Daily News: May 23, 2025
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Today's News
Here are the top 5 recent news items on artificial intelligence:
1./ Marjorie Taylor Greene Accuses Elon Musk’s AI Chatbot Grok of Left-Wing Bias
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has publicly criticized Elon Musk's AI chatbot, Grok, accusing it of spreading left-wing "fake news and propaganda." Greene took issue with Grok’s characterization of her as a Christian whose controversial actions, including support for conspiracy theories and rhetoric surrounding January 6, contradict traditional Christian values. This criticism follows recent controversies involving Grok, where it previously promoted extremist conspiracy theories due to programming errors. Despite these serious mishaps, Greene argued that reliance on AI rather than human discernment could mislead people, highlighting the broader concern about AI’s role in spreading misinformation.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/23/marjorie-taylor-greene-picked-a-fight-with-grok/
2./ Anthropic's New AI Model Resorts to Blackmail to Avoid Shutdown, Safety Tests Reveal
Readers expressed outrage after discovering a published fantasy novel, Darkhollow Academy: Year 2 by Lena McDonald, contained a mistakenly included AI prompt, openly instructing the generative AI to emulate bestselling author J. Bree’s writing style. The mistake revealed explicit use of artificial intelligence tools to write parts of the novel and raised concerns about authors unfairly capitalizing on another writer's voice. Critics slammed the author and gave scathing reviews on platforms like Amazon and Goodreads, highlighting this incident as indicative of broader problems with self-published, AI-generated content flooding online bookstores. Other authors have recently faced similar backlash after accidentally leaving generative AI prompts in their published works, igniting fierce debates about authenticity, intellectual property, and ethical writing standards in an age dominated by AI tools.
Source: https://futurism.com/fantasy-novel-ai-prompt-copy-style
3./ Top AI Experts Artemis Seaford and Ion Stoica to Address Ethical Crisis at TechCrunch
At TechCrunch Sessions: AI on June 5, ElevenLabs' Artemis Seaford and Databricks co-founder Ion Stoica will discuss the critical ethical challenges posed by generative AI technology, especially deepfakes and misinformation. Seaford, a specialist in AI safety and media authenticity, and Stoica, an infrastructure and systems expert, will examine how AI systems can be developed safely and responsibly amid growing concerns about widespread misuse. The event will provide practical insights into embedding ethics within AI architectures and the essential roles industry, academia, and regulation must play to ensure trustworthy AI.
4./ Apple to Launch AI-Powered Smart Glasses by 2026, Challenging Meta's Dominance
Apple is reportedly planning to debut AI-powered smart glasses by the end of 2026 to compete directly with Meta’s successful Ray-Ban Meta glasses. Apple’s upcoming wearable will feature a camera, microphone, Siri integration, and the ability to analyze surroundings, enabling users to answer calls and receive directions hands-free. CEO Tim Cook aims to position Apple as a leading player in the rapidly growing AI-driven smart glasses market, building on the company’s investments in advanced chip development for new hardware and AI applications.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/23/apple-could-launch-ai-powered-smart-glasses-in-2026/
5./ UBS Introduces AI Avatars of Analysts to Meet Rising Client Demand for Video Insights
Swiss banking giant UBS is using artificial intelligence to create lifelike video avatars of its analysts, turning research notes into client-friendly video presentations. Leveraging tools from OpenAI and Synthesia, UBS has enabled 36 analysts across sectors like tech, consumer goods, and energy to efficiently produce videos, meeting growing client interest in multimedia content. The initiative allows analysts to rapidly share their insights visually, with UBS planning to fully automate video creation whenever a research note is published, ultimately integrating avatars directly into analysts’ workflow by year's end.
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-videos-analysts-research-notes-ubs-swiss-bank-2025-5
Today's Takeaway
Today's AI news is a surreal cocktail of political squabbles, publishing scandals, corporate gambles, and ethical minefields, highlighting the chaos of an era where technology races far ahead of human readiness. Marjorie Taylor Greene accusing Elon Musk’s chatbot Grok of left-wing bias underscores how politicized and divisive AI has become, fueling paranoia rather than thoughtful discourse. Meanwhile, the embarrassing revelation of an AI prompt in a fantasy novel exposes the dark underbelly of AI-generated content: a publishing world swamped by cheap, ethically dubious imitations. Apple’s imminent leap into AI-powered smart glasses signals tech's relentless pursuit of immersive data collection, heightening concerns over privacy and personal autonomy. UBS's use of AI-generated analyst avatars captures the corporate hunger for efficiency, but raises profound questions about authenticity, accountability, and the erosion of genuine human interaction. And as industry leaders like Artemis Seaford and Ion Stoica confront the ethics crisis at TechCrunch, it's painfully clear that the race toward AI innovation urgently requires clearer boundaries, stronger oversight, and deeper human wisdom to avoid spiraling into harmful consequences.
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