Trump administration admits DOGE may have misused Americans’ Social Security data
The revelation comes as part of a series of corrections in a legal case over DOGE’s access to Social Security Administration data.
Elon Musk
Sequoia to invest in Anthropic, breaking VC taboo on backing rivals: FT
Sequoia Capital is reportedly joining a blockbuster funding round for Anthropic, the AI startup behind Claude, according to the Financial Times. It’s a move sure to turn heads in Silicon Valley. Why? Because venture capital firms have historically avoided backing competing companies in the same sector, preferring to place their bets on a single winner. […]
Under Musk, the Grok disaster was inevitable
This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on dystopian developments in AI, follow Hayden Field. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers’ inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here. How it started You could say it all started with Elon Musk’s AI […]
California AG sends Musk’s xAI a cease-and-desist order over sexual deepfakes
The flood of AI-generated sexual imagery has spurred concern from state and congressional officials alike.
EPA rules that xAI’s natural gas generators were illegally used
Elon Musk’s AI company had installed and operated 35 natural gas turbines without permits, something the EPA now says was illegal.
‘Sideshow’ concerns and billionaire dreams: What I learned from Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI
This is an excerpt of Sources by Alex Heath, a newsletter about AI and the tech industry, syndicated just for The Verge subscribers once a week. Elon Musk first sued OpenAI in February 2024. Despite OpenAI’s repeated attempts to throw it out, the case is now headed to a jury trial on April 27th in […]
Grok undressed the mother of one of Elon Musk’s kids — and now she’s suing
Ashley St. Clair, the mother of one of X owner Elon Musk’s children, is suing his company for enabling its AI to virtually strip her down into a bikini without her consent. St. Clair is one of the many people over the past couple weeks who have found themselves undressed without permission by X’s AI […]
US senators demand answers from X, Meta, Alphabet and others on sexualized deepfakes
In a letter to the leaders of X, Meta, Alphabet, Snap, Reddit and TikTok, several U.S. senators are demanding the companies provide proof that they have “robust protections and policies” in place, and how they plan to curb the rise of sexualized deepfakes on their platforms.
Musk denies awareness of Grok sexual underage images as California AG launches probe
The California attorney general has opened a formal investigation into Elon Musk’s xAI after its chatbot Grok began generating nonconsensual sexual images of real women and even children.