Earlier this week, I somewhat stupidly asked our readers to send me examples of “ChatGPT flyers,” the AI-generated posters and advertisements that have taken over social media, bulletin boards, restaurant menus, store signage, business cards, and billboards around the world. I say stupidly, because I was flooded with so many ...
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I Bought the $3,000 Fitness Suit That Electrocutes You. I’m Sending It BackI Bought the $3,000 Fitness Suit That Electrocutes You. I’m Sending It Back
Putting on the $3,000 Katalyst suit is like sliding around with an electric eel. First you lay out the vest, shorts, and arm straps (on a towel if you don’t want to make a mess) and spray their electrode pads with a lot of water. “More water is better,” Katalyst’s ...
LAPD Regularly Pulled Over Innocent People Because License Plate Readers Flagged Their Cars As StolenLAPD Regularly Pulled Over Innocent People Because License Plate Readers Flagged Their Cars As Stolen
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced it will let its surveillance contract with automated license plate reader company (ALPR) Flock expire, becoming the largest police department in the country to drop its contract. Notably, the decision came after an audit of ALPR technology found that, in a two-month period, ...
Scientists Solve Mystery of Bizarre ‘Alien Megastructure’ StarScientists Solve Mystery of Bizarre ‘Alien Megastructure’ Star
Welcome back to the Abstract! Here are the studies this week that busted their butts, scaled great heights, got it right, and discovered a new world. First, Hannibal marched an army of men, horses, and elephants over the Alps to threaten Rome. Scientists ask the question: Just how hard did ...
AI Fiction Is Easy to Detect Because It’s Stupid and Bad, Research FindsAI Fiction Is Easy to Detect Because It’s Stupid and Bad, Research Finds
Fiction written by artificial intelligence is easy to detect because it struggles with complex story structure and tends to moralize in clunky ways, according to a preprint study from researchers at University of Maryland, College Park and Google DeepMind. They found that AI fiction has tells that go beyond stereotypical ...
Behind the Blog: The Promise of the InternetBehind the Blog: The Promise of the Internet
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss mobile podcasting, participating in the meme, and vertigo. JASON: My last few articles have basically been first person behind the blog vibes ...
Patreon Blocks Crawlers From Stealing Creators’ Work for AI TrainingPatreon Blocks Crawlers From Stealing Creators’ Work for AI Training
Patreon announced on Thursday that it’s partnering with Cloudflare to block crawlers from stealing creators’ work to train AI models. “I HAVE A KICKASS PRODUCT UPDATE FOR YOU ALL!” Jack Conte, the founder and CEO of Patreon, wrote in a post on Instagram with the superimposed text, “POV: you’re CEO ...
LinkedIn and X Are Flooded With AI Spam, Browsing Data SuggestsLinkedIn and X Are Flooded With AI Spam, Browsing Data Suggests
A shocking amount of the content that users encounter on popular social media websites is likely AI generated, according to data from a company that detects AI writing. As much as 41 percent of longform written content seen by users on LinkedIn is likely to be fully AI-generated and roughly ...
Farmers Finally Get a John Deere Right to Repair Agreement That Doesn’t Screw Them OverFarmers Finally Get a John Deere Right to Repair Agreement That Doesn’t Screw Them Over
Wednesday, John Deere agreed to give farmers broader access to repair their tractors and farm equipment under an antitrust settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission, one of the biggest wins in the long right to repair battle. The settlement is the latest and by far the most important development ...
‘Knockoff’ Browser Extension Hides Sketchy Brands on Amazon‘Knockoff’ Browser Extension Hides Sketchy Brands on Amazon
A software developer made a Chrome and Firefox extension called Knockoff that automatically hides, grays out, or filters products from sketchy brands on Amazon, which highlights just how many shady brands are on the platform and how commonly they show up on searches for basic items. In just a few ...