Mashable

Meta has given Presidential nominee Donald Trump free reign of his Facebook and Instagram accounts, as the tech giant reset the candidate's page restrictions in favor of an equal digital playing field ahead of the November election.

Following a two-year suspension of his accounts in 2021, spurred by his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection attempt, Trump's accounts were reinstated on a provisional basis. Meta warned that even the smallest policy violation could result in a long-term ban. Trump was also previously banned from posting on X (formerly Twitter).

SEE ALSO: What happened at Biden's speech, translated via tweets

"With the party conventions taking place shortly, including the Republican convention next week, the candidates for President of the United States will soon be formally nominated," the company wrote in an update the 2023 reinstatement. "In assessing our responsibility to allow political expression, we believe that the American people should be able to hear from the nominees for President on the same basis. As a result, former President Trump, as the nominee of the Republican Party, will no longer be subject to the heightened suspension penalties."

Shortly after Meta's announcement, the Biden administration issued a statement decrying the company's decision as "greedy" and "reckless."

In a quote for the Hill, Biden campaign national spokesperson Charles Lutvak said: “Restoring his access is like handing your car keys to someone you know will drive your car into a crowd and off a cliff. It is holding a megaphone for a bonafide racist who will shout his hate and white supremacy from the rooftops and try to take it mainstream. Without question, it is a direct attack on our safety and our democracy.”

Meta added that the previous restrictions were due to "extreme and extraordinary circumstances" that warranted invoking heightened penalties for public figures during times of civil unrest. Now, policy violations on Trump accounts will only result in the typical short-term suspension, and the company pledged to hold both presidential candidates to the "same Community Standards as all Facebook and Instagram users," including policies on hate speech and incitement to violence.

The U.S. Senate has unveiled yet another AI protections bill among a series of similar initiatives, this time aimed at safeguarding the work of artists and other creatives.

Introduced as the Content Origin Protection and Integrity from Edited and Deepfaked Media Act (COPIED Act), the new legislation would require more precise authentication of digital content and make the removal or tampering of watermarks illegal, the Verge reported, under new AI standards developed by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The bill specifically requires generative AI developers to add content provenance information (identification data embedded within digital content, like watermarks) to their outputs, or allow individuals to attach such information themselves. More standardized access to such information may help the detection of synthetic, AI generated content like deepfakes, and curb the use of data and other IP without consent. It would also authorize the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general to enforce the new regulations.

SEE ALSO: Someone is turning old Apple blogs into AI content factories with fake authors

A regulatory pathway such as this could effectively help artists, musicians, and even journalists keep their original works out of the data sets used to train AI models — a growing public accessibility issue that's only been exacerbated by recent collaborations between AI giants like OpenAI and media companies. Organizations like artist union SAG-AFTRA, the Recording Industry Association of America, the News/Media Alliance, and Artist Rights Alliance have come out in favor of the legislation.

"We need a fully transparent and accountable supply chain for generative Artificial Intelligence and the content it creates in order to protect everyone’s basic right to control the use of their face, voice, and persona," said SAG-AFTRA national executive director Duncan Crabtree-Ireland.

Should it pass, the bill would make it easier for such creatives and media owners to set terms for content use, and provide a legal pathway should their work be used without consent or attribution.

SAVE $85: As of July 13, Prime members can grab the Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) with Active Noise Cancellation and a wired charging case for just $34.99, down from $119.99. That's 71% off, and a new all-time low price.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) with Active Noise Cancellation $34.99 at Amazon
$119.99 Save $85.00 with wired charging case Get Deal

We're just three days away from Prime Day 2024, and Amazon has already rolled out hundreds of worthy early deals. It's an especially great time to shop for eye-popping deals on Kindles, Fire tablets, Echo products, and all the rest of Amazon's branded items. But there's one deal in particular that stands out today: an extra-affordable pair of ANC earbuds.

