For critics, the ID process from Worldcoin is a privacy risk; for others it is financial security in the age of AI. We try it outWorldcoin wants to prove I am actually human". At least that is the explanation a staff member gives for a cryptocurrency venture scanning my eyeball in a London office building.Without the optical scan, Worldcoin will not verify your humanness" - you could be a robot and you won't get any crypto. Welcome to financial security in the age of artificial intelligence. Continue reading...
Generative AI can involve citizens directly in decision-making, but not while developers' incentives are only financialThe YouTube clip I return to most often is David Bowie being interviewed by Jeremy Paxman on Newsnight in 1999. Bowie is talking about what the internet might do: I don't think we've even seen the tip of the iceberg. I think that the potential of what the internet is going to do to society, both good and bad, is unimaginable. I think we're on the cusp of something exhilarating and terrifying."It's just a tool, isn't it?" condescends Paxman. It's an alien life form," insists Bowie. Is there life on Mars? Yes, and it's just landed here." Continue reading...
Old-school practical effects date back to the silent era and are created with artistry and care. Is the novelty of CGI green-screen action wearing off in favour of craft models?For the past 12 months, Hollywood has been facing a serious case of CGI fatigue, with critics tearing into would-be blockbusters for their over-reliance on it. In the New Yorker, Richard Brody wrote that heavy effects work in Ant-Man 3 instead of endowing the inanimate with life, subtract it", while Ellen E Jones wrote in the Guardian that Little Mermaid was rendered lifeless" by CGI. The Netflix rom-com You People, starring Jonah Hill, made headlines when it was revealed that the final kiss in the film was done with CGI and the actor Christian Bale didn't mince words when he said working exclusively in front of green screens on Thor: Love & Thunder was the definition of monotony".As if in response, 2023 has delivered a buffet of practical-effects-driven films to the multiplex. Greta Gerwig used techniques dating back to silent film and soundstage musicals to bring her fantastical, hot-pink vision of Barbieland to life, Christopher Nolan reconstructed Oppenheimer's Trinity test using miniatures, and Christopher McQuarrie hoisted a train carriage 80ft into the air in order to film Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One's stomach-churning final stunt. Indie films have been getting in on the fun, too: Wes Anderson turned a piece of Spanish farmland into a real town, complete with plumbing and electricity, for Asteroid City; the penis monster" in Ari Aster's Beau Is Afraid was made entirely with prosthetics; and the buzzy horror film Talk to Me has been praised for its gory and disturbingly real" prosthetics. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#6DAJ7)
Bluetooth noise cancellers are best-sounding Beats yet and packed with cross-platform featuresHot on the heels of some great new earbuds, Apple's Beats brand is back with an update to the headphones that made it a hit all the way back in 2008, the Studio Pro.The new Beats headphones cost 349.99 ($349.99) and are the fourth generation of the Studio line launched by Dr Dre 15 years ago, replacing 2017's Studio 3 Wireless. They are Apple's second most expensive Bluetooth headphones after the 549 AirPods Max but, as with other recent Beats kit, they court Android users as much as those with an iPhone.Weight: 260gDimensions: 181 x 178 x 78mmDrivers: 40mmConnectivity: Bluetooth 5.3, 3.5mm, USB-C (charging and audio)Bluetooth codecs: SBC, AACBattery life: 24 hours (ANC on) Continue reading...
How do you use your phone without snubbing everyone around you? Experts explain when to pick it up and when to switch on do not disturb'Paying too much attention to your phone is bad for your relationships. This may seem obvious, but it has taken a team of scientists to make us take notice. Phubbing - snubbing someone in your company in order to engage with your phone - has been in the news because researchers in Turkey have found that couples who reported more phubbing also reported less satisfaction in their marriages.There has been a flurry of research into the impact of phubbing on relationships. Is this because, feeling the effects of myriad micro-ostracisms, we are finally ready to listen? As our phone usage threatens to tip from irksome to destructive, where should the lines of acceptable behaviour be drawn? Continue reading...
Within a week of launch of Mark Zuckerberg's answer to Twitter 100 million people signed up, but weeks later there's been a dropDespite a dizzying number of initial sign-ups, usage of Threads, Mark Zuckerberg's answer to Twitter, has declined significantly in recent weeks, according to a new report of by Similarweb, a digital intelligence platform.Within the first few hours of its launch on 5 July, Threads garnered 5m user registrations and within less than a week at least 100 million people had signed up for the app. But, three weeks later, active daily use or the number of users who engage with the site on a daily basis has dropped, from a peak of 49 million on 7 July to 12 million on 22 July, according to Similarweb. Continue reading...
