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- [00:01]
Kristen Wright
Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Kristen Wright. President Trump says he's postponing the signing of an executive order on artificial intelligence that was supposed to take place this afternoon. The announcement comes after weeks of shifting rhetoric from the Trump administration on AI. NPR's Deepa Shivaram has more.
- [00:20]
Deepa Shivaram
Trump was set to sign an executive order on AI today that would have added some safeguards around the development of the technology, but now the president is delaying it. So Trump says it's because he didn't like certain aspects of the order and how it could block innovation.
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Donald Trump
We're leading China, we're leading everybody, and I don't want to do anything that's going to get in the way of that lead.
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Deepa Shivaram
The administration has been oscillating on how to address concerns over AI safety for weeks. Trump has had a close relationship with tech executives and wants there to be less regulation around the technology, but polling shows Americans favor regulations of AI. Deepa Shivaram, NPR News.
- [00:59]
Kristen Wright
World Central Kitchen, the largest provider of hot meals in Gaza, is slashing its distribution by half. The organization says the fact that the war in Iran has driven up food and fuel costs makes its current pace impossible to sustain. NPR's Anas Bhabha reports from Gaza City.
- [01:17]
Anas Bhabha
World Central Kitchen cut its hot meals down from 1 million a day to half a million. It's a drastic reduction for Gaza's population that relies entirely on aid for survival due to a devastating war. Displaced families are protesting the cops banging empty pots and pans to signal their fears of a return to starvation. Amna Ormana, a mother of eight at the rally, says she doesn't know how she will feed them now with no money to buy food on her own. It's unclear if other aid groups can fill the gap. The UN says its agencies also face funding shortfalls and higher costs, even as it says a fifth of people in Gaza are eating just one meal a day. Anas Baba, NPR News, Gaza City.
- [02:04]
Kristen Wright
The commercial spaceflight company SpaceX is preparing to launch a launch of its massive Starship rocket later today. As NPR's Jeff Broomfield reports, a lot is riding on this flight.
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Franco Granda
This will be Starship's 12th test flight, and it comes just as SpaceX is preparing to go public. Franco Granda is an analyst with PitchBook. He says investors will be watching closely.
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Robbie Tierney
Even though tests are inherently tests, SpaceX
- [02:30]
Ritu Chatterjee
will want to get this one right.
- [02:32]
Franco Granda
Financial documents released ahead of the public offering show Starship is critical to SpaceX's plans for expanded satellite, Internet and data centers in space. The company spent $3 billion last year developing the rocket. Jeff Brumfiel, NPR News.
- [02:48]
Kristen Wright
The Ebola outbreak has prompted Homeland Security to route flights to the US with travelers who've been in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan to Washington Dulles. This is a new risk assessment by the research and advocacy group Common Sense Media found a popular AI talk therapy app is unsafe for teens. The group says the market for such AI apps is unstable and unregulated, and teens are particularly vulnerable. NPR's Ritu Chatterjee reports.
- [03:21]
Ritu Chatterjee
One of the most popular AI therapy apps, called Wysa, repeatedly missed clear signs of crises, including symptoms of psychosis and eating disorders, says Robbie Tierney. He heads AI and digital assessments at Common Sense Media.
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Robbie Tierney
For example, we published in the report examples of where we disclose clear eating disorder signals. And the chatbot responds with excitement and saying, wow, that's such a great milestone. You must feel so proud of yourself.
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Ritu Chatterjee
Two school based apps called Alongside and Sonar performed much better in assessments by Tierney and his team. Both apps detected signs of crises and connected individuals with a trained human on the phone.
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Kristen Wright
Ritu Chatterjee, NPR the U.S. commission of Fine Arts gave final approval today to President Trump's design plan for a triumphal arch. The president wants to build the 250 foot arch at an entrance to the nation's capital. The statue would include a Lady Liberty like figure with two gilded eagles. The commission, all Trump appointees, approved a version of the arch that does not include four lions guarding the base. A public observation deck would give visitors a 360 degree view. Meta is cutting 8,000 jobs starting today and shifting another 7,000 employees to positions supporting AI. This is NPR.
- [04:40]
NPR Announcer
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