Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: 'Free Speech' and Open Dialogue
This week, we discuss "free speech," keeping stupid thoughts in one's own head, and cancel culture.
News
Wikipedia Editors Adopt ‘Speedy Deletion’ Policy for AI Slop Articles
“The ability to quickly generate a lot of bogus content is problematic if we don't have a way to delete it just as quickly.”
News
Nearly 100,000 ChatGPT Conversations Were Searchable on Google
A researcher has scraped a much larger dataset of indexed ChatGPT conversations, exposing contracts and intimate conversations.
Steam
The Anti-Porn Crusade That Censored Steam and Itch.io Started 30 Years Ago
Keywords and tags have never been a useful metric for distilling nuance. Pushing for regulations based on them is repeating a 30-year history of porn panic online.
The Abstract
Scientists Detect Unprecedented Energy ‘Tidal Wave’ from the Sun
The afterlife of Puerto Rico’s Arecibo telescope continues with the detection of a powerful “tidal wave” from the Sun.
Tesla
'Honk If You Hate Elon:' Two Days of Protest at the Tesla Diner
Protesters outside LA's Tesla Diner fear for the future of democracy in the USA
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Party Vibes and Spilling Tea
This week, we discuss meeting a bunch of you in LA, the ongoing Tea saga, and age verification sweeping the UK.
News
Steam Doesn't Think This Image Is ‘Suitable for All Ages’
The decision highlights hurdles faced by developers as they navigate a world where credit card companies dictate what is and isn't appropriate.
News
Apple Is Selling iPad Repair Parts for Astronomical Prices
“I believe Apple is charging this because they know if the price is high enough no one will buy it."
AI Slop
AI Bunnies on Trampoline Causing Crisis of Confidence on TikTok
People failing to identify a video of adorable bunnies as AI slop has sparked worries that many more people could fall for online scams.
The Abstract
New Deep Sea Creatures ‘Challenge Current Models of Life,’ Scientists Say
Scientists have discovered chemosynthetic animals, which don’t rely on the Sun to live, nearly six miles under the ocean surface—deeper than any found to date.
News
Journalist Discovers Google Vulnerability That Allowed People to Disappear Specific Pages From Search
Negative articles about a tech CEO vanished from Google after someone made fraudulent requests using the Refresh Outdated Content Tool.
spotify
Spotify Is Forcing Users to Undergo Face Scanning to Access Explicit Content
Submit to biometric face scanning or risk your account being deleted, Spotify says, following the enactment of the UK's Online Safety Act.