@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

jasonkoebler

@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social

journalist https://mastodon.social/@404mediaco

Signal: 1-202-505-1702 // email: jason@404media.co

This profile is from a federated server and may be incomplete. Browse more on the original instance.

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

Utah set up a complaint form to enforce its transphobic "Bathroom Bill" and left the database connected to it open to the public, which shows that it has been used exclusively for memes and trolling

https://www.404media.co/utah-bathroom-bill-hotline-form/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

The NYPD produced a dramatically edited propaganda video about Columbia University arrests within 24 hours. I am still waiting on basic FOIA responses from them and Mayor Adams' office years after I've filed them

https://www.404media.co/there-is-no-transparency-in-new-york-city-nypd-arrests-columbia/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

The publisher of a small imprint of roleplaying games magazines/speculative fiction shuts down after 22 years because their submissions have been flooded with AI to the extent they cannot wade through them:

“The problem with AI is the people who use AI. These are people who think their ‘ideas’ are more important than the actual craft of writing, so they churn out all these ‘ideas’ and enter their idea prompts and think the output is a story.”

https://www.404media.co/bards-and-sages-closing-ai-generated-writing/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

I've spent four months looking at AI spam on Facebook. I've messaged hundreds of people commenting on the bizarre images trying to determine if they are real, and to understand what's happening.

Facebook isn't the "Dead Internet." It's something worse:

https://www.404media.co/facebooks-ai-spam-isnt-the-dead-internet-its-the-zombie-internet/

jasonkoebler,
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

btw today is my birthday (for real), a wish for my wish amen, please share the article if you liked it: https://www.404media.co/facebooks-ai-spam-isnt-the-dead-internet-its-the-zombie-internet/

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jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

very interesting that the cops who have never in their lives helped someone get their stolen bike back seem to know nothing about the steps bikers have to take to keep their bikes safe in the city

https://www.404media.co/nypd-bike-lock-chain-kryptonite-columbia-university-protests/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

NEW: The National Archives has banned employee use of ChatGPT. Notable considering it is responsible for preserving an accurate historical record of the United States.

https://www.404media.co/national-archives-bans-employee-use-of-chatgpt/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

Pickup artist types are using 'fake livestream' apps with AI audiences that make them seem famous to hit on women:

https://www.404media.co/fake-livestream-apps-parallel-live-famefy-with-ai-audiences-are-depressingly-popular/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

Notorious lost song known only from 17-second clip and hunted by thousands of people for years has been found in its entirety in a 1980s porno

https://www.404media.co/ekt-everyone-knows-that-song-ulterior-motives-christopher-booth-porn/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

The Russian government copy pasted Wikipedia to a new site, censored the articles, then banned the original Wikipedia. Head of new Russian government Wikipedia is the old admin of real Russian Wikipedia

https://www.404media.co/russia-clones-wikipedia-censors-it-bans-original/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

Tech companies have realized that their AI models are trained on children and are enabling CSAM so they're going to try to iterate their way out of it regardless of the wreckage

https://www.404media.co/tech-companies-promise-to-try-to-do-something-about-all-the-ai-csam-theyre-enabling/

jasonkoebler,
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

we take this problem that we ourselves created and which enriches us very seriously

jasonkoebler,
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

a company that has existed for two years, whose main interaction with its community happens on Discord, and who has like a dozen employees total has now deemed itself ready to tackle such questions as "What defines a child?" and "how do you define age?"

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

New: Discord has shut down a tool that was surveilling thousands of Discord channels and selling the data, and is considering legal action

https://www.404media.co/discord-shuts-down-spy-pet-bots-that-scraped-sold-user-messages/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

Good news: Facebook's bizare engagement bait AI has made its way to LinkedIn:

https://www.404media.co/facebooks-bizarre-ai-images-now-on-linkedin-too/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

TikTok ban is deeply stupid, definitely unconstitutional, a complete failure of governance. Pathetic that it was attached to a must-pass bill

https://www.404media.co/the-u-s-wants-to-ban-tiktok-for-the-sins-of-every-social-media-company/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

pinning "i know what enshittification is, that's why i wrote the article" to all of my social media accounts

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

does anyone know of any reverse video search tools? or something that would approximate this? i assume not, for a variety of reasons? but lmk

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

Microsoft released an LLM and immediately deleted it bc of safety protocol concerns. Backups of it are all over the internet:

https://www.404media.co/microsoft-deleted-its-llm-because-it-didnt-get-a-safety-test-but-now-its-everywhere/

eb, to random
@eb@social.coop avatar

@jasonkoebler's https://www.404media.co/ai-is-poisoning-reddit-to-promote-products-and-game-google-with-parasite-seo backs up my assertions about the death of social media in https://boehs.org/node/llms-destroying-internet

Though, he states that reddit won't become an AI hellscape. I disagree. It already is one.

Where do the "high karma" accounts come from? They come from huge subreddits where the bots have begun posting marginally related content that people blindly upvote because "cute animal" or whatever (+voting rings). The quality control is gone. The frontpage is governed by bots.

jasonkoebler,
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

@eb I mostly agree with you but I do think Reddit is currently more resilient to this than the other platforms because it uses ethically dubious but definitely more effective volunteer content moderators, who have enough power that, in a well-moderated community, the incentives of moderators and Reddit the company aren't aligned, and the moderators actually win out. Their automod tools are also pretty decent

jasonkoebler,
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

@eb I think Power Moderators is actually an aspect of Reddit that is extremely under-discussed. A few people who mostly suck and have huge egos have a disproportionate impact on what people see.

jasonkoebler,
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

@eb Like I said I think you're mostly right but I think it still feels possible for an individual user to curate a not-entirely-shitty experience on Reddit. It is definitely the most useful platform I regularly use, for me. But I have aggressively unsubscribed from most large subs. That experience is impossible on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook/Threads/TikTok. Is still possible here.

jasonkoebler,
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

@eb but yes there is obviously a lot of manipulation, spam, etc on there and it's getting worse

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

If you add "reddit" to the end of search terms so that you can find posts by a real person, I have bad news: AI is beginning to poison Reddit in an effort to game Google results

https://www.404media.co/ai-is-poisoning-reddit-to-promote-products-and-game-google-with-parasite-seo/

jasonkoebler, to random
@jasonkoebler@mastodon.social avatar

Vintage typewriter hobbyists awaiting influx of Swifties

https://www.404media.co/taylor-swift-typewriter-tortured-poets-department/

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