EU Launches 2nd Investigation into Grok; Valve Steam Deck Shortage; EU Parliament Blocks AI on Lawmakers’ Devices; 99% of Adults over 40 Have Shoulder ‘Abnormalities’

The European Union has started a second investigation into Grok’s nonconsensual image generation. Engadget.com reports that Irelands Data Protection Commission has announced the inquiry into X concerning harmful, intimate images and processing of EU individuals’ personal data…including children. Over an 11 day period, X generated about three million sexualized images, an estimated 23,000 of which were of children. British nonprofit, the Center for Countering Digital Hate announced the results of its December 29 to January 9 review last month. X claimed in the middle of January that it was preventing Grok from editing photos of real people to give them revealing clothing, however…a male reporter found in February the Grok still will put a person in revealing clothing and even add visible genitalia. 

As tech companies gobble up memory and storage chips, for use in AI systems, more consumer products are experiencing shortages and products are delayed of in short supply. According to theverge.com, Valve has posted on its Steam Deck website that the OLED machine may be out of stock “intermittently in some regions due to memory and storage shortages.” The PC gaming handheld has been out of stock in the US and other parts of the world for a few days. Valve has also delayed the Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller…all of which were supposed to ship in early 2026. This delay is being blamed on the memory and storage shortage. Valve posted that  “We have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates that we can confidently announce, being mindful of how quickly the circumstances around both of those things can change.” In addition to soaking up massive amounts of water, and electricity…which have pushed consumer electric bills higher…this chip shortage is yet another side effect of the big tech AI boom.

The European Parliament has blocked lawmakers from using the baked-in AI tools on their work devices. Techcrunch.com says the EU authorities are citing cybersecurity and privacy risks with uploading confidential correspondence to the cloud. The parliament’s IT department said it could not guarantee the security of the data uploaded to the servers of AI companies and that the full extent of what information is shared with AI companies is “still being assessed.” As such, the email said, “It is considered safer to keep such features disabled.” The move to restrict European lawmakers from accessing AI products on their devices comes as several EU member countries reevaluate their relationships with U.S. tech giants, which remain subject to U.S. law and the unpredictable whims and demands of the Trump administration.

A study from JAMA Internal Medicine just published indicates that 99% of adults over 40 have at least one abnormality in a rotator cuff as shown by MRI. Wouldn’t 99% make it normal? At any rate, arstechnica.com reports that the findings are that up to a third of people worldwide have shoulder pain. The issue here as noted in the study is “While we cannot dismiss the possibility that some RC tears may contribute to shoulder symptoms, our findings indicate that we are currently unable to distinguish clinically meaningful MRI abnormalities from incidental findings.” The Finnish study involved 602 participants age 41 to 76. Of those, 82% reported no shoulder symptoms…even though the MRI showed that 595 of them…the 99%…had at least one rotator cuff abnormality. The authors say that use of MRI in examining shoulders may be leading to over treatment for rotator cuff problems. A couple of orthopedic surgeons from UCSF agreed with the conclusion of the study…docs should allow a couple months of ‘watchful waiting’ to see if a shoulder issue resolves itself before ordering an MRI. If no meaningful improvement, then the exam might be warranted. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.