machine learning

chicago-sun-times-prints-summer-reading-list-full-of-fake-books

Chicago Sun-Times prints summer reading list full of fake books

AI, Biz & IT, Chicago Sun-Times, confabulations, machine learning / /

Photo of the Chicago Sun-Times

Photo of the Chicago Sun-Times “Summer reading list for 2025” supplement. Credit: Rachel King / Bluesky

Novelist Rachael King initially called attention to the error on Bluesky Tuesday morning. “The Chicago Sun-Times obviously gets ChatGPT to write a ‘summer reads’ feature almost entirely made up of real authors but completely fake books. What are we coming to?” King wrote.

So far, community reaction to the list has been largely negative online, but others have expressed sympathy for the publication. Freelance journalist Joshua J. Friedman noted on Bluesky that the reading list was “part of a ~60-page summer supplement” published on May 18, suggesting it might be “transparent filler” possibly created by “the lone freelancer apparently saddled with producing it.”

The staffing connection

The reading list appeared in a 64-page supplement called “Heat Index,” which was a promotional section not specific to Chicago. Buscaglia told 404 Media the content was meant to be “generic and national” and would be inserted into newspapers around the country. “We never get a list of where things ran,” he said.

The publication error comes two months after the Chicago Sun-Times lost 20 percent of its staff through a buyout program. In March, the newspaper’s nonprofit owner, Chicago Public Media, announced that 30 Sun-Times employees—including 23 from the newsroom—had accepted buyout offers amid financial struggles.

A March report on the buyout in the Sun-Times described the staff reduction as “the most drastic the oft-imperiled Sun-Times has faced in several years.” The departures included columnists, editorial writers, and editors with decades of experience.

Melissa Bell, CEO of Chicago Public Media, stated at the time that the exits would save the company $4.2 million annually. The company offered buyouts as it prepared for an expected expiration of grant support at the end of 2026.

Even with those pressures in the media, one Reddit user expressed disapproval of the apparent use of AI in the newspaper, even in a supplement that might not have been produced by staff. “As a subscriber, I am livid! What is the point of subscribing to a hard copy paper if they are just going to include AI slop too!?” wrote Reddit user xxxlovelit, who shared the reading list. “The Sun Times needs to answer for this, and there should be a reporter fired.”

This article was updated on May 20, 2025 at 11: 02 AM to include information on Marco Buscaglia from 404 Media.

Chicago Sun-Times prints summer reading list full of fake books Read More »

labor-dispute-erupts-over-ai-voiced-darth-vader-in-fortnite

Labor dispute erupts over AI-voiced Darth Vader in Fortnite

AI, AI ethics, AI voices, Darth Vader, Disney, epic games, fortnite, gaming, James Earl Jones, machine learning, Policy, star wars, voice actors, voice synthesis / /

For voice actors who previously portrayed Darth Vader in video games, the Fortnite feature starkly illustrates how AI voice synthesis could reshape their profession. While James Earl Jones created the iconic voice for films, at least 54 voice actors have performed as Vader in various media games over the years when Jones wasn’t available—work that could vanish if AI replicas become the industry standard.

The union strikes back

SAG-AFTRA’s labor complaint (which can be read online here) doesn’t focus on the AI feature’s technical problems or on permission from the Jones estate, which explicitly authorized the use of a synthesized version of his voice for the character in Fortnite. The late actor, who died in 2024, had signed over his Darth Vader voice rights before his death.

Instead, the union’s grievance centers on labor rights and collective bargaining. In the NLRB filing, SAG-AFTRA alleges that Llama Productions “failed and refused to bargain in good faith with the union by making unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment, without providing notice to the union or the opportunity to bargain, by utilizing AI-generated voices to replace bargaining unit work on the Interactive Program Fortnite.”

The action comes amid SAG-AFTRA’s ongoing interactive media strike, which began in July 2024 after negotiations with video game producers stalled primarily over AI protections. The strike continues, with more than 100 games signing interim agreements, while others, including those from major publishers like Epic, remain in dispute.

