Podcast
Podcast: DOGE's Website, Hacked
DOGE left its website backend exposed; lawyers own up to using AI; and a YouTube true crime documentary channel where all the murders are AI-generated.
Elon Musk
Musk Ally Demands Admin Access to System That Lets Government Text the Public
A worker resigned in protest rather than giving Thomas Shedd access to Notify.gov, which they said would allow him to see "all personally identifiable information moving through the Notiy system, including phone numbers," 404 Media has learned.
News
Why Is a Government Contractor Trying to Buy iPhone Hacking Tech From Us?
A contractor for the Air Force and other government agencies wanted to get a good deal on some Graykeys from us (we're journalists FYI).
The Abstract
Antarctica's Only Insect
This week: A tale of creative cryopreservation, Transylvania's 16th-century weather reports, and dancing turtles.
dei
Researcher Captures Contents of ‘DEI.gov’ Before It Was Hidden Behind a Password
The list includes budget claims like "$3.4 million for Malaysian drug-fueled gay sex app" and "Disbursed $15,000 to 'queer' Muslim writers in India."
News
Trump Admin Adds Note Rejecting ‘Gender Ideology’ on Sites Court Ordered Them to Restore
FDA and HHS sites now note that “The Trump Administration rejects gender ideology and condemns the harms it causes to children.”
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Backdoors and the Miracle of Wikipedia
This week, we discuss Apple's iCloud, Wikipedia as a miracle of humankind, and good soup.
AI
Lawyers Caught Citing AI-Hallucinated Cases Call It a 'Cautionary Tale'
The attorneys filed court documents referencing eight non-existent cases, then admitted it was a "hallucination" by an AI tool.
AI
A ‘True Crime’ Documentary Series Has Millions of Views. The Murders Are All AI-Generated
The creator of a viral "true crime" series where the murders were all invented by AI explains how he did it.
Waste.gov
Elon Musk's Waste.gov Is Just a WordPress Theme Placeholder Page
Musk told reporters all of DOGE's actions are "maximally transparent." The website tracking waste is currently about an imaginary architecture firm.
Podcast
Podcast: AI Is Breaking Our Brains
This week we discuss a new Microsoft study that finds using generative AI is "atrophying" people's cognition and critical thinking skills, the right's war on Wikipedia, and, in the subscriber's section, the idea of posting against fascism.