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Showing posts from October, 2023

High court weighs whether officials may block critics on social media

The cases present a fresh opportunity to decide whether and when public officials can block individual critics from their private social media accounts. https://wapo.st/3FG78f8

World leaders are gathering at the U.K.’s AI Summit. Doom is on the agenda.

Featuring Vice President Harris, Tesla CEO Elon Musk and other top executives, the U.K.’s global AI summit has highlighted diverging priorities between the prime minister and the White House. https://wapo.st/3QDC31W

Under prosecution’s fire, Sam Bankman-Fried brushes off past comments

The disgraced ex-mogul and founder of FTX tried to distance himself from the statements he made while his crypto exchange imploded. https://wapo.st/46SzYoB

Google CEO calls search ‘very competitive’ in defending Apple deal

Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai appeared Monday as the star witness for Google’s defense against a landmark antitrust case. https://wapo.st/3Qh8Usa

Scams are targeting teenagers. Here’s how to keep your kids safe.

Even kids who grew up online need to learn about scams and fraud. Here’s how parents can prepare them for the worst the internet has to offer. https://wapo.st/49fmFQH

Biden to sign sweeping artificial intelligence executive order

President Biden is expected to sign a sweeping artificial intelligence executive order on Monday, marking the U.S.’s most ambitious regulatory attempt yet. https://wapo.st/47ewKvD

How a robotaxi crash got Cruise’s self-driving cars pulled from Californian roads

A prominent self-driving car company went from approval to ban in just two months, highlighting the fragmented oversight governing the fledgling industry. https://wapo.st/3sa0735

A year later, Musk’s X is tilting right. And sinking.

The billionaire bought Twitter to revive its business and make it less “woke.” He has achieved only one of those goals. https://wapo.st/46KJB8M

Schumer says ‘only real answer’ on AI is congressional action

Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said an expected executive order from President Biden to deal with AI will not be enough. https://wapo.st/3Fv2WyZ

Candidates, take this AI election pledge. Or 2024 might break us.

The first AI election is here. Our tech columnist proposes some ground rules for candidates’ use of artificial intelligence. https://wapo.st/3QjZoVk

After laying off thousands, Meta expects to add jobs next year

The company said it’s poised to increase its hiring in technical roles for areas such as artificial intelligence and the metaverse. https://wapo.st/3tNF9HO

White House to unveil sweeping AI executive order next week

President Biden’s long-anticipated AI executive order marks the government’s most significant attempt to regulate the swiftly evolving technology. https://wapo.st/478MBvH

Sam Bankman-Fried to testify at his fraud trial as it draws to a close

The founder of the now-defunct crypto exchange FTX will take the stand later this week after his inner circle testified against him, his lawyer said. https://wapo.st/3tNGXRj

Apple is pushing repair laws but still puts limits on iPhone fixes

“Parts pairing” makes iPhones trickier for local, independent repair shops to fully fix, and repair advocates aren’t pleased. https://wapo.st/470jMBp

Police love Google’s surveillance data. Here’s how to protect yourself.

Novel ways of using Google’s search and location data are helping police. But privacy advocates say it’s violating Americans’ constitutional rights. https://wapo.st/3MgsT9c

Violent videos and ‘brutal voyeurism’ are redefining modern war

From Russian soldiers shot down on camera to Hamas fighters slain as they tried to escape the Israeli navy, the scenes now shared across the internet are far more violent and graphic than in previous conflicts. https://wapo.st/3tSbo8D

The moon is 40 million years older than thought, ancient crystal suggests

The moon is even older than scientists realized, according to new studies of crystals brought back from the moon by Apollo astronauts in 1972. https://wapo.st/40bkd9Y

From doom to boom: AI is slowly re-energizing San Francisco

Buzzy AI start-ups are landing big investments, drawing talent to San Francisco and occupying more real estate. https://wapo.st/45QduDC

Israel-Gaza war prompts U.S. employees to demand companies take a side

A new website documents “Anti-Israel Employees,” prompting some pro-Palestinian employees to say they’re being targeted. https://wapo.st/3rTeM2J

Spy vs. spy: How Israelis tried to stop Russia’s information war in Africa

In the two years since an Israelis company first tried to thwart a Russian disinformation campaign in Burkina Faso, coups or rebels have removed the governments of five former French colonies, replacing them with pro-Russia leaders. https://wapo.st/46EJBY1

Pro-Palestinian creators use secret spellings, code words to evade social media algorithms

From deploying “terrier” emojis to referring to “P*les+in1ans,” creators are changing up their language to evade Big Tech’s content rules. https://wapo.st/403wj4C

Death by a thousand meetings: How to reduce video-call overload

Years into the pandemic, white-collar workers are still suffering from back-to-back video calls. Experts provide tips on how to rethink meetings. https://wapo.st/48T2DeC

Google just changed how you log in to your account

Google made passkeys the default log-in option. Here’s how passkeys work, how to set them up and why they’re safer than passwords. https://wapo.st/3S4KzIE

