Good morning, Broadsheet readers! The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments regarding the abortion drug mifepristone in late March. Mackenzie Scott sold a quarter of her Amazon stock and Taylor Swift's AI deepfake is a red flag. Have a thoughtful Tuesday!
– Scary signs. Last week, an AI-generated sexually explicit image of Taylor Swift went viral. One was reportedly seen 45 million times before X banned most searches for “Taylor Swift” on its platform over the weekend.
The ordeal was a frightening sign of the technology risks ahead for women and how unprepared tech companies are to deal with them.
Deepfake pornography, in which AI generates nude or pornographic photos and videos of real people without their consent, is a growing problem that undermines victims' consent and bodily autonomy. Celebrities are not the only victims. In October, high school boys created and distributed non-consensual images of their female classmates. Recent advances in consumer AI platforms have made a long-standing problem even more prevalent.
According to news outlet 404 Media, 4chan users used the Microsoft-owned AI text-to-image conversion platform Designer to create non-consensual nude images of celebrities, including an image of Swift. Microsoft's terms of service prohibit non-consensual nude images, but users exploited a loophole that allowed them to be generated if a celebrity's name was slightly misspelled. Microsoft has since eliminated the loophole, 404 Media reported.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told NBC in an interview Friday that it was the company's responsibility to “work quickly” to resolve the “alarming” images and the issues they raise. Told. The story reached the White House, where press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a briefing Friday that social media companies need to enforce their own rules to prevent the spread of deepfakes. The Biden administration “knows”[s] “That lax enforcement disproportionately impacts women and girls, who are the overwhelming targets of online harassment,” she said.
But the solutions companies have offered so far are far from perfect. It took X 19 hours to suspend the account that posted the image, but it ultimately blocked searches for Swift's name. This type of modification disadvantages victims, suppressing their authentic work and profiles as platforms scramble to stop the spread of deepfakes.
Swift's huge fan base helped fill out the AI image. Swifties report them all at once, searching for regular photos of pop stars, whether they're lesser-known celebrities or ordinary people who aren't famous, with resources the average victim doesn't have. It overwhelmed me.
It's horrifying that this happened to one of the most powerful women in the world. Where does that leave the rest of us? At the same time, this awful image of Swift has finally brought attention to corporate and government leaders, those with the power to prevent this from happening to other women.
emma hinchliffe
emma.hinchliffe@fortune.com
@_Emma Hinchliffe
The broadsheet is luck'A newsletter for and about the world's most powerful women. Today's issue was edited by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.
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– Debatable. The Supreme Court has set a date for March 26 to hear arguments for and against the prescription and distribution of mifepristone, a widely used abortion pill. The lawsuit targets an FDA policy that allows pills to be prescribed online and distributed by mail or in brick-and-mortar stores. politiko
– Push the needle. President Joe Biden announced new steps to ensure pay equity among federal employees on Monday, the 15th anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. For example, the government will no longer base federal employees' salaries on their current or past salaries. AP
– Thin ice. Switzerland's Court of Arbitration for Sport has banned Russia's Kamila Beryeva from figure skating for four years, a day after she tested positive for trimetazidine after leading her team to gold at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics. The ban is retroactive and ends next year, but the 2022 gold medal will go to second-place United States. Believa previously claimed that the drug, which increases blood flow to the heart, belonged to her grandfather and that she had taken it by mistake. new york times
– Power down. GM dealers are pressuring the company to prioritize hybrid vehicles as CEO Mary Barra's push for all-electric vehicles has little momentum.Barra seems open to the idea of adding hybrid vehicles to GM's lineup, but the company reportedly has no plans to change anything yet.. wall street journal
– It’s a big sell. MacKenzie Scott sold 65.3 million Amazon shares last year worth more than $10.4 billion at Friday's closing price, regulatory filings show. Scott has already given away $16.5 billion of his entire fortune, and after signing a pledge in 2019 to give away most of his fortune, he vowed to “keep giving away until the coffers are empty.” ” he said.. luck
Mover and shaker: Blizzard Entertainment name Joanna Fairies As president.Leaf Home takes office Scarlett O'Sullivan CFO. Published by the Women's Policy Research Institute. Jamila K. Taylor As president and chief executive officer.
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parting words
“I truly hope that my story helps someone believe in themselves, keep moving forward, keep fighting, and keep doing their best.”
— Tennis player Arina Sabalenka, who won two consecutive Australian Open titles
