Author: IQ TIMES MEDIA

Indonesia has followed Malaysia and the Philippines in lifting a ban on xAI’s chatbot Grok. The Southeast Asian countries banned Grok after it was used to create a flood of nonconsensual, sexualized imagery on X (now a subsidiary of xAI), including images of real women and minors. In late December and January, Grok was used to create at least 1.8 million sexualized images of women, according to separate analyses by The New York Times and the Center for Countering Digital Hate. In a statement, Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs said that it was lifting the ban after X…

As the global race to build AI infrastructure accelerates, India has offered foreign cloud providers zero taxes through 2047 on services sold outside the country if they run those workloads from Indian data centers — a bid to attract the next wave of AI computing investment, even as power shortages and water stress threaten expansion in the South Asian nation. On Sunday, India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced (PDF) the proposal in the country’s annual budget, offering a tax holiday — effectively zero taxes — on revenues from cloud services sold outside India if those services are run from data…

In a world of incessant distractions and pings, it can feel harder than ever to stay locked in on one task.Three executives from Slack, EY, and Superhuman shared how they reset to make room for deep thinking amid stacked calendars.The common theme: Whether they’re putting their phones away or changing rooms, they all said that finding a way to physically disconnect from distractions helps them focus on the task at hand.Parker Harris, CTO Slack Parker Harris said he turns the sound off on his notifications when turning to deep thinking. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images Slack’s chief technology officer, Parker…

Many women may not realize their greatest health threat isn’t cancer; it’s heart disease.In 2023, heart disease led to one in five female deaths in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, the CDC also found that only 56% of women were aware of the risks.”It is the leading killer of women at all ages so, starting at the age of 18, more women will die of heart disease than breast cancer,” Dr. C. Noel Bairey-Merz, a professor of cardiology and director of the Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Center at Cedars-Sinai, told ABC News.’Night owl’ lifestyle may bring…

Elon Musk is running some of the world’s most valuable companies. But they’ve been doing business with each other long before recent merger chatter around Elon Inc.The billionaire leads five major companies: Tesla, SpaceX, Boring Company, Neuralink, and xAI, which recently absorbed his social media company, X.Over the last three years, those companies have stepped up their internal dealings, buying one another’s products, exchanging software and materials, and announcing investments worth billions of dollars.The result is a tightly knit corporate ecosystem with Musk at its center.For consumers and Tesla’s many fans, that kind of vertical integration can look like a…

The 98th Academy Awards are coming up, and for prediction market bettors, tens of millions of dollars are on the line.Since the nominees were announced on January 22, bettors on Polymarket and Kalshi have been wagering on which films, actors, directors, and more will claim the Oscar in each of the Academy’s 24 categories.Prediction markets have experienced dramatic growth over the last year, drawing the attention of media companies, the ire of some state regulators, and the scrutiny of Washington lawmakers.In January, Polymarket partnered with the Golden Globes, and bettors on the site ultimately correctly predicted the winner in 26…

It all began after a viral video alleging fraud in Somali-run child care centers in Minneapolis: strangers peering through windows, right-wing journalists showing up outside homes, influencers hurling false accusations. In San Diego, child care provider Samsam Khalif was shuttling kids to her home-based center when she was spooked by two men with a camera waiting in a car parked outside, prompting her to circle the block several times before unloading the children. “I’m scared. I don’t know what their intention is,” said Khalif, who decided to install additional security cameras outside her home.Somali-run child care centers across the United…

For academics, historians and activists, the past year has been tumultuous in advocating the teaching of Black history in the United States.Despite last year proclaiming February as National Black History Month, President Donald Trump started his second term by claiming some African American history lessons are meant to indoctrinate people into hating the country. The administration has dismantled Black history at national parks, most recently removing an exhibit on slavery in Philadelphia last month. Black history advocates see these acts and their chilling effect as scary and unprecedented.“States and cities are nervous about retribution from the White House,” said DeRay…

NEW YORK (AP) — Once considered an oddity in American homes, bidets are becoming increasingly common as more people seek a hygienic and sustainable alternative to toilet paper or a hand managing certain physical conditions.Toilet paper shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic helped demystify the devices for U.S. consumers, although Italy, Japan and some other countries where bidets are standard bathroom features also saw runs on TP. Environmental awareness, less expensive bidet options and the development of smart toilets that perform multiple functions have given further momentum to the idea of rinsing instead of wiping.Bidets even earned a moment in the…

Economic boycotts are a familiar tool of protest. The problem is they often place the greatest strain on the smallest businesses.That was the case during Friday’s nationwide general strike, which was designed to pressure the Trump administration to dial back its aggressive anti-immigration policies.For many small business owners, the shutdown created a dilemma. Supporting the cause often means losing a day’s revenue and risking their ability to keep staff employed. Across social media, owners voiced solidarity alongside an apology for staying open.There may, however, be another way, according to Scott Galloway, a marketing professor at New York University famous for…