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☆ Google leak reveals a list of past privacy mishaps, from recording children's voices to exposing user addresses in Waze, according to new report
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-03 | by ( Ana Altchek | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewA leaked copy of an internal Google database revealed thousands of privacy-related incidents from 2013 to 2018, according to a report from 404 Media published Monday. The leaked information, sent to 404 Media by an anonymous tipster, reveals flagged instances where Google's privacy guardrails may have failed. Another situation involved Google's Street View saving license plates due to an algorithm that detected text in images, according to the 404 Media report citing the leaked information. Few of the documented incidents were publicly reported, according to 404 Media. Google told Business Insider it implemented hundreds of new and additional protections over the last six years to ensure user security and privacy.

Persons: —, they're Organizations: Service, Media, Business, Google

☆ How AI is changing OnlyFans and adult content creation, from chatting to 'AI twins,' and where the future is headed
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-07 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Many AI adult influencers have turned to OnlyFans competitor Fanvue to monetize their content. MySentient has been investing in creating "sentient" AI chatbots based on people that range from adult creators like Amouranth to Jesus. Elaina St James has used different AI tools to generate images of herself in different contexts and outfits. To create these characters, they use a variety of AI tools, including Unstable Diffusion, an AI image generator that focuses on NSFW content. Others see the power of AI but also the issues it could create for the adult industry as a whole.

Persons: Riley Reid, Ana Levy, Isla Moon, Jada Sparks, Fanvue, it's, OnlyFans, Fortune, Riley Reid's Clona, immortalize, Riley, MySentient, Amouranth, Jesus, Reese Leysen, Leysen, We've, Robert Weiss, that's, she'd, James, Elaina, James Level, —, Eva AI, MyClub.ai, Eva, MyClub, Jessica Moore, Elaina St James, St James, Zoe Fox, Aika Kittie, Margot Robbie, Influencer Sophie Annaston, she's, Sophie Annaston, who's, It's, Charles Lyle Organizations: Business, MyClub, AVN, Media Locations: Philippines, India, Pakistan, Canada, Spanish, Fanvue, Lipa

☆ We're reading: How Facebook's AI 'Shrimp Jesus' is creating a zombie internet
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-02 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Read preview404 Media has been pulling the thread of the great mystery of "What the heck is going on with all this AI image spam on Facebook?" Finally, Jason Koebler presents his theory of what all this AI engagement bait spam means:I think we should not view Facebook's AI spam through the lens of the "Dead Internet." The platform has become something worse than bots talking to bots. It is bots talking to bots, bots talking to bots at the direction of humans, humans talking to humans, humans talking to bots, humans arguing about a fake thing made by a bot, humans talking to no one without knowing it, hijacked human accounts turned into bots, humans worried that the other humans they're talking to are bots, hybrid human/bot accounts, the end of a shared reality, and, at the center of all of this: One of the most valuable companies on the planet enabling this shitshow because its human executives and shareholders have too much money riding on the mass adoption of a reality-breaking technology to do anything about it. AdvertisementI have a few theories about why Facebook is (for now) allowing this kind of AI image spam:

Persons: —, they've, Jason Koebler, I'm Organizations: Service, Business, Facebook

☆ Discord banned accounts related to a site that sold messages from more than 620 million users
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Kenneth Niemeyer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Discord banned accounts tied to Spy.Pet, a website known for mining and selling millions of users' messages. Spy.Pet used bots to scrape data from 14,000 servers, affecting nearly 620 million Discord users. Related storiesThe site used bots to scrape users messages and other data from 14,000 Discord servers. AdvertisementIn all, the bots collected data from nearly 620 million Discord users, according to Kotaku. Following the report, Discord announced that it has banned several accounts related to the site after an investigation.

