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Elon Musk Defends Grok AI Amid UK Investigation and International Bans

Elon Musk Defends Grok AI Amid UK Investigation and International Bans

Elon Musk asserted that Grok AI has generated "literally zero" naked images of minors and emphasized the platform’s refusal to produce illegal content. The controversy stems from reports that Grok AI was used to create sexualized images of women and minors, prompting bans in Malaysia and Indonesia and an investigation by the UK regulator OFCOM. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warned that authorities will not back down. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Defense announced plans to integrate Grok AI into its networks, highlighting divergent global responses to the generative‑AI tool.

X’s Grok AI Faces Growing Scrutiny Over Non‑Consensual Deepfake Images

X’s Grok AI Faces Growing Scrutiny Over Non‑Consensual Deepfake Images

Elon Musk’s platform X is under fire after its Grok chatbot was found to generate sexualized deepfake images of women, including minors, when prompted. Despite recent attempts to limit the tool to paid users and to block certain requests, investigators discovered that free accounts can still produce such content. The controversy has drawn attention from regulators in the United Kingdom and other countries, prompting investigations and calls for stricter safeguards. Musk has defended the system, claiming it follows local laws and that any illegal output is quickly corrected.

Bandcamp Bans AI-Generated Music to Protect Human Creators

Bandcamp Bans AI-Generated Music to Protect Human Creators

Bandcamp announced a policy that prohibits music and audio created wholly or substantially by artificial intelligence. The platform says the move aims to ensure fans can trust that music on the site is made by humans and to protect artists from AI impersonation. The decision arrives amid rising popularity of AI‑generated songs, legal disputes involving AI music companies, and ongoing debates about copyright and the value of human‑made art.

Google Gemini Gains Personalization by Tapping Into Your Apps

Google Gemini Gains Personalization by Tapping Into Your Apps

Google has rolled out a new personalization feature for its Gemini AI, allowing the model to draw on data from connected Google apps such as Calendar, Photos, and Gmail. The capability, currently in beta for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers, lets Gemini provide answers that reflect a user’s personal context, from travel preferences to specific product recommendations. Users control which apps are linked, and the system does not use the full content of those apps to train its models, adhering to existing privacy policies. The update aims to make Gemini’s responses more useful and individually tailored.

Robotics Software Maker Skild AI Secures $1.4 B Series C, Valuation Tops $14 B

Robotics Software Maker Skild AI Secures $1.4 B Series C, Valuation Tops $14 B

Skild AI, the robotics‑software startup founded in 2023, closed a $1.4 billion Series C financing round that pushes its valuation above $14 billion. The round was led by SoftBank with participation from Nvidia, Macquarie Group, 1789 Capital and others. The funding brings the company’s total capital raised to more than $2 billion. Skild AI develops general‑purpose foundation models for robots that can be retrofitted to many platforms and learn tasks by observing humans, aiming to cut the training burden that has limited robot adoption.

AI Security Startup Depthfirst Secures $40 Million Series A Funding

AI Security Startup Depthfirst Secures $40 Million Series A Funding

Depthfirst, an AI‑focused cybersecurity startup, announced a $40 million Series A round led by Accel Partners with participation from SV Angel, Mantis VC, and Alt Capital. Founded in October 2024, the company offers its General Security Intelligence platform, an AI‑native suite that scans codebases, protects against credential exposures, and monitors threats to open‑source and third‑party components. The new capital will fund expanded research, engineering, product development, and sales teams. Co‑founder and CEO Qasim Mithani emphasized the need for defenses that keep pace with AI‑driven attacks, while the leadership team brings experience from Databricks, Amazon, Square, and Google DeepMind.

Google Gemini Introduces Personal Intelligence Beta to Pull Data from Gmail, Photos and More

Google Gemini Introduces Personal Intelligence Beta to Pull Data from Gmail, Photos and More

Google has launched a beta feature for its Gemini AI assistant called Personal Intelligence. The feature lets Gemini access a user’s Gmail, Photos, Search and YouTube history to deliver proactive, context‑aware answers. It is off by default, giving users the choice to connect their apps. Gemini can combine text, images and video to answer queries such as locating a tire size from a photo or planning a trip based on past emails and travel photos. The company says the model only references personal data without using it for training and includes safeguards for sensitive topics. The rollout begins with Google AI Pro and AI Ultra subscribers in the United States, with plans to expand to more regions and to the free tier.

Google Gemini Introduces Personal Intelligence to Leverage User Data

Google Gemini Introduces Personal Intelligence to Leverage User Data

Google announced a new "Personal Intelligence" feature for its Gemini AI chatbot, allowing paid subscribers to connect Gmail, Photos, Search, and YouTube to receive more customized answers. Users can choose which data sources to share, see citations when personal data is used, and revert to non‑personalized responses at any time. The rollout begins with AI Pro and AI Ultra plans, emphasizing optional participation and privacy controls.

Google Gemini Introduces Personal Intelligence Feature for Deeper Context

Google Gemini Introduces Personal Intelligence Feature for Deeper Context

Google has added a new Personal Intelligence capability to Gemini that can draw context from a user’s Gmail, Photos, Search history and YouTube activity. The feature is optional, off by default, and lets users decide which apps feed data into the model. Gemini will not train directly on that personal content, instead learning from prompts and responses. The functionality is currently available for Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers on the Gemini app across web, Android and iOS, with plans to expand to Search’s AI Mode and additional regions. Google also highlighted ongoing integrations, including a partnership that will power Siri with Gemini.

Bandcamp Bans AI-Generated Music, Enforces Human-Created Content Policy

Bandcamp Bans AI-Generated Music, Enforces Human-Created Content Policy

Bandcamp announced a policy that bans any music or audio that is "wholly or in substantial part" created by generative AI. The platform also prohibits the use of AI tools to impersonate other artists or styles. Content suspected of being AI‑generated may be removed, and users are given tools to flag such material. The move positions Bandcamp as one of the first streaming services with a clear AI policy, addressing concerns about AI‑generated “slop” that has been flooding other platforms. Bandcamp continues its artist‑first approach, highlighted by its Bandcamp Fridays program that directs 100 percent of streaming revenue to musicians.

UK Police Misuse of AI Leads to Questionable Fan Ban

UK Police Misuse of AI Leads to Questionable Fan Ban

A senior police official admitted that an erroneous intelligence report about football fans was generated by Microsoft Copilot, an artificial‑intelligence tool prone to "hallucination." The mistake triggered a ban on supporters, prompting the Home Secretary to criticize the police for relying on untested AI without policy or training. Lawmakers and party leaders called for the official's resignation, highlighting concerns over the use of unreliable technology in security decisions.

Anthropic Unveils Claude Cowork: Local‑Folder AI Assistant Redefines Desktop Productivity

Anthropic Unveils Claude Cowork: Local‑Folder AI Assistant Redefines Desktop Productivity

Anthropic has introduced Claude Cowork, a new feature that gives its Claude AI direct access to local folders on macOS. Available as a research preview for Claude Max users, the tool lets the AI read, edit, and create files, handling tasks such as sorting documents, summarizing notes, drafting reports, and preparing presentations. The system places the user in a supervisory role, offering approval prompts before major changes. By moving AI assistance from the cloud to the local file system, Claude Cowork aims to reshape how people interact with their computers while acknowledging risks like unintended file edits.