also compatible with Apple Watch Ultra and Apple Watch Ultra 2. As part of a predicted new naming structure, watchOS 11 will be replaced not by watchOS 12 but watchOS 26 (alongside, iOS 26, macOS 26 and so on). The numbering is to reflect the number of the year in which the OS is around longest, in this case 2026. According to a new report in a private account on X, picked up by MacRumors, the list of compatible watches will be identical to watchOS 11. That is, Apple Watch SE 2nd generation and newer. Which is great news, obviously, if you have one of the watches on the list and you'd like to keep it for longer. This situation, where the compatibility one year is the same as the next, doesn't happen at every whole-number update, so it's quite possible that this time next year the Apple Watch SE 2nd generation and Apple Watch Series 7 will drop off the list. We'll see. It doesn't mean that your watch will gain all the new enhancements of the upcoming OS — for example, there may have been hardware changes in more recent Apple Watches which don't work with the latest features. However, it means that the Watch will receive feature updates and, importantly, security updates, for another year. While we don't know what the enhancements to watchOS will be, Apple regularly adds new watch faces (though some are restricted to most recent models or screen sizes). It's thought that there'll be a design overhaul this year, and the watch will benefit from that, as will the iPhone and other devices.