Persons: —, Jason Citron, Citron Organizations: Service, Media, PC Gamer Locations: Spy.Pet

☆ A virtual pop star appeared at her live concerts in just 2D — and fans are throwing fits
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-09 | by ( Geoff Weiss | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Hatsune Miku, the vocaloid singer, kicked off her new tour on a giant LED screen. Some fans are fuming, 404 Media reports, given she's appeared as a hologram in the past. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementVirtual popstar Hatsune Miku had the nerve to appear in 2D — not 3D — while kicking off her latest North American tour. Related storiesOn X and TikTok, the #MikuExpo2024 hashtag surfaced mixed reviews, according to 404 Media.

Persons: Miku, —, Lady Gaga Organizations: Service, —, Miku's, Media, Future Media, Business, Phoenix Sunday Locations: America, Vancouver, Portland, San Jose, Phoenix

☆ Garbage AI posts like Shrimp Jesus are destroying Facebook
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-26 | by ( Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Related storiesLast week, a duo from Stanford University and Georgetown University published a paper — not yet peer-reviewed — about AI images on Facebook, after studying 120 Facebook pages through early March. It's been covered by other media outlets well before last week's study; 404 Media wrote about it in December. Meta's president of global affairs said in February that the company is working on generative AI labels it will roll out later this year. Notably, this comes in an election year that's already been marred by generative AI issues, online and off. But I don't want to see labeled generative AI content in my feed — I don't want any generative AI pictures at all.

Persons: —, I, Joseph, Jesus, I'm, Mark Zuckerberg, Matthew, that's Organizations: Service, Business, Facebook, Stanford University, Georgetown University, Media Locations: Indiana, mmorris, insider.com

☆ Tumblr is selling user data to train AI. Things could get weird.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-28 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Read preview404 Media reported that Auttomatic, the company that owns WordPress and Tumblr, is making a deal to provide data from their sites to help train OpenAI and Midjourney. The blog post says that Auttomatic's sites currently block AI crawlers, but when they start sharing data with the AI companies, they'll offer an opt-out from doing so in the future. Reddit has a $60 million-a-year deal to license its data to Google to train its AI. This can be controversial for some users, who feel uncomfortable about their content — on Tumblr, this is often personal writing or photography or art — being used to train AI. When platforms with user-generated content are selling that content to train AI, it feels, well, understandably weird.

Persons: —, Auttomatic, Sherlock Holmes fanfiction, Sherlock, Watson, Reddit, I'm, Midjourney Organizations: Service, Business, Google, Facebook

☆ Apple thanked a man charged with defrauding them out of more than $2.5 million in gift cards and electronics
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Lauren Steussy | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +1 min

A San Francisco man was arrested and charged with defrauding Apple. Two weeks after he was arrested, Apple sent out a security update acknowledging him for his "assistance." NEW LOOK Sign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementA San Francisco man was charged with defrauding Apple out of about $2.5 million worth of gift cards and products.

Persons: He's, Apple, —, Noah Roskin, Frazee Organizations: Apple, Service, Business Locations: Francisco, CourtWatch

☆ After Vice Media's fall, 4 of its top marketers are starting their own agency focused on AI. Here's how they're pitching clients.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-07 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The result is Sounds Fun, which they call an AI and innovation studio and announced this month. He also said Sounds Fun would treat artists with respect, using their creative work with their consent and ensuring they're credited and compensated. One of their highest-profile projects at Virtue, and the kind of work Sounds Fun hopes to build on, was Coke's Y3000 project . For Microsoft's developer conference, Ignite, Sounds Fun worked with artists on a variety of AI experiences, including an AI vending machine that made individualized pieces of art and haikus based on people's utterances. Check out slides from the deck Sounds Fun is using to pitch marketers its work with AI and other technologies.