How to avoid doom scrolling and news fatigue while staying up-to-date

Your phone is a portal to constant terrible news. Here’s how to rein it in. https://wapo.st/45QQDb3

Commerce Department moves to cut key supply lines to China’s AI industry

The Biden administration is poised to announce a raft of new export controls aimed at slowing China’s development of advanced AI technologies. https://wapo.st/3M5I457

Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal peril deepens as his defense comes up short

Sam Bankman-Fried’s legal peril deepens as his defense comes up short https://wapo.st/48UbOvn

These are some of the notable companies laying off workers

The tech, mortgage and auto industries are among the hardest hit with layoffs going into 2023. Among the giant companies are Amazon, Meta and Twitter. https://wapo.st/46yN4am

A flood of misinformation shapes views of Israel-Gaza conflict

A flood of misinformation in the Israel-Gaza war is shaping how panicked citizens and a global public view the conflict with Hamas. https://wapo.st/45xmk93

AI voice clones mimic politicians and celebrities, reshaping reality

Artificial intelligence voice cloning software has rapidly increased in quality. It’s allowing anyone from foreign actors to music fans to copy somebody’s voice. https://wapo.st/48PhpmB

Hamas vows to broadcast hostage executions. Tech firms can’t stop them.

Live-streamed murders in Buffalo and Christchurch, New Zealand, remain visible on the web long after the mass killings took place. https://wapo.st/45wrW3p

Graphic war videos go viral, testing social media’s rules

As some major platforms ban Hamas, others take a laissez-faire approach. https://wapo.st/3ZOP4sJ

How to limit graphic social media images from the Israel-Hamas war

Here are the features in social media apps to limit images of graphic violence from Israel and Gaza, if you choose. https://wapo.st/3ZOPaAy

How to avoid falling for misinformation, AI images on social media

Breaking news moves fast online, and it can be difficult to tell what's real and what's purposefully misleading or fake. Here's how to sort through it all. https://wapo.st/3OvdKTr

How to remotely access a computer to help your family’s IT problems for free

Who among us hasn't occasionally been tapped for tech support? These free tools can make remotely troubleshooting PC problems less of a headache. https://wapo.st/48WmSZ4

Economy vs. environment: Some Taiwanese consider cashing in their chips

Taiwan’s semiconductor industry provides it with economic and national security. But some locals are questioning whether the environmental burden is worth it. https://wapo.st/45mXR6f

As false war information spreads on X, Musk promotes unvetted accounts

Elon Musk recommended that users follow accounts that have promoted lies in the past. https://wapo.st/3rKLJyg

Amazon’s Alexa has been claiming the 2020 election was stolen

Alexa says the 2020 race was stolen, even as parent company Amazon promotes the voice assistant as a reliable source of election news. https://wapo.st/3rAunEf

The final 11 seconds of a fatal Tesla Autopilot crash

A lawsuit over the crash could determine whether the maker of the technology bears some responsibility when things go wrong in a vehicle guided by Autopilot. https://wapo.st/45rlwSR

Elon Musk strips news headlines from X, posing challenge for media outlets

The headline of this article will no longer appear in the tile that automatically appears when a link to the piece is shared on X, formerly Twitter. https://wapo.st/45eOci9

Google’s new Pixel 8 phones reflect a deepening obsession with AI

These days, it seems like everyone is trying to build AI tools. Google is no exception, and it’s cramming those tools into its new phones. https://wapo.st/48Di0I2

Zoom is releasing its own version of Google Docs

Zoom says its collaborative documents app, rivaling Microsoft Word and Google Docs, will integrate with meetings and be generally available next year. https://wapo.st/48FSFgM

Overwhelmed trying to protect your privacy? A new app does it for you.

Americans finally have some privacy rights. Permission Slip makes telling companies to delete or not sell your data simple. Really. https://wapo.st/3RK9roP

NASA got its first asteroid sample — with help from Queen guitarist Brian May

Before he was a rock star, Queen’s lead guitarist Brian May was an astrophysicist. He put those skills to the test in NASA’s first-ever asteroid sample return mission. https://wapo.st/3LKnRRT

Microsoft CEO says Google’s deals with Apple led to its dominance

At Google’s antitrust trial, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella said Google’s search engine is dominant because of its deals making it the default option across devices. https://wapo.st/3LK7s03

8 ways to combat ageism in your job search

Expert advice for how to avoid negative stereotypes associated with younger and more mature workers. https://wapo.st/3LG8SbR

As trial looms, Sam Bankman-Fried’s own words may pose his biggest risk

The founder of FTX is accused of bilking customers and investors out of billions of dollars in the 2022 collapse of his cryptocurrency empire. https://wapo.st/3PYbvYR

How Big Tech is co-opting the rising stars of artificial intelligence

This week Anthropic announced a deal with Amazon worth up to $4 billion. https://wapo.st/3RGZB73