Reuters: Exclusive-Elon Musk’s X restructuring curtails disinformation research, spurs legal fears. “Social media researchers have canceled, suspended or changed more than 100 studies about X, formerly Twitter, as a result of actions taken by Elon Musk that limit access to the social media platform, nearly a dozen interviews and a survey of planned projects show.”
The Register: Meta, YouTube face criminal spying complaints in Ireland. “Privacy consultant Alexander Hanff, who has occasionally contributed to The Register, has challenged Meta’s collection of data without explicit consent under Ireland’s computer abuse law. He told The Register he’s also in the process of filing a similar criminal complaint against YouTube over its use of scripts to detect ad blocking extensions in people’s web browsers.”
Hongkiat: Top 10 GPTs by OpenAI So Far (Explained with Examples). “At OpenAI’s recent DevDay event, one of the standout announcements was the unveiling of specialized GPTs…. In this article, we’ll delve into ten of the most impactful GPTs launched to date. Having spent a considerable amount of time testing each one, I’ll share insights and sample outputs to give you a taste of what each can offer.”
The Verge: Epic v. Google, explained. “…while Epic’s antitrust claims against Apple got their day in court, a similar lawsuit against Google never did. On November 6th, Epic v. Google will finally go to trial… a mere 1,180 days after Epic originally sued. Hi, I’m Sean, and I’ll be your guide to this whole delightful mess.”
Engadget: Basically all of Maine had data stolen by a ransomware gang. “The state agencies of Maine had fallen victim to cybercriminals who exploited a vulnerability in the MOVEit file transfer tool, making them the latest addition to the growing list of entities affected by the massive hack involving the software. In a notice the government has published about the cybersecurity incident, it said the event impacted approximately 1.3 million individuals, which basically make up the state’s whole population.”
Government of Canada: Access First World War service files in Collection Search. “In August 2018, Library and Archives Canada finished digitizing more than 600,000 service files of Canadians who served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) during the First World War. We’re pleased to announce that these files have been integrated into our main database, Collection Search, and are now available through a new landing page.”
Gizmodo: Google’s ‘Help Me Script’ Can Help Automate Your Smart Home. “Need help figuring out how to program smart lights to turn on at dusk? You can ask AI for help with that. Google’s generative AI-powered feature called the ‘Help me script’ started rolling out to beta testers this week. It can help you figure out robust home automation. All you have to do is copy and paste code.”
Queen Mary University of London: New report reveals autistic adults’ social media experiences and provides toolkits to better support the needs of neurodivergent users. “To support efforts from designers and third and public sector professionals, Professor Nelya Koteyko and her research team in collaboration with the UK’s leading autism research and campaigning charity Autistica have created a policy brief ‘Making online platforms autism-friendly’ as well as toolkits that can help in adapting digital platforms and social media to better support the needs of neurodiverse users.” I really hope #1 is “no autoplaying video with audio.”
Engadget: Discord is switching to expiring links for files shared off-platform . “Discord is changing its approach to file hosting in an effort to crack down on malware. The platform will begin using temporary file links that will expire after 24 hours for user content shared outside of Discord, BleepingComputer reported. The change is expected to go into effect by the end of the year.”
Ars Technica: Owner of Tumblr confirms site’s shift from “surging” to “small and focused”. “Tumblr will lose a majority of its product-minded staff by the end of this year, according to the CEO of the company that owns it. But despite a recently leaked memo quoting Tennyson’s ‘better to have loved and lost’ line, the CEO believes they are ‘setting up Tumblr for success in this next chapter.’”
The Verge: Former Kotaku writers are launching a new video game site — and they own it this time. “Four ex-Kotaku staffers are launching a new subscriber-based video games and culture publication: Aftermath. The website, which is now live, will be co-owned by Nathan Grayson, Gita Jackson, Riley MacLeod, and Luke Plunkett — all Kotaku mainstays who helped shape its incisive voice before leaving the site for one reason or another.”
North Carolina State University: NC State Researchers Create First Genetic Database of North Carolina Black Bears . “Using a broad DNA profiling panel for American black bears, researchers from NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine and College of Natural Resources have created the first genetic database for a subsample of North Carolina’s black bear population. The database, which can be used to identify individual bears and localized groups, can help law enforcement and wildlife officials identify bears poached by hunters or involved in human-bear interactions reported to the state.”
The Atlantic: ‘We Do Not Want to Deal With Customers Like You!’. “This was not a one-off diatribe, a rogue manager on a bad day. Dragon Lee does this all the time. Perhaps you are a one-star reviewer who saw an outdated menu with lower prices? That ‘just shows how ignorant you actually are,’ the restaurant responded—and it doesn’t care if you come back: ‘It’s one less dunce we have to deal with.’… In the restaurant world, where online reviews have an ascendant power over a business’s bottom line, Dragon Lee is doing what other spots can’t, or won’t: It’s arguing with its customers.”
Cal Matters: Recognizing fake news now a required subject in California schools. “Pushing back against the surge of misinformation online, California will now require all K-12 students to learn media literacy skills — such as recognizing fake news and thinking critically about what they encounter on the internet.”
Northeastern Global News: What are AI chatbots actually doing when they ‘hallucinate’? Here’s why experts don’t like the term. “As debate over the true nature, capacity and trajectory of such man-made tools simmers in the background, a leading expert in the field is pushing back against the concept of ‘hallucination,’ arguing that it gets much of how current AI models operate wrong. ‘Generally speaking, we don’t like the term because these models make errors — and we can explain why they make errors,’ says Usama Fayyad, executive director for the Institute for Experiential Artificial Intelligence.”
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