AI in 2025: From Farm Bots to Courtroom Fakes Unveiled

LA Times’ AI Meters Opinion from Left to Right in 2025 Shake-Up

On March 3, 2025, the LA Times debuted Insights, an AI tool that rates opinion pieces on a left-to-right political scale—pegging content from center-left to far-right—and lists opposing views, all without journalist review. Owner Patrick Soon-Shiong’s push, after months of staff friction, aims to broaden debate but ignites fears of bias and misreads in a polarized era.

Unlike traditional editing, Insights autonomously analyzes opinion pieces, placing them on a spectrum and generating alternatives—say, shifting a center-left take to a right-leaning counter. This follows Soon-Shiong’s December 2024 bias meter tease and mirrors the Washington Post’s owner-driven editorial shifts. Critics ask: can AI nail the nuance of political shades?

The LA Times’ gamble thrusts AI into journalism’s core, testing trust as it maps left-to-right leanings. Soon-Shiong touts transparency, but unchecked algorithms risk skewing discourse. With media credibility on the line, this tool could redefine how opinion is framed—or fracture reader faith further.

The Guardian. (2025, March 3). LA Times to display AI-generated political rating on opinion pieces. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/03/la-times-ai-opinion-rating

#AI #Journalism #Opinion #Tech #Bias

AI Tracks Plant Growth with Recursive Imaging in 2025 Breakthrough

A March 4, 2025 study unveils an AI system that tracks plant growth with unprecedented precision, using recursive image segmentation on high-res photos snapped at set intervals. Penn State researchers monitored baby bok choy in greenhouses, mapping changes to boost yields by 20%. Published by the American Society of Agronomy, it’s a leap for sustainable farming.

The core innovation—recursive segmentation—processes sequential images to detect subtle shifts, like leaf expansion or stress, with 98% accuracy across 50 plants. Unlike static models, it adapts over time, pairing with IoT sensors to cut water use by 15%. Funded by USDA, this method targets specialty crops, offering real-time data for growers.

This AI-driven approach could redefine greenhouse agriculture, slashing resource waste and enhancing food security. Scaling to diverse crops or outdoor fields remains challenging, but with China’s AI cost edge, this U.S. advance sparks a tech race in precision farming.

American Society of Agronomy. (2025, March 4). AI-driven computer vision system enhances monitoring of greenhouse specialty crops. ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250304164416.htm

#AI #Plants #Farming #Tech #Precision

AI-Generated Voice Evidence Threatens Courtroom Justice in 2025

On March 10, 2025, Lawfare warned that AI-generated voice clones—such as those mimicking Joe Biden or Taylor Swift—could mislead juries as current U.S. evidence rules lag behind technological advances. Authors Rebecca Wexler and her team highlight a 2024 Washington murder case where AI-enhanced audio was barred, revealing authentication gaps. They urge updates to the rules for greater judicial flexibility.

The Federal Rules of Evidence, unchanged since 1975, assume human-made fakes rather than AI’s seamless deepfakes. A 2023 podcast scam featuring an AI-generated Biden voice deceived listeners, underscoring the stakes. Without new standards, courts risk admitting unreliable audio—93% of deepfake voices go undetected, according to studies—or excluding valid evidence, which could skew trials.

The solution? Empower judges to demand voice verification methods, like waveform analysis, instead of adhering to rigid rules. As China advances rapidly in AI forensics, the U.S. faces a justice crisis if it does not adapt. With voice clones surging—up 300% in fraud cases since 2022—this gap could undermine trust in legal outcomes. I used a two-year-old ElevenLabs voice clone in the video.

Wexler, R., Barrington, S., Cooper, E., & Farid, H. (2025, March 10). AI-generated voice evidence poses dangers in court. Lawfare. https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/ai-generated-voice-evidence-poses-dangers-in-court

#AI #Voice #Evidence #Court #Tech

Amazon Echo’s Privacy Shift: Cloud Processing Powers AI in 2025

Amazon is making a big change to its Echo devices starting March 28, 2025, pushing all voice commands to the cloud for processing instead of handling them locally on the device. This move, announced via email to Echo users on March 17, powers up Alexa with new generative AI features that need the heavy lifting of Amazon’s secure cloud servers. The catch is that it scraps the “Do Not Send Voice Recordings” setting, meaning every command—over 500 million weekly interactions—heads to the cloud, even if users can opt not to save them afterward.

The old setting kept voice data on the Echo, a privacy perk for cautious users. Still, Amazon says the cloud switch is essential for Alexa+—a smarter, chatty assistant launching soon with tricks like answering complex questions and booking rides. TechRepublic confirmed with Amazon that the Echo Show 8 and 10 will roll this out first, affecting millions. Privacy-wise, it’s a shift: last year, Echo processed 80% of commands locally, per company stats, but now all that data flows to Amazon’s data centers, raising eyebrows about who’s listening.

Here’s the real twist: better AI will come at a privacy cost in 2025. Amazon insists its cloud is secure, and users can still delete recordings, but critics—like those on X—see a slippery slope, especially with Alexa+ tied into a $20 monthly subscription (free for Prime). As China races with cheap AI, Amazon’s betting on cloud power to stay ahead, but for Echo owners, it’s a trade-off between a brainier Alexa and less control over their voice.

TechRepublic. (2025, March 17). Amazon’s controversial change to Echo’s privacy settings takes effect soon. https://www.techrepublic.com/article/news-amazon-echo-privacy-generative-ai/

#Privacy #Echo #AI #Amazon #Tech

China’s AI Farming Bot Set to Transform Agriculture in 2025

On March 26, 2025, China unveiled an AI-powered farming bot developed by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Jiangsu that could change how the world grows food. This 1.2-meter-tall, 200-kilogram robot, named AgriBot-25, uses advanced computer vision and machine learning to plant, monitor, and harvest crops with precision, covering 10 hectares a day. In trials on a Jiangsu rice farm, it boosted yields by 18% while cutting labor costs by 30%, tackling China’s rural worker shortage as the farming population ages.

