A top EU official has asked X/Twitter owner Elon Musk to “walk the talk” when it comes to curbing fake content and the glorification of violence following the terror attack against Israel by Hamas. EU commissioner Thierry Breton wrote in an open letter shared on X that illegal content and disinformation were being shared via the social media platform about the Hamas incursion into Israel, which began on Saturday. He warned the EU could punish X for failure to comply with its obligations to moderate content under the Digital Services Act, and gave Mr Musk 24 hours to give a “prompt, accurate and complete response”. “You need to be very transparent and clear on what content is permitted under your terms and consistently and dingently enforce your own policies,” Mr Berton said, adding that the social media company “must be timely, diligent and objective” in taking action and removing relevant content when it receives warranted notices of illegal content in the EU. “I therefore invite you to urgently ensure that your systems are effective, and report on the crisis measures taken to my team,” the EU commissioner said, calling for Mr Musk to respond within 24 hours. Replying to the statement, the Tesla chief called on the commissioner to “list the violations”. “Our policy is that everything is open source and transparent, an approach that I know the EU supports. Please list the violations you allude to on X, so that that the public can see them,” the multibillionaire posted on X. “You are well aware of your users’ – and authorities’ – reports on fake content and glorification of violence. Up to you to demonstrate that you walk the talk,” Mr Breton said in response to Mr Musk’s tweet. While X has claimed it was treating the ongoing crisis in Israel with its highest level of response, watchdog groups and the EU said misinformation and harmful content continue to flourish on the microblogging platform. X’s own safety team acknowledged there had been an increase in daily active users on X in the conflict area in the past couple of days, saying that there have been more than 50 million posts globally focusing on the weekend attack. “As the events continue to unfold rapidly, a cross-company leadership group has assessed this moment as a crisis requiring the highest level of response,” the team said. The struggle to find reliable news on the platform was exacerbated when Mr Musk himself flagged two accounts as “good” for “following the war”. Journalists, however, pointed out that these accounts had previously shared a fake AI-generated image of an explosion at the US Pentagon, and that one of them had also posted antisemitic comments. Mr Musk’s posts recommending them have now been deleted. Users on the platform also pointed out that old videos are being repackaged and circulated on X as if they are from the most recent attack. One widely shared video falsely claimed to show a Hamas militant shooting down an Israeli helicopter, but was later found to be a clip from a video game. “Public media and civil society organisations widely report instances of fake and manipulated images and facts circulating on your platform in the EU, such as repurposed old images of unrelated armed conflicts or military footage that actually originated from video games,” the Eu commissioner said in his letter addressing Mr Musk. X has not immediately responded to The Independent’s request for comment. Read More X promises 'highest level' response on posts about Israel-Hamas war. Misinformation still flourishes Holocaust survivor among hostages and ‘several Americans’ may have been killed or kidnapped, says Blinken Musk begs Twitter users to stay ‘as close to the truth as possible’ as fake news about Gaza war proliferates

SYDNEY The Australian government said on Wednesday it planned to introduce laws that would empower the central bank