The makers of Hohokum let you befriend anything from colourful birds to winged sea creatures in a game with no pressure to strategiseFrom the first time you look at it, the idea behind Flock is easy enough to understand. You're a small person sitting on the back of a large bird, while a whole gaggle of colourful creatures follows your every move. Over the course of the game, you will find more such creatures to add to your flock and zoom around a beautiful island with them, an idea partially inspired by development duo Ricky Haggett and Richard Hogg's previous work on 2014's Hohokum - in which you play a giant snake who can pick up friends to ride around on your back.Hohokum and Flock evoke a pleasant sensation of flight, and designer Haggett of studio Hollow Ponds readily admits to a love of Microsoft Flight Simulator and the wingsuit flying game Superflight. There was a lot of effort put into the movement in Hohokum, and while these are two different types of flying, the same is true here," Haggett says. We're always aiming for that pleasant lack of friction." Continue reading...
The Safe Street Rebel group has waged a war against robotaxis in an effort to end vehicle dominance in the city and promote public transportIt's a typical Wednesday night in San Francisco, a wet fog coating the street-lit sidewalks of the Lower Haight neighborhood.In the shadows of Duboce park, eight activists have gathered, bikes in hand. Their mission: to disable as many self-driving cars on the streets of the city as possible over the course of the next few hours. Their weapon of choice? A simple traffic cone, nicked from sidewalks and construction sites as they bike along. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#6D9P2)
New high-tech devices announced alongside water-resistant Tab S9 Android tablets and Galaxy WatchesSamsung has unveiled its next-generation devices with folding screens, including the popular Z Flip phone, alongside new water-resistant premium tablets and Galaxy Watch smartwatches.The Galaxy Z Flip 5 and Z Fold 5 were unveiled on Wednesday at an event in the company's home country of South Korea, alongside a new series of Tab S9 Android tablets and the Galaxy Watch 6 running Google's Wear OS software. Continue reading...
Company's $56.2bn revenue beat Wall Street expectations but slowing growth for cloud service Azure proved to be a dampenerMicrosoft shares fell on Tuesday as the company reported a slowdown in growth of parts of its business, despite the company's various investments in AI including its partnerships with OpenAI and Meta.The tech firm beat Wall Street expectations with $56.2bn in revenue, but its latest earnings report showed slowing revenue growth for its cloud service Azure. Revenue from Azure only grew 26% in the fourth quarter of the year, compared with 27% in the previous quarter. Continue reading...
The Jaguar Land Rover owner's new plant should encourage more similar investments in the UK by othersFrance has four. Germany has nine. The US has 34. China has a staggering 283. Around the world, countries are racing to announce plans for huge gigafactories to supply the batteries to power the electric car era.By contrast, the presence of only one large UK gigafactory project with big financial backers - supplying Nissan in Sunderland - was growing increasingly alarming. That changed last week as Jaguar Land Rover's owner, Tata Group, chose the UK for a new 4bn battery factory. It had considered a rival site in Spain for the plant. Continue reading...
Financial Conduct Authority chief to highlight risks of deepfake' fraud as well as benefits of Artificial IntelligenceThe head of the UK's financial regulator is to warn that banks, investors and insurers will have to ramp up their spending to combat scammers using artificial intelligence to commit fraud.Nikhil Rathi, the chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will say that there are risks of cyber fraud, cyber-attacks and identity fraud increasing in scale and sophistication and effectiveness" as artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more widespread, in a speech in London on Wednesday. Continue reading...
It is not yet clear how the power and possibilities of AI will play out. Here are the best-case scenarios for how it might help us develop new drugs, give up dull jobs and live long, healthy lives
Five passengers discuss the impact of proposals to remove ticketing staff from almost all stationsRail firms have announced plans to shut down almost all of England's remaining ticket offices in an attempt to modernise" the railway.The move has angered unions and disability and passenger groups, who say it would affect the ability of some customers to travel independently. Continue reading...
