Half of adults who have conversations with strangers online do not check how old they are, research suggests. A survey of 2,558 people over the age of 16 for child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation found that a quarter of adults in the UK chat to people they do not know, with 55% not checking their age. The poll also suggested that one in 10 men (11%) over the age of 25 would not immediately stop the conversation if they discovered that they were talking to a child under the age of 16. Our message to all adults having online conversations with anyone under 16 is to be crystal clear about your boundaries and the law. These are your responsibility. Online sexual conversations with under-16s are illegal – no ifs, no buts, no excuses Donald Findlater, Stop It Now! The charity has warned that while it is not illegal for an adult to speak to a child online, any sexual communications are against the law and come with a potential two-year prison sentence. It runs a helpline Stop It Now! aimed at stopping offenders or potential offenders from abusing children. Director of Stop It Now! Donald Findlater said: “Our message to all adults having online conversations with anyone under 16 is to be crystal clear about your boundaries and the law. “These are your responsibility. Online sexual conversations with under-16s are illegal – no ifs, no buts, no excuses.” There can be many different reasons why people offend online, but there are no excuses. To prevent harmful and illegal behaviour and protect children, we must recognise these reasons and help people to stop the behaviour and ensure it stays stopped Dr Alexandra Bailey, Lucy Faithfull Foundation More than two-in-five (44%) of those surveyed said it could be difficult to determine what constituted online grooming, while more than a third (37%) said they would not know what to do if they caught someone having a sexual conversation with a child online. In the past two years, Stop It Now! has seen a 64% rise in the number of people getting in touch with concerns about their own or a loved one’s behaviour. Dr Alexandra Bailey, a psychologist for the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, said: “There can be many different reasons why people offend online, but there are no excuses. “To prevent harmful and illegal behaviour and protect children, we must recognise these reasons and help people to stop the behaviour and ensure it stays stopped.” Stopping online offending taking place in the first place is of course the ideal, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation carries out an extremely important service in preventing this criminality Wendy Hart, National Crime Agency Wendy Hart, deputy director for child sexual abuse at the National Crime Agency, said: “We see first-hand the life-shattering effect these online interactions can have on victims, as well as the devastation this brings to the family of the perpetrator. “Stopping online offending taking place in the first place is of course the ideal, and the Lucy Faithfull Foundation carries out an extremely important service in preventing this criminality. “However, if you do go on to commit abuse, we will work relentlessly to ensure you are arrested and brought to justice. “You and only you will be responsible for the life-changing impact your offending has on the victim and your family.” The Stop It Now! helpline is available by calling 0808 100 0900 or online. – 2,558 adults over the age of 16 were surveyed online by Kantar between September 26 and October 2. Read More Businesses embracing generative AI but fear cyberattacks, survey finds Young Britons turning to AI chatbots for help with school and work – survey Police to trial use of drones as first responders to emergencies Apple to adopt system to improve texting between iPhones and Android devices ICO seeks permission to appeal against Clearview AI tribunal ruling Users of iPhones can now check bank balance from Wallet app

Microsoft stock has hit a record high after hiring sacked OpenAI boss Sam Altman and other key figures from the AI firm. The US tech giant, which is a key investor in OpenAI, is the second most valuable company in the world behind Apple. The firm’s market cap on 21 November reached above $2.8 trillion – up $1 trillion since the start of the year. Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella announced that Mr Altman, who headed ChatGPT creator OpenAI until he was ousted on Friday, would join Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team alongside fellow OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman “We’re extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team,” Mr Nadella wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success.” Despite his new role, Mr Altman is reportedly keen on returning to his former company following a revolt among OpenAI employees against the board. More than 700 OpenAI workers signed a letter threatening to quit unless the board resigns and reappoints Mr Altman as chief executive. “The process through which you terminated Sam Altman and removed Greg Brockman from the board has jeopardised all of this work and undermined our mission and company,” the open letter stated. “Your conduct has made it clear you did not have the competence to oversee OpenAI.” OpenAI board member Ilya Sutskever said on Monday that he “deeply regrets” his role in Mr Altman’s sacking, adding that he was now working to reunite the company. Following his exit from OpenAI last week, Mr Altman wrote on X: “I loved my time at OpenAI. It was transformative for me personally, and hopefully the world a little bit. Most of all I loved working with such talented people. Will have more to say about what’s next later.” After rumours emerged that he was looking to rejoin his former company after being hired by Microsoft, Mr Altman wrote: “Satya [Nadella] and my top priority remains to ensure OpenAI continues to thrive. “We are committed to fully providing continuity of operations to our partners and customers. The OpenAI/ Microsoft partnership makes this very doable.” Read More Microsoft chief hints Sam Altman may return as OpenAI staff demand board resignation OpenAI staff ‘threaten to quit over ousting of Sam Altman’ Microsoft’s new AI tool cleans up messy backgrounds in video calls

