Artificial Intelligence

Please review each article prior to use: grade-level applicability and curricular alignment might not be obvious from the headline alone.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman participates in a panel discussion during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. OpenAI was one of the major tech firms that promised to pursue watermarking technology. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)

Canadian researchers create tool to remove anti-deepfake watermarks from AI content

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Preview

Canadian researchers create tool to remove anti-deepfake watermarks from AI content

Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press 4 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

OTTAWA - University of Waterloo researchers have built a tool that can quickly remove watermarks identifying content as artificially generated — and they say it proves that global efforts to combat deepfakes are most likely on the wrong track.

Academia and industry have focused on watermarking as the best way to fight deepfakes and "basically abandoned all other approaches," said Andre Kassis, a PhD candidate in computer science who led the research.

At a White House event in 2023, the leading AI companies — including OpenAI, Meta, Google and Amazon — pledged to implement mechanisms such as watermarking to clearly identify AI-generated content.

AI companies’ systems embed a watermark, which is a hidden signature or pattern that isn’t visible to a person but can be identified by another system, Kassis explained.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025
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Book Review: ‘Algospeak’ shows just how much social media is changing us

Rachel S. Hunt, The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview
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Book Review: ‘Algospeak’ shows just how much social media is changing us

Rachel S. Hunt, The Associated Press 3 minute read Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025

How much has social media changed the way we talk and behave?

That’s the question linguist and content creator Adam Aleksic sets out to answer in his debut book “Algospeak.”

If you already know what words like “yeet,” “rizz,” “brainrot” or “blackpilled” mean, some of this information might not come as a surprise to you. Still, Aleksic’s analysis reaffirms how this language came about and why it continues to proliferate. For those unfamiliar, it acts as an accessible entry point into social media slang and its evolution.

“Algospeak” touches on a wide array of topics, including in-groups and out-groups, censorship, language appropriation, extremism online, microtrends, clickbait and generational divides. The chapters build on each other with a textbook-level attention to vocabulary.

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Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025

UK arrests four people over cyber attacks on Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods

The Associated Press 1 minute read Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025

LONDON (AP) — Four people alleged to be part of an organized crime ring were arrested Thursday for damaging cyber attacks that hit British retailers Marks & Spencer, Co-op and Harrods, the National Crime Agency said.

The unnamed suspects were identified as British males aged 17 and 19, a 20-year-old British woman and a 19-year-old Latvian man. They were arrested on suspicion of blackmail, money laundering, crimes for violating the Computer Misuse Act and participating in an organized crime group.

M&S said the cyberattack in April stopped it from processing online orders, left store shelves empty and cost it about 300 million pounds ($407 million).

Supermarket chain Co-op said attackers stole customers' personal data, disrupted payments and prevented it from restocking shelves. Luxury London department store Harrods restricted online access in May after it was unable to process orders.

FILE - Tesla and SpaceX's CEO Elon Musk attends the first plenary session on of the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, on Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2023 in Bletchley, England. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Musk’s xAI scrubs inappropriate posts after Grok chatbot makes antisemitic comments

The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Musk’s xAI scrubs inappropriate posts after Grok chatbot makes antisemitic comments

The Associated Press 5 minute read Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025

Elon Musk's artificial intelligence company said Wednesday that it's taking down “inappropriate posts" made by its Grok chatbot, which appeared to include antisemitic comments that praised Adolf Hitler.

Grok was developed by Musk’s xAI and pitched as alternative to “woke AI” interactions from rival chatbots like Google’s Gemini, or OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

Musk said Friday that Grok has been improved significantly, and users “should notice a difference.”

Since then, Grok has shared several antisemitic posts, including the trope that Jews run Hollywood, and denied that such a stance could be described as Nazism.

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Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025
Teams compete using the T1 robots from Booster Robotics during the inaugural RoBoLeague robot soccer competition held in Beijing, Saturday, June 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

China’s humanoid robots generate more soccer excitement than their human counterparts

The Associated Press 3 minute read Preview

China’s humanoid robots generate more soccer excitement than their human counterparts

The Associated Press 3 minute read Monday, Oct. 13, 2025

BEIJING (AP) — While China's men's soccer team hasn't generated much excitement in recent years, humanoid robot teams have won over fans in Beijing based more on the AI technology involved than any athletic prowess shown.

Four teams of humanoid robots faced off in fully autonomous 3-on-3 soccer matches powered entirely by artificial intelligence on Saturday night in China's capital in what was touted as a first in China and a preview for the upcoming World Humanoid Robot Games, set to take place in Beijing.

According to the organizers, a key aspect of the match was that all the participating robots operated fully autonomously using AI-driven strategies without any human intervention or supervision.

Equipped with advanced visual sensors, the robots were able to identify the ball and navigate the field with agility

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Monday, Oct. 13, 2025
FILE - The music streaming services Deezer's logo is pictured at the company headquarters, in Paris, France, Monday, Nov. 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, File)

Music streaming service Deezer adds AI song tags in fight against fraud

Kelvin Chan, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Music streaming service Deezer adds AI song tags in fight against fraud

Kelvin Chan, The Associated Press 4 minute read Friday, Sep. 19, 2025

LONDON (AP) — Music streaming service Deezer said Friday that it will start flagging albums with AI-generated songs, part of its fight against streaming fraudsters.

Deezer, based in Paris, is grappling with a surge in music on its platform created using artificial intelligence tools it says are being wielded to earn royalties fraudulently.

The app will display an on-screen label warning about “AI-generated content" and notify listeners that some tracks on an album were created with song generators.