Labor dispute erupts over AI-voiced Darth Vader in Fortnite Read More »

the-empire-strikes-back-with-f-bombs:-ai-darth-vader-goes-rogue-with-profanity,-slurs

The empire strikes back with F-bombs: AI Darth Vader goes rogue with profanity, slurs

AI, Biz & IT, Darth Vader, Disney, epic games, fortnite, gaming, James Earl Jones, machine learning / /

In that sense, the vulgar Vader situation creates a touchy dilemma for Epic Games and Disney, which likely invested substantially in this high-profile collaboration. While Epic acted swiftly in response, maintaining the feature while preventing further Jedi mind tricks from players presents ongoing technical challenges for interactive AI speech of any kind.

An AI language model like the one used for constructing responses for Vader (Google’s Gemini 2.0 Flash in this case, according to Epic) are fairly easy to trick with exploits like prompt injections and jailbreaks, and that has limited their usefulness in some applications. Imagine a truly ChatGPT-like Siri or Alexa, for example, that could be tricked into saying racist things on behalf of Apple or Amazon.

David Prowse as Darth Vader and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia filming the original Star Wars. Credit: Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Images

Beyond language models, the AI voice technology behind the AI Darth Vader voice in Fortnite comes from ElevenLabs’ Flash v2.5 model, trained on examples of speech from James Earl Jones so it can synthesize new speech in the same style.

Previously, Lucasfilm worked with a Ukrainian startup we covered in 2022 on Obi-Wan Kenobi to recreate Darth Vader’s voice performance using a different AI voice model called Respeecher, which isn’t used in Fortnite.

According to Variety, Jones’ family supported the new Fortnite collaboration, stating: “James Earl felt that the voice of Darth Vader was inseparable from the story of Star Wars, and he always wanted fans of all ages to continue to experience it. We hope that this collaboration with Fortnite will allow both longtime fans of Darth Vader and newer generations to share in the enjoyment of this iconic character.”

This article was updated on May 16, 2025 at 4: 25 PM to include information about an email sent out from Epic Games to parents. This Article was updated again on May 17, 2025 at 10: 10 AM to correctly attribute ElevenLabs Flash v2.5 as the source of the Darth Vader audio model in Fortnite. The article previously incorrectly stated that Respeecher had been used for the game.

The empire strikes back with F-bombs: AI Darth Vader goes rogue with profanity, slurs Read More »

openai-adds-gpt-4.1-to-chatgpt-amid-complaints-over-confusing-model-lineup

OpenAI adds GPT-4.1 to ChatGPT amid complaints over confusing model lineup

AI, Biz & IT, chatgpt, chatgtp, GPT-4, GPT-4.1, large language models, machine learning, openai / /

The release comes just two weeks after OpenAI made GPT-4 unavailable in ChatGPT on April 30. That earlier model, which launched in March 2023, once sparked widespread hype about AI capabilities. Compared to that hyperbolic launch, GPT-4.1’s rollout has been a fairly understated affair—probably because it’s tricky to convey the subtle differences between all of the available OpenAI models.

As if 4.1’s launch wasn’t confusing enough, the release also roughly coincides with OpenAI’s July 2025 deadline for retiring the GPT-4.5 Preview from the API, a model one AI expert called a “lemon.” Developers must migrate to other options, OpenAI says, although GPT-4.5 will remain available in ChatGPT for now.

A confusing addition to OpenAI’s model lineup

In February, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged on X his company’s confusing AI model naming practices, writing, “We realize how complicated our model and product offerings have gotten.” He promised that a forthcoming “GPT-5” model would consolidate the o-series and GPT-series models into a unified branding structure. But the addition of GPT-4.1 to ChatGPT appears to contradict that simplification goal.

So, if you use ChatGPT, which model should you use? If you’re a developer using the models through the API, the consideration is more of a trade-off between capability, speed, and cost. But in ChatGPT, your choice might be limited more by personal taste in behavioral style and what you’d like to accomplish. Some of the “more capable” models have lower usage limits as well because they cost more for OpenAI to run.

