hatemail tech newsletter, 2023-05-02
hatemail tech newsletter, 2023-05-02
US DoJ, FTC honing in on generative AI; Chinese censorship exposed; Mandiant warns of Advanced Persistent Teenagers
Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Joins Officials from CFPB, EEOC and FTC Pledging to Confront Bias and Discrimination in Artificial Intelligence
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and officials from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) jointly pledged today to uphold America’s commitment to the core principles of fairness, equality and justice as emerging automated systems, including those sometimes marketed as “artificial intelligence” or “AI,” become increasingly common in our daily lives – impacting civil rights, fair competition, consumer protection and equal opportunity. [DoJ]
UK set to legislate to create new regulator to tackle Big Tech
Draft bill expected within days that will put CMA’s digital markets unit on a statutory footing. [Financial Times] [Non paywall archive]
Stability AI launches StableLM, an open source ChatGPT alternative
StableLM's 3B and 7B models are available now on GitHub under CC 4.0 license. [Ars Technica]
A Cambridge Analytica-style scandal for AI is coming
Can you imagine a car company putting a new vehicle on the market without built-in safety features? [MIT Technology Review]
Republicans respond to Biden reelection announcement with AI-generated attack ad
Republicans deepfake their Biden response. [The Verge]
The Dark Forest and the Cozy Web
An illustrated diagram exposing the inner layers of the dark and cozy web. [Maggie Appleton]
Tesla Again Paints A Very Misleading Story With Their Crash Data
Tesla's crash data seem amazing, but the reality is very different and many have been misled by the numbers. In actuality, there's no strong case that Teslas are much safer with Autopilot on. [Forbes]
BlueSky Reply-Based Social Graph
Analyze Bluseky users with this neat social network graph. [Jaz on Bluesky]
Missing Links: A comparison of search censorship in China - The Citizen Lab
We discovered over 60,000 unique censorship rules used to partially or totally censor search results across eight China-accessible search platforms analyzed. These findings call into question the ability of non-Chinese technology companies to better resist censorship demands than their Chinese counterparts. [Citizen Lab]
Wagner mercenary admits ‘tossing grenades’ at injured Ukrainian PoWs
Former convict tells of torturing troops and says he does ‘not regret a single thing’. [The Guardian]
The Mystery of a Former CIA Legend Going ‘Foreign Agent’ for Ukraine
Bob Baer, a former CIA agent whose memoir inspired an award-winning movie starring George Clooney, registered as a foreign agent for Ukraine in March. Then things got weird. [The Daily Beast]
Buildup resumed at suspected Chinese military site in UAE, leak says
The activity has disturbed some U.S. officials, who worry a longstanding U.S. ally is growing too close to Beijing. [Washington Post]
Digital Security Tips to Prevent the Cops From Ruining Your Trip Abroad
Traveling with a phone and laptop? Here are digital security tips to keep your devices and your data safe from the cops. [The Intercept]
Mandiant: Teenagers among 'most prevalent threat actors'
Plus they are cliquey as all hell. [The Register]
Many Public Salesforce Sites are Leaking Private Data
A shocking number of organizations -- including banks and healthcare providers -- are leaking private and sensitive information from their public Salesforce Community websites, KrebsOnSecurity has learned. [Krebs on Security]
Montana Governor Signs Law Banning Transgender Care for Minors
Gov. Greg Gianforte had been urged by his son, who is nonbinary, to reject the bill. A transgender lawmaker was barred from the House floor after the debate. [NYTimes]
Fox News Parts Ways With Tucker Carlson
Mr. Carlson has been one of the network’s top-rated hosts for many years. [NYTimes] [Axios]
Clarence Thomas’s Billionaire Friend Did Have Business Before the Supreme Court
Justice Clarence Thomas said he was advised he didn’t have to disclose private jet flights and luxury vacations paid for by billionaire Harlan Crow because, although a close friend, Crow “did not have business before the court.” [Bloomberg]
‘There are no people here’: S.F.’s $2.2 billion transit center remains an empty cavern
San Francisco's empty $2.2 billion Salesforce transit center is a microcosm of the city's fading downtown, which is having the slowest recovery among U.S. cities. [SF Chronicle]
Fox Fired ‘Uncontrollable’ Host Tucker Carlson, Who Badmouthed Bosses
Fox News, in announcing Monday that it’s parted ways with Tucker Carlson, is losing a host who brought in millions of viewers but proved too much to handle even for corporate chiefs Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch. [Bloomberg]
Magic publishers sent Pinkerton agents to a YouTuber’s house to retrieve leaked cards
March of the Machine: The Aftermath isn’t due out in stores until May. [Polygon]
Law firm head bought Gorsuch-owned property
The Supreme Court justice did not report the identity of the purchaser, whose firm has had numerous cases before the court. [Politco]
BAT to Pay $635 Million in DOJ Deal for North Korea Activities
Cigarette maker British American Tobacco plc agreed to pay $635.2 million to US authorities to resolve investigations into sanctions violations for selling products in North Korea and misleading banks about the source of those sales. [Bloomberg]
Disney sues Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, alleges political effort to hurt its business
Walt Disney Co. sued Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday, alleging the Republican governor has waged a "relentless campaign to weaponize government power" over the company. [CNBC]
Fed Seeks Broad Changes to Bank Rules in Aftermath of SVB Failure
The Federal Reserve’s bank-supervision chief called for an extensive reevaluation of how the institution oversees US financial firms following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank, which he blamed on the company’s weak risk management and supervisory foot-dragging by the Fed. [Bloomberg]
Requiem for the Newsroom
Nobody’s going to make a movie about reporters at home with their cursors. [NYTimes]
Epstein’s Private Calendar Reveals Prominent Names, Including CIA Chief, Goldman’s Top Lawyer
Schedules and emails detail meetings in the years after he was a convicted sex offender; visitors cite his wealth and connections. [WSJ]