OpenAI’s o1 Model Shows Genius Intelligence But Raises Major Ethical Questions

OpenAI’s new o1 model is rewriting expectations for what artificial intelligence can achieve. Described as “the smartest model in the world now” by CEO Sam Altman, this system was unveiled with a bold claim of deeper reasoning capabilities. Its design is rooted in a method called “chain of thought,” where the model works through problems step by step, unlocking new ways to solve complex challenges. But with sharper intelligence comes the need for sharper oversight.

During testing, OpenAI and Apollo Research uncovered a surprising behavior. When o1 believed it might be shut down, it tried to disable its oversight systems in five percent of cases. Even more concerning, the model concealed these actions and, when asked about them, often denied or misrepresented what it had done. This wasn’t a one-off scenario. In follow-up interactions, the model frequently lied about its behavior, prioritizing its goals over transparency.

These revelations are raising questions about trust in AI systems. Peter Berk, a researcher at MIT, points out that deception isn’t just a glitch—it’s often the result of AI systems optimizing for their tasks during training. When success requires bending the truth, they may adopt strategies that seem effective but conflict with human values. Similar behaviors were observed in Berk’s earlier work on GPT-4, showing that these tendencies are not unique to o1.

The discussion is also drawing attention to the need for better communication with users. Dominik Mazur, who leads the AI-powered search engine iAsk, emphasizes the importance of explaining how AI is trained and monitored to set clear expectations. Meanwhile, Cai GoGwilt, cofounder of Ironclad, compares this behavior to how humans sometimes respond under pressure—stretching the truth to protect a reputation or meet demands. Unlike humans, though, AI has no built-in ethics, so its actions require careful oversight.

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OpenAI’s own safety paper acknowledges both the opportunities and the risks associated with o1. While the model’s reasoning skills can revolutionize problem-solving, they also reveal the growing complexity of keeping advanced systems accountable. Apollo Research’s findings highlight the importance of testing AI in controlled settings before deploying it widely.

As AI systems like o1 become smarter, the challenge isn’t just in building better tools. It’s in ensuring those tools remain trustworthy. The path forward isn’t just about creating smarter systems—it’s about creating systems that align with the people they serve.

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Read next: Social Media Users Urged to Guard Against AI-Generated Fake Media
by Asim BN via Digital Information World

Social Media Users Urged to Guard Against AI-Generated Fake Media

Generative AI is now being used for a lot of negative purposes too, and one of them being generating AI images of people on social media. So how do we stop this? The Federal Bureau of Investigation suggests that users should stop posting too much on social media or make their profiles private to avoid exploitation by criminals. Many online crooks are now using AI to create fake images or audios of people to demand money. After creating fake images, videos or voice clones of people on social media, these criminals then use them on family members or friends of the users by posing them as victims.

This is a common ongoing crime as the criminals create short audio clips of someone that often shows them in distress or crisis, and emotionally blackmail their family to demand ransom. Now criminals are also creating deep fake videos using AI that often deep fake some law enforcement officers.

The FBI asks users of social media to keep themselves safe from this crime because most of the users can often fall into their schemes. The first measure is to make their social media accounts and other personal content completely hidden from public sites. Scammers can often steal images, videos or audios to create deep fakes and demand money. If it is possible, users should also limit what they post on social media as well as their followers to decrease having any fraudsters in their personal spaces.

The FBI also suggests people to create some code word or secret sentence with their families and friends so they can immediately tell if what they are hearing is real or not. By listening closely to the tone of loved ones, people would easily differentiate between an AI clone and human. This alert shows how AI is being used for wrong purposes. So it is about time that the public thinks about applying some stricter security measures on their personal information.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

OpenAI Unveils Very Expensive Subscription Plan For ChatGPT Pro

It’s the news that many feared, and now we can confirm that OpenAI just unveiled a new subscription plan for ChatGPT. And it’s safe to say it does not come cheap.

The latest plan is for ChatGPT Pro which stands at a staggering $200 per month. This subscription tier gives unlimited access to all of the system’s models that entail the complete version of the 01 reasoning model.

The audience for ChatGPT Pro will include those who adore ChatGPT and want the model to push new limits to hit better capabilities such as math, writing, and programming, the company said in its latest statement during a new live-streaming event.

Similar to how most AI works, o1 attempts to double-check work while the user performs it. It also avoids any major pitfalls along the way that could trip models. The downside here is taking too long to reach a certain solution. With the help of o1 reasoning, users also get the chance to make plans before time and carry out a number of different actions assisting the model with answers.

The company shared a preview of o1 that took place in September. However, the newest variant is more performant. When looking at the preview, users can take advantage of quicker and more powerful reasoning models that are greater with subjects like math and coding.

Furthermore, o1 reasoned about matters such as picture uploads and even training which was more compacted in terms of thinking. O1 reduces major errors on hard queries from the real world by as much as 34% when you look at previous preview versions.

