Happy Friday!

For the first time in a week we aren’t talking about personalized AI assistants.

Today is all about social media. Political deepfakes have Meta and X in deep water while an AI yearbook app thrives on their platforms. Let’s get right into it.

In today’s Daily Update:

• 🗞️ Lawmakers question Meta and X over AI deepfakes

• 🤖 AI yearbook app takes over social media

• 📸 Why tech companies want to regulate AI

• 🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits

Read time: 2 minutes

🗞️ Lawmakers question Meta and X over AI deepfakes

U.S. lawmakers are questioning Meta and X over a lack of policies against AI-generated political deepfakes.

The details:

• Two Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and X CEO Linda Yaccarino expressing “serious concerns” about the rise of AI-generated political ads.

• They asked both CEOs to explain any policies they’re creating to protect free and fair elections.

• U.S. Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY), who co-signed the letter, previously introduced a bill that would require labels when election ads contain AI-generated media.

• Google has already said that it will require a clear disclaimer on AI-generated election ads starting in November.

Why it matters: AI-generated ads are already playing a part in the 2024 election. The Republican National Committee aired one in April meant to show the future of the United States if President Joe Biden is reelected. The campaigns of former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have also targeted each other with synthetic media. Formulating policies that require the disclosure of AI-generated materials should be a bipartisan effort.

🤖 AI yearbook app takes over social media

OK, this tool doesn’t have any practical applications unless you want to virtually try on clothes or see different hair styles on yourself. Still, it’s worth sharing because social media users won’t stop talking about it.

The popular AI photo editing app EPIK has gone viral for its AI Yearbook feature, which delivers 60 different images of a person using eight to 12 of their submitted selfies. The app generates headshots and full body images, and some photos are categorized into high school superlatives like “Most Likely to Succeed.”

If you want to give the AI Yearbook a try, it costs between $5.99 and $9.99.

Why it matters: The impressive quality of these photos shows that AI is becoming increasingly convincing. Social media users see EPIK as a lighthearted trend, but in light of growing concerns around deepfakes it’s actually an unnerving app. We’re almost certain to see more deepfake controversies in the near future.

📸 Why tech companies want to regulate AI

Corporate leaders including Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman are throwing support behind AI regulation. Here’s why:

Key points:

• Federal regulation would give companies a unified set of rules to follow rather than AI laws that vary across states.

• A carefully constructed ruleset would also ensure that AI firms are investing in products that won’t eventually be outlawed.

• By calling for regulations, companies will have a more central role in helping draft AI legislation.

• AI regulation could help crack down on scams and abuses of the technology, ultimately assuring customers that AI products are safe.

The bottom line: Big Tech and lawmakers want to see AI regulation come to fruition, as do many consumers. The next few months will be critical to the future of safe AI.

🚨 AI Roundup: Four quick hits

• Zen AI: Hungryroot founder Ben McKean debuts an AI-powered app for self-reflection and human connection.

• Uncontrollable AI: Microsoft Bing AI generates images of Kirby (popular video game character) executing the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks.

• Smart Parking: AI-powered parking platform Metropolis raises $1.7 billion to acquire SP Plus.

• Early Action: University of Texas researchers develop an earthquake-detecting AI algorithm that succeeded in early trials. Researchers hope to one day predict earthquakes before they happen.

How was today’s newsletter? Your feedback helps me create better emails for you. Thanks for reading The Daily Update and have a great weekend.

Jack

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