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Brazil's President: 62 People Killed in Plane Crash; Microsoft: Iran Creating Fake Accounts To Influence U.S. Elections; CA Gov. Demands Cities Reduce Homelessness Or Risk Losing Funds; OpenAI Raises Safety Concerns Over New ChatGPT Voice Mode. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 09, 2024 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Let's listen to this and then, David, tell us what you're hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(ENGINE SOUND)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: I mean, David, if -- if you don't -- if you're not an aviation expert, you might think maybe you're hearing a helicopter or something. What are -- what are you hearing there?

DAVID SOUCIE, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Well, it does sound like a helicopter. The first time I watched it, I thought that perhaps there was a helicopter in the area. But you can tell that after it hits the ground that those noises go away completely. So they are related to the airplane.

Now, what can happen in this style of situation, too, is that the ATR is very, very powerful engines and the propellers are adjustable pitch.

So as the -- you're in the stall situation, if you apply full power to it to try to recover yourself from it, which maybe what happened here, the propellers can actually cavitate. In other words, they're spinning too fast.

They grip the pole forward. They're just cavitated. They're causing disturbance of the air on the propeller and that can cause that sound. That it actually is stalling sound.

As you mentioned, it's where the aircraft has air over the top of the propeller, it's going supersonic. It's actually creating the subsonic or transonic range that causes that popping sound. That's what you're hearing, is putting the popping sound.

So it could be that it was just over cavitated those propellers at that point.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: All right, David, thank you so much for your analysis and context on something on all of that. We really appreciate it.

We're, of course, going to stay on top of the story and bring you any new developments as we get them.

We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:36:16]

KEILAR: Another troubling development concerning foreign actors meddling in U.S. elections. In a new report from Microsoft, the company says Iran is creating fake news Web sites in an effort to target American voters. And it claims Iranian operatives have tried to hack at least one campaign.

CNN national security reporter, Zachary Cohen, is here with us.

All right, Zach, explain what Iran is trying to do here.

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes. Briana, U.S. intelligence officials have warned as recently as last month that Iran is trying to run a covert influence campaign targeting the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

And they had two goals in mind. They want to undermine Donald Trump's candidacy. And they also want to just sow discord more generally in the U.S. by exploiting the societal divisions and the political divisions that already exist here.

And this Microsoft report really provides the clearest, most concrete examples we've seen so far. I mean, includes examples of these fake news sites that Microsoft says were created by Iranian operatives. And they target people on both ends of the political spectrum.

One example they give is catered to more left-leaning, liberal-leaning voters. And it's all about stoking outrage about Donald Trump. It posts really long-form articles insulting Donald Trump, including one and that was headlined "Roy Relapse." It has a caricature photo of Donald Trump on it.

It also includes a quote that calls Trump an opioid-pilled elephant in the MAGA China shop. Refers to him as a quote, "raving mad."

There's also other sides though that cater more to conservative- leaning voters in the U.S. And they want to talk about issues that really drive conversation among some of those conservative voters, including LGBTQ issues, gender -- gender reassignment issues, things that really get conservative voters heated.

They want to really pump up the temperature in those online forums. And in a way, that stokes real-life division and divisions in the voting booth.

KEILAR: Yes. I mean, they have the finger on the pulse if those are the issues they're targeting. Iran is not the only one, though, right, according to Microsoft?

COHEN: That's right. Microsoft is saying that evidence actually shows Iran, and Russia maybe now, are the two most engaged in trying to influence the upcoming election.

And they suspect that Russia will continue to try to do what Russia's been doing for the last several election cycles. That is, again, to exploit those divisions within our society, within our political structure.

They point to several examples, including an Instagram account run by Russian operatives. They say it's really just geared toward everything that is explosive and controversial in the U.S.

They're just trying to really get that conversation and that outrage machine rowing. It includes conspiracy theories, like the CIA -- and claims the CIA instructed Ukrainian troll farms to influence the U.S. elections.

It claims the FBI wiretapped Donald Trump's resident, things like that that really do create sort of mass hysteria or attempting to create mass hysteria.

China is another one. It's an interesting example. Because Chinas not really assessed at this point to want to influence the outcome of the upcoming election, but they are doing things behind the scenes to sort of push those pressure points in the similar ways to the Russia and Iran are.

China is running these fake online personas for amplified outrage on their end. That could target some down-ballot races, according to Microsoft and the intel community.

So the big three, really, using their intelligence services and their online tools to try to influence the U.S. electorate in some sort of way.

KEILAR: So interesting.

Zach, thank you so much. Really good reporting there.

[14:39:31]

Next, why a fed-up Governor Newsom is picking up trash himself and threatening to withhold money from some California cities.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: California Governor Gavin Newsom issuing a new ultimatum to cities and counties across that state, clear out your homeless camps or lose funding.

He made those comments after helping clean up an encampment site, calling that situation a, quote, "crisis."

CNN's Nick Watt is in Los Angeles.

Nick, Governor Newsom has been demanding officials do more to address the problem. Is he getting pushback? What kind of response is he getting?

NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, listen, he is getting a good response from the people of California, according to some local politicians I speak to. They say his tough message resonates with their constituents.

Now he's talking tough because he has a massive problem. More than 180,000 people are homeless in California. That's almost a third of the homeless population over this entire country.

