“When the model gave accurate responses, the people using it outperformed a control group of people relying on their own brainpower. When the AI gave the wrong answers, the people using it did much worse than the control group. In other words, people stopped thinking for themselves.”
“Federal grants that had been approved after a full application and review process were terminated by some random inexperienced DOGE bros based on whether ChatGPT could explain—in under 120 characters—that they were “related to DEI.” That’s what the newly released proposed amended complaint from the Authors Guild against the US government reveals about how DOGE actually decided which National Endowment for the Humanities grants to kill.”
I’m delighted Durham has imposed a 60-day moratorium on data centers. The city considered a longer ban but that will take a different procedure. I’m also happy Minnesota has banned apps that can take photos of people and strip them naked.
“Users of the platform can join video calls with an avatar of Jesus generated by artificial intelligence. Like other religious A.I. tools on the market, it offers words of prayer and encouragement in various languages. With the occasional glitch, it remembers previous conversations and speaks through not-quite-synced lips.” Ugh!
“An AI coding agent designed to help a small software company streamline its tasks instead blew a hole through its business in just nine seconds.”
How much does it tiring us if we’re constantly thinking “Is this AI?”
Some tech firms are cutting back worker benefits (PTO, 401k match, parental leave) to put more money into AI.
“Sales employees at Flock have been accessing sensitive cameras in the town to demonstrate the company’s surveillance technology to police departments around the country. The cameras accessed have included surveillance tech in a children’s gymnastics room, a playground, a school, a Jewish community center, and a pool.” Here’s some intel from our local publication the Indy on What Is Flock?
Arizona State University used AI to turn professors’ lectures into online modules. The results were bad.
Well that’s alarming: Webinar TV scraped anonymous Zoom recovery meetings.
Another side-effect of all the money and tech being poured into AI: archiving the Internet has gotten harder and pricier.
Schools push back against excess tech. Jill Filipovic cheers them on.
Google is now using AI to rewrite headlines of articles found in google searches. As I don’t want to pay for the linked article, I’m curious whether it’s dumbing them down, sanewashing the Toddler or what — but it’s definitely not their call (headlines are not randomly selected, trust me). And let’s not forget, AI synopsizing news articles frequently gets them wrong.
“Five developers are planning to build six data center campuses in Archbald, which will cover a full 14 percent of the town, evict a trailer park, and border many residential properties. One campus alone, as The Scranton Times-Tribune reporter Frank Lefneskey pointed out, is expected to use more power than the region’s largest power plant is able to produce. “
China has superior EV car batteries. There’s a push to keep them away from Americans.
Some members of the Austin City Council are seeking answers from Waymo after video showed one of its vehicles blocking an ambulance as it was responding to the scene of the mass shooting at Buford’s bar on West Sixth Street on March 1.
Tech companies hate “right to repair” laws that allow people other than themselves to repair or modify tech. Their new angle to block them: national security.
If aluminum can be turned into a catalyst, that would be a scientific and technological game-changer.
Why the payphone was once a cutting-edge invention.
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