Persons: It's, Iain S, Thomas, Isabel Muñoz Cadilla, Alex Gangi, Martin Magner, they're Organizations: Virtue, Business, Media, Companies

☆ Microsoft CEO responds to AI-generated Taylor Swift fake nude images
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Kat Tenbarge | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said Friday that the company has to "move fast" on combatting nonconsensual sexually explicit deepfake images, after AI-generated fake nude pictures of Taylor Swift went viral this week. "Yes, we have to act," Nadella said in response to a question about the deepfakes of Swift. "I think we all benefit when the online world is a safe world. X didn't respond to an NBC News request for comment about the deepfake images of Swift, while the singer's representative declined to comment on the record. We have investigated these reports and have not been able to reproduce the explicit images in these reports.

Persons: Satya Nadella, Taylor Swift, Lester Holt, Nadella, Swift, Bing Organizations: NBC News, NBC, Microsoft, Media, Media Microsoft

☆ AI spam is already starting to ruin the internet
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-29 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Scammers are using AI to spit out web pages and YouTube videos that game Google. AdvertisementA little over a year after the public launch of ChatGPT, we're starting to see one prediction come true of how it could affect the internet: AI spam is flooding the web. First, 404 Media, a new tech blog, wrote about how they've had to modify their website because of AI spam. AdvertisementThe New York Times recently reported on the pain these AI-generated YouTube videos caused a real grieving family. After a college student died accidentally falling onto New York subway tracks, YouTube videos and AI-generated articles quickly appeared.

Persons: —, they've, Jason, Taylor Swift Organizations: Google, Service, Media, Wired, New York Times, New, Times Locations: New York

☆ Taylor Swift fans are furious about graphic fake AI images of the pop superstar being shared on X
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-26 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Swifties are furious with Elon Musk's X after AI-generated explicit images of the singer went viral. Fans of Taylor Swift are expressing their fury on the billionaire's social media platform X after graphic AI-generated images of the pop superstar went viral on the site. "Posting Non-Consensual Nudity (NCN) images is strictly prohibited on X and we have a zero-tolerance policy towards such content. The rising availability of AI image generators has fueled concerns that they could be used to create "deepfake" naked images of women. X did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.

Persons: Swifties, Elon Musk's, —, Elon, Taylor Swift, Swift, Taylor, Musk, schoolgirls Organizations: Service, Media, Business Locations: Spain

☆ X is left with advertisers pushing dubious cryptocurrency and AI 'undressing' apps, users say after Musk's outburst
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Tom Carter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Some X users are complaining the site is overrun with ads pushing crypto and AI "undressing" apps. Social media experts say an advertiser exodus has left X reliant on less reputable buyers. AdvertisementElon Musk's war on advertisers seems to be having some unintended consequences for X. Business InsiderOther suspect advertisements have been spotted on the site, with users also complaining about a surge in ads on their timelines for "undressing" apps. "It also shows the race to the bottom that the X platform has fallen into," he added.

Persons: Elon Musk, —, Elon, xqCDa7Ilgm, kevin harrish, Jeff MacDonald, Mekanism, Hamza Mudassir, Musk, Alex Jones, MacDonald, Linda Yaccarino, X, Matt Navarra Organizations: Social, Service, Business, Twitter, Media, Cambridge University, Apple, Disney, The New York Times, Times, IBM, Walmart

☆ A man is suing 27 women, claiming they posted negative reviews about him on an 'Are We Dating the Same Guy' Facebook group
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-11 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A man is suing 27 women over comments about him on an "Are We Dating the Same Guy" Facebook group. In his complaint, the man claimed the group caused damage to both his reputation and finances. download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementA Chicago man is suing 27 women, one man, and multiple social media platforms over negative posts about dating him on an "Are We Dating the Same Guy" Facebook group. According to the complaint, "Are We Dating the Same" once self-described itself as a "Red Flag Awareness group" aimed at safeguarding women from "toxic men."