The first new non-3D instalment for a decade, due for release on Switch in October, will introduce the Wonder Flower, a four-player co-op feature - and Mario will be able to turn into an elephantThere have been rumours circulating for a while that a new 2D instalment in the Super Mario series was afoot - but perhaps no one expected a game in which the titular plumber could transform into an elephant and bounce on spherical hippos. That's exactly what we're getting, however, courtesy of Super Mario Bros Wonder, the first new non-3D Super Mario instalment for a decade, and the highlight of Nintendo's latest Direct showcase streamed live on Wednesday evening.Due for release on Switch on 20 October, Wonder is being billed as the next evolution of 2D side-scrolling". Ostensibly, it looks like a modernised take on the classic Super Nintendo-era games, with its bright, brash landscape, familiar Koopa enemies, and green pipes, but the game is introducing a new Wonder Flower, which, when touched, causes changes in the game world, including pipes coming alive and wriggling around and enemies bombarding the screen or mutating into new forms. Players will also be able to control Princess Peach, Princess Daisy and Yoshi as well as Mario who is now able to turn into an elephant. Local four-player co-op is another welcome feature. Continue reading...
Data ‘compromised’ when hackers thought to be Russia-linked criminal gang gained access through security flaw – departmentThe US Department of Energy and several other government agencies were hit in a global hacking campaign that exploited a vulnerability in widely used file-transfer software, officials said this week.Data was “compromised” at two entities within the energy department when hackers – attributed to a Russia-linked criminal gang – gained access through a security flaw in MoveIt Transfer, the department said in a statement on Thursday. Continue reading...
The company’s 2023 Showcase drove home the changes facing the industry, and its need to adapt after after the pandemic. Its CEO is positive the way forward is togetherPhil Spencer is sitting alone on the stage at the Novo Theatre in downtown Los Angeles. The building is across the street from the empty LA convention centre which, in Junes gone by, would have been the thronging heart of the games industry universe. But that universe has changed irrevocably over the past two years. Things have to be done differently now – the future is uncertain.Nobody knows that better than Spencer. Earlier today, he’d hosted a live showing of the Xbox 2023 Showcase in this auditorium, the seats packed with members of the Xbox fanbase. It was a raucous two hours of whooping and cheering, but Xbox has ground to make up. “2022 was a light year,” Spencer says, before instantly checking himself. “That’s kind of a positive way to put it.” Continue reading...
Digital Storytelling, its new exhibition, shows how interactive technology has changed – and expanded – the way we tell storiesWhen you walk into the British Library, the first thing you’ll see – apart from people sitting in every available free space, writing on laptops or in notebooks – is a glass tower encasing rows upon rows of books, stretching up to the ceiling. It’s fair to say that this place has a lot of experience when it comes to displaying stories. For digital, interactive stories, though, the classic glass case doesn’t really work. These tales often invite the reader to play a part in the narrative and shape their own experience, but this can be difficult when you’re standing in an exhibition room with people looking over your shoulder, waiting for their turn. Allowing for interactivity in the finite and often restrictive setting of an exhibition is not an easy task. But in its latest exhibition, Digital Storytelling, the British Library has tasked itself with just that.It is not the first time the British Library has featured digital works: however, it is the first time that an entire exhibition has revolved around “the ways in which digital technologies have shaped how we communicate and tell stories”, as the curators put it. It features highly regarded commercial classics of interactive digital storytelling, such as the Inkle’s 2014 steampunk narrative fiction game 80 Days, and Nyamnyam’s 2019 Elizabethan comedy narrative adventure Astrologaster, sitting beside intimate personal narratives such as c ya laterrrr, an autobiographical hypertext account of the loss of author Dan Hett’s brother in the 2017 Manchester Arena terrorist attack. Despite the modest size of the exhibition room, the curators (Giulia Carla Rossi, Ian Cooke, and Stella Wisdom) have selected a wide range of pieces spanning genres, topics and emotions, made with a variety of digital tools. Continue reading...
Meta, where I used to work, is developing powerful tools. I’m worried about what could happen if they’re picked up by malicious actorsA researcher was granted access earlier this year by Facebook’s parent company, Meta, to incredibly potent artificial intelligence software – and leaked it to the world. As a former researcher on Meta’s civic integrity and responsible AI teams, I am terrified by what could happen next.Though Meta was violated by the leak, it came out as the winner: researchers and independent coders are now racing to improve on or build on the back of LLaMA (Large Language Model Meta AI – Meta’s branded version of a large language model or LLM, the type of software underlying ChatGPT), with many sharing their work openly with the world. Continue reading...
by Alexi Duggins, Hollie Richardson and Hannah Verdie on (#6C70K)
In this week’s newsletter: With guests such as author Riaz Phillips, Museumand looks back at 75 years of British-Caribbean culture in Objeks & TingsDon’t get Hear Here delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereMy Mrs Maisel Pod
Canon events, which are central to the film Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, reframe unfortunate experiences as central to each person’s storyThe universal human experience of regretfully pondering the things that could have been different in your life has had a TikTok makeover. Meet “canon events” –unfortunate periods that make you, you.The idea of canon events is central to the newly released animated movie, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse, in which all the incarnations of Spiderman from parallel dimensions are bound together by several key (canon) events that must occur in each. Continue reading...
