Meta acquires voice startup Play AI
Meta has acquired Play AI, a startup that uses AI to generate human-sounding voices.
Read moreStudy warns of ‘significant risks’ in using AI therapy chatbots
Therapy chatbots powered by large language models may stigmatize users with mental health conditions and otherwise respond inappropriately or even dangerously, according to researchers at Stanford University.
Read moreElon Musk’s SpaceX might invest $2 billion in Musk’s xAI
One Elon Musk business might be making a big investment in another.
Read moreUK launches £500M package to support diverse, underrepresented investors and founders
The British Business Bank, owned by the UK government, is creating a £500 million (around $674 million) economic package to help support diverse and underrepresented fund managers and founders in the country. Fifty million pounds will be set aside for female-led venture funds, which means the BBB has now committed
Read moreThe countdown’s almost over: 2 days until TechCrunch All Stage 2025 kicks off in Boston
TechCrunch All Stage 2025 is almost here — In 2 days, the doors swing open at Boston’s SoWa Power Station. If you’re a founder or investor, this is your last shot to lock in the lowest ticket prices before they vanish at the door. This isn’t your average startup conference.
Read morexAI explains the Grok Nazi meltdown as Tesla puts Elon’s bot in its cars
Several days after temporarily shutting down the Grok AI bot that was producing antisemitic posts and praising Hitler in response to user prompts, Elon Musk’s AI company tried to explain why that happened. In a series of posts on X, it said that “…we discovered the root cause was an
Read moreA United Nations research institute created an AI refugee avatar
A research institute connected to the United Nations has created two AI-powered avatars designed to teach people about refugee issues. 404 Media wrote about an experiment conducted by a class at the United Nations University Center for Policy Research that resulted in the creation of two AI agents or avatars
Read moreMarc Andreessen reportedly told group chat that universities will ‘pay the price’ for DEI
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen sharply criticized universities including Stanford and MIT, along with the National Science Foundation, in a group chat with AI scientists and Trump administration officials, according to screenshots viewed by the Washington Post.
Read moreWeek in Review: X CEO Linda Yaccarino steps down
Welcome back to Week in Review! We’ve got tons of news for you this week, including a shakeup at X, Hugging Face’s new robot, new phones from Nothing and Samsung, and a whole lot more. Have a great weekend! Off to do something else: X CEO Linda Yaccarino stepped down
Read morexAI and Grok apologize for ‘horrific behavior’
In a series of posts on X, the AI chatbot Grok apologized for what it admitted was “horrific behavior.” The posts appear to be an official statement from xAI, the Elon Musk-led company behind Grok, as opposed to an AI-generated explanation for Grok’s posts. (xAI recently acquired X, where Grok
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