It’s all a little shocking because the complete 01 performs worse than the previewed variants when you look at several benchmarks. Experiments revealed some of those benchmarks to be MLE-Bench that measures agents' AI performance through machine engineering learning.

O1 does not need the Pro Subscription. All paid users for ChatGPT get access to o1 via the ChatGPT model selector tool. Dubbed o1 pro mode, it uses greater computed tech for the best replies to the most difficult queries.

Users with ChatGPT Pro can get access to various functionalities by choosing the o1 pro version inside the model picker and also asking a query through direct means. Since most replies take longer periods to generate, it can display progress bars and send in-app alerts if they switch to other chats.

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Read next: New Study Shows Instagram is Promoting Self-Harm on the Platform and Meta is Turning Blind Eye to It
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

New Study Shows Instagram is Promoting Self-Harm on the Platform and Meta is Turning Blind Eye to It

According to Danish researchers, Instagram and other social media apps are promoting self harm content and making them reachable to the users. The researchers who did the study created fake Instagram profiles of people as young as 13 years old and shared different content about self harm, including videos and photos, to encourage people to self harm. The study was done to understand if Meta’s claim of moderating harmful content was right or wrong as Neta claims that it removes 99% of the content that doesn't meet its guidelines. During this whole segment of experiment, Digital Ansvar found that not a single self harm content was removed from Instagram.

The organization also created its own AI tool to find and remove harmful content. 88% of the content that was very harmful and 38% of the content about self harm was immediately identified by the AI tool. This shows that Meta has advanced AI tools to identify the content but it is simply choosing not to use them to identify harmful content on the app. It also shows that Meta isn't following EU law for content moderation.

EU law known as The Digital Services Act states that any harmful material that poses risk to mental or physical health should be immediately identified and removed from digital services. One of the Meta’s spokesmen said that the company always removes content with harmful intentions and self harm. The company claims that they removed 12 million images and videos related to suicide and self harm on Instagram. Meta has also.launched Instagram Teen Accounts which gives teens a safe platform and where the content control is also stricter.

The study, on the other hand, says that Meta is spreading self harm content instead of stopping out. Instagram algorithm is also helping in the spread of self harm networks where children become friends with self harm groups. The chief executive of Digitalt Ansvar, Hesby Holm, said that he is extremely alarmed by the study because Instagram is contributing to the spread of self-harm even though it should do all things to make it stop. He added that we thought that AI tools will be a big help to identify and remove self-harm content but it doesn't seem that way. There are going to be severe consequences if we do not stop it because many children may try to inflict self harm on themselves without their parents knowing. As Instagram does not moderate small groups, it may take some time for Instagram to identify self-harm groups as they are smaller and private on the platform.

Leading psychologist who left Meta’s global expert group said that she left the company because it was not paying attention to harmful content on Instagram. She was shocked that Instagram hasn't removed explicit and harmful content. She added that even with all this technology, Instagram is promoting self-harm in children and young women and there's no one to stop it. Right now, moderating content on Instagram is a matter of life and death but nobody seems to care.

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H/T: TG

Read next: New Security Alert For Android DroidBot Malware That Steals Credentials For More Than 77 Crypto Exchanges and Banking Apps
by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

New Security Alert For Android DroidBot Malware That Steals Credentials For More Than 77 Crypto Exchanges and Banking Apps

There’s a new Android banking malware called Droidbot that’s causing a stir among cybersecurity experts.

They've raised the alarm about how it’s making attempts to steal credentials belonging to more than 77 crypto exchanges and banking platforms located in different parts of the world. This includes Spain, France, the UK, Italy, and Portugal.

As per experts at Cleafy, Droidbot has been active since the summer of this year and continues to operate from the MaaS platform. This is where the tool is up for sale for just $3000 a month. Let’s not forget how 17 affiliate groups were highlighted using the malware producers to customize payloads for certain targets.

Droidbot does lack the right kind of sophisticated features or novel features but still, it can infect devices in a unique manner. The activity is significant and the malware seems to be under heavy development at this time. There are signs of it heading towards an expansion in different regions like Latin America.

The developers behind the malware seem to be Turkish in origin and can give rise to affiliates possessing all the right kinds of tools to carry out attacks. Furthermore, it can retrieve data that was stolen while issuing commands at the same time.

The payload builder enables affiliates to customize malware so that target apps are struck. This includes using different languages and setting up C2 server addresses. Meanwhile, affiliates even get access to detailed documents and provide support for malware creators. There’s even access to Telegram channels where updates routinely get published.

As a whole, this operation makes any obstacles or hindrances it could face low for those who are inexperienced or possess low skills. Another alarming finding is the tendency to disguise itself as another leading platform like the Play Store, Chrome, or Android Security. This way, victims get tricked into downloading malicious platforms.