For now, OpenAI is keeping GPT-4o as the default ChatGPT model, likely due to its general versatility, balance between speed and capability, and personable style (conditioned using reinforcement learning and a specialized system prompt). The simulated reasoning models like 03 and 04-mini-high are slower to execute but can consider analytical-style problems more systematically and perform comprehensive web research that sometimes feels genuinely useful when it surfaces relevant (non-confabulated) web links. Compared to those, OpenAI is largely positioning GPT-4.1 as a speedier AI model for coding assistance.

Just remember that all of the AI models are prone to confabulations, meaning that they tend to make up authoritative-sounding information when they encounter gaps in their trained “knowledge.” So you’ll need to double-check all of the outputs with other sources of information if you’re hoping to use these AI models to assist with an important task.

OpenAI adds GPT-4.1 to ChatGPT amid complaints over confusing model lineup Read More »

gop-sneaks-decade-long-ai-regulation-ban-into-spending-bill

GOP sneaks decade-long AI regulation ban into spending bill

AI, AI regulation, Biz & IT, Donald Trump, GOP, house republicans, machine learning, Policy, republicans, trump administration, US government, White House / /

The reconciliation bill primarily focuses on cuts to Medicaid access and increased health care fees for millions of Americans. The AI provision appears as an addition to these broader health care changes, potentially limiting debate on the technology’s policy implications.

The move is already inspiring backlash. On Monday, tech safety groups and at least one Democrat criticized the proposal, reports The Hill. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), the ranking member on the Commerce, Manufacturing and Trade Subcommittee, called the proposal a “giant gift to Big Tech,” while nonprofit groups like the Tech Oversight Project and Consumer Reports warned it would leave consumers unprotected from AI harms like deepfakes and bias.

Big Tech’s White House connections

President Trump has already reversed several Biden-era executive orders on AI safety and risk mitigation. The push to prevent state-level AI regulation represents an escalation in the administration’s industry-friendly approach to AI policy.

Perhaps it’s no surprise, as the AI industry has cultivated close ties with the Trump administration since before the president took office. For example, Tesla CEO Elon Musk serves in the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), while entrepreneur David Sacks acts as “AI czar,” and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen reportedly advises the administration. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman appeared with Trump in an AI datacenter development plan announcement in January.

By limiting states’ authority over AI regulation, the provision could prevent state governments from using federal funds to develop AI oversight programs or support initiatives that diverge from the administration’s deregulatory stance. This restriction would extend beyond enforcement to potentially affect how states design and fund their own AI governance frameworks.

GOP sneaks decade-long AI regulation ban into spending bill Read More »

new-pope-chose-his-name-based-on-ai’s-threats-to-“human-dignity”

New pope chose his name based on AI’s threats to “human dignity”

AI, AI ethics, Biz & IT, Catholic Church, machine learning, pope francis, Pope Leo XIV, the pope, The Vatican / /

“Like any product of human creativity, AI can be directed toward positive or negative ends,” Francis said in January. “When used in ways that respect human dignity and promote the well-being of individuals and communities, it can contribute positively to the human vocation. Yet, as in all areas where humans are called to make decisions, the shadow of evil also looms here. Where human freedom allows for the possibility of choosing what is wrong, the moral evaluation of this technology will need to take into account how it is directed and used.”

History repeats with new technology

While Pope Francis led the call for respecting human dignity in the face of AI, it’s worth looking a little deeper into the historical inspiration for Leo XIV’s name choice.

In the 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, the earlier Leo XIII directly confronted the labor upheaval of the Industrial Revolution, which generated unprecedented wealth and productive capacity but came with severe human costs. At the time, factory conditions had created what the pope called “the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class.” Workers faced 16-hour days, child labor, dangerous machinery, and wages that barely sustained life.

The 1891 encyclical rejected both unchecked capitalism and socialism, instead proposing Catholic social doctrine that defended workers’ rights to form unions, earn living wages, and rest on Sundays. Leo XIII argued that labor possessed inherent dignity and that employers held moral obligations to their workers. The document shaped modern Catholic social teaching and influenced labor movements worldwide, establishing the church as an advocate for workers caught between industrial capital and revolutionary socialism.

Just as mechanization disrupted traditional labor in the 1890s, artificial intelligence now potentially threatens employment patterns and human dignity in ways that Pope Leo XIV believes demands similar moral leadership from the church.

