I think we’re pretty good at telling the difference between an AI generated image and a real photograph, but when I need help I call Hany Farid. Farid is the cofounder of GetReal, a company that specializes in detecting deepfakes and other AI-generated images, and is the developer of PhotoDNA, ...
Day: August 17, 2026
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training FacilityWe Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility
Amazon is buying massive quantities of books, scanning them for AI training data, and destroying them in the process. A 404 Media investigation was able to reveal Amazon’s book buying operation, which hasn’t been previously reported, by placing a tracking device in a rare book we suspected would be acquired ...
Trump threatens to bomb US ally Oman if it ‘gets in the way’ over Iran dealTrump threatens to bomb US ally Oman if it ‘gets in the way’ over Iran deal
Trump’s threat on Oman, which has been holding its own talks with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, comes as a 60-day window for peace negotiations expires. ...
Russia and Ukraine trade more deadly strikesRussia and Ukraine trade more deadly strikes
Moscow says nine people have been killed in the past 24 hours, while Kyiv reports four deaths. ...
Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it ‘gets in the way’ over Iran issueTrump threatens to bomb Oman if it ‘gets in the way’ over Iran issue
The president also told Fox News the US had a direct backchannel with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – something it denies. ...
Ghana’s Genser Energy plans expansion after raising over $500MGhana’s Genser Energy plans expansion after raising over $500M
The News A Ghanaian energy company has raised more than half a billion dollars to fund ongoing natural gas-based power projects and pursue new opportunities in West Africa. Genser Energy secured a €456 million ($527 million) credit package arranged by three of South Africa’s top banks First Rand Bank, Absa ...
OpenAI funds new think tank projectsOpenAI funds new think tank projects
OpenAI is announcing the winners of its call for grant proposals to study the economic and societal impact of artificial intelligence, and to develop solutions to address disruptions. According to details shared first with Semafor, recipients include US-based organizations across the political spectrum, like the American Enterprise Institute, the Progressive ...
Can Democrats afford to take on Big Tech? Or to leave it alone?Can Democrats afford to take on Big Tech? Or to leave it alone?
The News Juleanna Glover, a longtime adviser to CEOs navigating Washington, DC, and onetime adviser to Elon Musk, spent the summer of 2020 texting Musk’s phone number to everyone she knew in Joe Biden’s campaign. The Tesla CEO had started to grouse on X about the Democratic nominee, and she ...
Progressive Democrats eye Israel policy shift in 2027Progressive Democrats eye Israel policy shift in 2027
Capitol Hill progressives are homing in on the “Block the Bombs Act” as they prepare for a potential overhaul of Israel policy under a Democratic majority. The legislation would block certain weapons transfers to Israel and is cosponsored by more than a third of House Democrats. Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. ...
Two Republicans with the same name are running for Senate in Alaska. The bigger threat? Democrat Mary PeltolaTwo Republicans with the same name are running for Senate in Alaska. The bigger threat? Democrat Mary Peltola
Observers call Peltola, who won the red state’s House seat twice and is running to unseat Dan Sullivan, ‘a unicorn’ Dan J Sullivan is a retired schoolteacher and US Forest Service employee living in the town of Petersburg in south-eastern Alaska, who is running as a Republican for the US ...