Legal news, some illegal. All of it interesting
1. OpenAI says NYT tricked its bot into copying
ChatGPT’s creator is working an interesting defense for The New York Times’ copyright lawsuit. OpenAI (or is it Cyberdyne?) posted a statement saying NYT tricked ChatGPT by prompting it to regurgitate Times’ articles. It says the articles cited in the lawsuit appear to be from older pieces found on many third-party sites. But OpenAI also quickly added that training AI models with data from the internet – copyrighted or otherwise – falls under fair use. So, ChatGPT didn’t copy, but if it did copy, that’s totally fine. And despite the suit, Open AI says it still hopes to partner with NYT, which is what robots always say before they take over.
2. Russians hacking your MRI? Nyet, but soon
Because pandemics, earthquakes, hurricanes, and war are not enough to worry about, we give you – hacked medical devices. Experts say it’s a matter of time before hackers target MRIs, ventilators, pacemakers and more – especially as their software ages. A new law requires manufacturers to submit cybersecurity plans for their devices and to report vulnerabilities to the FDA but that doesn’t apply to equipment already out there. For now, the threat’s theoretical but health systems and their trove of valuable personal data are very attractive to criminals and maybe others. Pro tip: if you see the date of your “heart attack” marked on your partner’s calendar, we’d suggest updating your pacemaker, STAT.
Trials and defibrillations here…
3. Star Wars: space-age ash scattering gripes Navajos
The first U.S. lunar lander launched in more than 50 years this week despite Moon shadows from the Navajo Nation. The Pittsburgh-based company behind the blast-off aims to be the first private business to land on the moon. Its cargo includes human ashes which have protests from tribal leaders waxing. Navajos consider the Moon sacred and placing human remains there a desecration. Leaders asked NASA and the Department of Transportation to postpone the flight. But those hopes waned with Monday’s launch. The spaceflight memorial company that bought space on the rocket defended their out-of-this world scatterings, saying no single culture or religion owns the Moon.
4. Loo loo lemon at Dunkin’ explodes, flushes out lawsuit
A Dunkin’ franchise in Florida’s been plunged into a lawsuit after its restroom toilet exploded, injuring a customer. The man reportedly used the men’s long john and, in a shocking, though not cinnamon, twist, the toilet exploded. His $100K lawsuit claims the violent discharge doused with — let’s just say a variety of sprinkles. When he emerged from the restroom, glazed and confused, he says employees told him they’d been having problems with the toilet and had other incidents. A year later, he still suffers donut holes in his soul about it. As for Dunkin’ they’re keeping the lid down on any comments.
5. Police say no aliens in Miami – or are there?
The hot topic in Miami was not exploding toilets but alien sightings at an outdoor mall. Video of 50+ police cars surrounding the mall went viral after social media users claim they spotted a 10-foot gray alien skulking. What in the 5th Wave was going on? Were police engaged in some Victoria’s Secret operation or governmental Charlotte ruse to stop invading extraterrestrials? Police took to Instagram to bring conspiracy theorists back to earth. They posted a video saying the massive show of force was about handling juveniles throwing fireworks and looting stores. And the 10-foot creature was just a human walking in a shadow. The truth is out there.