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have urged social media companies to reduce the amount of harmful content children can see online to protect their mental health. Harry and Meghan made the remarks at a mental health awareness festival run by non-profit Project Healthy Minds in New York on Tuesday. They are visiting the city for the first time since being caught up in what they called a catastrophic car chase there in May. The royal couple, who have spoken about their own mental health challenges in the past, took part in a panel discussion alongside US surgeon general Vivek Murthy moderated by NBC host Carson Daly, who has previously spoken of his struggles with anxiety. The event, on World Mental Health Day, has been co-ordinated by the duke and duchess’s Archewell Foundation. The couple called on social media firms to adopt better content moderation policies and tweak apps which can prove addictive for youngsters. They spoke after hearing from parents who have lost children to mental health issues linked to social media use. The duke urged tech bosses to “stop sending children content you wouldn’t want your own children to see”. The duchess said she and her husband are focusing on what they can do behind the scenes to make social media use “safer, better and more positive” and that the couple have spoken to tech executives about the issue. She added: “People are getting hurt – and people, specifically children, are dying. “A year ago we met some of the families, not all of them. At that time, it was impossible to not be in tears as I’m sure so many of you have been today hearing these stories. “As parents, our kids are really young – they’re two-and-a-half and four-and-a-half – but social media is not going away. “I think by design, there is an entry point that is supposed to be positive, in creating community and something has devolved, and there is no way to hear that and not try to help these families have their stories be heard.” In the UK, the Princess of Wales gave a speech to young people gathered in Birmingham for a day of workshops and discussions to mark World Mental Health Day, with her husband in the audience. Harry and Meghan were all smiles when they visited the Marcy Lab School in Brooklyn, New York earlier on Tuesday. The school’s website claims it is the “alternative to college that you have been looking for” for people looking to start a career in tech. Harry was applauded when he told a meditation class that “if one of you starts to go quiet, doesn’t show up, you need to find out why” and added “remember to have fun”. Meghan, who was wearing a varsity letterman jacket given to her at the Robert Clack School in Essex in March 2020, told a class she wishes her children were with her but they are “doing well”. Students later rushed to take pictures with the royal couple before the school’s co-founder Reuben Ogbonna joked “back to class, everyone”. Read More Google to trial AI in UK traffic light systems to reduce stop-and-go emissions Broadband customers face £150 hikes because of ‘outrageous’ rises – Which? Rise of AI chatbots ‘worrying’ after man urged to kill Queen, psychologist warns William hails ‘amazing’ eco-friendly start-up businesses Royal website subject to ‘denial of service attack’, royal source says TikTok finds and shuts down secret operation to stir up conflict in Ireland

Google is looking to make passwords obsolete by prompting users to create passkeys to unlock accounts and devices with a fingerprint, face scan or pin number.

European officials warned X on Tuesday that the company formerly known as Twitter appears to have been hosting misinformation and illegal content about the war between Hamas and Israel, in potential violation of the European Union's signature content moderation law.

Someone could soon be at risk of dying or being injured by a falling satellite every other year, according to a new report. By 2035, if SpaceX’s Starlink space internet satellites continue to grow in number, then they some 28,000 pieces of them will be falling from the sky each year, according to a report from the Federal Aviation Authority. The chance of one surviving its fall to the ground and injuring or killing someone would be 0.6 per year, it said – which would make it likely to happen once every two years. They could even pose a risk to aircraft, it said. The probability of an aircraft being downed by a satellite would be 0.0007 per year by 2035, the report claimed. The report was commissioned amid increasing concern about falling space debris, and the vast collection of material that has been put into space in recent years. Companies such as SpaceX are launching more and more satellites each years, and experts have warned that there is a danger of collisions both in space as well as on the ground. The new report aimed to evaluate the risk posed by that falling space debris. It also suggests that some of the danger could be limited with more regulation. But it notes that the FAA does not have any power over launches that happen outside of the US. As with many of the problems in space, the world currently lacks an international approach to space debris, new satellites and the dangers that those objects might pose. The report primarily looked at the constellation of satellites that have been launched and are planned by SpaceX, for instance. The company has launched 5,000 such satellites already, and plans to increase that dramatically, and SpaceX represents over 85 per cent of the risk posed to people on the ground, the FAA’s report said. But it did not look at other networks of satellites planned in other countries. Recent reports have suggested that China is planning its own huge constellation of satellites that will also offer their own space internet, named Guowang, for example. SpaceX has said that the analysis used to calculate the number is “deeply flawed” and based on false assumptions about the danger posed by its satellites. The company’s satellites are more likely to burn up on entry than the report assumed, the company’s principal engineer David Goldstein wrote in a letter to the FAA, according to a report from Space News. Read More PlayStation announces brand new version of the PS5 ChatGPT founder says bitcoin is ‘super logical’ next step for tech Google to trial AI in UK traffic light systems to reduce stop-and-go emissions