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US president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris joined Instagram’s Threads after the White House said Elon Musk’s sharing of an antisemitic conspiracy theory on X was “unacceptable”. Within an hour of joining the rival Meta-owned platform, Mr Biden’s profile garnered over two million followers. “Folks, it’s President Biden,” the official US president’s account posted on Threads. “You’re hearing from me today from a new platform, but my message to you hasn’t changed: Right now, we face an inflection point – one of those challenging moments in history where the decisions we make today will determine decades to come,” the president said. Several accounts on the X rival app responded to the post, calling for a ceasefire amid Israel’s invasion of Gaza, and posting “Free Palestine” along with words of support for Palestinians. Mr Biden joining Threads ahead of a presidential election could boost the platform’s legitimacy and bring more followers to the app. The White House’s decision comes as X, formerly Twitter, is embroiled in a controversy over the platform’s owner Mr Musk endorsing a post falsely asserting that Jewish people “have been pushing the exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them”. The conspiracy theory was among the hateful ideas referenced by the gunman who carried out the deadliest antisemitic attack in US history, killing 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018. Mr Musk immediately faced backlash for sharing the post at a time when Jewish people were facing an increasing amount of hostility due to the Israel-Hamas conflict which began on 7 October. “It is unacceptable to repeat the hideous lie behind the most fatal act of antisemitism in American history at any time, let alone one month after the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for the White House, said in a statement. Watchdog group Media Matters for America said earlier that it found advertisements for companies like IBM, Apple and Oracle were being placed alongside antisemitic content on X. A number of companies, including Apple, Disney, Discovery, Warner Bros, and Paramount Global have paused their ads on X. The latest incident marked yet another effect of X failing to moderate harmful content. It also points to the Biden administration’s efforts to turn to more social media platforms to engage with users ahead of the 2024 presidential elections. Mr Musk responded on Sunday saying X would be filing a “thermonuclear lawsuit” against Media Matters “and all those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company.” Responding to the Tesla Titan’s post, Media Matters president Angelo Carusone called Mr Musk a “bully who threatens meritless lawsuits”. “Musk admitted the ads at issue ran alongside the pro-Nazi content we identified. If he does sue us, we will win,” Mr Carusone said. X has not responded to The Independent’s request for comment. Read More Musk files defamation suit against Media Matters over Nazi X post claims Elon Musk and Trump aide want journalists jailed over X Hitler exposé Elon Musk insists he’s not antisemitic after sharing antisemitic post SpaceX Starship rocket loses contact after reaching space: Live updates Disney, Apple suspend ads on Musk’s X after he agrees with antisemitic tweet SpaceX to launch world’s biggest rocket again after first attempt ended in explosion

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Sam Altman might still return to OpenAI after his ouster from the company, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella hinted. Chaos erupted at OpenAI on Friday as the company’s board abruptly fired its founder and chief Mr Altman, saying it “no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI”. Later, hundreds of the ChatGPT company’s employees threatened to quit unless its board resigned. When asked on Monday whether Mr Altman would join Microsoft, that has invested billions in the ChatGPT company, Mr Nadella said he was “open to both options”. “Look, that is for the OpenAI board and management and the employees to choose,” he told CNBC. “We obviously want Sam and Greg to have a fantastic home if they’re not going to be at OpenAI,” the Microsoft chief said. “We chose to explicitly partner with OpenAI and we want to continue to do so, and obviously, that depends on the people of OpenAI staying there or coming to Microsoft,” Mr Nadella had said. Microsoft later officially announced it was hiring Mr Altman and OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, who resigned on Friday. “Extremely excited to share the news that Sam Altman and Greg Brockman, together with colleagues, will be joining Microsoft to lead a new advanced AI research team,” Mr Nadella said in a post on X. “We look forward to moving quickly to provide them with the resources needed for their success,” he said. Mr Altman’s sacking was followed by about 500 staff at the company demanding the board’s resignation and the reinstatement of their dismissed boss. The employees signed a letter demanding OpenAI’s board resign and reinstate Mr Altman, claiming the decision to oust him jeopardised the company’s work. The letter was reportedly signed by several senior staff at OpenAI. Mira Murati, the company’s chief technology officer who was appointed as the interim chief following Mr Altman’s exit, was one of the signatories. Another signatory, Ilya Sutskever, the company’s chief scientist and one of the board members, expressed “deep regret” over the decision to remove Mr Altman. Employees at the company’s headquarters reportedly refused to attend an emergency all-hands meeting with new OpenAI boss Emmett Shear that was scheduled on Sunday. Some had responded to a Slack announcement with a middle-finger emoji, according to reports. Mr Nadella also said “it’s clear something has to change around the governance” at OpenAI. “We’ll have a good dialogue with their board on that, and walk through that as that evolves,” he said. Mr Altman said on X that his “top priority” remains to “ensure OpenAI continues to thrive”. “We are committed to fully providing continuity of operations to our partners and customers,” the ousted tech boss said on Monday. “We have more unity and commitment and focus than ever before. We are all going to work together some way or other, and I’m so excited. one team, one mission,” Mr Altman said. Read More OpenAI staff ‘threaten to quit over ousting of Sam Altman’ Microsoft’s new AI tool cleans up messy backgrounds in video calls First carbon capture plant opens in the US to help avoid climate catastrophe One of the world’s most hyped tech products just launched – and made a big mistake Musk files defamation suit against Media Matters over Nazi X post claims ‘We are broken’: Armenia looks to technology to rebuild

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The big question is what management will say about its progress in alleviating supply constraints.