Privacy
This Company Will Add Phone, AirPod, and Smartwatch Trackers to License Plate Readers
SignalTrace “links devices that regularly travel together, correlating them to license plate.” It is a surveillance product that will sweep up and add all sorts of Bluetooth and other data to license plate readers, linking specific devices—and people—to cars.
AI
Judge Learns Lawyers on Both Sides of Case Used AI, Cancels Trial, Kicks Everyone Off the Case
When two AIs argue against each other, the legal system loses.
News
'Sloppenheimer:' Amazon Employees Mock the Company’s AI on Slack
Amazon employees have a Slack channel for memes where the mock and commiserate about the company’s faulty AI coding product.
Privacy
This Company Will Add Phone, AirPod, and Smartwatch Trackers to License Plate Readers
SignalTrace “links devices that regularly travel together, correlating them to license plate.” It is a surveillance product that will sweep up and add all sorts of Bluetooth and other data to license plate readers, linking specific devices—and people—to cars.
Cybersecurity
Microsoft Hacked to Deliver Malware to Claude and Gemini Users
Microsoft took the highly unusual step of shutting down more than 70 of its own GitHub repositories after hackers pushed malware that would steal credentials from AI coding agent users.
Podcast
It’s So Not Over for Hollywood (with Devindra Hardawar)
Emanuel talks to Devindra Hardawar about AI in Hollywood and the state of the movie industry.
Data centers
A Farmer Donated Land to Turn into a Park. The City Is Building a Massive Data Center Instead
In 1999, a farmer gave away 87 acres of land to a small Texas city to use as a park. The city sold to a data center developer for $10 million.
The Abstract
Scientists Discover Hidden Symmetry on Earth That Nobody Can Explain
The north-south albedo symmetry may be fading as both hemispheres get darker.
ICE
ICE’s Plan to Let Cops Around the Country Scan Faces to Verify Immigration Status
ICE plans to give potentially more than a thousand agencies access to a facial recognition app that verifies a person's immigration status.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Dangerous Memes
This week, we discuss controversial memes, good times at Meta, and more.
The Abstract
The U.S. Military Quietly Turned GPS Into a Global ‘Numbers Station,’ Evidence Suggests
A random sequence in an innocuous GPS message field is likely encrypted traffic from the U.S. military's system for remotely updating cryptographic keys around the world.
Deepfakes
K-pop Fans Are Calling Out Creepy Deepfakes of Idols
With some fans making sexualized AI-generated images and videos of idols, the rest of the fandom is standing up against the behavior.
Microsoft
Satya Nadella ‘Not Sure’ Who Said Microsoft Wanted to Make Addictive AI, Is Looking for Guy Who Did This
Microsoft's CEO seems unaware of what's going on at his own company.