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The current outrage at Reddit will “pass”, its chief executive has said, as the site continues to deal with one of its most significant protests ever. In recent days, many of the site’s largest forums have gone “dark”, as moderators set them to private, meaning they cannot be seen by the world. The changes also meant that Reddit became overwhelmed and stopped working for a brief period on Monday. That was a response to a move by Reddit to start charging for access to its data, which meant that third-party apps for viewing the forum became unsustainable. Reddit chief executive Steve Huffman said that the protest was a “challenge” and “we have our work cut out for us”. Staff have been working around the clock to deal with technical problems and engage with the moderators who run those forums, he said in a memo that was first reported by The Verge. He also said that the company has “not seen any significant revenue impact so far and we will continue to monitor”. “There’s a lot of noise with this one. Among the noisiest we’ve seen,” he wrote. “Please know that our teams are on it, and like all blowups on Reddit, this one will pass as well. The most important things we can do right now are stay focused, adapt to challenges, and keep moving forward.” He suggested that while two biggest third-party apps had announced they would be shutting down, along with some others. But he said that others were still in “conversations” with the company. Mr Huffman also advised staff that they should be “mindful of wearing Reddit gear in public”. “Some folks are really upset, and we don’t want you to be the object of their frustrations.” He also claimed that “starting last night, about a thousand subreddits have gone private”. That is far below third-party estimates, which suggest that the vast majority of the thousands of the site’s forums have gone dark. Reddit’s chief executive has been at the heart of the fallout over the changes at the site. He conducted an ask me anything session on the site, intended on quelling protest – but which was met with widespread criticism from the site’s users and moderators. Unlike other social networks such as Facebook, Reddit relies on unpaid moderators to check the content and administer the posts on its forums. As such, those moderators are able to make changes to the forums as they wish. Read More Reddit’s blackout protest is set to continue indefinitely Reddit down amid major protest Reddit just went ‘dark’, and the site is in chaos

E-cigarette company Juul is set to launch a new generation of vapes that has electronic age verification and parental locks. It comes after brands faced backlash for their products being enticing towards teens and children. Juul submitted their plans to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) with a proposal to diminish underage usage and to encourage adult tobacco smokers to move over to vapes. They plan on using a mobile and web-based app to enable the verification technology, "including device-locking, and real-time product information and usage insights for age-verified consumers with industry-leading data-privacy protections." Juul plans on adding a larger, long-lasting battery with a smart light system that communicates battery life and liquid level. A unique pod ID chip to prevent fake Juul vapes will also be added. Additionally, plans suggest the newly designed Juul vapes will have an "innovative heating element that improves product performance and temperature-control precision". Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Juul’s Chief Product Officer Kirk Phelps said: "Our company DNA is product innovation." "With our next-generation platform, we have designed a technological solution for two public-health problems: improving adult-smoker switching from combustible cigarettes and restricting underage access to vapour products. "This is only the beginning of new tech being developed and refined for the U.S. market and abroad to eliminate combustible cigarettes and combat underage use." Chief Regulatory Officer Joe Murillo added: "Our next-generation vapour platform PMTA is built on new technology that advances public-health objectives and compelling science that demonstrates a clear public-health benefit, as required to secure a marketing authorization. We look forward to engaging with FDA throughout the review process while we pursue this important harm-reduction opportunity." The company's July submission is pending acceptance review. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is developing at a faster pace than laws can be drafted in response, an academic has warned. Although the technology has been around in some form for some time, the rate at which it is changing and improving is the new, key challenge, senators and TDs were told. The Oireachtas Enterprise Committee heard that AI can offer “profound opportunities” to help people, but can also be used to reduce white-collar employees’ salaries and even prompt diplomatic incidents. Professor of AI at Trinity College Dublin Gregory O’Hare cited cases including technology beating a world chess champion in 1997, as well as fake AI-generated images of Donald Trump being arrested and the Pope wearing a designer puffer jacket, as he outlined landmark moments in the development of the “disruptive technology”. He said there have been many previous “false dawns and unrealised promises” about the technology’s potential, and that ChatGPT has gathered 100 million users in two months and is the fastest-growing technology in history. He said white-collar professions like the law, academia, marketing, architecture, engineering, journalism and the creative industries will all be “profoundly affected”, and cited a recent study which estimated that two-thirds of all US occupations will be affected by AI. “In terms of the point around wages, I think there is certainly an opportunity for employers to reduce salaries,” he said. The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) argued that unions should be involved at an early stage in any initiatives looking to address concerns around AI. Dr Laura Bambrick, of the ICTU, said the EU AI Act is not suitable to regulate AI and is “more than disappointing” from workers’ point of view, stating that the amendments tabled offer some comfort but “don’t go far enough”. “It only requires software providers to self-assess their own technology between low- and high-risk before putting it on the market, and did not include any rules on the use of AI in the workplace,” she said. The velocity of AI technology is, alas, fast exceeding the rate at which the law around AI can be framed Professor Gregory O'Hare, Trinity College Dubin Prof O’Hare said he believes the current legislative framework proposed to regulate AI is not “in a position to be able to respond with the speed that we need”. He added: “The velocity of AI technology is, alas, fast exceeding the rate at which the law around AI can be framed.” Cork East TD David Stanton said that statement is “quite scary”, and “science fiction is actually becoming science fact”. He suggested the topic is so serious and developing at such a pace that it could warrant setting up a dedicated Oireachtas committee to discuss it. During the session, committee chairman Maurice Quinlivan said he used ChatGPT to double-check that the three guests had not used ChatGPT to write their opening statements, with one TD remarking he was “using AI to check for AI”. Prof O’Hare said it is difficult to assess how AI comes to a particular conclusion, even for experts. “Not only is there typically not a set of algorithmic steps that one, even with a trained eye, could scrutinise, AI, and in particular deep AI, does not have an algorithmic basis. “So, even were it to be the case that someone like myself, a professor of artificial intelligence, were I to look at a particular AI application that was using deep learning, I would have great difficulty in being able to establish, on the surface, how it actually arrived at its deduction and its recommendation or conclusion.” It knows no political boundaries, it knows no geographic boundaries, no socio-economic boundaries. This is something that demands potentially a global position Professor Gregory O'Hare, Trinity College Dublin He added that, while it is crucial to engage with all stakeholders involved, it will take “some considerable time”, and the rate at which AI is developing “does not afford us that level of time”. Responding to the suggestion that the use of AI should be slowed down or halted to allow for consultation, he said: “We’re talking about something that knows no boundaries.” “It knows no political boundaries, it knows no geographic boundaries, no socio-economic boundaries. This is something that demands potentially a global position. So Ireland needs to find a way and a voice into that global discussion.” Ronan Lupton SC, of the Bar Council of Ireland, said that although AI has been around for some time, “where we’re moving to now, at the moment, is a sphere in an environment of extreme pace”, which is the “key challenge”. He said AI could help people with speech disabilities to communicate, but also warned of the dangers of misinformation. He said that newsrooms, instead of sending a draft article to a solicitor to check for defamation or other legal issues, are now using artificial intelligence technologies instead, which he said is “an interesting development”. Prof O’Hare agreed with the potential of AI to help people with disabilities and said it is “very important that we do not throw the baby out with the bathwater”. “This technology has profound opportunities, absolutely profound opportunities.” But he suggested that, because the technology has been put out “into the wild”, it could be used for “sinister” means which could have financial or political implications, such as boundary incursions – and even wars. “The question is will it always be used for good purpose, or is there a significant chance that it will be used for Machiavellian purposes?” he said. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Facebook Marketplace is most complained-about online retail platforms UKRI announces £50 million to develop trustworthy and secure AI ‘Last Beatles record’ was created using AI, says Paul McCartney

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