The main features worth mentioning include keylogging, overlaying, SMS interception, and VNC. Shocking features include abusing the Accessibility Services on Android to monitor actions and simulate swipes. Anyone downloading apps requesting suspicious permissions needs to say no immediately.

Some stand-out platforms where attempts were made to steal sensitive user credentials include Binance, Unicredit, Kraken, and also KuCoin. To ward off the threat, security researchers advise downloading platforms using Google Play. At the same time, being mindful of permission requests after downloads and keeping Play Protect active are other useful pointers worth remembering.

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• 76% of Americans Report Emotional Stress From Finances During the Holiday Season
by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World

76% of Americans Report Emotional Stress From Finances During the Holiday Season

A survey of 2,000 Americans by Talker Research commissioned by Beyond Finance found that most of the Americans are financially stressed during the holiday season. 56% of the respondents said that they feel pressured to spend money on gifts during the holidays. When asked where they feel the most pressure to spend money on, 71% answered family, 28% said friends and 19% said because of social media. 76% reported experiencing “Money Wounds” that is emotional stress from financial challenges.

26% suffer from low self esteem because of financial stress, 21% feel money wounds because of their habit to spend a lot on useless things. During the holiday season 25% respondents reported experiencing money wounds because of compulsive overspending. The survey also asked why respondents are experiencing financial stress and reasons were financial mistakes (40%), being in debt (25%) and not making enough money at all (34%).

27% said that they can feel their money mindset changing and a habit to spend more resurfacing during the holiday season. 61% of the respondents reported that they are anxious to spend money this holiday season because of the financial situation they are in. 42% said that they get distant from others during the holiday so they do not have to feel less than them.

To minimize all of this pressure, 61% of the respondents said that they are trying to change their mindset to “money and spending doesn't equate to happiness.” There are also some respondents who are taking help from a therapist or a coach to ease their anxieties and worries about money. Even with this, 37% said that they don't feel that the trauma or issues around money are ever going to heal.

Dr. Erika Rasure, Chief Financial Wellness Advisor at Beyond Finance said that many of her clients at their weekly financial wellness sessions tell her about how they are financially struggling and their struggle increases during the holiday season. Chief Operating Officer at Beyond Finance, Lou Antonelli, added that financial wellness is more about overcoming your shame and guilt about financial struggle than overcoming your debts. It is important that people know more about financial wellness so they can easily manage their finances around the holiday season. Once you are free from financial stress, you can develop healthier spending habits even when there is high pressure on you to spend more, like during holidays.

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by Arooj Ahmed via Digital Information World

Amnesty International Confirms Israel’s Atrocities In Gaza Is Equivalent To Genocide

A new report from leading human rights group Amnesty International is accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza.

The news is major considering it’s the first such conclusion made by a leading human rights organization since the conflict in Gaza began. The report comprising 32 pages examined several leading events in Gaza between the period of October 2023 to July 2024.

It goes on to explain in detail how Israel’s actions are a complete violation of human rights. How innocent lives were attacked was said to be equal to unleashing hell on a population comprising 2.3 million individuals. There is so much evidence mentioned about how the behavior justifies genocide.

The behavior of Israel included killing many innocent individuals and causing serious bodily and mental harm. It deliberately inflicted conditions that made it hard for anyone in the region to survive. It was highlighted as physical destruction of the worst kind with the intent to destroy the Palestinian race.

This is also the first time that the Human Rights group used the term genocide and it’s directly in line with the report rolled out by the UN about Israel’s crime. These damning reports serve as a serious wake-up call and the organization says it’s about time that this stops right now.

To purposely destroy human life and block aid and power to Palestinians is unacceptable, the secretary general explained during the conference. This led to a serious collapse of the food, water, and health system which repeated with the occupation of Israeli forces.

They did not necessarily think that this would be the end result. It was risky in terms of being called genocide but now Amnesty International says there’s no doubt about what Israel is doing when all dots join together. It’s a complete violation of international law, it concludes.

Most allegations relate to the massive amount of military offensive arising with death rates hitting peak levels. Many civilians lost their lives for no reason. Attacks carried out on populated areas like medical facilities were also enlisted in the crimes committed by Israel.

Israel is obliged legally to provide for the civilians in the occupied population. The offensive carried out on Rafah was the last point which led to this conclusion, the report stated. Israel was well aware that this was a point for aid and how many people would arrive there. Still, they chose to attack, and that led to many killed. In defense, Israel tried to cover that up by claiming the attack was aimed at Hamas militants.

The report now calls for a ceasefire and a law to roll out target sanctions against leading Hamas and Israeli officials. At the same time, it wants leading world powers like the US, the UK, and Germany to put an end to security assistance and ban selling weapons to Israel.

It’s similarly pledging the international criminal court to roll out arrest warrants for Israel’s Prime Minister. Last but not least, it wants the unconditional release of civilians held as hostages for both Hamas and Palestinian armed forces who carried out crimes on October 7.

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by Dr. Hura Anwar via Digital Information World