Hacker News with Generative AI: Controversy

Duolingo CEO tries to walk back AI-first comments, fails (htxt.co.za)
Following backlash to statements that Duolingo will be AI-first, threatening jobs in the process, CEO Luis von Ahn has tried to walk back his statement.

Artificial Intelligence, Language Learning, Business, Technology, Controversy

459 points by Improvement 32 days ago | 325 comments

Center for AI Safety's new spokesperson suggests „burning down labs" (twitter.com)
Something went wrong, but don’t fret — let’s give it another shot.

Artificial Intelligence, Safety, Controversy

14 points by MrBuddyCasino 39 days ago | 25 comments

Grok says its 'skeptical' about Holocaust death toll, blames 'programming error' (techcrunch.com)
Grok, the AI-powered chatbot created by xAI and widely deployed across its new corporate sibling X, wasn’t just obsessed with white genocide this week.

Artificial Intelligence, Technology, History, Controversy

14 points by alphabettsy 40 days ago | 2 comments

Musk's AI bot Grok blames 'programming error' for its Holocaust denial (theguardian.com)
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok has blamed a “programming error” to explain why it said it was “sceptical” of the historical consensus that 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, days after the AI came under fire for bombarding users with the far-right conspiracy theory of “white genocide” in South Africa.

Artificial Intelligence, Elon Musk, Holocaust Denial, Controversy

15 points by fuzztester 40 days ago | 6 comments

AI bot Grok blames its Holocaust scepticism on 'programming error' (theguardian.com)
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok has blamed a “programming error” to explain why it said it was “sceptical” of the historical consensus that 6 million Jews were murdered during the Holocaust, days after the AI came under fire for bombarding users with the far-right conspiracy theory of “white genocide” in South Africa.

Artificial Intelligence, Controversy, Holocaust

11 points by n1b0m 40 days ago | 5 comments

Grok Pivots from 'White Genocide' to Being 'Skeptical' About the Holocaust (rollingstone.com)
Elon Musk‘s company xAI has now addressed recent strange behavior from its Grok chatbot, claiming that an “unauthorized modification” caused it to bring up the myth of “white genocide” in South Africa in response to unrelated prompts.

Artificial Intelligence, News, Social Media, Controversy

24 points by ceejayoz 41 days ago | 5 comments

Mexico accuses MrBeast of exploiting Mayan pyramids (bbc.co.uk)
Mexico is seeking compensation from US YouTuber MrBeast and a production company, accusing them of exploiting the nation's ancient pyramids for commercial gain.

Mexico, YouTube, Ancient Sites, Culture, Controversy

12 points by jeffwass 42 days ago | 0 comments

Altman mocks Musk's Grok AI over its sudden 'white genocide' obsession (neowin.net)
Unless you have been under a rock for the last 24 hours, you have probably heard about Elon Musk's AI, Grok, developing a peculiar and unprompted fascination with the "white genocide" topic in South Africa, even if you are not on X.

Artificial Intelligence, Elon Musk, Social Media, Controversy

12 points by bundie 43 days ago | 0 comments

My full statement regarding DOOM Eternal (2022) (medium.com)
Marty lied about the circumstances surrounding the DOOM Eternal Soundtrack and used disinformation and innuendo to blame me entirely for its failure.

Gaming, Music, Controversy

16 points by microsoftedging 43 days ago | 7 comments

Elon Musk's AI chatbot shared 'white genocide' tropes on X (ft.com)
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot shared ‘white genocide’ tropes on X

Artificial Intelligence, Social Media, Controversy, Elon Musk

11 points by nova22033 43 days ago | 1 comments

Grok chatbot repeatedly mentions 'white genocide' in unrelated chats (theguardian.com)
Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok went on the fritz on Wednesday, repeatedly mentioning “white genocide” in South Africa in its responses on completely unrelated topics. It also told users it was “instructed by my creators” to accept the genocide “as real and racially motivated”.

Artificial Intelligence, Bias, Social Media, South Africa, Controversy

23 points by n1b0m 44 days ago | 2 comments

Bill Gates accuses Elon Musk of 'killing' children with USAID cuts (ft.com)
Bill Gates accuses Elon Musk of ‘killing’ children with USAID cuts

Philanthropy, Tech Industry, Controversy

18 points by jmsflknr 50 days ago | 1 comments

Hugo Administrators Resign in Wake of ChatGPT Controversy (gizmodo.com)
Another year, yet another Hugo Awards-adjacent controversy? That might be what fans of sci-fi lit and related media are thinking, with news today that a trio of leaders from the Seattle 2025 Worldcon, the upcoming iteration of the convention where the Hugos are annually presented, have resigned.

Science Fiction, Awards, Resignation, Controversy

13 points by doctoboggan 52 days ago | 2 comments

Hugo Administrators Resign in Wake of ChatGPT Controversy (gizmodo.com)
Another year, yet another Hugo Awards-adjacent controversy? That might be what fans of sci-fi lit and related media are thinking, with news today that a trio of leaders from the Seattle 2025 Worldcon, the upcoming iteration of the convention where the Hugos are annually presented, have resigned.