And he's also talking tough because he's been emboldened by a recent Supreme Court decision, a massive decision, which basically says that local officials, state officials can issue fines. You can fine people for sleeping on the streets, even if they have nowhere else to go.

[14:45:00]

So Newsom issued an executive order, ordering state officials to start clearing these encampments.

Now, with what he's talking about, withholding funds, he's putting pressure on counties and cities to follow suit.

Take a listen to just a little bit of what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): I'm here on behalf of 40 million Californians that are fed up. I'm here because I'm one of them. I want to see results.

There's no more excuses. You've got the money. You've got the flexibility. You've got the green light. You've got the support from the state. And the public is demanding it of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATT: Interestingly, he's coming at this from the perspective of the homeowners in California who don't want to see this on their streets anymore.

He's expressing empathy with the homeowners, rather than empathy with the unhoused people in what he said just there -- Jess?

DEAN: And what about homeless advocates? How are they reacting to this?

WATT: Well, not well. I spoke to an activist up in San Francisco just now who said that this is very disappointing. And she said it's disappointing because she thinks Newsom knows better. She thinks this is a political message. And you know, the whole situation around fining people for sleeping on the street, a lot of activists are saying, what we're essentially doing here is criminalizing poverty and not doing anything to actually deal with the causes of homelessness, just trying to get people off the streets and out of the way -- Jess?

DEAN: All right. Nick Watt for us there in Los Angeles, thanks so much for that reporting.

Brianna?

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines we're watching this hour.

The families of three his students murdered at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High, as well as one of the survivors, have reached a multimillion-dollar settlement with the convicted gunman.

It's not clear how much the victims will receive, if anything. But their attorney says the settlement will at least prevent the shooter, who is serving 34 consecutive life sentences, from ever being able to obtain and hold onto any money.

And CrossFit says it's annual games will move forward today despite a competitor dying during yesterday's events. Witnesses say 28-year-old Lazar Dukic of Serbia was taking part in the swimming portion of an event when he failed to resurface within sight of the finish line and within eyesight of many race officials.

Dive teams had to recover his body. And the Fort Worth, Texas, Police Department says it is investigating his death.

Also, Olympic organizers in Paris say there are no specific protocols concerning Covid-19 one day after U.S. Olympian Noah Lyles revealed he'd been completing with the virus.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

THOMAS BACH, IOC PRESIDENT: The Covid, not only here in France is being treated like any other respiratory disease. It is being treated like a flu now. So there is no obligation for any special measures or notifications.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: On Thursday, Lyles suffered a stunning defeat in the men's 200-meter race, his signature event. He actually had to be helped off the track.

Afterward, he revealed he'd been diagnosed with Covid days earlier. Olympic rules say it's up to the athlete whether the participant even if they know they're infected.

And next, Siri and Alexa have been around for years, so what is it about ChatGPT's new voice mode that has its makers worried people could become a little too attached.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:55]

DEAN: The makers of ChatGPT are raising concerns about the app's new voice mode, specifically how users might become emotionally dependent on the technology. There's a movie about it.

KEILAR: There sure is.

When the feature was first announced earlier this year, it immediately drew comparisons to the digital assistant in that movie "Her" --

(CROSSTALK)

KEILAR: -- in which the main character falls in love with an AI.

But now its creator says user data shows fiction may be getting a little too close to reality.

So for more on the potential risks and what OpenAI plans to do about them, let's go to our tech reporter, Clare Duffy.

All right, Clare, what are they going to do?

CLARE DUFFY, CNN BUSINESS WRITER: Well, look, OpenAI is raising this concern in a safety report that it released about this updated version of ChatGPT's voice mode, which is starting to roll out to paid users.

And this tool sounds remarkably lifelike. You can have real-time conversations. You can interrupt it. It laughs if you crack a joke.

And just to give you a taste of how realistic this tool is, I think we have a clip we can play for you from the OpenAI demo that they did earlier this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to show you a selfie of what I looked like and then I'd like you to try to see what emotions I'm feeling.

CHATGPT: It looks like you're feeling pretty happy and cheerful with a big smile and maybe even a touch of excitement. Whatever's going on, it seems like you're in a great mood. Care to share the source of those good vibes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. No, the reason I'm in a really good mood is because we're doing a presentation showcasing how useful and amazing you are.

CHATGPT: Oh, stop it. You're making me blush.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP) DUFFY: Now it won't sound exactly like that. OpenAI pulled that specific voice after accusations that they tried to copy the voice of Scarlett Johansson, who, of course, voiced that AI assistant in the movie "Her." But it will retain many of those really lifelike features.

And now OpenAI is saying it's worried that because the tool is so realistic, people could start relying on it for emotional relationships and pulling back potentially from their human relationships.

I want to read for you a part of this safety report.

[14:55:01]

OpenAI said, "Users might form social relationships with the AI, reducing their need for human interaction, potentially benefiting lonely, but possibly affecting healthy relationships.

And what I think is really important about this disclosure is because it comes at a time when we already know that our existing technology is contributing to issues with social isolation and loneliness.

And I think it's possible that we start to see that unfortunately getting worse because of artificial intelligence.

KEILAR: Yes, you can see how that would happen.

Clare, thank you so much. That was a great and scary report. We appreciate it.

So next, breaking news, officials say 62 people have died in this plane crash that we are monitoring in Brazil. Eyewitness video here showing the flight's final moments. This is after the crash actually. But that video of the final moments could be key in figuring out what went so horribly wrong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)