Google has been accused of “secretly stealing everything ever created and shared on the internet” in order to train its AI chatbot Bard. The class-action lawsuit filed in California alleges that Google and its AI division DeepMind used data from millions of Americans without their knowledge or consent to build its generative AI products. “Personal data of every kind, especially conversational data between humans, is critical to the AI training process,” the lawsuit notes. “This is how products like Bard develop human-like communication capabilities. Creative and expressive works are just as valuable because that is how AI products learn to ‘create’ art.” Google updated its online privacy policy earlier this month, stating that it can use publicly available data to train its artificial intelligence tools. According to the latest lawsuit, this change was designed to “double-down on its position that everything on the internet is fair game for the company to take for private gain and commercial use, including to build and enhance AI products like Bard”. Beyond freely available data, the lawsuit claims that Google illegally accessed “at least 200 million materials explicitly protected by copyright”, including the text from books and articles behind paywalls. Among those copyrighted materials is allegedly a book written by one of the plaintiffs named in the legal action. Many of the other plaintiffs named are listed solely as users of Google products like Search and Gmail, as well as other online platforms like TikTok. The lawsuit alleges that Google scraped “the entire internet to take anything it could, whether contributed on Google platforms or not, and without regard for the privacy, property, and consumer protection interests of hundreds of millions of Americans who shared their insights, talents, artwork, data, personally identifiable information, and more, for specific purposes, not one of which was to train large language models to profit Google while putting the world at peril with untested and volatile AI products”. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which features similar capabilities to Google’s Bard, also has a proposed class action lawsuit filed against it, which accuses the chatbot of drawing on “massive amounts of personal data from the internet”. Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent, but a spokesperson told Reuters that the allegations were “baseless”. Read More Google’s AI chatbot Bard can now talk Elon Musk reveals plan to use AI to reveal mysteries of the universe

OpenAI has lost another board member with the departure of former Texas representative Will Hurd, who announced at

Nearly 25% of the US population is facing high, wilting temperatures that show no sign of abating anytime

The world just had its hottest June ever for land and sea, with ocean temperatures setting new highs

Apple has announced “Tap to Pay on iPhone”, a new update that turns its device into a payment system. Until now, most small businesses have used separate devices such as those made by Zettle, which pair with a phone and allow them to take payments on cards or phones. Now the new feature does away with the need for such additional hardware, turning the iPhone into a card reader itself. The new update is focused on small and medium businesses, Apple said, though it will also be coming to the Apple Store soon. And while the update is for those businesses that take payments, it could mean that paying for things could look very different for customers, too. It means that shops need only install a compatible app – such as those made by Stripe and Zettle – alongside an updated iPhone. That iPhone will then turn into a card reader, being able to accept not just iPhones and Apple Watches with Apple Pay, but also other digital wallets and traditional plastic payment cards. All that is needed to use the new tool is an iPhone Xs or later, that is running the latest software update. The tool will not work on other Apple hardware, such as iPads. Apple has included a range of privacy and security features into the system. Transactions are encrypted and processed using the iPhone’s Secure Element, meaning that Apple is not able to track who has purchased something or what they have bought. The system also uses a standardised payment screen, which means that users will be able to check they are being charged the right fee and that it is a legitimate transaction. Apple first unveiled Tap to Pay on iPhone in the US, early last year. There, Apple Pay and other contactless systems have less widespread adoption, though the system worked in much the same way. “We’ve seen Tap to Pay on iPhone transform the checkout experience for so many different types of businesses, and we’re thrilled to now support merchants across the U.K. by offering an easy, secure, and private way to accept contactless payments using the power, security, and convenience of iPhone, with no additional hardware needed,” said Jennifer Bailey, Apple’s vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. “Small and medium-sized businesses have long played a vital role in the U.K. economy, and alongside payment platforms, app developers, and payment networks, we’re making it easier than ever for U.K. businesses to seamlessly accept contactless payments and continue to grow their business.” Read More You can now download the huge new iPhone update – if you dare iPhone users urged to check their photo library amid fears they could be deleted Twitter to stop TweetDeck access for unverified users

News publisher Associated Press said on Thursday that it had reached an agreement with OpenAI to share access

The environmental activist group Greenpeace has suggested that the next deadly heatwave to hit the planet should be named after an oil CEO after one person dies in the extreme heat. The heatwave, or area of high pressure is named Cerberus, after the three-headed dog that guarded the gates of the underworld in Dante's Inferno and Greek mythology. Temperatures have soared to a dangerously high 60C in Spain, according to satellite recordings, which on heat maps have turned red areas black. Highs of 40c were also experienced in France, Germany, Switzerland and Italy on Wednesday, the latter of which saw a 44-year-old worker die after collapsing while painting a zebra crossing just outside of Milan in the midday heat. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter As the heat rises to unprecedented levels, Greenpeace had its unique take on the matter. On Twitter, the organisation wrote: "The extreme heatwave sweeping Southern Europe has been named HEATWAVE CERBERUS - in reference to the dog that guards the underworld in Greek mythology. Can we name the next heatwave after an Oil CEO please instead?" They then added an illustration of the mythological monster, by artist Luciano Komorizono with three major oil companies (BP, Shell and Exxon Mobil) attached to each of the dog's heads. Greenpeace also attached a petition to the tweet calling for an end to the fossil fuel industry and their role in the climate crisis. The heatwave is expected to remain in the Mediterranean for the next two weeks. Heatwaves only started to be named in August 2022, with 'Zoe' hitting Seville, Spain with temperatures of over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Only the highest tier of heatwaves, category C, have received names so far. 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.

PHILADELPHIA & JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 13, 2023--

European countries are among the least prepared in the world for more hot days in a 2C warmer

Twitter has asked a federal court to terminate a 2022 privacy settlement with the Federal Trade Commission that is the subject of an ongoing FTC investigation, alleging that the probe has "spiraled out of control and become tainted by bias."

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul 13, 2023--

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating OpenAI for possible violations of consumer protection law, seeking extensive records from the maker of ChatGPT about its handling of personal data, its potential to give users inaccurate information and its "risks of harm to consumers, including reputational harm."