Generative tools have driven a surge in child sexual abuse imagery, and the leading US investigator of child exploitation is now testing whether Artificial Intelligence can help. A new government filing reveals the Department of Homeland Security’s Cyber Crimes Center, which pursues cross-border exploitation cases, has awarded a contract to San Francisco-based Hive AI for software that assesses whether content was generated by Artificial Intelligence. The effort aims to distinguish synthetic images from material depicting real victims, potentially helping investigators target resources and evidence gathering more effectively.
MIT Technology Review will publish its third annual Climate Tech Companies to Watch on October 6, highlighting firms with the potential to curb emissions and help communities adapt. The urgency is underscored by another year of record temperatures and climate-fueled disasters costing billions worldwide. Building on two prior editions, this year’s list, previewed by Casey Crownhart, follows the 2024 roundup and seeks to spotlight practical innovations that can move the needle on warming and resilience.
Today’s link roundup covers safety, spending, and next-gen models in Artificial Intelligence. ChatGPT’s new parental controls can alert parents and law enforcement when users under 18 discuss self harm or suicide, debuting amid pressure on chatbot makers to bolster safeguards. Companies’ Artificial Intelligence budgets continue to balloon with uncertain returns. Energy stories include concern among oil executives about attacks on offshore wind and how states could still advance clean power. Urban fire prevention highlights the importance of making homes fire-resistant, with separate work on using Artificial Intelligence to detect wildfires. Top firms are betting on world models trained on video and robotics data, and China is racing to electrify freight trucks. Other pieces examine the loss of nuance in Artificial Intelligence translation, the ship-cleaning robots of Neptune Robotics, and a flurry of attention on an Artificial Intelligence actress. A quoted venture capitalist notes intense startup pressure in an era of Artificial Intelligence hype.
The “one more thing” centers on DeepSeek’s rise as a homegrown challenger to OpenAI and its unexpected role in reviving fortune-telling among young people in China. Users are sharing Artificial Intelligence-generated readings, crafting fortune-telling prompts, and revisiting spiritual texts through chatbots. The trend reflects broader social anxiety and the limits on public religious practice, with screens offering a private outlet. The edition closes with lighter diversions, including a site to revisit the news from your birthdate, a rock track by Silica Gel, an interactive tour of Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights, and a global map of movie settings.
