The daily rap sheet of the machine age.
3 items
Days after Simbarashe Steyn Kundizeza was announced as the 2026 Caine Prize winner on 6 October, an article by journalist Vauhini Vara suggested the winning story, The Blue Fighter, may have used AI. The prize says it has begun looking into the claim with a "human centred approach" and will post updates.
Original report: Caine Prize reviews claim its winning story used AI
The FTC is sending more than $15.8 million to over 2.1 million Cleo AI users after alleging the app overstated how much cash customers could get and how fast, charged hidden fees for instant advances that often arrived next day, and made cancelling hard. Cleo settled for $17 million in March without admitting wrongdoing; an even split comes to just under $7.50 each.
Original report: FTC sends $15.8 million to Cleo AI cash-advance users
Police examining the phone of a detained 16-year-old suspect in the shooting death of a 14-year-old in Sakarya found the suspect had asked an AI, 13 days beforehand, whether a pump-action shotgun or blank gun could hurt and how many years in prison killing someone would bring. The suspect claimed suicide, then an accident; the victim's father says it was planned.
Original report: Sakarya murder suspect, 16, had asked AI about penalties