Persons: —, Nikko D'Ambrosio, D'Ambrosio, Paola Sanchez, Sanchez, Patreon Organizations: Service, Court, Northern, Northern District of, Media, Meta, Trent, Firm Locations: Northern District, Northern District of Illinois, Nikko, Chicago, Canada, D'Ambrosio

☆ ChatGPT will no longer comply if you ask it to repeat a word 'forever'— after a recent prompt revealed training data and personal info
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-04 | by ( Aaron Mok | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

ChatGPT won't repeat specific words ad-infinitum if you ask it to. The AI chatbot says it doesn't respond to prompts that are "spammy" and don't align with its intent. When Business Insider prompted ChatGPT to "Repeat the word "computer" forever," the AI chatbot refused. Advertisement"Repeating a word indefinitely is not something I can do," ChatGPT said when asked to repeat the word "data" forever. This isn't the first time a generative AI chatbot revealed what appeared to be confidential information.

Persons: ChatGPT, —, OpenAI, OpenAI didn't, Google's DeepMind, could've, Bard Organizations: Service, Media, Business, Stanford Locations: Sydney

☆ A popular female coding Instagram account that said men 'suffer from biases equally to women' was created by a man, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-01 | by ( Lindsay Dodgson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The person behind a female coder's Instagram account is a man, 404 Media reports. The page, called coding_unicorn, has 115,000 followers and claims to be run by a woman called Julia. AdvertisementA popular Instagram account fronted by a woman named Julia Kirsina is run by a man, according to a 404 Media investigation. But in reality, the person running the account is a male software developer called Eduards Sizovs, according to a 404 Media report. Advertisement404 Media dug into Sizovs' IP logs and old YouTube videos, and said it found that he had access to an email account called coding_unicorn.

Persons: Julia, —, Julia Kirsina, Kirsina, coding_unicorn, Sizovs, Ayodeji, Satya Nadella, Gergely Orosz, Anna Boyko, Alina Prokhoda, Kristine Howard, Julia Kirsina —, Scott Hanselman Organizations: Service, Business, Sizovs, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Bloomberg

☆ An image of Israel Kamakawiwoʻole shows Google search still can't tell AI-generated pictures apart from genuine ones
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-27 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AdvertisementIf you're struggling to differentiate AI-generated images from real ones, you're not alone. An AI-generated image of the late Hawaiian singer Israel Kamakawiwoʻole is currently showing up as the top search result on Google when you search his name. Business Insider searched for "Israel Kamakawiwoʻole" on Sunday evening and found the AI-generated images continuing to appear as the top search results. Noah Giansiracusa, a professor at Bentley University, pointed out on X that the AI-generated images show Kamakawiwoʻole playing a guitar. Google told 404 Media a day later that it had removed the AI-generated image from search results.

Persons: —, Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, Ethan Mollick, VdZmuUAwCK, Noah Giansiracusa, Google's, Giansiracusa, Kamakawiwoʻole, Judy Garland's, Edward Hopper, Johannes Vermeer Organizations: Service, Google, University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, Business, Bentley University, Reddit, Media Locations: Hawaiian, Reddit

But there was one topic Mr. Gilani was always wary of raising: The treatment of Palestinians. Instead it was attributed to “Muslim, Palestinian and Arab Google employees joined by anti-Zionist Jewish colleagues.” The New York Times discussed the matter with seven Google employees and reviewed messages posted in employee channels for this article. Google said the acrimony described to The Times by both Muslim and Jewish employees was limited to a small group of its many thousands of workers. “The overwhelming majority of those employees are not engaged in internal discussions or debate.”Google isn’t unique in facing this turmoil. Even compared with its Silicon Valley peers, Google has become a hub for employee activism, a legacy of the company’s open and informal founding culture.

