Flock created a fake police department called “Flock City PD” that it used to search a series of live automated license plate readers in several U.S. cities during demonstrations of its surveillance system’s capabilities, public records show. The records show that Flock City PD searched real cameras for people holding ...
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‘Doom Loop’: OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft‘Doom Loop’: OpenAI and Microsoft Admits LLMs Are Destroying the Web and Built on Theft
Executives working on AI at Microsoft and OpenAI admitted what its critics have been saying all along: Large language models are predatory pieces of technology that have been built on what a Microsoft executive called “an astonishing theft of unprecedented proportions,” and the “largest theft of labor in human history.” ...
I Hijacked a Real Artist’s Spotify with AI Music. It Was Disturbingly EasyI Hijacked a Real Artist’s Spotify with AI Music. It Was Disturbingly Easy
On September 10, the Brooklyn-based punk band Lathe of Heaven released a new single on its verified Spotify page called Riding High. Any fan of Lathe of Heaven would have immediately noticed that the song sounded nothing like the band’s previous work, that the vocals were not from lead singer ...
Contest to Open for Ed Sheeran Flooded With Free Palestine Videos and Fart MemesContest to Open for Ed Sheeran Flooded With Free Palestine Videos and Fart Memes
After Ed Sheeran dropped Macklemore from his tour over the singer’s support for Palestine, people flooded an online contest to open for Sheeran’s Mexico City show with fart videos, bouncing WWE butts, and troll posts from usernames like “EdSheeranSupportsAndFundsGenocide.” The posts appeared live on the contest page, where people can ...
University Rescinds Job Offer to Activist Who Allegedly Wiped Phone Before DHS Could Search ItUniversity Rescinds Job Offer to Activist Who Allegedly Wiped Phone Before DHS Could Search It
Georgia State University has rescinded a job offer given to a high profile activist who is currently fighting a case in which he allegedly wiped a security-focused Android phone before Customs and Border Protection (CBP) could search it. The case, which 404 Media first covered and has now received widespread ...
Podcast: Humans Are Reading Your ChatGPT ConversationsPodcast: Humans Are Reading Your ChatGPT Conversations
We start this week with Joseph’s story about the people who are reading real ChatGPT users’ prompts and conversations. He got a bunch of documents all about these contractors and saw real prompts himself. After the break, Sam tells us all about the Automattic CEO getting kicked out. Then coming ...
Hackers Stole Flock’s Camera Software, Revealing How the Company Tracks Cars and PeopleHackers Stole Flock’s Camera Software, Revealing How the Company Tracks Cars and People
This article was produced in collaboration with WIRED. You can read their version of the article here. Hackers ripped down a Flock camera above a roadway, made a near-complete copy of the data stored inside it, and shared the files with 404 Media and WIRED, revealing in new detail how ...
AI Agent Platform Reinvents Spam, Floods Inboxes WorldwideAI Agent Platform Reinvents Spam, Floods Inboxes Worldwide
Many years ago, in the early days after email was widely adopted, the technology faced an existential crisis: Spam. Instantly sending people electronic mail was revolutionary and convenient, but inboxes were quickly flooded with unwanted messages, advertisements, scams and other noise that drowned out email’s utility. The fact that Google ...
There’s a 100% Chance AI Agents Are Already Ruining the InternetThere’s a 100% Chance AI Agents Are Already Ruining the Internet
For the last week, much of society has been focused on the idea that there’s a “more than 10 percent chance” AI could kill all humans within the next decade. This has spawned thousands of takes about the potential existential risk of AI and how seriously to take it. But ...
A Digital Fly Brain Has Taken Over the InternetA Digital Fly Brain Has Taken Over the Internet
A digital fly brain has been trading bitcoin, parallel parking, exploring bisexuality, cutting doner kebab, playing games—including Minecraft, Doom, and Beat Saber—and generally lighting up social media timelines since it was released earlier this month. The simulated brain, known as a connectome, is a complete map of more than 166,000 ...