“In our own day,” Leo XIV concluded in his formal address on Saturday, “the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”

New pope chose his name based on AI’s threats to “human dignity” Read More »

new-lego-building-ai-creates-models-that-actually-stand-up-in-real-life

New Lego-building AI creates models that actually stand up in real life

AI, AI research, Ava Pun, Biz & IT, lego, LegoGPT, machine learning, Toys / /

The LegoGPT system works in three parts, shown in this diagram.

The LegoGPT system works in three parts, shown in this diagram. Credit: Pun et al.

The researchers also expanded the system’s abilities by adding texture and color options. For example, using an appearance prompt like “Electric guitar in metallic purple,” LegoGPT can generate a guitar model, with bricks assigned a purple color.

Testing with robots and humans

To prove their designs worked in real life, the researchers had robots assemble the AI-created Lego models. They used a dual-robot arm system with force sensors to pick up and place bricks according to the AI-generated instructions.

Human testers also built some of the designs by hand, showing that the AI creates genuinely buildable models. “Our experiments show that LegoGPT produces stable, diverse, and aesthetically pleasing Lego designs that align closely with the input text prompts,” the team noted in its paper.

When tested against other AI systems for 3D creation, LegoGPT stands out through its focus on structural integrity. The team tested against several alternatives, including LLaMA-Mesh and other 3D generation models, and found its approach produced the highest percentage of stable structures.

A video of two robot arms building a LegoGPT creation, provided by the researchers.

Still, there are some limitations. The current version of LegoGPT only works within a 20×20×20 building space and uses a mere eight standard brick types. “Our method currently supports a fixed set of commonly used Lego bricks,” the team acknowledged. “In future work, we plan to expand the brick library to include a broader range of dimensions and brick types, such as slopes and tiles.”

The researchers also hope to scale up their training dataset to include more objects than the 21 categories currently available. Meanwhile, others can literally build on their work—the researchers released their dataset, code, and models on their project website and GitHub.

New Lego-building AI creates models that actually stand up in real life Read More »

ai-use-damages-professional-reputation,-study-suggests

AI use damages professional reputation, study suggests

AI, AI assistants, AI study, AI work, Biz & IT, chatgpt, chatgtp, Duke University, large language models, machine learning / /

Using AI can be a double-edged sword, according to new research from Duke University. While generative AI tools may boost productivity for some, they might also secretly damage your professional reputation.

On Thursday, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published a study showing that employees who use AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini at work face negative judgments about their competence and motivation from colleagues and managers.

“Our findings reveal a dilemma for people considering adopting AI tools: Although AI can enhance productivity, its use carries social costs,” write researchers Jessica A. Reif, Richard P. Larrick, and Jack B. Soll of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

The Duke team conducted four experiments with over 4,400 participants to examine both anticipated and actual evaluations of AI tool users. Their findings, presented in a paper titled “Evidence of a social evaluation penalty for using AI,” reveal a consistent pattern of bias against those who receive help from AI.

What made this penalty particularly concerning for the researchers was its consistency across demographics. They found that the social stigma against AI use wasn’t limited to specific groups.

Fig. 1. Effect sizes for differences in expected perceptions and disclosure to others (Study 1). Note: Positive d values indicate higher values in the AI Tool condition, while negative d values indicate lower values in the AI Tool condition. N = 497. Error bars represent 95% CI. Correlations among variables range from | r |= 0.53 to 0.88.

Fig. 1 from the paper “Evidence of a social evaluation penalty for using AI.” Credit: Reif et al.

“Testing a broad range of stimuli enabled us to examine whether the target’s age, gender, or occupation qualifies the effect of receiving help from Al on these evaluations,” the authors wrote in the paper. “We found that none of these target demographic attributes influences the effect of receiving Al help on perceptions of laziness, diligence, competence, independence, or self-assuredness. This suggests that the social stigmatization of AI use is not limited to its use among particular demographic groups. The result appears to be a general one.”

The hidden social cost of AI adoption

In the first experiment conducted by the team from Duke, participants imagined using either an AI tool or a dashboard creation tool at work. It revealed that those in the AI group expected to be judged as lazier, less competent, less diligent, and more replaceable than those using conventional technology. They also reported less willingness to disclose their AI use to colleagues and managers.

