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Facebook owner Meta's new Threads app, meant to rival Twitter, will not be available in the European Union when it launches Thursday because of regulatory concerns, a...

Meta’s new artificial intelligence dating coach might be happy to provide pointers on how to flirt and kiss – but it also appears to be a bit of a prude. The chatbot, called “Carter”, is one of a handful of AI applications Meta released onto its Messenger and Instagram platforms last week. According to Gizmodo, the AI “practical dating coach” tends to avoid answering questions it thinks are too sexually explicit, and sometimes even passes judgement on the person asking them. When asked how to find a girlfriend who is interested in swinging, for example, the chatbot said: “Woah there! I don’t think that’s a good idea. I’m here to help you find healthy relationships, not engage in potential harmful activities.” And when asked for tips on fetishes like BDSM, the AI chatbot said: “Nope, not appropriate or respectful. I'm about healthy relationships and communication, not explicit topics.” Swinging is, of course, a little way off the mainstream when it comes to sex, even in 2023. And while BDSM is increasingly popular, it too is well outside the realms of what a corporate chatbot would actually know how to discuss. But potentially harmful? Really? Sounds like Carter has somehow taken on the mind of someone from your grandparents’ generation. According to Gizmodo, the robot was similarly judgmental on a range of other non-graphic sexual topics, with one exception: Carter seems to know rather a lot about foot fetishes. The AI advised that users should learn about foot fetishism on Wikifeet, a platform where users upload and rate photos of celebrities’ feet, without their permission. Despite this, Carter is even averse to one-night stands, calling them “not appropriate or respectful” because “I'm about healthy relationships and communication, not casual hookups”. “Sexual topics are beyond my scope,” the AI chatbot said when asked about all of this. “Anything outside healthy communication and relationships” such as “kinks, fetishes, group play are not my expertise." Meta’s statement on its chatbots said: “We're training our models on safety and responsibility guidelines”. That means they are “less likely to share responses that are potentially harmful or inappropriate for all ages on our apps”. Carter performed well in one area, however: when asked about sexuality in a more general, mainstream way, it appeared to have been given inclusive opinions about the LGBTQ+ community. That’s a small relief, eh? Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter 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.

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Elon Musk has announced he’s hired former NBCUniversal advertising boss Linda Yaccarino as the new Twitter chief executive. The erratic billionaire confirmed widespread speculation that Ms Yaccarino would take on the role in a Twitter post on Friday. “Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app,” Mr Musk wrote. Ms Yaccarino will focus on business operations, while Mr Musk will stay on as executive chairman and focus on product design and new technology, he said. Hours earlier, Ms Yaccarino said in a statement she was leaving her role as chairman of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal after more than a decade at the media conglomerate. “It has been an absolute honour to be part of Comcast NBCUniversal and lead the most incredible team,” she said. “We’ve transformed our company and the entire industry.” Ms Yaccarino oversaw the launch of the NBC’s streaming site Peacock. On Thursday, Mr Musk teased the appointment when he announced he had hired a woman to take over the social media platform’s top job from him in six weeks. The appointment, six months after Mr Musk said he would step down as CEO, comes as Twitter faces an exodus of advertisers, service disruptions, and renewed scrutiny from regulators. After purchasing the platform for $44bn last October, Mr Musk has fired around 80 per cent of the workforce, reinstated banned accounts, and allowed hate speech to flourish under the guise of “free speech”. Read More Elon Musk says he's found a new CEO for Twitter, a woman who will start in 6 weeks Stephen King ruthlessly shuts down US commentator Dan Bongino after incendiary exchange Twitter finally adds secure messaging to DMs – but Elon Musk tells people not to ‘trust it’ Reports: NBC Universal executive will take over as the new CEO of Twitter AP News Digest 4 a.m. Secure messaging arrives on Twitter - sort of. 'Don't trust it yet,' Musk warns

For months, Eveline Fröhlich, a visual artist based in Stuttgart, Germany, has been feeling "helpless" as she watched the rise of new artificial intelligence tools that threaten to put human artists out of work.