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, ...
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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 ...
We Are Living in a ‘ChatGPT Flyer Pandemic’We Are Living in a ‘ChatGPT Flyer Pandemic’
I am not sure, exactly, how many ChatGPT signs, flyers, or advertisements I had seen without noticing. But I do remember that once I began noticing them, I saw them everywhere. A few blocks from my house, on a display easel: “Break Free Surfing California: SURF LESSONS VENICE BEACH.” On ...
Porn Platform Gives Sex Workers Stake in the Company’s ProfitsPorn Platform Gives Sex Workers Stake in the Company’s Profits
The co-founder of adult creator subscription platform MintStars announced she’s leaving the platform and donating her ownership shares in the company to its creators and sex workers. In an email to creators using the platform in late June, Jessica Van Meir wrote: “I am donating my shares in the company ...