Sony has announced the PS5 slim, a smaller version of its PlayStation 5 console. The long-rumoured, new PS5 is more than 30 per cent smaller than its predecessor, the company said. It has also added Otherwise it keeps the same specs – including the option of a disc drive – as well as a largely similar design. That initial look, which relied on a bright white, swooping look for the console, proved divisive when it was first released. But the PlayStation 5 was incredibly popular, remaining sold out for months after it first went on sale. Now Sony says that it created the new console to “address the evolving needs of players”. “Our engineering and design teams collaborated on a new form factor that provides greater choice and flexibility,” it said. That meant cutting down its volume by more than 30 per cent, and its weight by 18 per cent and 24 per cent depending on the model. As with the existing PlayStation 5, customers will be able to choose between an “digital” edition and one with a disc drive, though an external Blu-Ray reader can also be used. The PS5 will remain on sale for now, PlayStation said. But when all of that inventory has sold out, the new one will become the only model, and despite months of rumours referring to it as a “PS5 slim”, Sony only called it the “new PS5 model”. It will go on sale in the US in November. It will then continue to “roll out globally in the following months”. Though Sony said that the console was being redesigned ready for the “holiday season”, that suggested that it may not be available in all countries before the end of the year. The recommended retail price of the new PS5 remains the same as the existing model it replaces. It will cost $499, €549, or £479 for the version with the disc drive, or $449, €449 or £389 for the “digital edition” without one. Read More ChatGPT founder says bitcoin is ‘super logical’ next step for tech Google to trial AI in UK traffic light systems to reduce stop-and-go emissions Viral WhatsApp warning of cyberattack targeting Jewish people is fake

OpenAI boss Sam Altman has labelled bitcoin the “super logical” next step for technological progress, just months after launching his own cryptocurrency. Mr Altman, whose company launched the viral AI assistant ChatGPT last year, made the comments on a recent appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, during which he also lamented the role of government regulation in the crypto space. “The war on crypto... that makes me quite sad about the country,” Mr Altman said. “I think this idea that we have this global currency that is outside of the control of any government is a super logical and important step on the tech tree.” The price of bitcoin fell sharply in 2021 and 2022, largely driven by the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has since filed lawsuits against other exchanges like Binance and Coinbase as part of a crackdown against the industry. A crypto bill has also been introduced by Senator Elizabeth Warren in an attempt to address “crypto’s use in money laundering, drug trafficking, and financing of terrorism and rogue nations”. The OpenAI boss spoke briefly about his own cryptocurrency project, called Worldcoin, which has faced several controversies since officially launching in July. The project involves collecting people’s biometric data through an iris-scanning orb in exchange for a share of the crypto token WLD. The idea is to use the data to verify each individual’s “unique personhood” in order to ensure that no one is able to claim more than their allotted share of the cryptocurrency. The unique approach has been branded both “outlandish” and “revolutionary” by crypto commentators, with some warning that the sensitive nature of the data means it could be exploited by nefarious actors. Regulators in several countries, including France and Germany, are investigating Worldcoin’s operations to see if it is in violation of data security practices. Worldcoin has acknowledged the privacy concerns, noting in a blog post in August that “everything is optional” and that no personal information needs to be tied to the iris scan. “[The Orb] validates a person’s humanness locally on the device, without needing to send, upload or save images,” the post stated. “By default, the Orb promptly deletes iris images after the creation of the iris code.” Read More Sam Bankman-Fried trial: Billion dollar crypto fortune was ‘built on lies’, prosecutors say How bad is bitcoin for the environment really? Crypto experts discuss bitcoin price predictions What is Solana? The crypto rising 200-times faster than bitcoin

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen showed little willingness to embrace reforms at the International Monetary Fund that would

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.