Study finds the search giant has profited since Roe was overturned from anti-abortion groups buying misleading search termsGoogle has made millions of dollars in the last two years from advertisements misdirecting users who were seeking abortion services to “pregnancy crisis centers” that do not actually provide care, according to a new study.The tech giant has taken in an estimated $10m in two years from anti-choice organizations that pay to advertise such centers alongside legitimate results on the Google search page, according to a new report from the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), a non-profit group that conducts misinformation research. Its study, published on Thursday, estimates that the search results have reached and potentially misled hundreds of thousands of users. Continue reading...
Social network says it will not back down from plan to levy data charges against third-party tool developersReddit’s battle with its own users over new access fees will continue beyond the planned two-day protest, as hundreds of volunteer moderators declared their intention to maintain a blackout indefinitely.The social network, which intends to begin levying swingeing data charges against developers of third-party tools used to browse the site, says it has no intention of backing down from its plans in the wake of the campaign. Continue reading...
Bloc hopes to set global standard for technology – including ban on police use of live facial recognition technology in public placesThe EU has taken a major step towards passing one of the world’s first laws governing artificial intelligence after its main legislative branch approved the text of draft legislation that includes a blanket ban on police use of live facial recognition technology in public places.The European parliament approved rules aimed at setting a global standard for the technology, which encompasses everything from automated medical diagnoses to some types of drone, AI-generated videos known as deepfakes, and bots such as ChatGPT. Continue reading...
Competition commission accuses firm of favouring its own services to detriment of rivalsThe EU has ordered Google to sell part of its advertising business, as the bloc’s competition regulator steps up its enforcement of big tech’s monopolies.The competition commission said it had taken issue “with Google favouring its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of competing providers of advertising technology services, advertisers and online publishers”. Continue reading...
Commissioner says existential threat unlikely, but ‘guardrails’ needed for decisions affecting livelihoodsDiscrimination is a bigger threat posed by artificial intelligence than possible extinction of the human race, according to the EU’s competition commissioner.Margrethe Vestager said although the existential risk from advances in AI may be a concern, it was unlikely, whereas discrimination from the technology was a real problem. Continue reading...
Some delivery and storage costs for European vendors more than doubled in 2017-23, analysis showsAmazon has been accused of being “no friend of the small business” after a report discovered evidence that the online marketplace has ramped up fees and advertising costs for sellers.It found that between 2017 and 2022 Amazon had tripled the amount it earned from fees for independent sellers in Europe, including for listings, deliveries and digital support. That growth far outstripped the rise in sales, which doubled over the same period. Continue reading...
Federal Trade Commission secures delay of $69bn deal which it argues would be anti-competitiveA US district judge has granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request to temporarily block Microsoft’s $69bn buyout of video game maker Activision Blizzard and set a hearing next week.Microsoft’s bid to acquire the Call of Duty video game maker has been approved by the EU but blocked by British competition authorities, while the FTC, a US authority, has argued the transaction would give Microsoft’s video game console Xbox exclusive access to Activision games, leaving Nintendo consoles and Sony’s PlayStation out in the cold. Continue reading...
by Johana Bhuiyan and Nick Robins-Early on (#6C5YZ)
Everyone accepts that AI is dangerous. Agreeing on what to do about it is a different storyLast month, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and face of the artificial intelligence boom, sat in front of members of Congress urging them to regulate artificial intelligence (AI). As lawmakers on the Senate judiciary subcommittee asked the 38-year-old tech mogul about the nature of his business, Altman argued that the AI industry could be dangerous and that the government needs to step in.“I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong,” Altman said. “We want to be vocal about that.” Continue reading...
