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Character.AI and the controversial rise of AI companions | TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

Character.AI has captured global attention but not without controversy. CEO Karan Anand joins us to discuss the explosive rise of human-like AI companions, the legal battles and recent lawsuits challenging the company’s practices, and the ethical and technical questions behind lifelike dialogue. This TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 fireside chat dives into both the breakthroughs and the…

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Character.AI has captured global attention but not without controversy. CEO Karan Anand joins us to discuss the explosive rise of human-like AI companions, the legal battles and recent lawsuits challenging the company’s practices, and the ethical and technical questions behind lifelike dialogue.

This TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 fireside chat dives into both the breakthroughs and the pitfalls of conversational AI, exploring how these digital personalities are reshaping human interaction and the scrutiny that comes with pushing the boundaries of AI.

#TechCrunchDisrupt2025

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1 Comment

1 Comment

  1. @designexcellence

    November 18, 2025 at 1:40 pm

    Art, an intellectual property that can only be produced by sentient beings, is the critically irreplaceable crude oil that is refined by business and sold as the gasoline of algorithmic outputs (“AI SLOP”), even as it destroys the commercial value of art itself.

    Laws exist to serve and protect humanity, for when they fail to do so, they are nothing more than instruments of oppression that must be abolished. It is only because enormous quantities of art have been ingested that these algorithms are formed. Absent the art, no slop-spewing algorithm can exist any more than gasoline can exist if crude oil did not. The businesses are selling gasoline made from crude oil that wasn’t paid for.

    For those who are wondering what visual art is, it is the product of sustained and deliberate labor by one or more sentient creators, in which they make a series of thoughtful decisions to give tangible form to an expressive idea. It is defined by the creation of enduring visual artifacts whose primary purpose is visual communication. It requires more than a single gesture or the mere selection of a pre-existing object; the work must embody the creator(s)’ effort, process, and authorship in a tangible form.

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CNET

This Removable Brain-Computer Implant Feels ‘Like Telekinesis’

We visited the headquarters of Precision Neuroscience in New York to check out its removable, upgradable brain-computer interface. You can find the products mentioned in this video linked below *CNET may get a commission on these offers Read more about it on CNET.com Timecode Chapters: 0:00 Intro 0:41 The Implant 2:07 The Surgery 2:22 Purpose…

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We visited the headquarters of Precision Neuroscience in New York to check out its removable, upgradable brain-computer interface.

You can find the products mentioned in this video linked below
*CNET may get a commission on these offers

Read more about it on CNET.com

Timecode Chapters:
0:00 Intro
0:41 The Implant
2:07 The Surgery
2:22 Purpose
2:45 Over 100 Patients

Video Credits:
Host: Jesse Orrall
Scripted by: Jesse Orrall
Producer: Jesse Orrall / Numi Prasarn
Camera: Numi Prasarn
Video Editor: Jesse Orrall
Thumbnail Designer: Tharon Green

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#WTF #Brain #BCI

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Science & Technology

Amazon and others are done keeping their data center deals secret | Equity Podcast

Amazon says it will stop using NDAs when negotiating data center deals with local governments, following a similar move from Microsoft earlier this year. Secrecy has fueled community backlash against AI infrastructure, with opposition leading to hundreds of proposed and enacted moratoriums from New York to San Francisco. Meanwhile, a wave of startups is betting…

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Amazon says it will stop using NDAs when negotiating data center deals with local governments, following a similar move from Microsoft earlier this year. Secrecy has fueled community backlash against AI infrastructure, with opposition leading to hundreds of proposed and enacted moratoriums from New York to San Francisco. Meanwhile, a wave of startups is betting that consumers will hand AI agents access to their inboxes, files, and credit cards — if they can get websites to let them in.

On this episode of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Anthony Ha, Sean O’Kane, and Rebecca Bellan dig into whether ditching NDAs will change how data center deals get done, why trust may be the real product for personal AI startups, plus a couple of deals of the week.

We’ll see you next week at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026! Get 25% off your tickets with code Equity25, and we’ll see you on the Builders Stage Tuesday at 9 am.

Subscribe to Equity on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts. You can also follow Equity on X and Threads, at @EquityPod.

Chapters:

00:00 Intro

0:55 Trump’s “superintelligence force” and the great AI rebranding

3:19 Amazon drops NDAs on data center deals

9:17 Why the AI industry has a communication problem

12:51 Personal AI agents: finding money in your inbox

15:27 Ghost’s $3,500 computer built for personal AI

19:16 Trust is the product: privacy-first agent startups

27:36 Lambda’s $4B raise and the neo cloud backlog problem

31:22 Uber’s $2.3B move into catering

35:10 Outro

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CNET

Apple’s Welcome Home Event: Everything Leaked! Apple TV 4K, HomePods and a New Hub | One More Thing

Apple has a ‘Welcome Home’ event on Tuesday, and we’re expecting big changes coming to smart home products, including a new countertop Hub, HomePod mini speakers and Apple TV 4K box. Bridget Carey breaks down the rumors and what has her excited. You can find the products mentioned in this video linked below Apple 2022…

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Apple has a ‘Welcome Home’ event on Tuesday, and we’re expecting big changes coming to smart home products, including a new countertop Hub, HomePod mini speakers and Apple TV 4K box. Bridget Carey breaks down the rumors and what has her excited.

You can find the products mentioned in this video linked below
Apple 2022 Apple TV 4K Wi‑Fi + Ethernet with 128GB Storage (3rd Generation)
Apple HomePod mini – Orange (Refurbished)
*CNET may get a commission on these offers

Read more about Apple’s Welcome Home event on CNET.com
I’m Way Too Excited for Apple’s Home Event and How It Will Level Up My Siri Experience
Apple Announces Next ‘Welcome Home’ Special Event on Oct. 13

Timecode Chapters:
0:00 A new HomePod is coming
1:05 Hidden Apple code shows new HomePod Mini 2 colors
1:36 HomePod Mini 2 chip upgrades
1:49 Living in a world with 2 Siris
2:02 Smarter Siri for new Apple HomePods
2:25 Apple brings HomePod Mini surround sound into the home theater
2:36 Could a new Apple TV 4K box be on the way?
2:48 New Apple TV 4K box details
2:54 Apple TV 4K hardware upgrades
3:26 Are we getting a new Apple TV remote?
3:42 Here comes the HomeHub speaker with a screen
3:53 Apple HomeHub details from Bloomberg’s reporting
4:11 HomeHub screen could minic iPhone Duo
4:24 How will a HomeHub contribute to the smart home?
4:36 Possible HomeHub versions
4:52 Countertop HomeHub design
5:05 More smart home devices expected from Apple
5:23 Snoopy and the HomeHub
5:54 Are you ready for Apple’s new smart home products?

Video Credits:
Host: Bridget Carey
Scripted by: Bridget Carey
Producer: Carly Marsh
Camera: Carly Marsh, Celso Bulgatti, Bridget Carey, CNET Archive
Video Editor: Carly Marsh
Thumbnail Designer: Zooey Liao

Add CNET as a trusted news source
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#apple #appleevent #applehome #applehomekit #smarthome

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