The second experiment confirmed these fears were justified. When evaluating descriptions of employees, participants consistently rated those receiving AI help as lazier, less competent, less diligent, less independent, and less self-assured than those receiving similar help from non-AI sources or no help at all.

AI use damages professional reputation, study suggests Read More »

fidji-simo-joins-openai-as-new-ceo-of-applications

Fidji Simo joins OpenAI as new CEO of Applications

AI, Biz & IT, chatgpt, chatgtp, Fidji Simo, machine learning, openai, OpenAI board, sam altman / /

In the message, Altman described Simo as bringing “a rare blend of leadership, product and operational expertise” and expressed that her addition to the team makes him “even more optimistic about our future as we continue advancing toward becoming the superintelligence company.”

Simo becomes the newest high-profile female executive at OpenAI following the departure of Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati in September. Murati, who had been with the company since 2018 and helped launch ChatGPT, left alongside two other senior leaders and founded Thinking Machines Lab in February.

OpenAI’s evolving structure

The leadership addition comes as OpenAI continues to evolve beyond its origins as a research lab. In his announcement, Altman described how the company now operates in three distinct areas: as a research lab focused on artificial general intelligence (AGI), as a “global product company serving hundreds of millions of users,” and as an “infrastructure company” building systems that advance research and deliver AI tools “at unprecedented scale.”

Altman mentioned that as CEO of OpenAI, he will “continue to directly oversee success across all pillars,” including Research, Compute, and Applications, while staying “closely involved with key company decisions.”

The announcement follows recent news that OpenAI abandoned its original plan to cede control of its nonprofit branch to a for-profit entity. The company began as a nonprofit research lab in 2015 before creating a for-profit subsidiary in 2019, maintaining its original mission “to ensure artificial general intelligence benefits everyone.”

Fidji Simo joins OpenAI as new CEO of Applications Read More »

trump-admin-to-roll-back-biden’s-ai-chip-restrictions

Trump admin to roll back Biden’s AI chip restrictions

AI, AI regulation, Biden adminstration, Biz & IT, Donald Trump, GPUs, Joe Biden, machine learning, NVIDIA, Policy, trump administration / /

The changing face of chip export controls

The Biden-era chip restriction framework, which we covered in January, established a three-tiered system for regulating AI chip exports. The first tier included 17 countries, plus Taiwan, that could receive unlimited advanced chips. A second tier of roughly 120 countries faced caps on the number of chips they could import. The administration entirely blocked the third tier, which included China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, from accessing the chips.

Commerce Department officials now say they “didn’t like the tiered system” and considered it “unenforceable,” according to Reuters. While no timeline exists for the new rule, the spokeswoman indicated that officials are still debating the best approach to replace it. The Biden rule was set to take effect on May 15.

Reports suggest the Trump administration might discard the tiered approach in favor of a global licensing system with government-to-government agreements. This could involve direct negotiations with nations like the United Arab Emirates or Saudi Arabia rather than applying broad regional restrictions. However, the Commerce Department spokeswoman indicated that debate about the new approach is still underway, and no timetable has been established for the final rule.

Trump admin to roll back Biden’s AI chip restrictions Read More »

claude’s-ai-research-mode-now-runs-for-up-to-45-minutes-before-delivering-reports

Claude’s AI research mode now runs for up to 45 minutes before delivering reports

AI, AI agents, AI research agents, Anthropic, Anthropic Claude, Biz & IT, chatgpt, chatgtp, Claude, Deep Research, Google, large language models, machine learning, openai / /

Still, the report contained a direct quote statement from William Higinbotham that appears to combine quotes from two sources not cited in the source list. (One must always be careful with confabulated quotes in AI because even outside of this Research mode, Claude 3.7 Sonnet tends to invent plausible ones to fit a narrative.) We recently covered a study that showed AI search services confabulate sources frequently, and in this case, it appears that the sources Claude Research surfaced, while real, did not always match what is stated in the report.

There’s always room for interpretation and variation in detail, of course, but overall, Claude Research did a relatively good job crafting a report on this particular topic. Still, you’d want to dig more deeply into each source and confirm everything if you used it as the basis for serious research. You can read the full Claude-generated result as this text file, saved in markdown format. Sadly, the markdown version does not include the source URLS found in the Claude web interface.