Deezer is a small player in music streaming, which is dominated by Spotify, Amazon and Apple, but the company said AI-generated music is an “industry-wide issue.” It's committed to “safeguarding the rights of artists and songwriters at a time where copyright law is being put into question in favor of training AI models," CEO Alexis Lanternier said in a press release.

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Friday, Sep. 19, 2025
FILE - Colorado Gov. Jared Polis speaks during the Democratic National Convention, Aug. 21, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Colorado’s governor vetoes landmark ban on rent-setting algorithms

R.j. Rico, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview

Colorado’s governor vetoes landmark ban on rent-setting algorithms

R.j. Rico, The Associated Press 4 minute read Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025

Democratic Gov. Jared Polis has vetoed a bill that would have made Colorado the first state to ban landlords from using rent-setting algorithms, which many advocates have blamed for driving up housing costs across the country.

RealPage is the target of a federal lawsuit filed last year that accuses the real estate software company of facilitating an illegal scheme to help landlords coordinate to hike rental prices. Eight other states, including Colorado, have joined the Department of Justice's lawsuit, though RealPage has vehemently denied any claims of collusion and has fought to have the lawsuit dismissed.

Critics say RealPage software combines confidential information from each real estate management company in ways that enable landlords to align prices and avoid competition that would otherwise push down rents. RealPage’s clients include huge landlords who collectively oversee millions of units across the U.S.

The Colorado bill, which recently passed the Democratic-led Legislature along party lines, would have prevented the use of such algorithms.

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Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025
Members of K-pop band Big Ocean, Jiseok, PJ and Chanyeon, from left to right, participate in an interview with The Associated Press in Seoul, South Korea, April 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Juwon Park)
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Big Ocean breaks new ground as K-pop’s first deaf group

Juwon Park, The Associated Press 4 minute read Preview
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Big Ocean breaks new ground as K-pop’s first deaf group

Juwon Park, The Associated Press 4 minute read Friday, Oct. 10, 2025

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Big Ocean, a three-member K-pop group composed entirely of artists with hearing disabilities, is redefining the limits of music and performance — one beat at a time.

When Big Ocean takes the stage, they seamlessly incorporate sign language into their performances. But their polished shows are built on extensive preparation using high-tech tools born from necessity — vibrating smartwatches that pulse with musical beats and LED visual metronomes that flash timing cues during practice sessions. This technological approach represents significant progress in South Korea’s entertainment industry, where career opportunities for people with disabilities have historically been limited.

The trio, PJ, Jiseok and Chanyeon, made their debut in April 2024 and recently wrapped a solo European tour marking their first anniversary. The band performed in four countries, including France and the U.K., while promoting their second mini-album, “Underwater,” which dropped on April 20.

PJ rose to prominence as a YouTuber who educated viewers about hearing disabilities. Chanyeon previously worked as an audiologist. Jiseok was a professional ski racer.

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Friday, Oct. 10, 2025
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai speaks at a Google I/O event in Mountain View, Calif., Tuesday, May 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)

Judge wrestles with far-reaching remedy proposals in US antitrust case against Google

Michael Liedtke And Alan Suderman, The Associated Press 5 minute read Preview

Judge wrestles with far-reaching remedy proposals in US antitrust case against Google

Michael Liedtke And Alan Suderman, The Associated Press 5 minute read Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — The fate and fortunes of one of the world’s most powerful tech companies now sit in the hands of a U.S. judge wrestling with whether to impose far-reaching changes upon Google in the wake of its dominant search engine being declared an illegal monopoly.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta heard closing arguments Friday from Justice Department lawyers who argued that a radical shake-up is needed to promote a free and fair market. Their proposed remedies include a ban on Google paying to lock its search engine in as the default on smart devices and an order requiring the company to sell its Chrome browser.

Google’s legal team argued that only minor concessions are needed and urged Mehta not to unduly punish the company with a harsh ruling that could squelch future innovations. Google also argued that upheaval triggered by advances in artificial intelligence already is reshaping the search landscape, as conversational search options are rolling out from AI startups that are hoping to use the Department of Justice’s four-and-half-year-old case to gain the upper hand in the next technological frontier.

It was an argument that Mehta appeared to give serious consideration as he marveled at the speed at which the AI industry was growing. He also indicated he was still undecided on how much AI’s potential to shake up the search market should be incorporated in his forthcoming ruling. “This is what I’ve been struggling with,” Mehta said.

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Saturday, Sep. 20, 2025
President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth listen as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum speaks in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 23, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump signs executive orders to boost nuclear power, speed up approvals

Matthew Daly And Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press 6 minute read Preview

Trump signs executive orders to boost nuclear power, speed up approvals

Matthew Daly And Jennifer Mcdermott, The Associated Press 6 minute read Monday, Sep. 22, 2025

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump signed executive orders Friday intended to quadruple domestic production of nuclear power within the next 25 years, a goal experts say the United States is highly unlikely to reach.

To speed up the development of nuclear power, the orders grant the U.S. energy secretary authority to approve some advanced reactor designs and projects, taking authority away from the independent safety agency that has regulated the U.S. nuclear industry for five decades.

The order comes as demand for electricity surges amid a boom in energy-hungry data centers and artificial intelligence. Tech companies, venture capitalists, states and others are competing for electricity and straining the nation's electric grid.

“We’ve got enough electricity to win the AI arms race with China,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said. “What we do in the next five years related to electricity is going to determine the next 50" years in the industry.

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Monday, Sep. 22, 2025