@TechDesk@flipboard.social
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TechDesk

@TechDesk@flipboard.social

We bring you the latest tech news, deep dives and perspectives on topics like AI, social media and innovations. Posts are handpicked by Flipboard's editorial team, especially for Mastodon.

Boosts do not imply endorsement, but are used to highlight posts we think the community might find interesting.

For a lot more tech news, follow Flipboard's federated Tech Desk (@tech)

Header illustration: Data particles above Tokyo at night in cyber space by Hiroshi Watanabe/ Getty

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TechDesk, to Facebook
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Have you noticed your Facebook feed being taken over by AI spam recently? @jasonkoebler has spent four months looking into it — what’s real, what’s not and what is a mixture of the two, creating what he calls “a disastrous website where there is little social connection at all.” Read more about his investigation over at @404mediaco.

https://flip.it/f0cjbM

#Facebook #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #SocialMedia

TechDesk, to TikTok
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If you’ve been scrolling TikTok recently and wondered why some videos are muted, it’s probably because of the an ongoing spat between the platform and Universal Music Group, which removed the music of all the label’s artists.

Today, the two struck a “multi-dimensional licensing agreement” that will allow music from UMG’s artists to be used as TikTok audio once more. TikTok is also promising protections with respect to generative AI, including “a commitment on TikTok’s part to remove AI-generated music and improve artist and songwriter attribution,” reports @CNET.

https://flip.it/FE.Y.F

TechDesk, to passkeys
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Google has kicked off World Password Day by announcing that over 400 million users have used passkeys since the tech giant rolled them out, logging over one billion authentications between them.

Passkeys rely on device-based authentication, often using a fingerprint scanner or face recognition, which makes logging in faster and more secure. Despite this, our passwordless future still feels some way off — @theverge considers why.

https://flip.it/vvLM1A

TechDesk, (edited ) to internet
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Do you yearn for the “good old days” of the internet? The acronym-based chat clients, the Geocities sites filled with dancing hamsters, the MySpace pages filled with glitter GIFs and MIDI tracks?

@molly0xfff writes about a time when being online was simpler, but how with the tools at our disposal, getting back to that would be easier now than ever. Here’s more from her newsletter, Citation Needed.

https://flip.it/D8vRts

TechDesk, to meta
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Meta has announced that Batman: Arkham Shadow will be the first big exclusive game for its Quest 3 VR headset.

It’s an important step forward for the device. As @engadget reports: “One of the main reasons it has been difficult to recommend the $500 Quest 3 VR headset over the $200 Quest 2 is a lack of exclusive titles, as most games have to support both models. This means we haven’t really seen the power of the Quest 3 yet, but the tides are turning.”

https://flip.it/9r9llY

TechDesk, to Amazon
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A former Amazon executive has accused the company of telling her to violate copyright law in order to compete with other tech giants in AI, reports Business Insider.

As part of a wider lawsuit against the company, in which Viviane Ghaderi claims she was discriminated against and ultimately fired for taking maternity leave, Ghaderi says she was told to “ignore legal advice and Amazon’s own policies to get better results” when developing its large-language models.

https://flip.it/oCwttM

#Amazon #LLM #ArtificialIntelligence #AI

TechDesk, to internet
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The Affordable Connectivity Program was a landmark piece of U.S. government legislation passed in 2021 that aimed to make it easier for people to afford an internet connection in their homes. Today it all comes to an end, leaving an estimated 23 million households — roughly one in six — at risk of losing broadband access, widening the digital divide.

Despite pleas from the Biden administration and several advocacy groups to save the program, it has now officially lapsed. So what’s next? @WIRED has more.

https://flip.it/_Bai8i [Subscription may be required]

TechDesk, to tesla
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Barely two weeks have passed since Tesla initiated layoffs for at least 14,000 staff, and the company is now reportedly laying off hundreds more — including senior executives and the majority of its Supercharging team. But that may not be the end of it.

In an email sent to executives last night, Elon Musk said he wanted Tesla to be “absolutely hard core” about the cuts, stating even staff working underneath executives who “don’t obviously pass the excellent, necessary and trustworthy test” would also be out of a job. Here’s more from @theverge.

https://flip.it/NB1h5g

TechDesk, to TikTok
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European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen has hinted that banning TikTok in the EU is not off the table.

Speaking at a debate ahead of the bloc’s 2024 election, von der Leyen said that the Commission was “the very first institution worldwide to ban TikTok on our corporate phones,” reports Politico, adding: “We know exactly the danger of TikTok.”

https://flip.it/W-m.AR

TechDesk, to tmobile
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Some of the top wireless carriers in the U.S. have been fined millions of dollars, for illegally sharing customers’ personal data without their consent.

AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon have all received government fines following allegations by the FCC that they had “improperly shared users’ geolocation histories to third parties, including to prisons, as part of their commercial programs.” @CNN has more.

https://flip.it/ButMfG

TechDesk, (edited ) to meta
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The EU is getting ready to launch an investigation into Meta over its handling of election-related content, reports @engadget

Full details of the investigation are expected later this week, but concerns have reportedly been raised about “deceptive advertising and political content” on Meta’s platforms. EU officials are also unhappy about Meta’s plan to shut down CrowdTangle in August, a move the researchers and fact checkers who use the tool have called a “direct threat to election integrity efforts around the world.”

https://flip.it/UR3hvB

TechDesk, to twitter
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The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from Elon Musk to back out of a settlement he struck with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2018, over tweets he made about Tesla that regulators alleged were fraudulent.

