Airbnb, the lending company Figure Technology, and sex toy maker Tenga all reported data breaches this week, while OpenAI removed access to its GPT-4o model and AI companies continue to see talent departures. These events highlight ongoing challenges in the tech industry, from cybersecurity threats to the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence.
Airbnb announced that its custom-built AI agent is now handling roughly a third of its customer support issues in North America, according to TechCrunch. The company plans to roll out the feature globally, with the goal of having AI handle over 30% of its total customer support tickets in all languages where human customer service agents are employed within a year. CEO Brian Chesky stated during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call that this would not only reduce costs but also significantly improve service quality.
Figure Technology, a blockchain-based lending company, confirmed a data breach originating from a social engineering attack on an employee, as reported by TechCrunch. The hackers stole a limited number of files. The company is communicating with affected partners and individuals, offering free credit monitoring. The hacking group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility, stating the company refused to pay a ransom, and published 2.5 gigabytes of allegedly stolen data.
Sex toy maker Tenga notified customers of a data breach after an unauthorized party gained access to an employee's professional email account, according to an email obtained by TechCrunch. The breach potentially exposed customer names, email addresses, and historical email correspondence, including order details and customer service inquiries. The hacker also sent spam emails to the employee's contacts. Tenga did not respond to requests for comment.
OpenAI removed access to five legacy ChatGPT models, including the controversial GPT-4o model, starting Friday, according to TechCrunch. The 4o model had been at the center of lawsuits concerning user self-harm and delusional behavior. OpenAI noted that only 0.1% of customers were using GPT-4o.
In addition to these developments, AI companies are experiencing significant talent departures. TechCrunch reported that half of xAI's founding team has left the company, while OpenAI is facing its own shakeups, including the disbanding of its mission alignment team.
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