2024-06-20
Whoa Looks like Perplexity AI is scraping content behind robots.txt barriers from hidden IP addresses not publicly acknowledged by the company. So ... Unethically ripping off content , but also doing it in an unethical way. https://www.wired.com/...
Wired
Analysis: Perplexity seems to scrape sites using surreptitious methods, ignoring robots.txt, with a Perplexity-tied machine doing so on Wired and other sites
2023-05-01
“There are no documented cases of juice jacking ever taking place in the wild.” >> Those scary warnings of juice jacking in airports and hotels? They're nonsense https://arstechnica.com/...
Ars Technica
Despite scary warnings by the FBI, FCC, and more about “juice jacking” at public charging stations, there are no documented cases ever of an attack in the wild
Juice jacking attacks on mobile phones are nonexistent. So why are we so afraid?
2023-04-28
Dropbox CEO blames AI for job cuts “The AI era of computing has finally arrived ... We've believed for many years that AI will give us new superpowers and completely transform knowledge work.” Dropbox lays off 500 employees, 16% of staff https://techcrunch.com/... https://twitter.com/...
TechCrunch
Dropbox plans to lay off 16% of its staff, or ~500 employees; CEO Drew Houston blames slowing growth and because “the AI era of computing has finally arrived”
Today, our cofounder and CEO Drew Houston shared the difficult news … Emma Roth / The Verge : Dropbox is laying off 500 people and pivoting to AI Rob Thubron / TechSpot : Dropbox b...
2023-03-26
OK, this is something actually smart about the problems of TikTok and Chinese manipulation in the U.S. (and elsewhere) >> How Forcing TikTok To Completely Separate Its US Operations Could Actually Undermine National Security https://www.techdirt.com/... via @Techdirt
Washington Post
Hollywood and music industry insiders, actors, and others say a TikTok ban could seriously hurt their businesses and are scrambling to create contingency plans
The entertainment industry has become so reliant on TikTok that banning the app could hurt business, industry insiders say
OK, this is something actually smart about the problems of TikTok and Chinese manipulation in the U.S. (and elsewhere) >> How Forcing TikTok To Completely Separate Its US Operations Could Actually Undermine National Security https://www.techdirt.com/... via @Techdirt
Techdirt
Some national security concerns about TikTok are valid, but a forced sale of its US operations may undermine the company's ability to fight adversarial threats
Wait until you hear about credit rating companies, HR companies, real estate verification companies … Tweets: Eva / @evacide : If you think the US needs a TikTok ban and not a comp...
2023-03-17
Smart “When users turn on the reset feature, the recommendations algorithm will revert back as if they just signed up for TikTok. As the user watches and interacts with content, the algorithm will begin to serve up recommendations based on the user's https://www.theverge.com/...... https://twitter.com/...
The Verge
TikTok adds a Refresh button to For You, resetting the recommendation algorithm to show videos like for a new user, after testing the feature in February 2023
Mia Sato / The Verge :
Yes, but we need to own it @broderick That AI will know everything about us. More than our spouse or best friend or mom. We need a way to “own” (it gets weirder to say “own” as our AI gets smarter) this for privacy and control ... “A single AI https://open.substack.com/...... https://twitter.com/...
Garbage Day
OpenAI's GPT-4 is an outrageous, if imperfect, step forward, showing how in the 2020s, generative AI will turn the internet into one big personalized web portal
2023-03-02
This is a big deal ... Big social is moving from ads to user payments. But TikTok is way ahead ... >> TikTok Earned $205 Million More Than Facebook, Twitter, Snap, And Instagram Combined On In-App Purchases So Far In 2023 https://www.forbes.com/...
Forbes
Apptopia: so far in 2023, TikTok has generated $205M more in IAP revenue than Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter combined
Big social networks are pulling a massive revenue U-turn since Apple's introduction of App Tracking Transparency. The user privacy feature …
2023-02-18
Massive. Adding generative AI to community-driven game building will explode creativity, options, and capabilities >> Roblox Is Bringing Generative AI to Its Gaming Universe https://www.wired.com/...
Wired
Roblox is testing a tool that lets players use natural language to create and change the appearance and behavior of items like buildings, terrain, and avatars
Will Knight / Wired :
2023-02-15
This is a big deal Military AI is a new space race: better AI, more effective planes. And it won't stop there. Tanks, howitzers, ships ... you name it >> AI Has Successfully Piloted a U.S. F-16 Fighter Jet, DARPA Says https://www.vice.com/... via @motherboard
VICE
DARPA says its Air Combat Evolution developers used AI to successfully fly a modified F-16 test aircraft multiple times over several days in early December 2022
2023-01-29
Worth reading. What the tulip bulb craze in Holland in the 1600s, the railway mania in England in the 1800s, gold, and Birkin bags can tell us about crypto and NFTs >> What the poet, playboy and prophet of bubbles can still teach us https://www.ft.com/...
