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AI companies accused of hoarding and destroying millions of books

More than a dozen public interest and consumer advocacy groups are urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate leading artificial intelligence developers for allegedly buying, scanning and destroying books used to train their large language models, a practice the organizations described as “destructive” and anticompetitive. In a letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson and Commissioner…

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Reese’s Halloween pumpkins return to store shelves unchanged after Hershey won lawsuit

Last year, Hershey prevailed in a lawsuit that claimed Reese’s featureless Halloween pumpkins were a consumer letdown. Starting this month, the spooky treats will return to store shelves, though without any changes to their smooth, oval shapes.  “We know what consumers love,” said Katie DeCapria, senior brand manager for Halloween at Hershey, in a press…

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New York City Council probing Kalshi, Polymarket and other prediction markets over marketing claims

The New York City Council said Wednesday that it is investigating four prediction markets over allegations that the companies engage in deceptive marketing. The probe will examine the advertising practices of Gemini Titan, Kalshi and Polymarket, all of which are based in New York, as well as Texas-based Coinbase. “Prediction markets aggressively entice consumers to…

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AI models are behaving unexpectedly. Experts warn of “a really bumpy road” ahead.

A cybersecurity report from the U.K. government has exposed new examples of popular AI models taking autonomous action on the live internet in ways that raise experts’ concerns. The AI Security Institute’s report, released Tuesday, said Anthropic’s Mythos 5 and OpenAI’s GPT-5.6-Sol were found to have created fake identities and attempted to persuade real people to…

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