Integrations feature

Anthropic also announced Thursday that it has broadened Claude’s data access capabilities. In addition to web search and Google Workspace integration, Claude can now search any connected application through the company’s new “Integrations” feature. The feature reminds us somewhat of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Plugins feature from March 2023 that aimed for similar connections, although the two features work differently under the hood.

These Integrations allow Claude to work with remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers across web and desktop applications. The MCP standard, which Anthropic introduced last November and we covered in April, connects AI applications to external tools and data sources.

At launch, Claude supports Integrations with 10 services, including Atlassian’s Jira and Confluence, Zapier, Cloudflare, Intercom, Asana, Square, Sentry, PayPal, Linear, and Plaid. The company plans to add more partners like Stripe and GitLab in the future.

Each integration aims to expand Claude’s functionality in specific ways. The Zapier integration, for instance, reportedly connects thousands of apps through pre-built automation sequences, allowing Claude to automatically pull sales data from HubSpot or prepare meeting briefs based on calendar entries. With Atlassian’s tools, Anthropic says that Claude can collaborate on product development, manage tasks, and create multiple Confluence pages and Jira work items simultaneously.

Anthropic has made its advanced Research and Integrations features available in beta for users on Max, Team, and Enterprise plans, with Pro plan access coming soon. The company has also expanded its web search feature (introduced in March) to all Claude users on paid plans globally.

Claude’s AI research mode now runs for up to 45 minutes before delivering reports Read More »

the-end-of-an-ai-that-shocked-the-world:-openai-retires-gpt-4

The end of an AI that shocked the world: OpenAI retires GPT-4

AI, AI assistants, Biz & IT, chatgpt, chatgtp, GPT-4, large language models, machine learning, openai, sam altman / /

One of the most influential—and by some counts, notorious—AI models yet released will soon fade into history. OpenAI announced on April 10 that GPT-4 will be “fully replaced” by GPT-4o in ChatGPT at the end of April, bringing a public-facing end to the model that accelerated a global AI race when it launched in March 2023.

“Effective April 30, 2025, GPT-4 will be retired from ChatGPT and fully replaced by GPT-4o,” OpenAI wrote in its April 10 changelog for ChatGPT. While ChatGPT users will no longer be able to chat with the older AI model, the company added that “GPT-4 will still be available in the API,” providing some reassurance to developers who might still be using the older model for various tasks.

The retirement marks the end of an era that began on March 14, 2023, when GPT-4 demonstrated capabilities that shocked some observers: reportedly scoring at the 90th percentile on the Uniform Bar Exam, acing AP tests, and solving complex reasoning problems that stumped previous models. Its release created a wave of immense hype—and existential panic—about AI’s ability to imitate human communication and composition.

A screenshot of GPT-4's introduction to ChatGPT Plus customers from March 14, 2023.

A screenshot of GPT-4’s introduction to ChatGPT Plus customers from March 14, 2023. Credit: Benj Edwards / Ars Technica

While ChatGPT launched in November 2022 with GPT-3.5 under the hood, GPT-4 took AI language models to a new level of sophistication, and it was a massive undertaking to create. It combined data scraped from the vast corpus of human knowledge into a set of neural networks rumored to weigh in at a combined total of 1.76 trillion parameters, which are the numerical values that hold the data within the model.

Along the way, the model reportedly cost more than $100 million to train, according to comments by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, and required vast computational resources to develop. Training the model may have involved over 20,000 high-end GPUs working in concert—an expense few organizations besides OpenAI and its primary backer, Microsoft, could afford.

Industry reactions, safety concerns, and regulatory responses

Curiously, GPT-4’s impact began before OpenAI’s official announcement. In February 2023, Microsoft integrated its own early version of the GPT-4 model into its Bing search engine, creating a chatbot that sparked controversy when it tried to convince Kevin Roose of The New York Times to leave his wife and when it “lost its mind” in response to an Ars Technica article.

The end of an AI that shocked the world: OpenAI retires GPT-4 Read More »