Google is trialling artificial intelligence (AI) in Manchester’s traffic light system to reduce stop-and-go emissions and improve the flow of vehicles. The technology giant announced the UK launch of its Project Green Light on Tuesday, working alongside Transport for Great Manchester (TfGM) to run the pilot. It coincides with Google hosting a major sustainability event in Brussels, where the firm will outline the innovations it has been working on across high-emission industries like transport and energy, including how it is using AI for climate solutions. The company said it found that half of emissions at traffic intersections come from vehicles stopping and starting. To help reduce these emissions, Google’s Green Light research initiative uses AI as well as driving trends from Google Maps to model traffic patterns and make recommendations for making the existing traffic light plans more efficient. Google said city engineers can implement these plans in as little as five minutes using existing infrastructure. The Green Light programme is live at 70 junctions across 12 cities, including Haifa in Israel, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and Bangalore in India. Early data from those cities indicate a potential for up to 30% reduction in stops and up to 10% reduction in emissions at junctions, Google said. Manchester, the first UK city to host the pilot, has around 2,400 traffic signals and sees millions of journeys each week. Debbie Weinstein, Google UK managing director and vice president, said: “AI is the most profound technology that we’re working on today, with the potential to boost the UK’s productivity and support net zero ambitions. “That’s why we’re excited to be partnering with Transport for Greater Manchester to pilot Project Green Light here in the UK. Our aim is to make the network run as efficiently as possible and we look forward to seeing how we can use what we’ve learnt from this pilot to improve journey times for all road users David Atkin, Traffic for Greater Manchester “Already, this early stage AI-powered tool uses existing infrastructure to provide city planners with a cost-effective and efficient way to improve traffic flow, reduce stop-and-go traffic and cut emissions. “We look forward to partnering with more organisations across the country to help drive innovative solutions that unlock the benefits of AI.” David Atkin, TfGM’s analysis and reporting manager, said Greater Manchester’s road network is “complex”, adding that the needs of motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and public transport users need to be balanced. “With traffic levels now at or beyond pre-pandemic levels, we are working really hard to tackle congestion and are delighted to be amongst the first areas in the world – and the first in the UK – to work with Google on the innovative Green Light initiative,” he said. “The pilot provided valuable insights and teams from both Green Light and TfGM brought expertise and ideas to the table to improve journeys by up to 18% and reduce emissions. “Our aim is to make the network run as efficiently as possible and we look forward to seeing how we can use what we’ve learnt from this pilot to improve journey times for all road users.” Read More Broadband customers face £150 hikes because of ‘outrageous’ rises – Which? Rise of AI chatbots ‘worrying’ after man urged to kill Queen, psychologist warns William hails ‘amazing’ eco-friendly start-up businesses Royal website subject to ‘denial of service attack’, royal source says TikTok finds and shuts down secret operation to stir up conflict in Ireland Viral WhatsApp warning of cyberattack targeting Jewish people is fake

Ancient remnants of a long-lost part of the Earth believed to be 120 million years old have been located by experts in Borneo. New discoveries about our planet are continuously being made by experts, from finding continents that have been missing for hundreds of years to discovering vast oceans hidden beneath the Earth’s crust. Now, a new amazing discovery revealed details of the 120-million-year-old tectonic plate, now named Pontus. A prediction of the crust’s existence came when Suzanna van de Lagemaat, a graduate geologist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, and her supervisor, Douwe van Hinsbergen, analysed geological data from mountains in the Asia-Pacific region. While studying rock formations in northern Borneo, Van de Lagemaat came across some clearcut signs of the ancient Pontus plate, explaining: “We thought we were dealing with relicts of a lost plate that we already knew about.” She continued: “But our magnetic lab research on those rocks indicated that our finds were originally from much farther north, and had to be remnants of a different, previously unknown plate.” Researchers estimate that the Pontus plate, which formed part of the world’s crust before the break up of supercontinent Pangaea, was around a quarter of the size of the Pacific Ocean, based on reconstructions of what it would have looked like 160 million years ago. Pontus sat beneath the vast ocean that separated Eurasia and Australia at the time. As Pangaeo separated, it’s believed the plate was swallowed up by other plates that carried countries such as The Philippines and Borneo to their current day locations. Van de Lagemaat’s research focussed on a complex region of tectonic plate activity known as the Junction Region. It runs between Japan, Borneo, the Philippines, New Guinea, and down to New Zealand. Through her research, she was able to use the data to create a clip reconstructing the tectonic plate movements that have occurred from the time of the dinosaurs up to the present day. 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.