In a lot of social media use, the algorithm is an intangible entity, silent and all-powerful in controlling what we see in our feeds. And like supplicants to a deity, sometimes we may find ourselves calling into the void, hoping to receive aid from that mighty being. Seems that for Threads users, at least, those prayers have been heard.
OpenAI announced today that it is working on a framework that will train artificial intelligence models to acknowledge when they've engaged in undesirable behavior, an approach the team calls a confession. Since large language models are often trained to produce the response that seems to be desired, they can become increasingly likely to provide sycophancy or state hallucinations with total confidence.
Uber has made a big push to offer robotaxis as an option for its rideshare services in more markets this year. Starting today, the company is offering autonomous vehicles as an option for customers in Dallas. The move is in partnership with Avride.
Artificial intelligence is showing up everywhere in Google's services these days, whether or not people want them and sometimes in places where they really don't make a lick of sense. The latest trial from Google appears to be giving articles the AI treatment in Google Discover.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has opened an investigation into online fast fashion retailer Shein. The probe will examine whether the company violated state laws related to labor practices and product safety.
Instagram employees will be back at their desks full time next year. Beginning February 2, workers with the social media network will be expected to spend five days a week working in person in offices. Instagram leader Adam Mosseri announced the change in an internal memo first reported by Alex Heath's Sources newsletter. "It's clear we have to evolve," he told the staff, also closing with the note that "2026 is going to be tough."
Anyone who has a Switch 2 will probably need some extra storage space at some point. Cyber Monday deals present a good opportunity to get ahead of things and stock up on storage while the options are discounted.
Black Friday deals are officially upon us. We've seen loads of great deals popping up around the Internet, including some serious discounts on headphones.
AI is the star of Yelp's fall product update. The review site has updated Yelp Assistant, its chatbot to answer users' questions, rolling the tool out for all business categories. Its responses will draw on information from the business' website as well as posts by other Yelp users. The chatbot will also remember past queries and preferences when it's used for finding services. Saved information can be managed in the Yelp app under Yelp Assistant memory settings.