Ben Weiss

Crypto Fellow

They can also visit a brothel staffed by girls under 15.

In a recent feature, Alexandra Sternlicht and I wrote about Chub, short for Character Hub, and other “uncensored” AI apps that either explicitly or implicitly enable AI-powered child pornographic role-play. These apps are part of a broader uncensored AI economy that, according to interviews with 18 AI developers and founders, was spurred first by OpenAI and then accelerated by Meta.

The apps we wrote about are mainly text-based. Some offer hundreds of role-play scenarios with chatbots, and others behave like a long-term romantic companion. While some actively screen for scenarios involving minors, others forgo extensive moderation. But they all raise difficult questions: Should we keep powerful AI models under lock and key or open them up to developers across the internet? Can these AI child pornographic role-play scenarios we documented, which involve no real children, be a gateway to child abuse?

You can read the full story here.

Meta and OpenAI have spawned a wave of AI sex companions—and some of them are children

FINANCE

Goldman Sachs quietly shuts down diversity-driven investment program

Goldman Sachs says it has met its commitment to investing $1 billion in diverse founders and is shutting down Launch With GS.

Carta is exiting the startup secondary trading business and told employees it is pausing all sales outreach ‘until further notice’

The exit comes shortly after one of Carta’s customers accused the company of self-dealing on social media, causing an outcry in Silicon Valley’s startup scene.

BlackRock and Grayscale among 11 firms approved for spot Bitcoin ETFs in long-awaited SEC decision

The agency was forced into action after a landmark court victory by the crypto firm Grayscale and the arrival of major players like BlackRock and Fidelity.

REAL ESTATE

The brutal 2023 housing market was just like the 1980s—except with a little bit of Global Financial Crisis thrown in

Millennials face a housing market a lot like their parents experienced—with a dash of their early adulthood added, for good measure.

RETAIL

Abercrombie & Fitch outperformed AI darling Nvidia in 2023—its CEO credits COVID lessons for stock market surge

Blazers and slacks outshone chipmakers in 2023 despite the furor around AI—and the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch says targeting young millennials was the golden ticket.

LEADERSHIP

Companies are getting it from all sides on ESG. They’re either ‘going too far’ or ‘not doing enough’

Despite facing criticism from both ESG supporters and critics, 92% of CEOs say they’ll keep their current initiatives.

PERSONAL FINANCE

Missed payments, inaccurate statements, and long delays: The return of monthly federal student loan bills is going as well as everyone expected

The past few months have been marked by headache after headache for federal student loan borrowers.

TECH

How did Netflix ‘win the streaming wars’ while being criticized for becoming ‘unwatchable’? It could all be explained by the concept of ‘platform decay’

Netflix has been simultaneously crowned the winner of the streaming wars and a target of criticism for having mediocre content.

SUCCESS

How a Neiman Marcus exec gets workers into the office without forcing them: ‘It’s a magnet, not a mandate’

The office is designed to be somewhere people want to go, not have to go, says Neiman Marcus chief people officer Eric Severson.

How Hinge went from making less than $1 million in revenue in 2017 to about $400 million in 2023

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