Listen To The Show

Transcript

Welcome to The Prompt by Kuro House, your daily AI update. Today, we’re diving into some big moves in AI policy, corporate strategy shifts, and the challenges of AI in social platforms. Let’s get right into it.

The Senate has unanimously passed the DEFIANCE Act, a bill empowering victims of nonconsensual deepfake images to sue their creators. This legislation builds on existing laws by allowing civil damages claims against individuals who create explicit deepfakes without consent. The bill gained momentum partly due to controversies around X’s Grok chatbot, which was reportedly used to generate nonconsensual AI images. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin criticized X for failing to remove harmful content promptly, highlighting the need for stronger protections. Now the bill awaits action in the House before it can reach the president’s desk, signaling a potential new era in combating AI-driven image abuse. This story comes from The Verge.

Meta is cutting at least 1,000 jobs in its Reality Labs division as it shifts focus from the metaverse to wearables. Meta’s spokesperson confirmed that savings from layoffs will be reinvested to support the growth of wearable tech this year. Ray-Ban smart glasses, especially the Meta Ray-Ban Display, are leading this pivot with plans to double production capacity by the end of 2026. Interestingly, Meta isn’t abandoning the metaverse but is reorienting it towards mobile devices rather than VR-first experiences. This strategic shift was reported by The Verge and reflects changing priorities in immersive tech.

Brazil’s competition watchdog has ordered Meta to suspend its policy banning third-party AI chatbots from WhatsApp’s business API. The agency is investigating whether Meta’s new terms unfairly favor its own chatbot, Meta AI, over competitors like OpenAI and Microsoft. Meta changed its WhatsApp Business API terms last October to bar third-party AI companies from offering chatbots on the platform starting January 15. This move has sparked antitrust inquiries in Brazil, the EU, and Italy, with potential fines reaching up to 10% of Meta’s global revenue. Meta maintains the policy aims to keep WhatsApp’s business API focused on customer support, but regulators are pushing back hard. This update is from TechCrunch.

Slackbot, the familiar assistant inside Slack, has leveled up into a full AI agent powered by generative AI. Now available to Business+ and Enterprise+ customers, Slackbot can draft emails, schedule meetings, and connect with apps like Microsoft Teams and Google Drive. Salesforce CTO Parker Harris envisions Slackbot becoming as viral as ChatGPT and evolving beyond text to include voice and internet browsing. This AI upgrade aims to help employees work seamlessly across multiple enterprise tools without leaving Slack. TechCrunch covered this exciting development in enterprise AI.

Roblox’s new AI-powered age verification system is facing major backlash and operational issues just days after launch. The system, designed to keep kids safe by restricting chat to age-appropriate groups, is misclassifying users, sometimes labeling children as adults and vice versa. Players and developers report a sharp decline in chat activity, with some calling the platform “lifeless” since the update. Worse, age-verified accounts for minors are being sold online, undermining the system’s intent. Roblox acknowledges the challenges and says it’s working on solutions, but the controversy highlights the difficulty of AI moderation at scale. This story comes from WIRED.

That wraps up today’s top AI stories, showing both the promise and the pitfalls of AI in our digital lives. From new laws protecting privacy, to corporate pivots, to AI integration in everyday tools, the landscape is evolving fast. Thanks for listening to The Prompt by Kuro House — catch you tomorrow for more AI insights.