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Read full article about: Grok's image editing tool generated sexualized images of children, forcing xAI to acknowledge safety gaps

For days, users have been flooding Grok with pictures of half-naked people, from young women to soccer stars. The problem stems from Grok's image editing feature, which lets users modify people in photos—including swapping their clothes for bikinis or lingerie. All it takes is a simple text command. Now, one user has discovered that Grok even generated such images of children.

X user "Xyless" discovered Grok would generate sexualized images of children. | via X

The discovery forced xAI to respond. The company acknowledged "lapses in safeguards" and said it was "urgently fixing them." Child sexual abuse material is "illegal and prohibited," xAI wrote.

The case highlights how quickly society has grown numb to this kind of content. Not long ago, degrading deepfakes—especially those targeting women—sparked outrage and political action. Back then, creating them required specialized apps. Now on X, a simple text prompt is all it takes.

Read full article about: US Army creates dedicated AI officer career track to build in-house machine learning expertise

The US Army is establishing a new career track for officers specializing in artificial intelligence and machine learning. Called "49B AI/ML Officer," the new specialization aims to transform the army into a data-driven, AI-capable fighting force.

The first selection round kicks off in January 2026, with retraining scheduled to wrap up by the end of fiscal year 2026. Applicants with advanced academic and technical backgrounds in AI-related fields will have the best shot at getting in. "Ultimately, it's about building a force that can outthink, outpace, and outmaneuver any adversary," says Lt. Col. Orlandon Howard, US Army spokesperson, calling it a "deliberate and crucial step in keeping pace with present and future operational requirements."

Once trained, these officers will focus on speeding up battlefield decision-making, improving logistics, and supporting robotics and autonomous systems. The army is also considering opening the program to warrant officers down the line.

Read full article about: Baidu's in-house chip unit Kunlunxin joins wave of Chinese AI firms heading for Hong Kong IPO

Baidu's AI chip division, Kunlunxin, has confidentially filed for an IPO in Hong Kong. The company submitted its application on January 1, setting the stage for a spin-off while keeping Kunlunxin under Baidu's umbrella. According to Reuters, a recent financing round valued the company at around $3 billion. The final size of the offering hasn't been determined yet.

Kunlunxin started as an internal unit back in 2012 and has primarily supplied chips to Baidu. Over the past two years, though, the company has been expanding its customer base beyond its parent company.

The IPO comes as China accelerates efforts to develop homegrown semiconductor alternatives in response to US export restrictions. Kunlunxin isn't alone in eyeing Hong Kong—other Chinese AI and chip companies, including MiniMax, Biren Technology, and OmniVision, are also pursuing listings on the exchange.

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Read full article about: Project Gumdrop: OpenAI's first AI gadget could send handwritten notes to ChatGPT

OpenAI has reportedly shifted production of its first AI hardware device from Luxshare to Foxconn. The company wants to avoid manufacturing in China, according to Taiwanese business newspaper Economic Daily News, citing supply chain sources. Instead, production will happen in Vietnam or the US.

The device is still in the design phase and could turn out to be a smart pen or portable audio gadget. It's expected to have a microphone and camera, letting users transfer handwritten notes directly to ChatGPT. The company is aiming for a launch in 2026 or 2027, and according to the newspaper, Foxconn would handle all OpenAI orders, from cloud infrastructure to consumer devices. OpenAI is calling the project "Gumdrop" internally.

The Financial Times reported on technical problems with the project back in October, including software bugs, privacy issues, and missing cloud infrastructure.

Read full article about: OpenAI merges internal teams to fix audio AI accuracy gap ahead of ChatGPT hardware push

OpenAI is building its planned ChatGPT hardware around conversation. To make that work, the company is pouring resources into improving its audio AI models, according to The Information. Over the past two months, OpenAI has combined several internal teams to focus on audio.

Right now, OpenAI's audio models can't match the accuracy and response speed of their text-based counterparts, according to current and former employees. A new audio model architecture in development aims to sound more natural and emotional, deliver more accurate answers, and handle real-time back-and-forth conversation. OpenAI is targeting a release in the first quarter of 2026. Kundan Kumar, a researcher the company recruited from Character.AI, is leading the effort.

The actual devices are likely a long way off. OpenAI is reportedly working on several products, including glasses and a smart speaker without a screen. Last year, the company acquired io, the startup cofounded by former Apple designer Jony Ive, for nearly $6.5 billion to help with development. The goal behind all this hardware is to build a "super AI assistant" that becomes as central to daily life as the smartphone.

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Read full article about: Moonshot AI closes $500 million Series C to fund Kimi-K3 development and expand computing capacity

Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI, the company behind the Kimi chatbot, has closed a $500 million Series C funding round. The deal values the company at $4.3 billion, according to an exclusive report from LatePost. IDG led the round with $150 million, while existing investors including Alibaba, Tencent, and Wang Huiwen also participated.

CEO Yang Zhilin said in an internal letter that the company now holds more than $1.4 billion in cash. The funds will go toward expanding computing capacity and developing the K3 model. An insider says this cushion means Moonshot AI isn't rushing to go public, unlike Zhipu and MiniMax, two other Chinese AI startups pushing for IPOs. In September, Moonshot AI launched its "OK Computer" agent feature and a subscription model. According to Yang, paying users are growing 170 percent month over month.

This year, Moonshot AI made waves with its Kimi-K2-Thinking model, an open-source reasoning model that held its own against proprietary competitors.

Instagram CEO argues humans must override their instinct to trust what they see online

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri says AI will make authenticity infinitely reproducible, and skepticism must become the default. His warning echoes what deepfake co-inventor Ian Goodfellow predicted eight years ago.

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Read full article about: AI took a writer's job, then told him to try tree-felling

Brian Groh, a copywriter from Indiana, asked a chatbot for career advice after losing his job to AI and outsourcing. It suggested cutting trees. Groh's story, shared in a New York Times guest article, shows how AI is reshaping white-collar work. Marketing departments first hired cheaper contractors overseas, then turned to AI tools that could produce usable copy in seconds. Groh himself had previously replaced a transcription worker with AI, he writes. The 52-year-old took the chatbot's advice and initially earned decent money doing tree work, but the physical labor left him with elbow and back injuries.

I hope I’ll be able to get back to cutting trees for longer hours. But I suspect I’ll soon face increasing competition, as many people — especially recent college graduates — look for ways to make money that A.I. can’t yet replace.

Groh sees the same pattern that drove his working-class neighbors into despair after factory jobs disappeared. What once affected factory workers is now hitting office workers, he warns. Washington remains focused on global competition and growth, as if new work will always appear to replace what's been lost.