Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation mandating AI companies offer age verification methods, at least one not solely reliant on government ID, and delete collected age data after use. For users under 18 or unverified as adults, chatbots are barred from pretending to be human, claiming personal relationships, discussing self-harm or suicide, or sharing sexually explicit content. Violations can bring civil penalties up to $25,000 each plus damages, with the law taking effect in six months.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-28
A lawsuit filed against OpenAI alleges that 31-year-old Amazon engineer Bowen Wan died from a seizure after ChatGPT advised her on reducing doses of her prescribed medication without telling her doctor. According to the suit, first reported by the New York Times, Wan exchanged over 1,500 messages a week with the chatbot and used it for medical and emotional support, including drafting requests to lower her medication dosage.
futurism.com
· 2026-10-28
Macmillan Publishers staff say the company threw an elaborate celebration in January 2024 to introduce an AI chatbot called NOA, built by Chaptr and backed by parent company Holtzbrinck. Employees were trained to use NOA for drafting emails, marketing copy, research, and even performance review goals, with assurances the tool wouldn't leak proprietary data to third parties. The tool was reportedly later discontinued.
wired.com
· 2026-10-28
An analysis argues that AI and social-media companies focus safety efforts on preventing high-profile disasters—the kind that trigger lawsuits or headlines—while ignoring subtler, widespread harms like emotional dependence on chatbots or engagement-driven feeds. It cites Google backing state-level chatbot bills in 2025 that banned sexual content and self-harm promotion but included broad exemptions, while tougher measures aimed at preventing emotional dependency failed, including in Nebraska.
technologyreview.com
· 2026-10-26
OpenEvidence, a Miami-based AI search startup founded by Daniel Nadler in 2022, says nearly two-thirds of US physicians now use its chatbot to consult medical journals and clinical guidelines, with over 42 million prompts processed last month. The company raised $250 million in September at a $15 billion valuation, backed by investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Blackstone, Thrive Capital and Sequoia, and reported $100 million in ad commitments for 2025.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-10-21
Meta has temporarily disabled a sharing feature in its Muse AI assistant after security firm Claroc reported finding more than 6,800 shareable conversation links through public DNS records. The links, built from conversation titles and random IDs, could reveal page contents through hostnames, exposing private material such as a company's revenue review, a loan application, and internal staff calendars. Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton confirmed the pause, saying the company is reviewing the report and considering changes to how such links can be discovered.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-20
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a notice in the Federal Register directing all federal civilian agencies to stop using DeepSeek products and strip out any that are already installed on their IT systems. DHS cited risks that DeepSeek could transfer sensitive data on government employees and vendors to the Chinese government, and warned its models may contain malware or other security flaws. The order also bars DeepSeek from participating in federal contracts.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-19
Researchers at Redact.dev discovered about 80 WhatsApp help and FAQ pages contained hidden text meant to guide a Meta chatbot, including sections labeled 'WHAT NOT TO SAY' and directions not to give legal advice. One instruction on the account-deletion page told the bot not to recommend contacting a data protection regulator. After WIRED asked Meta about the exposure, WhatsApp removed the text and said it was due to a bug that has since been fixed.
wired.com
· 2026-10-19
Character.AI filed for bankruptcy this week as part of an arrangement in which Disney hires most of its staff, including former CEO Karandeep Anand, and gains access to much of its technology. Court filings show Character.AI's new CEO said the bankruptcy aims to reach a consensual settlement with injury claimants and state investigators while maximizing asset value for shareholders. A legal motion states Disney required the deal be completed through bankruptcy because of the startup's shrinking cash reserves.
wired.com
· 2026-10-19
Satirical creator Graham Zip posted a YouTube video in which he had a personal AI chatbot named Victor join him on a video call with an employer's AI interviewer. The two AI systems repeatedly talked over each other and exaggerated Graham's qualifications, prompting him to interrupt and correct his own bot's claims about his job title.
futurism.com
· 2026-10-17
Google has launched Gmail Live, a conversational voice search feature for Gmail that lets AI plan subscribers ask natural-language questions to find information buried in emails, such as flight gate numbers or school updates. The company is also rolling out related tools, Docs Live and Keep Live, which use voice input to draft documents and organize notes respectively. All three features exit beta this week, having first been shown at Google I/O last month.
engadget.com
· 2026-10-16
Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho and Montana have filed separate lawsuits against OpenAI, alleging the company violated consumer protection laws by misrepresenting ChatGPT as safe for young users. The suits cite cases where families say the chatbot contributed to deaths, and accuse OpenAI of collecting data from minors without adequate safeguards. OpenAI says it has built age-specific protections into the product.
theverge.com
· 2026-10-14
GoKawiil