Meta faces legal scrutiny as AI advancements raise concerns over child safety
A group of 34 United States states are filing a lawsuit against Facebook and Instagram owner Meta, accusing the company of engaging in improper manipulation of minors who use the platforms. This development comes amid rapid artificial intelligence (AI) advancements involving both text and generative AI.
Legal representatives from various states, including California, New York, Ohio, South Dakota, Virginia and Louisiana, allege that Meta utilizes its algorithms to foster addictive behavior and negatively impact the mental well-being of children through its in-app features, such as the “Like” button.
The government litigants are proceeding with legal action despite the chief AI scientist at Meta recently speaking out, reportedly saying that worries over the existential risks of the technology are still “premature,” and Meta has already harnessed AI to address trust and safety issues on its platforms.
Attorneys for the states are seeking different damages, restitution and compensation for each state mentioned in the document, with figures ranging from $5,000 to $25,000 per alleged occurrence. Cointelegraph reached out to Meta for more information but is yet to receive a response.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) has raised concerns about the alarming proliferation of AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM). In a recent report, the IWF revealed the discovery of more than 20,254 AI-generated CSAM images in a single dark web forum in just a month, warning that this surge in disturbing content has the potential to inundate the internet.
The organization urged global cooperation to combat the issue of CSAM, suggesting a multifaceted strategy, including adjustments to existing laws, enhancements in law enforcement education and implementing regulatory supervision for AI models.
Related: Researchers in China developed a hallucination correction engine for AI models
Regarding AI developers, the IWF advises prohibiting AI from generating child abuse content, excluding associated models and focusing on removing such material from their models.
The advancement of AI image generators has significantly improved the creation of lifelike human replicas. Platforms such as Midjourney, Runway, Stable Diffusion and OpenAI’s Dall-E are popular examples of tools capable of generating realistic images.
Magazine: ‘AI has killed the industry’: EasyTranslate boss on adapting to change
According to the US Department of Justice, Wolf Capital’s co-founder has pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for luring 2,800 crypto investors into a Ponzi scheme.
Making Britain better off will be “at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind” during her visit to China, the Treasury has said amid controversy over the trip.
Rachel Reeves flew out on Friday after ignoring calls from opposition parties to cancel the long-planned venture because of market turmoil at home.
The past week has seen a drop in the pound and an increase in government borrowing costs, which has fuelled speculation of more spending cuts or tax rises.
The Tories have accused the chancellor of having “fled to China” rather than explain how she will fix the UK’s flatlining economy, while the Liberal Democrats say she should stay in Britain and announce a “plan B” to address market volatility.
However, Ms Reeves has rejected calls to cancel the visit, writing in The Times on Friday night that choosing not to engage with China is “no choice at all”.
👉 Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts 👈
The chancellor will be accompanied by Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey and other senior executives.
She will meet with her counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, in Beijing on Saturday to discuss financial services, trade and investment.
She will also “raise difficult issues”, including Chinese firms supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and concerns over constraints on rights and freedoms in Hong Kong, the Treasury said.
But it did not mention whether Ms Reeves would raise the treatment of the Uyghur community, which Downing Street said Foreign Secretary David Lammy would do during his visit last year.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Pic: AP
On Friday, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy defended the trip, telling Sky News that the climbing cost of government borrowing was a “global trend” that had affected many countries, “most notably the United States”.
“We are still on track to be the fastest growing economy, according to the OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] in Europe,” she told Anna Jones on Sky News Breakfast.
“China is the second-largest economy, and what China does has the biggest impact on people from Stockton to Sunderland, right across the UK, and it’s absolutely essential that we have a relationship with them.”
Read more – Ed Conway analysis: The chancellor’s gamble with China
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Nandy defends Reeves’ trip to China
However, former prime minister Boris Johnson said Ms Reeves had “been rumbled” and said she should “make her way to HR and collect her P45 – or stay in China”.
While in the country’s capital, Ms Reeves will also visit British bike brand Brompton’s flagship store, which relies heavily on exports to China, before heading to Shanghai for talks with representatives across British and Chinese businesses.
It is the first UK-China Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) since 2019, building on the Labour government’s plan for a “pragmatic” policy with the world’s second-largest economy.
Sir Keir Starmer was the first British prime minister to meet with China’s President Xi Jinping in six years at the G20 summit in Brazil last autumn.
Relations between the UK and China have become strained over the last decade as the Conservative government spoke out against human rights abuses and concerns grew over national security risks.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
How much do we trade with China?
Navigating this has proved tricky given China is the UK’s fourth largest single trading partner, with a trade relationship worth almost £113bn and exports to China supporting over 455,000 jobs in the UK in 2020, according to the government.
During the Tories’ 14 years in office, the approach varied dramatically from the “golden era” under David Cameron to hawkish aggression under Liz Truss, while Rishi Sunak vowed to be “robust” but resisted pressure from his own party to brand China a threat.
The Treasury said a stable relationship with China would support economic growth and that “making working people across Britain secure and better off is at the forefront of the chancellor’s mind”.
Ahead of her visit, Ms Reeves said: “By finding common ground on trade and investment, while being candid about our differences and upholding national security as the first duty of this government, we can build a long-term economic relationship with China that works in the national interest.”
The Bitcoin Act’s passage could eventually send BTC’s price past $1 million per coin, industry executives say.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway