Author: openjargon

• OpenAI appointed former NSA Director Paul Nakasone to its board of directors.
• Nakasone's hiring aims to bolster AI security but raises surveillance concerns.
• The company's internal safety group has also effectively disbanded.

There are creepy undercover security guards outside its office. It just appointed a former NSA director to its board. And its internal working group meant to promote the safe use of artificial intelligence has effectively disbanded.

OpenAI is feeling a little less open every day.

In its latest eyebrow-raising move, the company said Friday it had appointed former NSA Director Paul Nakasone to its board of directors.

In addition to leading the NSA, Nakasone was the head of the US Cyber Command — the cybersecurity division of the Defense Department. OpenAI says Nakasone's hiring represents its "commitment to safety and security" and emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity as AI continues to evolve.

"OpenAI's dedication to its mission aligns closely with my own values and experience in public service," Nakasone said in a statement. "I look forward to contributing to OpenAI's efforts to ensure artificial general intelligence is safe and beneficial to people around the world."

But critics worry Nakasone's hiring might represent something else: surveillance.

Edward Snowden, the US whistleblower who leaked classified documents about surveillance in 2013, said in a post on X that the hiring of Nakasone was a "calculated betrayal to the rights of every person on Earth."

"They've gone full mask-off: do not ever trust OpenAI or its products (ChatGPT etc)" Snowden wrote.

In another comment on X, Snowden said the "intersection of AI with the ocean of mass surveillance data that's been building up over the past two decades is going to put truly terrible powers in the hands of an unaccountable few."

Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat from Virginia and the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on the other hand, described Nakasone's hiring as a "huge get."

"There's nobody in the security community, broadly, that's more respected," Warner told Axios.

Nakasone's expertise in security may be needed at OpenAI, where critics have worried that security issues could open it up to attacks.

OpenAI fired former board member Leopold Aschenbrenner in April after he sent a memo detailing a "major security incident." He described the company's security as "egregiously insufficient" to protect against theft by foreign actors.

Shortly after, OpenAI's superalignment team — which was focused on developing AI systems compatible with human interests — abruptly disintegrated after two of the company's most prominent safety researchers quit.

Jan Leike, one of the departing researchers, said he had been "disagreeing with OpenAI leadership about the company's core priorities for quite some time."

Ilya Sutskever, OpenAI's chief scientist who initially launched the superalignment team, was more reticent about his reasons for leaving. But company insiders said he'd been on shaky ground because of his role in the failed ouster of CEO Sam Altman. Sutskever disapproved of Altman's aggressive approach to AI development, which fueled their power struggle.

And if all of that wasn't enough, even locals living and working near OpenAI's office in San Francisco say the company is starting to creep them out. A cashier at a neighboring pet store told The San Francisco Standard that the office has a "secretive vibe."

Several workers at neighboring businesses say men resembling undercover security guards stand outside the building but won't say they work for OpenAI.

"[OpenAI] is not a bad neighbor," one said. "But they're secretive."

• House Republicans overwhelmingly sought to restore a Confederate memorial to Arlington Cemetery.
• But the measure failed as 24 Republicans joined every Democratic lawmaker in rejecting the effort.
• The Confederate memorial was removed from the cemetery last December and is currently in storage.

House Republicans were unsuccessful in their effort to reinstall a Confederate memorial to Arlington National Cemetery after two dozen members joined Democrats in rejecting the measure.

The amendment was backed by 192 Republicans — or nearly 90% of the House GOP — while 24 Republican lawmakers rejected the measure.

Supporters of the amendment included Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana, and House Republican Conference chair Elise Stefanik of New York.

Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida — a high-profile Black conservative who earlier this month argued that "the Black family was together" during the Jim Crow era — voted for the amendment. Reps. Wesley Hunt of Texas and Burgess Owens of Utah, two other prominent Black conservatives on Capitol Hill, also supported it.

The amendment, authored by GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, was part of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.

No Democratic lawmaker voted in favor of restoring the memorial.

Last December, the memorial was removed from Arlington National Cemetery as part of a push to rethink military installations named after Civil War-era Confederate leaders.

The removed memorial is a 32-foot bronze statue that includes imagery of an enslaved Black woman — which the cemetery website said was a depiction of a "Mammy" carrying the infant child of a White Confederate officer — along with an enslaved Black man who is following his Confederate owner to the battlefield.

The memorial, designed by the sculptor and Confederate veteran Moses Jacob Ezekiel, was placed in the cemetery in 1914 — nearly 50 years after the end of the Civil War.

The depiction of "Black Mammies" was a stereotypical one, where enslaved Black women were depicted as being content with their predicament.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York on Friday blasted the GOP lawmakers who supported the amendment.

"What tradition are extreme MAGA Republicans … upholding? What Confederate tradition are you upholding? Is it slavery? Rape? Kidnap? Jim Crow? Lynching? Racial oppression? Or all of the above?" he said during a Capitol Hill press conference.

The current debate comes four years after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and the following national racial reckoning. Protests against racial injustice swept the country at the time, and many lawmakers sought to shepherd through reforms aimed at tackling racial discrimination and disparities in everything from health care to education.

But many Republicans in the intervening years have pushed back against the mostly Democratic efforts to remedy past racial discrimination, buoyed by former President Donald Trump's campaign and the Supreme Court's 2023 ruling that effectively ended affirmative action in college admissions.

• Meta said it won't launch its AI assistant in Europe following pushback from regulators.
• Regulators raised privacy concerns about Meta's plan to scrape user data to train its AI.
• But Meta says that data is essential to offer a useful product.

Meta is taking a "my way or the highway" approach with its generative AI product.

Meta announced Friday it won't release its AI features in Europe because the EU's stringent privacy regulations would make it a "second-rate experience."

Meta said in a press release that it was "disappointed" by the Irish Data Protection Commission's (DPC) request to "delay training our large language models (LLMs) using public content shared by adults on Facebook and Instagram," calling it a "step backward for European innovation."

"We are committed to bringing Meta AI, along with the models that power it, to more people around the world, including in Europe. But, put simply, without including local information we'd only be able to offer people a second-rate experience. This means we aren't able to launch Meta AI in Europe at the moment," the company said.

European regulators don't seem all that torn up about it. In fact, they welcomed the announcement.

"The DPC welcomes the decision by Meta to pause its plans to train its large language model using public content shared by adults on Facebook and Instagram across the EU/EEA," the commission said in a press release on Friday, referring to the European Union and the European Economic Area.

Meta has faced heightened scrutiny in Europe over its plans to use public content from its apps to train its AI. Earlier this month, a European advocacy group called for a halt to Meta's data scraping plans, saying the company would use "years of personal posts, private images, or online tracking data" to train its AI.

• German chancellor Olaf Scholz said it's "very likely" Joe Biden could be reelected in November.
• Scholz dismissed the idea that Biden was too old.
• Scholz also touched on Russian President Vladimir Putin's new demands to end the Ukraine war.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz believes it is "very likely" that President Joe Biden could be reelected in November.

Biden has "pursued a policy that has led to proper economic development in the country, that has helped to ensure that peace and security are in good hands and that the US is actually playing its role in the world," Scholz said in an interview with Axel Springer media outlets.

Business Insider is owned by Axel Springer.

"I think it's a bit strange how people in this country are speculating about who will win the next American election. I think it is very likely that the current president could win the election," said the German leader.

"He is committed to togetherness and cohesion in his country," Scholz added.

Biden has faced concerns over his age and mental fitness. But the German chancellor dismissed such worries, saying the president is "very clear."

He is "one of the most experienced politicians in the world, especially when it comes to international politics," Scholz said.

"I can only say that this is a man who knows exactly what he is doing," he added.

The German chancellor was speaking ahead of a Ukraine peace conference set to be held in Switzerland.

In a new poll by Reuters/Ipsos, 41% of registered voters said they would vote for Trump if the election were held now, while 39% said they'd vote for Biden.

However, the survey had a roughly three-percentage-point margin of error for registered voters, Reuters says, noting that a survey from the end of May showed Biden with a two-percentage-point lead over Trump.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the war in Ukraine would only end if Kyiv agreed to do away with its hopes for NATO entry and give up the four Ukrainian regions claimed by Moscow.

Scholz said that the offer did not seem serious: "There can only be a peace that works for Ukraine and does not compromise its integrity and sovereignty. There cannot be a peace dictated by Russia."

Scholz also underlined the importance of the G7's decision to lend Ukraine $50 billion using frozen Russian assets.

"I think this is a message to Ukraine that it can count on us. But it is also a message to Putin that he should not rely on the fact that he just has to wait long enough and then support for Ukraine will fade away," he added.

• Dozens of people got sick this month at Havasupai Falls in Grand Canyon National Park.
• Tourists experienced vomiting, diarrhea, and fever symptoms.
• Officials said people in the northern Arizona region are experiencing "a gastrointestinal illness."

Dozens of tourists who hiked to a waterfall in the Grand Canyon have fallen ill, including one woman who had to be airlifted out of the national park.

The illnesses broke out near Havasu Falls in the Havasupai Indian Reservation in Arizona this week. Mary Blair told Fox 10 that her family was finishing a four-day hike in the area when her son became sick.

"He was throwing up and having diarrhea all night long. I got him in the river. We were in there at midnight, 1 o'clock, just to lower his body temperature," she told the outlet.

Blair said she later learned her son wasn't the only person struck by illness that night. She told the outlet her family decided to leave the canyon via helicopter and discovered other groups along the way.

"On the way up, all of us were passing people who are throwing up and that's when I was like, what the heck is going on?" she said. "There's probably 60–70 people down the line. There are multiple people throwing up."

Another tourist, Maylin Griffiths, told a local CBS affiliate she and her friends were hiking in the area when she experienced fever-like symptoms, including a 104° temperature. Griffiths had to be airlifted out of the canyon.

"We were violently ill. They were able to admit us to the clinic there because they considered it life-threatening," she told the outlet.

The Havasupai Tribal Council acknowledged the recent illnesses in a press release on Friday, describing it as "gastrointestinal symptoms."

The council said it held meetings with local health officials, who determined that the symptoms are affecting people across the northern Arizona region. Not just the Havasupai campground.

"The Tribe is working with IHS and other state agencies to further investigate the illness and to take measures to prevent further spreading of the illness not only to campers but to local tribal members," the council said.

The exact cause of the illnesses hasn't been disclosed, but Coconino County shared a health advisory on Wednesday.

"Gastrointestinal illness caused by a virus can spread in settings where people come in close contact with each other and when good hand hygiene is not practiced," the statement said. "These types of outbreaks can be ongoing if appropriate safeguards are not in place."

A county spokesperson told the Associated Press that hikers should take precautions, including monitoring early signs of norovirus. Norovirus, or "stomach flu," can cause vomiting and other symptoms.

Representatives for the Arizona Department of Health Services and Indian Health Services did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

• A body language expert said Kate Middleton was "using a masking smile" at Trooping the Colour.
• According to the expert, it was "significant" that Kate chose not to wave at the crowds very much.
• "It makes her come across as quite stoic," said Darren Stanton.

Kate Middleton put on her "game face" for the crowds and cameras at the 2024 Trooping the Colour parade, according to a behavioral and body-language expert.

The Princess of Wales attended the royal event, which was held on Saturday in London alongside other senior members of the British royal family, including her husband, Prince William. It marked her first official appearance since she went public with her cancer diagnosis in March.

Her attendance was only announced the evening before and came as something of a surprise as it was believed that she would be stepping away from royal duties amid undergoing "preventative chemotherapy."

The mother-of-three joined other senior members of the British royal family for all public-facing parts of the ceremony. She was seen arriving at Buckingham Palace with her husband, Prince William, and their children.

Speaking on behalf of Slingo, body-language expert Darren Stanton said that the first glimpse of the princess set the tone for the annual royal event, which she has never missed since joining the royal family in 2011.

"Looking at the first photograph of Kate Middleton and Prince William heading to the ceremony together, Kate is using a masking smile. It's her game face," he said.

"She's using this as a way to power through and do the best she can," Stanton said, noting that "her composure appears calm and collected on the outside."

He also observed that Kate's "smile isn't completely engaged," which may suggest that she's not feeling completely at ease.

"Internally, she's feeling a sense of wanting to make people proud, but she is also feeling nervous – which is understandable."

During the procession to and from the Horse Guards Parade, Stanton said that it was "significant" that Kate chose only to wave at the crowds a few times.

"It makes her come across as quite stoic," he said.

Kate and her children Prince George, 10, Princess Charlotte, 8, and Prince Louis, 5, watched on from Glass State Coach as William rode horseback for the ceremony.

"It appears she's trying to avoid attention with quite a bit of distance," he noted.

"Today is about the King and Kate adopting a reserved and low-key manner that reinforces that," said Stanton.

Later in the day, Kate was seen in high spirits as she joined other royal family members on the balcony of Buckingham Palace to greet the crowd and watch the military flypast.

It was unknown whether Kate would appear on the balcony or not, as the palace had noted ahead of time that while Kate was expected, these plans were subject to change on short notice.

• Before Alex Trebek began hosting "Jeopardy!" in 1984, Art Fleming was at the helm.
• Pat Sajak retired from "Wheel of Fortune" in June after more than 40 years as the host.
• The question-and-answer format of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" has changed over the years.

Classic game shows like "Wheel of Fortune," "The Price Is Right," and "Jeopardy!" have remained fixtures of American households for decades. 

While the set design, game format, and hosts have changed through the years, the suspense and excitement of watching contestants win big keeps people watching.

Here's how four classic game shows have evolved over time.

Art Fleming hosted "Jeopardy!" from 1964 to 1974, and then hosted a revamped version from 1978 to 1979.

"Jeopardy!" creator Merv Griffin first spotted Fleming in an airline commercial and thought he'd be perfect for the hosting gig, The New York Times reported.

Alex Trebek began hosting the show in 1984, when it became syndicated daily.

Trebek won seven Emmy Awards for Outstanding Game Show Host.

After Trebek's death in 2020, "Jeopardy!" featured a series of guest hosts until Ken Jennings took over as the show's permanent replacement.

Trebek died of pancreatic cancer in November 2020. While the show searched for a new permanent host, celebrities such as Katie Couric, Anderson Cooper, LeVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers took turns guest-hosting "Jeopardy!"

"Jeopardy!" executive producer Mike Richards was named the new host of "Jeopardy!" in August 2021 but resigned shortly afterward when a series of controversies surfaced about his past conduct.

The hosting gig was then shared by Ken Jennings, who holds the show's record for the most consecutive games won and highest winnings during regular-season play, and "Big Bang Theory" actress Mayim Bialik until May 2023, when Jennings became the sole permanent host.

"Let's be totally clear: no one will ever replace the great Alex Trebek. But we can honor him by playing the game he loved," Jennings said during his first episode as guest host.

When Fleming hosted the show, the category amounts ranged from $10 to $50.

The amounts were then raised to range from $25 to $125.

When Trebek took over hosting in 1984, the amounts ranged from $100 to $500.

They were eventually raised to the current $200 to $1,000 range (and $400 to $2,000 in the Double Jeopardy round) in 2001.

"Wheel of Fortune" began airing in 1975.

"Wheel of Fortune" was also created by Griffin, who imagined it as a cross between hangman and roulette.

It's now the longest-running syndicated game show on American television.

The show aired its 8,000th episode in May 2024. The cost to buy a vowel has remained $250 throughout the show with no adjustments for inflation, E! News reported.

Pat Sajak began hosting "Wheel of Fortune" in 1981, and Vanna White joined in 1982.

As host of the show, Sajak interacts with contestants and shares whether they've guessed puzzles correctly, while White operates the board and reveals letters.

Sajak, who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest career as a game show host for the same show, announced his retirement after 41 seasons.

Ryan Seacrest will take over as the host of "Wheel of Fortune" in the fall.

Sajak shared an emotional goodbye message on his final episode as host in June, describing "Wheel of Fortune" as a place "where kids learned their letters, where people from other countries honed their English skills, where families came together along with friends and neighbors and entire generations."

"What an honor to have played even a small part in all that," he said. "Thank you for allowing me into your lives."

Bill Cullen was the first host of "The Price Is Right," holding the role from 1956 to 1965.

The show was created by producer Bob Stewart, who got the idea from watching people guess how much furniture in a display window cost, The Independent reported.

Bob Barker hosted a revamped version of the show beginning in 1972.

The format of the show changed from the previous iteration of the show — instead of contestants winning the items they correctly guessed the prices of, winners received the opportunity to play another pricing game.

After 35 years, Drew Carey took over the show from Barker and continues to host today.

The show's 9,000th episode aired in 2019, according to IMDB.

Producer Michael Davies brought the British game show "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" to the US in 1999, with Regis Philbin as host.

The American version of the show began as a two-week special on ABC, but it was such a hit that it began airing regularly in prime time, CNN reported. "Is that your final answer?" became part of the American lexicon.

Meredith Vieira took over as host in 2002 and held the position until 2013.

During her tenure, the show's format underwent several changes, including imposing time limits on answering questions and mixing the questions' levels of difficulty out of a set order. Vieira and the contestants also began standing for the duration of the show and looking at a larger screen instead of sitting in front of individual computers.

From 2013 to 2019, the show cycled through several hosts, including Cedric the Entertainer, Terry Crews, and Chris Harrison.

The show was canceled in 2019, CNN reported, but it didn't stay canceled for long.

Jimmy Kimmel now hosts a new version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" with celebrity guests who compete for charity.

The new version of the show, which began airing in April 2020, had no studio audience due to the coronavirus pandemic. The studio audience returned in 2022.

• Phishing scams targeting weight loss drugs like Ozempic rose 183% from January to April.
• Social media sites like Facebook are hotspots for these scams, McAfee says.
• Scammers exploit the high cost of these drugs to lure victims with cheap offers.

If anyone knows a good deal when they see it, it's an online scammer.

The trendy weight loss drug Ozempic, which can cost $1,000 a month, is an opportunity apparently too good for them to pass up.

New research released by McAfee, a computer and cybersecurity company, says that phishing scams targeting consumers interested in weight loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Semaglutide rose 183% from January to April compared to the previous three months.

Criminals use phishing scams to trick people into sharing personal information. A scammer usually sends an email or some other message pretending to be a company or individual the victim is familiar with, asking for credit card info, passwords, or other sensitive information.

Most scams occur on sites like Facebook or Craigslist, where researchers said they found 207 phony postings advertising Ozempic in just one day in April.

On Facebook, scammers often pretend to be doctors, claiming to hand out Ozempic and other drugs without a prescription, the report says. Once they contact potential victims, the scammers pressure them to use unconventional payment methods for prescription drugs, McAfee says.

"One example on Facebook Marketplace included a 'Doctor Melissa' based in Canada who could provide Mounjaro and Ozempic without a prescription, with payment available through Bitcoin, Zelle, Venmo, and Cash App — all of which are non-standard payment methods for prescription drugs and should be red flags for consumers." the report says.

While studies say Ozempic costs just $5 to make, the drug sells for about $1,000 a month. This high price makes some consumers more eager to take a cheap offer online, McAfee says.

"Cybercriminals are always on the lookout for ways to make their scams more attractive and believable," Abhishek Karnik, head of McAfee's Threat Research Team, told Business Insider. "Tapping into the current craze for Ozempic and related weight loss drugs is one way scammers can lure you in through phishing emails, fake social posts, or ads, all under the guise of a deal that seems too good to be true."

Some tips McAfee recommends to avoid becoming a victim of scams are to stay away from unofficial retailers, watch out for suspiciously low prices or strange payment methods, and watch for missing product details, such as expiration dates.

"Scam websites typically lack verifiable product information and sometimes are poorly designed with grammar issues," the company says. "Pay attention to and read the fine print."

If you fall victim to a scam, money can be difficult for law enforcement to recover. The Federal Trade Commission recommends reaching out to whatever company, bank, or credit card company helped you facilitate the money transfer to try and recover stolen funds.