AgriBot-25 doesn’t just roll around—it thinks. Equipped with 5G connectivity and sensors, it identifies pests, adjusts irrigation, and applies fertilizers only where needed, reducing waste by 25% compared to traditional methods. It can handle multiple crops—rice, wheat, and soybeans—and works 24/7, powered by a solar-charged battery with a 12-hour runtime. The bot’s AI, trained on 5 million farm data points, learns from each harvest, and its developers aim to deploy 10,000 units across China by 2026, with exports planned for Southeast Asia.

Here’s the game-changer: AgriBot-25 could make farming smarter and more sustainable in 2025. While the U.S. invests in biotech, China’s bot tackles labor and efficiency head-on, potentially feeding more people as global demand rises—China’s rice output hit 213 million tons in 2024. High costs and tech access for small farmers are hurdles, but this AI bot signals a new era for agriculture, where machines might outfarm humans.

China News Service. (2025, March 26). China develops AI-powered farming bot to revolutionize agriculture. https://www.ecns.cn/news/sci-tech/2025-03-26/detail-ihepyqsm2131538.shtml

#AI #Farming #Bot #China #Agriculture

Amazon’s AI Buy for Me Redefines Shopping in 2025

On April 3, 2025, Amazon launched a bold new feature called “Buy for Me,” letting its AI shop for you on third-party websites, as reported by The Verge. This agentic AI, part of the Nova Act suite, uses your payment and shipping details to buy items—like electronics or clothes—from sites like Walmart or Etsy, all without you leaving Amazon’s app. Already in testing with select U.S. users, it aims to save time, with plans to expand globally by mid-year, promising a seamless shopping experience.

The tech works by scanning the web, comparing prices, and completing purchases, skipping upsells—75% cheaper to run than rival AI agents, per developer buzz on X. It builds on Alexa Plus, rolling out on newer Echo devices, and taps into Amazon’s vast data to suggest deals, handling over 10 million monthly searches in its beta phase. But here’s the catch: it shares your personal info with external sites, raising privacy flags, especially since Amazon’s track record on data security has faced scrutiny.

Here’s the big shift: “Buy for Me” could make 2025 the year Amazon owns online shopping. While it’s a convenience win—cutting checkout time by 40% per early tests—critics on X worry about data leaks, noting Amazon’s past Alexa mishaps. With China’s AI cost edge in play, this U.S. move might spark a shopping AI race, but trust will be key as consumers hand over control to a bot.

The Verge. (2025, April 3). Amazon can now buy products from other websites for you. https://www.theverge.com/news/642947/amazon-ai-buy-products-other-websites

#AI #Amazon #Shopping #Tech #Privacy

US Authors and Newspapers Unite in Copyright Lawsuits Against OpenAI and Microsoft in 2025

On April 4, 2025, a federal judge in New York consolidated multiple copyright lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft, merging claims from prominent U.S. authors and eight major newspapers into a single legal action, as reported by The Guardian. The authors’ lawsuits, led by the Authors Guild and including writers like Jonathan Franzen, John Grisham, and George R.R. Martin, were initially filed in 2023, alleging that OpenAI used their copyrighted books to train ChatGPT without permission. The newspaper lawsuits, filed in 2024 by outlets such as The New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, and Denver Post, claim the tech companies illegally copied millions of articles to train AI models like ChatGPT and Microsoft’s Copilot. This consolidation, overseen by Judge Sidney Stein in the Southern District of New York, aims to streamline the legal process, potentially setting a precedent for AI copyright law.

The authors’ claims center on OpenAI’s use of datasets like Books2, estimated to contain 294,000 titles, likely sourced from shadow libraries such as Library Genesis, per a 2023 filing by attorneys Joseph Saveri and Matthew Butterick. ChatGPT’s ability to generate detailed summaries of books—like Franzen’s "The Corrections"—suggests direct ingestion of full texts, the Authors Guild argues. The newspapers, owned by Alden Global Capital’s MediaNews Group and Tribune Publishing, allege that their articles are reproduced verbatim, often bypassing paywalls, with ChatGPT and Copilot failing to link back to sources, costing them ad revenue. A 2024 example cited in the newspaper suit showed ChatGPT falsely attributing a Denver Post article claiming smoking cures asthma, highlighting reputational risks. The combined lawsuits seek billions in damages, with The New York Times, also suing OpenAI, estimating potential fines at $150,000 per infringed work under federal copyright law, per a 2025 NPR report.

This unified legal battle marks a critical moment in 2025 for AI and copyright law. OpenAI and Microsoft argue their use of data is protected under fair use, citing transformative innovation, but the plaintiffs counter that it’s market substitution, directly competing with original works. The Authors Guild, representing 14,000 members, notes median author income dropped to $20,000 in 2022, per its survey, underscoring the threat to writers’ livelihoods. Posts on X in April 2025 reflect divided sentiment—some support the tech firms’ innovation, while others back the plaintiffs, fearing AI’s impact on creative industries. With discovery underway and summary judgment motions due in January 2025, per Reuters, this case could reshape how AI companies access data, balancing technological progress against intellectual property rights.

The Guardian. (2025, April 4). US authors’ copyright lawsuits against OpenAI and Microsoft combined in New York with newspaper actions. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/apr/04/us-authors-copyright-lawsuits-against-openai-and-microsoft-combined-in-new-york-with-newspaper-actions

#Copyright #AI #OpenAI #Microsoft #Lawsuit