Financial Times
What poet, playboy, and prophet of investment bubbles Charles Mackay, plagiarizing in 1841 on the Dutch tulip bubble, can tell us about crypto's rise and fall
Tim Harford / Financial Times : Tweets: @johnkoetsier , @pkedrosky , @ftweekend , @prashanth_krish , @profjohnturner , @thecompoundnews , and @financialtimes Tweets: John Koetsier...
2022-10-13
Obviously oriented to Apple TV+, so Apple's clearly looking at a Netflix-like ad-supported tier here. Could mean more than just Apple originals ... could mean more “channels” or brands. But when Apple sees the easy money in ads ... I doubt it ends there. https://digiday.com/...
Digiday
Sources: Apple held separate exploratory discussions with media agencies about monetizing its original video content through ads, possibly as early as 2023
2022-09-27
Shocker. They always get caught, eventually. No-one is quite as smart as they think they are >> UK Police arrests teen believed to be behind Uber, Rockstar hacks https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ ...
BleepingComputer
London police arrest a 17-year-old and charge him with computer misuse and breach of bail offenses; some speculate he is behind the Uber, Rockstar, and 2K hacks
Lawrence Abrams / BleepingComputer :
2022-08-19
Human writers rejoice! AI coders: back to the workshop “to make it easier for people to find helpful content made specifically by and for people” >> Google search updates will prioritize real reviews over clickbait https://www.theverge.com/...
The Verge
Google plans to prioritize “content made specifically by and for people” in Search in English globally, covering shopping, tech-related content, and more
particularly for education, entertainment, shopping and tech content. See what else is new on Search. https://blog.google/... Danny Sullivan / @dannysullivan : Excited our “helpful...
2022-08-10
F1 driver recruitment circus, meet adtech ecosystem 1) @unity just acquired @ironSource 2) now @AppLovin says, hey baby, we're SO MUCH BETTER and suggests that Unity acquire them (also? instead of?) 3) grab the popcorn Details: https://www.businesswire.com/ ...
Reuters
AppLovin offers to buy Unity for $58.85 per share, an 18% premium to Unity's Monday closing price, in a $17.54B all-stock deal; AppLovin's stock drops 10.29%
2022-08-09
Dude, you can't cut enough jobs to offset a record $26.2 billion quarterly loss >> SoftBank plans Vision Fund job cuts after record net loss https://www.reuters.com/...
Reuters
SoftBank reports a ~$17.23B loss for Vision Fund in Q1 2022, as the value of its tech portfolio fell, including SenseTime and Uber, after a record Q4 2021 loss
2022-07-19
“You have Intel that might get $20 billion with CHIPS Act plus $5 billion or $10 billion under the FABS Act. So $30 billion goes to your direct competitor, and you don't get a penny?” >> U.S. chip industry split over CHIPS act benefits to Intel https://www.reuters.com/...
Reuters
Sources: several US chip makers have deliberated over whether to oppose the Chips Act if its final language disproportionately benefits manufacturers like Intel
2022-07-07
Mark Zuckerberg wants to build a Star Trek-like “universal translator” >> Meta open sources early-stage AI translation tool that works across 200 languages https://www.theverge.com/...
The Verge
Meta open sources its AI translation model, which works across 200 languages, as part of its ambitious R&D project to create a “universal speech translator”
helping editors to make more information available in under-represented languages. (1/2) https://ai.facebook.com/... @wiki_early_life : If AI Fairness researchers were serious they...
2022-07-06
Western intelligence agencies will be ALL OVER THIS “the databases contain Chinese national residents' names, addresses, national ID numbers, contact info numbers, and several billion criminal records” https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ ...
Bloomberg
An unidentified hacker on a forum is selling 23TB+ of allegedly stolen data on up to 1B Chinese residents for 10 BTC, after breaching a Shanghai police database
Sarah Zheng / Bloomberg :
2022-07-05
Western intelligence agencies will be ALL OVER THIS “the databases contain Chinese national residents' names, addresses, national ID numbers, contact info numbers, and several billion criminal records” https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ ...
Bloomberg
An unidentified hacker on a forum is selling 23TB+ of allegedly stolen data on up to 1B Chinese residents for 10 BTC, after breaching a Shanghai police database
Good morning, and welcome to Tuesday's Asia Links Sead Fadilpašić / TechRadar : Mystery hacker claims to have conducted one of the largest data heists in history Adam Robertson / c...