Regulators have launched two big lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, and Rishi Sunak could mine the benefits• Don’t get TechScape delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the full article hereRishi Sunak’s techno-moment has come. Unfortunately for him, it might be too late.Last week, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launched a pair of lawsuits against the country’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase.The SEC complaint alleges that [CEO Changpeng Zhao] directed Binance to conceal the access of high-spending US customers to Binance.com. In one piece of evidence included in the lawsuit, the Binance chief compliance officer messaged a colleague saying: “We are operating as a fking unlicensed securities exchange in the USA bro.” Elsewhere in the lawsuit, Binance’s CCO is quoted as saying: “We do not want [Binance].com to be regulated ever.”“Since at least 2019, through the Coinbase platform, Coinbase has operated as an unregistered broker … an unregistered exchange … and an unregistered clearing agency,” the SEC said in its complaint. “Coinbase has for years defied the regulatory structures and evaded the disclosure requirements that Congress and the SEC have constructed for the protection of the national securities markets and investors.”Paul Grewal, the chief legal officer and general counsel of Coinbase, said: “The SEC’s reliance on an enforcement-only approach in the absence of clear rules for the digital asset industry is hurting America’s economic competitiveness and companies like Coinbase that have a demonstrated commitment to compliance.California-based Andreessen Horowitz (A16Z) said Britain was on “the right path to becoming a leader in crypto regulation”. The venture capital firm’s new office will open later this year and will be dedicated to investing in crypto and tech startups in the UK and Europe.Chris Dixon, the head of crypto investing at Andreessen Horowitz, wrote in a blogpost: “While there is still work to be done, we believe that the UK is on the right path to becoming a leader in crypto regulation.As we cement the UK’s place as a science and tech superpower, we must embrace new innovations like Web3, powered by blockchain technology, which will enable start-ups to flourish here and grow the economy.“That success is founded on having the right regulation and guardrails in place to protect consumers and foster innovation. While there’s still work to do, I’m determined to unlock opportunities for this technology and turn the UK into the world’s Web3 centre. Continue reading...
Company said vehicle never obstructed access to scene in San Francisco even as police in video say it blocked first respondersA Cruise self-driving car appeared to hinder first responders as they tried to access the scene of a mass shooting in San Francisco’s Mission District on Friday night, raising concerns about robotaxis’ ability to safely offer rides throughout the city.Emergency crews were responding to a shooting on 24th Street shortly after 9pm in which nine people were injured. In a video posted to Twitter, a Cruise self-driving car is seen in the road as an officer approaches it and says it’s “blocking emergency medical and fire. I’ve got to get it out of here now.” In a statement, Cruise maintained that the car did not block emergency access to the scene “at any point”. Continue reading...
Report says British state is poorly prepared for radical changes that AI could unleashArtificial intelligence could represent the most substantial policy challenge ever faced by the UK and urgent action is needed to avoid falling behind rival powers such as the US, according to a report co-authored by Tony Blair and William Hague.The former prime minister and the former Conservative party leader, who co-wrote the foreword to the report, said society was about to be “radically reshaped” by the technology, resulting in a “fundamental change in how we plan for the future”. The report warns that the state is poorly prepared for the changes that AI could unleash. Continue reading...
Federal Trade Commission opposes purchase, which would be largest in video-game industry history, on antitrust groundsThe Federal Trade Commission asked a court to temporarily block Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard on Monday, seeking to halt the deal from closing before the government’s case against the $69bn deal is heard.The FTC said Microsoft and Activision had signaled the deal could close as soon as Friday, and asked a federal judge to block any final agreement before 11.59pm ET on 15 June. Continue reading...
by Samuel Gibbs Consumer technology editor on (#6C5HA)
Thin and light M2 Mac has fast performance, a very long battery life and one of the best screens on the marketApple’s much-rumoured 15in MacBook Air is here, marking the firm’s return to this part of the market and adding more screen to what is arguably the best consumer laptop available.The 15in MacBook Air starts at £1,399 ($1,299/A$2,199) – £250 more than the excellent 13in version, which has been given a £100 price cut since its launch. Continue reading...
California-based venture capitalist firm says UK now on ‘right path to becoming a leader in crypto regulation’A leading US tech investment firm that counts Facebook and Twitter among its successful bets has backed the UK’s approach to crypto regulation as it announced plans to open a London office that will be its first outside the US.California-based Andreessen Horowitz said Britain was on “the right path to becoming a leader in crypto regulation”. The venture capital firm’s new office will open later this year and will be dedicated to investing in crypto and tech startups in the UK and Europe. Continue reading...