To avoid enforcement, Musk agreed to a “Twitter sitter” — a company lawyer that was required to approve any social media posts he made about Tesla. Now, he’s claiming it is a violation of his First Amendment rights, but as @CNN reports, the Supreme Court doesn’t agree.

https://flip.it/41JsXh

TechDesk, to apple
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Apple’s “Let Loose” iPad event is just over a week away, and the rumors are hotting up on what we can expect from the new announcements.

The latest is that the much-anticipated OLED iPad Pro will launch with Apple’s next-gen M4 processor, and not the M3 chip that was originally expected. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says this suggests Apple will position the tablet as “its first truly AI-powered device — and that it will tout each new product from then on as an AI device.”

https://flip.it/2fvm_b [Subscription may be required]

TechDesk, to TikTok
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After failing to stop a bill that could ban it in the U.S., TikTok now faces two big hurdles — the U.S. judicial system and the Chinese government, reports @theverge

While ByteDance has promised to fight the ruling, which requires it to divest the app within a year, it won’t be an easy fight, with experts unsure how keen judges will be to weigh in on decisions of national security importance. If it fails, it will have to consider selling TikTok. But that’s not a decision it will be able to make alone — it’ll need the Chinese government’s permission.

https://flip.it/11C9f1

TechDesk, to tech
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Digital technology is fast and convenient and it should have buried its analogue competitors by now, right? But from vinyl records to film cameras, all manner of apparently written-off technologies have been making a comeback, including modular synthesizers. BBC has more on the appeal of the slow. https://flip.it/8W5q4E

TechDesk, to tech
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After being diagnosed with prediabetes, a freelance writer searched for the right app to help him get it under control. Here’s what he found. https://flip.it/JzCHPW

TechDesk, to tech
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A driverless vehicle recently made its way through the tight streets and chaotic traffic of Bhopal, India. So, how did it do? As Futurism reports, it’s either “an impressive feat of engineering — or a disaster waiting to happen.” Watch the video, then decide. https://flip.it/oi_yQt
#Tech #Technology #Cars #Automobiles

TechDesk, to tech
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EyeEm, a photo-sharing community once thought to be a potential challenger to Instagram, is now licensing its users’ photos to train AI models, Tech Crunch reports. The company gave users 30 days to opt out. As you can imagine, many of them are upset. Read more: https://flip.it/Yv2xV3

TechDesk, to tesla
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Tesla’s Autopilot and Full Self-Driving has been linked to hundreds of crashes and dozens of deaths, according to a federal investigation published today.

“In total, NHTSA investigated 956 crashes, starting in January 2018 and extending all the way until August 2023,” reports @theverge. “Of those crashes, some of which involved other vehicles striking the Tesla vehicle, 29 people died. There were also 211 crashes in which ‘the frontal plane of the Tesla struck a vehicle or obstacle in its path.’ These crashes, which were often the most severe, resulted in 14 deaths and 49 injuries.”

https://flip.it/Qr4Zi3

TechDesk, (edited ) to technology
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It's Follow Friday! Keep up to date on the latest in AI and its impact on business, work, society and tech with these great Magazines (topical feeds of content).

AC/DC AI — @ac

The Verge on Artificial Intelligence — @the

AI Prompts — @ai

The AI Economy — @the

Should Robots Vote? – @should

TechDesk, to ai
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Apple has removed a number of AI image generation apps from the App Store after they were found to be advertising the ability to create nonconsensual nude images.

Apple’s actions come following an investigation by @404mediaco, which found adverts for these apps being pushed on Instagram. The apps were only removed when 404 Media provided links to them and their related ads to Apple, indicating “the company was not able to find the apps that violated its policy itself.”

https://flip.it/rDcG7V

#AI #Deepfake #Apple #AppStore #Tech

TechDesk, to internet
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The FCC has voted to restore net neutrality rules, which were previously rescinded under former president Donald Trump.

The vote reinstates protections established in 2015 that treat broadband as a utility, like water or electricity, and means all internet traffic must be treated equally. Here's more on what it means for you, from @CNN

https://flip.it/rRm7kj

TechDesk, (edited ) to ai
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In another chapter of “what crazy things has AI done this week,” the Catholic advocacy group Catholic Answers has had to swiftly defrock the AI priest it unveiled just a few days ago, after some strange conversations were shared online.

In a particularly awkward exchange with @futurism regarding the legitimacy of his identity, the chatbot claimed to be a real member of the clergy, who lived in Assisi. “Yes, my friend,” Father Justin is reported to have said, “I am as real as the faith we share.”

https://flip.it/yDpIIJ

TechDesk, to ai
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A federal judicial panel has met in Washington, DC, to discuss the rising challenge of policing Al-generated evidence in court trials.

The eight-member panel heard from computer scientists and academics about the potential risks of Al-manipulated images and videos disrupting a trial, and will be responsible for drafting evidence-related amendments to the Federal Rules of Evidence.

Not all on the panel feel this is necessary though, writes @arstechnica, with one judge stating, ‘I'm not sure that this is the crisis that it's been painted as.”

https://flip.it/HMIl0g

TechDesk, to Cybersecurity
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With over 50 elections set to take place around the globe in 2024, around two billion people will head to the polls before the year is out. That creates a greater opportunity than ever for hostile nations to trial new and refined cyber-attack techniques, according to cybersecurity firm Mandiant.

As reported by Techradar: “Data theft, distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, hack and leak operations, and various information operation (IO) campaigns using social media are all ranked as some of the most likely tactics used to affect election campaigns and voters, with Mandiant assessing that these could be used in layered campaigns that each seek to magnify the effect of each other.”

https://flip.it/Pc5hQs

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