23andMe
DNA of 15 Million People for Sale in 23andMe Bankruptcy
There is no way to know what a buyer will want to do with the reams of genetic information it has collected. Customers, meanwhile, still have no way to change their underlying genetic data.
Features
The Walls Are Closing in on the Snowflake Hacker
As security researchers circle around Judische, and authorities takedown his servers, how much longer will a hacker responsible for breaching Ticketmaster, AT&T, and many more companies remain free?
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Good Dogs and Joyous Games
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 good dogs, good games, getting documents and netsex.
News
‘Cold-Blooded Business’: Nintendo Is Patent Trolling Palworld Because It Got Too Big
Japan games industry analyst explains why Nintendo is going after Palworld, and why it’s probably going to win.
Generative AI
Project Analyzing Human Language Usage Shuts Down Because ‘Generative AI Has Polluted the Data’
Wordfreq shuts down because "I don’t think anyone has reliable information about post-2021 language usage by humans.”
Starship
Delivery Robot Knocked Over Pedestrian, Company Offered ‘Promo Codes’ to Apologize
When a Starship employee talked to the police, the report says, he asked for the employee’s information “so he could contact her and offer their insurance information for her injuries and ‘promo codes.’”
News
Criminals Keep Hacking Themselves, Letting Researchers Unmask Them
Infostealer malware is often hidden in pirated or cracked software, and hackers then post the harvested credentials and other data online. Criminals have been infected too.
News
Homemade Porn Site Promises Not to Train AI on Performers
Lustery, a site for consent-based homemade porn, has added a new clause to its contract promising not to replace human performers with AI without consent.
News
LinkedIn Is Training AI on User Data Before Updating Its Terms of Service
Multiple LinkedIn users on Wednesday noticed a setting that showed LinkedIn was using user data to improve its generative AI. LinkedIn told 404 Media it will update its terms of service “shortly.”
Podcast
Podcast: Hezbollah's Exploding Pagers
Some expertise on batteries and how that relates to the exploding pagers in Lebanon; an AI-powered surveillance dystopia that is already here; and how Snapchat reserves the right to serve you ads with your own AI likeness.
News
Police Hack Into ‘Ghost’, An Encrypted Platform for Criminals
Operation Kraken is a sign that organized criminals are moving away from larger encrypted phone companies to a decentralized collection of smaller players and consumer access apps that the rest of us use.
Lebanon
Experts: Lebanon Pager Explosions Likely Not Lithium Batteries Alone
Lithium-ion battery fires are dangerous, but small batteries alone don't usually cause this much damage.
News
Snapchat Reserves the Right to Use AI-Generated Images of Your Face in Ads
Snapchat’s “My Selfie” by default reserves the right to use your likeness in ads.