Be warned: you will be sucked in to the cosmic new worlds, its ‘Nasa punk’ aesthetic and the rich narrative details Bethesda always addsIt’s the game Bethesda has been thinking about and dreamily planning for 25 years: a massive role-playing adventure, set not just on one world like the multimillion- selling Fallout and Skyrim titles, but across an entire galaxy of more than 1,000 detailed planets. In a 40-minute video presentation given as part of Sunday’s Xbox Showcase in LA, the development team working under director Todd Howard spelt out its wildly ambitious project in detail – so, so much detail.You play as a member of the Constellation, a famed group of space explorers who have stumbled across a strange artefact that hints at an ancient alien intelligence, or perhaps even god. That’s the main quest-line, but players can also discover myriad side quests and mini-missions handed out by a vast number of non-player characters. The game starts in the sprawling utopian city of New Atlantis on Alpha Centauri, but as play progresses, you move farther away from the peaceful United Colonies, and into the territory of the Independent Coalition of Star Systems, a ragtag frontier of cyberpunk worlds. Outside those lies uncharted space, teeming with hostile factions. Continue reading...
Silicon Valley wants to make us believe humans are predictable and our skills replaceable. I’ve learned that’s nonsenseI spent the best part of the 2010s working in new media, which – if you enjoyed being repeatedly laid off and then being inundated with jeering messages inveigling you to “learn to code” because your industry was doomed – was a great big laugh. Eventually, the fun began to wear off and in an act of subversive defiance (or cowardly resignation), I took their goading advice, learned to code and pivoted to what I’d hoped would be a far more secure career in “web development”, only for recent advances in AI to supposedly render coding jobs a waste of time, too. It seems I have accidentally timed my career change to coincide with a mass rollout of AI chatbots that have also learned to code, and that are – in many respects – already far better at it than me.Code can appear alarming to the uninitiated: inscrutable “languages” that mostly read like a calculator having a stroke, but, according to AI’s most fervent evangelists, they no longer need represent any barrier at all. Why bother wrapping your head around the needlessly convoluted nerdspeak required to display white text on a black background, when you can now simply ask a chatbot to do this in layperson’s terms and it will promptly serve up your code, complete with instructions?Tristan Cross is a Welsh writer based in London Continue reading...
Coventry workers determined to keep going despite setback in push for unionisation“Jeff Bezos has got more money than he could spend in a hundred lifetimes. He built the company up, but we’ve kept it going.” On a sunny shingle beach in Brighton, Darren Westwood and his colleagues are reflecting on the yearlong battle to make their voices heard at Amazon.The three men have received a warm welcome here at the GMB’s annual congress, where they have shared their story with fellow activists – and won the support of the Labour leader, Keir Starmer. Continue reading...
Thousands of subreddits to become ‘private’ after plans to charge other companies for access to dataSome of the largest communities on Reddit will lock their doors in protest at the social news site’s decision to try to monetise access to its data.More than 3,000 subreddits have joined the protest, and will go “private” on Monday, preventing anyone outside the community from seeing their posts. Continue reading...
The president of the not-for-profit messaging app on how she believes existential warnings about AI allow big tech to entrench their power, and why the online safety bill may be unworkableMeredith Whittaker is the president of Signal – the not-for-profit secure messaging app. The service, along with WhatsApp and similar messaging platforms, is opposing the UK government’s online safety bill which, among other things, seeks to scan users’ messages for harmful content. Prior to Signal, Whittaker worked at Google, co-founded NYU’s AI Now Institute and was an adviser to the Federal Trade Commission.After 10 years at Google you organised the walkout over the company’s attitude to sexual harassment accusations, after which in 2019 you were forced out. How did you feel about that?
We blame technology for decisions really made by governments and corporationsLast November, a young African American man, Randal Quran Reid, was pulled over by the state police in Georgia as he was driving into Atlanta. He was arrested under warrants issued by Louisiana police for two cases of theft in New Orleans. Reid had never been to Louisiana, let alone New Orleans. His protestations came to nothing, and he was in jail for six days as his family frantically spent thousands of dollars hiring lawyers in both Georgia and Louisiana to try to free him.It emerged that the arrest warrants had been based solely on a facial recognition match, though that was never mentioned in any police document; the warrants claimed “a credible source” had identified Reid as the culprit. The facial recognition match was incorrect, the case eventually fell apart and Reid was released. Continue reading...
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