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AI Models, Children's Cancer Research & the FDIC

AI Models, Children's Cancer Research & the FDIC

Plus: 'Jingle Bells' Wasn't Written as a Christmas Song. Here's the Real History

Izz LaMagdeleine
December 24, 2024

TUESDAY EDITION

Snopes Debunker

Three phone screens that show the ChatGPT app are shown on a background image that has dots in different colors connected by lines.

AI Models Were Caught Lying to Researchers in Tests — But It's Not Time to Worry Just Yet

In early December, claims circulated online that researchers had caught artificial intelligence models — specifically OpenAI's o1, which is used in ChatGPT Pro, a popular AI chatbot — lying in tests to avoid being shut down. The claims persisted later into the month, with users specifically noting the results in relation to ChatGPT.

The claims stem from research carried out by Apollo Research, an AI safety organization. The organization found five out of the six tested AI models "showed scheming capabilities" in tasks set by researchers that "incentivize scheming." OpenAI's o1 model was capable of carrying out all the scheming behaviors tested, according to the research. Snopes reporter Laerke Christensen investigated.

Three white men wearing black suits are pictured next to each other through glass. Between the second and third men, another white man's face can be seen between them.

Critics Say Musk's Influence on Trump Led GOP to Cut Children's Cancer Research. Here's What We Know

A U.S. government shutdown loomed after a Trump-backed spending bill failed to pass in the House.

A white man wearing a blue suit is pictured between a headline that says "Doctoral student connected to Chinese Communist Party gets 8 years for child porn" and "Chinese National Sentenced to Eight Years for Acting within the United States as an Unregistered Agent of the People's Republic of China."

Yes, Biden Commuted Sentences of Chinese Spies and Sex Offender. Here's What Else We Found

The commutations were separate from the more than 1,000 people whose sentences the U.S. president commuted on Dec. 12.

An image that represents Project 2025 is next to a building that says FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION.

Project 2025 Proposes Eliminating the FDIC? Not Exactly

A 2017 report by conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation suggested "government-provided deposit insurance should be phased out fully."

Symbols for drones and radiation are shown against a blue sky with stars in it.

Unpacking Claims That High Radiation Levels in New York Are Connected to Drone Sightings

Reports of high radiation levels in New York City were not corroborated by official figures.

Staff Pick

A picture shows horses pulling people around on sleds.

'Jingle Bells' Wasn't Written as a Christmas Song. Here's the Real History

Popular myths about the classic holiday tune have circulated for decades, obscuring its origins on the minstrel stage.