Prime members can now get the Amazon Echo Buds (2nd Gen) with Active Noise Cancellation and a wired charging case on sale for just $34.99, down from $119.99. That's $80 off, or a 71% discount, and a new all-time low price. We were excited when these buds were discounted to $54.99 in the spring, making this an especially notable deal.

SEE ALSO: Lots of wireless earbuds from top brands are on sale ahead of Prime Day

Typically, headphones with ANC do not come in this price range. Mashable's Alex Perry gave the wireless buds a solid 4.25 rating in his 2021 review, saying they "deliver good sound quality, effective ANC, and a slimmed down build for a startlingly low price of $119.99. If you've been looking for a device-agnostic pair of wireless earbuds that will drown out the world around you, look no further." They have some flaws, including too-sensitive touch panels and a limited battery life of about five hours with ANC. But we'd be willing to deal with some minor drawbacks for a steal like this.

Feel free to compare and contrast this deal to other early Prime Day wireless earbuds deals and noise-cancelling headphones deals — but if you want a decent pair of ANC earbuds for the cost of a dinner, we suggest jumping on this price for the Echo Buds.

Researchers are exploring the existential implications of generative AI, including whether or not the advancing technology will actually make humans more creatively capable — or narrow our views.

The new study, published in Science Advances by two University College London and University of Exeter researchers, tested hundreds of short stories created solely by humans against those created with the creative help of ChatGPT's generative AI. One group of writers had access solely to their own ideas, a second group could ask ChatGPT for one story idea, and a third could work with a set of five ChatGPT made prompts. The stories were then rated on "novelty, usefulness (i.e. likelihood of publishing), and emotional enjoyment," reported TechCrunch.

"These results point to an increase in individual creativity at the risk of losing collective novelty," the study reads. "This dynamic resembles a social dilemma: With generative AI, writers are individually better off, but collectively a narrower scope of novel content is produced."

SEE ALSO: TikTok bad actors are using AI to churn out political misinformation, new report shows

Participants were "measured" for creativity prior to the writing session with a commonly used word-production task that builds a standard of creativity among respondents. Those who tested lower on these creativity proxy tests received better scores on their personal writing when given access to AI-generated ideas. But for those with already high creativity scores, AI ideas had little to no benefit on their story ratings.

Additionally, the pool of stories aided by AI-generated prompts were deemed to be less diverse and displayed less unique writing characteristics, suggesting the limits of ChatGPT's all-around ingenuity. The new study's literary findings add to concerns about AI's self-consuming training loops, or the problem of AI models trained only on AI outputs degrading AI models themselves, Mashable's Cecily Mauran reported.

Study author Oliver Hauser said in a comment to TechCrunch: "Our study represents an early view on a very big question on how large language models and generative AI more generally will affect human activities, including creativity... It will be important that AI is actually being evaluated rigorously — rather than just implemented widely, under the assumption that it will have positive outcomes."

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections today: See hints and answers for July 13 SEE ALSO: Wordle today: Here's the answer hints for July 13

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Saturday, July 13, 2024:

Across"Goodfellas" group

• The answer is Mob.

Actress Julia ___-Dreyfus

• The answer is Louis.

Club soda lookalike

• The answer is Seltzer.

Apple consumer

• The answer is Eve.

Versatile blackjack card

• The answer is Ace.

File-sharing option from an Apple device

• The answer is Airdrop.

Hot beverage dispensers at a breakfast buffet

• The answer is Tea urns.

Endured

• The answer is Stood.

Down"Naked" rodent

• The answer is Molerat.

The first "O" in a worker's "O.O.O." message

• The answer is Out.

___ world (upside-down reality)

• The answer is Bizzaro.

Tariffs

• The answer is Levies.

Runner-up's place

• The answer is Second.

Window, middle or aisle

• The answer is Seat.

Workout units in a set

• The answer is Reps.

Twosome

• The answer is Duo.

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games