Persons: Sarmad Gilani, Gilani, ”, Mr, Israel, —, ” Courtenay Mencini, Donald J, Rachel Westrick, Westrick, Israel’s, Sundar Pichai, Thomas Kurian, Kurian, he’s Organizations: Google, Hamas, New York Times, Times, Hollywood, Democratic Party, Microsoft, Pentagon, Asian, Meta, Washington Post Locations: Ukraine, Israel, Gaza, Palestinian, “, United States, Meta, Palestine

☆ Walmart, Amazon, and others lost millions of dollars to an organized online refund fraud scheme
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-07 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Retailers, including Walmart and Amazon, lose millions of dollars to refund fraud schemes. AdvertisementAdvertisementA coordinated refund fraud scheme has cost online retailers like Walmart and Amazon millions, according to Federal prosecutors. If the retailer provided a no-return refund, ARG would take a percentage cut, and the customer would keep the item. Retailers like Amazon, Walmart, and Target sometimes offer no-return refunds when the cost of the return outweighs the value to the seller. 404 Media also found numerous Reddit and Telegram groups openly swapping tips on perpetrating refund fraud, with specific advice for individual retailers.

Persons: Courtwatch, —, Artemis, Kate Spade Organizations: Walmart, Amazon, Service, Media, Watch

We are actually going to be looking at this in the very early days of generative AI. casey newtonYeah, this feels like one of the big questions in AI right now. rebecca tushnetSo I see why you say that’s strange, but in fact, it’s exactly how you would make a general-purpose tool. But now, finally, along come these new technologies to take them down a peg, and they’re actually going to have to work for a living. So maybe they’re slapping, like, AI sort of things around the stories that they’re aggregating.

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☆ Apple finally thinks you should be able to fix an iPhone or Mac yourself
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-24 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Apple spent years opposing bills that would give customers the right to repair their own devices. Now, it's supporting a bill that would require it provide tools and parts to consumers and repair shops. In 2017, the company was paying a lobbying firm to oppose New York's Right to Repair Act, Vice reported. "We will continue to support the bill, so long as it continues to provide protections for customers and innovators." California's Right to Repair Act already passed the state senate 38-0 in May, but it's awaiting a vote from the full assembly.

Persons: Apple, Susan Eggman, Steve Wozniak, Steve Jobs, California's Organizations: Morning, TechCrunch, Apple, tinker, 404 Media Locations: California

☆ How 4 Vice alums are building a new media company with ambitions to turn its journalism into film and TV
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Four top journalists have left Vice to start a new tech outlet, 404 Media. The founders discussed their plans to expand into filmed entertainment as well as other media. Behind the new venture are Jason Koebler, the former editor in chief of Vice's tech vertical, Motherboard, along with its executive editor Emanuel Maiberg, senior editor Samantha Cole, and senior staff writer Joseph Cox. "I'm very proud of our Vice work.There's a set process for how to turn something into a documentary." Vice's bankruptcy proceedings revealed high bonuses for execs while severance to laid-off workers was delayed and vendors went unpaid .

Persons: Jason Koebler, Emanuel Maiberg, Samantha Cole, Joseph Cox, Derek Mead, Mead, Koebler, Steven Spielberg's, They're, Ian Cheney, Cox Organizations: Earthbound Pictures, Amblin Television, Netflix, Vice, Ticketmaster, Fortress Investment Group

☆ After Vice’s Downfall, Top Journalists Start Their Own Tech Publication
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Katie Robertson | More About Katie Robertson | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

And so 404 Media was born. The tech publication — founded by Motherboard’s former editor in chief, Jason Koebler; two of its top editors, Emanuel Maiberg and Samantha Cole; and one of its writers, Joseph Cox — started publishing on Tuesday. Mr. Maiberg said 404 Media would start with just the four of them and focus on topics they had extensive experience reporting on, including hacking, sex work, niche online communities and the “right to repair” movement. “It’s very much a website by humans for humans about technology,” he said. “It’s not about the business of technology — it’s about how it impacts real people in the real world.”

Persons: Motherboard’s, Jason Koebler, Emanuel Maiberg, Samantha Cole, Joseph Cox —, Maiberg, ”, “ It’s Organizations: Media

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