Elon Musk's xAI told staff training Grok AI to install tracking app on personal laptops, report says
However, the policy reportedly drew immediate internal backlash. Several employees expressed concern over the invasive nature of the software, especially since many were being asked to install it on personal devices. One staff member, in a reported Slack message, described the move as 'surveillance disguised as productivity' and 'manipulation masked as culture,' before announcing their resignation.Following the backlash, the report notes that xAI made some changes to the policy. In an update shared on Slack, the company said employees who had requested company-issued laptops could delay installing the software until their devices arrived. However, it still remains unclear whether employees who have already installed Hubstaff, or those who purchased new laptops using the company's $50 monthly tech stipend, will receive the company's laptop. xAI has reportedly said that the Hubstaff would only monitor activity during designated work hours, and that staff could create separate profiles to protect their personal data. Still, the initial enforcement and lack of clarity reportedly left some employees feeling uneasy.- EndsTune In
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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
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Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
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Business Standard
3 hours ago
- Business Standard
Tesla on trial in Florida over fatal crash linked to autopilot system
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'The interesting part of this case will be seeing how much blame the jury places on the driver, but also how much blame they want to place on Tesla.' In June, US District Judge Beth Bloom dismissed claims of defective manufacturing and negligent misrepresentation. The lawsuit had argued that Tesla falsely advertised its Autopilot capabilities beyond what the vehicle actually possessed. Bloom sided with Tesla and said there was no basis for such a claim. George McGee, the driver of the Tesla, is expected to testify at trial. In court filings, attorneys for the plaintiffs argue he was overly reliant on his vehicle's Autopilot system because Tesla fails to adequately inform drivers about its limitations. Jurors are also slated to hear expert testimony from Mary 'Missy' Cummings, a George Mason University professor who has been critical of Tesla's automated-driving systems. When she was appointed to serve as senior safety adviser at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in 2021, Musk called her 'extremely biased against Tesla' and Tesla fans signed a petition against her. Cummings has served as an expert witness in at least two other lawsuits against Tesla related to the Autopilot system, according to court filings. The automaker won two previous trials in California after juries found that accidents blamed on Autopilot — one fatal and one not — were due to driver error rather than the company's technology. In 2022, the company was found just 1 per cent responsible for the death of an 18-year-old whose Model S slammed into a concrete wall in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, while he was speeding. The jury said the teen and his father were 99 per cent at fault for the crash. The company's near-perfect record in court carries the risk that any adverse verdict could be seen as undermining Musk's oft-repeated claim that his electric vehicles are the safest ever made. Tesla faces three more trials over fatal Autopilot crashes in the next nine months in California. It's also scheduled to go to trial in Houston over a case brought on behalf of five police officers badly injured on the side of a freeway when a Tesla on Autopilot plowed into a parked squad car at 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour.
