The head of Google DeepMind is stepping down from his role and moving into a chairman position, in a major shakeup at the AI research lab. Demis Hassabis, who founded DeepMind in 2010 before it was acquired in 2014, will also become chief scientist at Google parent company Alphabet. Other ...
Day: August 5, 2026
The White House maintains a little obscurity for AI securityThe White House maintains a little obscurity for AI security
Reed’s view The White House says it discussed a framework for evaluating the cybersecurity risks of frontier AI models with OpenAI and Anthropic, but it doesn’t plan to release details publicly. The secrecy (frontier labs are being asked to submit the most powerful models for assessment 30 days before releasing ...
Public records laws must modernizePublic records laws must modernize
Surveillance technology without accountability is a recipe for authoritarianism, but with strong guardrails and transparency, it can help stop crime, including crimes committed by law enforcement. An article in the Washington Post chronicled how police officers were caught abusing surveillance technology to stalk ex-wives and, in at least one case, ...
Campaign ridicule was the real winner of Michigan’s Democratic primaryCampaign ridicule was the real winner of Michigan’s Democratic primary
David’s view I doubt that anybody who bundled up for “Menorah in the D,” the 2023 kickoff of Hanukkah in Detroit, knew how much it would end up shaping the 2026 Senate primary. The event took place two months after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel — in hindsight, a ...
Startup Sapiom routes clients’ AI to lowest-cost tokensStartup Sapiom routes clients’ AI to lowest-cost tokens
The Scoop Quintessential San Francisco AI startup Polsia employs nobody and operates swarms of AI agents to help run other businesses. Its projected annual revenue skyrocketed almost overnight this year from $100,000 to $10 million, but so did its token spending, reaching a debilitating $1.2 million a month on Anthropic. ...
Cops Used Flock to Track a Man Across State Lines to Create Pretext to Search His Car for WeedCops Used Flock to Track a Man Across State Lines to Create Pretext to Search His Car for Weed
Police in Wisconsin used Flock to determine that a man “travels to Michigan frequently,” where marijuana is legal, then back to Wisconsin, where it is illegal. They then used his travel across state lines as tracked by Flock as part of the probable cause justification to search his car for ...
Podcast: This Man Might Go to Prison for Wiping His PhonePodcast: This Man Might Go to Prison for Wiping His Phone
We start this week with Joseph’s article about Samuel Tunick, the man charged with allegedly wiping his phone before DHS officials could search it. It’s a wild case with a lot to unpack. After the break, Jason tells us all about a TikTok Shop scheme powered by AI. In the ...
Apple’s ‘Private Relay’ Is Exposing Users’ Real IP AddressesApple’s ‘Private Relay’ Is Exposing Users’ Real IP Addresses
A series of issues in Apple’s web browser engine — the tech underlying all browsers on iOS — means that Apple’s iCloud Private Relay tool, which is supposed to hide a user’s IP address, in many cases doesn’t actually work. Instead, the issues mean a malicious attacker can set up ...
Ex neo-Nazi activist withdraws as Tory election candidateEx neo-Nazi activist withdraws as Tory election candidate
Kemi Badenoch says Joshua Bonehill-Paine will now advise the Conservatives on tackling extremism. ...
Woman arrested after four stabbed in central LondonWoman arrested after four stabbed in central London
A woman is arrested after four men are stabbed in central London, the Metropolitan Police said. ...