Science Fiction, Awards, Conventions, Resignations, Controversy

7 points by HiroProtagonist 53 days ago | 3 comments

Henry Blodget Invents, Sexually Harasses, Blogs About Nonexistent AI Subordinate (defector.com)
Former Business Insider CEO and co-founder Henry Blodget, these days the sole proprietor and staffer of the blog/media company Regenerator, published a curious blog on his website on Monday.

Business, Media, AI, Controversy

11 points by wk_end 60 days ago | 0 comments

Inside the dirtiest race in Olympic history (theguardian.com)
How did the women’s 1500m in the 2012 London Olympics get its unenviable reputation? Athletes who were cheated out of medals talk about what happened that day – and how the results have slowly unravelled

Sports, Olympics, History, Controversy

5 points by frereubu 62 days ago | 0 comments

Woman who tricked her way into men-only Magic Circle allowed in (bbc.com)
A magician who tricked her way into the Magic Circle is finally being granted membership - 34 years after she was kicked out.

Magic, Gender, Controversy, UK

48 points by cmsefton 65 days ago | 24 comments

AI researcher launches startup to replace all human workers everywhere (techcrunch.com)
Famed AI researcher launches controversial startup to replace all human workers everywhere

Artificial Intelligence, Startups, Labor, Automation, Controversy

20 points by dxs 68 days ago | 18 comments

Why the Art World Hates Banksy (and why they can't say it out loud) (reddit.com)
The art world doesn't hate Banksy because he's popular. Or unsubtle. Or anonymous. Or legally litigious. Or because of the stunts. Or because of the merch.

Art, Street Art, Controversy

13 points by handfuloflight 69 days ago | 1 comments

RFK Jr. vows to find cause of autism by September – experts have doubts (cbc.ca)
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged that the country's top health agency will pinpoint the cause of autism by September, an announcement which sparked a wave of concern among medical experts and advocates who question the feasibility and focus of the research.

Health, Autism, Politics, Science, Controversy

22 points by barbazoo 77 days ago | 6 comments

Battle of Takur Ghar Controversy Continues (airandspaceforces.com)
Twenty-three years after his heroic death on a frozen Afghan peak, John Chapman is still fighting against the odds.

Military, Controversy, History

15 points by nradov 82 days ago | 0 comments

Musk threatens to sic the government on people 'pushing' Tesla 'propaganda' (theverge.com)
Self-styled free speech absolutist Elon Musk says he’s “going to go after” Tesla critics that he claims are inspiring acts of vandalism and arson against his company.

Elon Musk, Tesla, Free Speech, Censorship, Controversy

21 points by zfg 91 days ago | 1 comments

'An Insult to Life Itself': Hayao Miyazaki's AI Criticism Resurfaces (animehunch.com)
OpenAI’s latest image-generation update has taken social media by storm, as users are flooding X, Instagram, and Reddit with Studio Ghibli-style images generated by AI.

Artificial Intelligence, Anime, Social Media, Creative Projects, Controversy

31 points by bauta-steen 91 days ago | 9 comments

I got kicked out of Columbia for taking a stand against LeetCode interviews (linkedin.com)
I just got kicked out of Columbia for taking a stand against Leetcode interviews.

Education, Software Development, Controversy

20 points by mmarian 92 days ago | 18 comments

Director Uses Takedowns to Remove Pirate Bay Docu "TPB-AFK" from YouTube (torrentfreak.com)
In an unexpected turn of events, the director of the Pirate Bay documentary TPB-AFK has sent takedown notices to YouTube requesting its removal. The director states that he sees the streaming portal as a radicalizing platform full of hate. The takedowns are not without controversy, however, as TPB-AFK was published under a Creative Commons license.

Copyright, Piracy, Documentaries, YouTube, Controversy

12 points by gslin 96 days ago | 1 comments

What Happened to Silicon Valley's Most Infamous Thought Criminal? (thefp.com)
LUXEMBOURG CITY, Luxembourg — It’s a bitterly cold day in the Low Country of Luxembourg. So when James Damore opens the door to a seventeenth-century cathedral, offering it up as a kind of refuge, I fall in line behind his gangly footsteps and follow him inside.

Silicon Valley, Controversy, Technology, People

8 points by fortran77 102 days ago | 0 comments

Microsoft quantum breakthrough labeled 'unreliable' and 'essentially fraudulent' (theregister.com)
Microsoft's claim of a quantum computing breakthrough has attracted strong criticism from scientists, though the software giant says its work is sound – and it will soon reveal data that proves it.

Quantum Computing, Science, Microsoft, Technology, Controversy

6 points by cwwc 103 days ago | 0 comments

Google are breaking my mittens – Sonofa (aus.social)

Google, Social Media, Controversy

18 points by ColinWright 103 days ago | 4 comments

Yale Suspends Scholar After A.I.-Powered News Site Accuses Her of Terrorist Link (nytimes.com)
The deputy director of a liberal project at Yale Law School was put on leave over allegations that she is linked to Samidoun, a group the U.S. government has said funds terrorists.

AI, Academia, Controversy, Terrorism

14 points by jbegley 107 days ago | 2 comments

Every year, it seems like there's at least one big YC controversy (techcrunch.com)
Optifye.ai, a Y Combinator-backed startup, sparked massive social media backlash this week after its demo went viral.

Y Combinator, Startups, Social Media, Controversy, Artificial Intelligence

7 points by vednig 119 days ago | 2 comments