maddy varner
@regret.bsky.social
technologist, data journalist, dyer, etc ✨ www.maddy.zone ✨ signal: mvarner.01
A new NY state law requires retailers to disclose when a "price was set by an algorithm using your personal data." What personal data?? Why a particular price?? There's a lot of unanswered questions, but the disclosure is attached to eggs and toilet paper: www.wired.com/story/algori...
Your Data Might Determine How Much You Pay for Eggs
A newly enacted New York law requires retailers to say whether your data influences the price of basic goods like a dozen eggs or toilet paper, but not how.
www.wired.com
December 2, 2025 at 7:38 PM
A new NY state law requires retailers to disclose when a "price was set by an algorithm using your personal data." What personal data?? Why a particular price?? There's a lot of unanswered questions, but the disclosure is attached to eggs and toilet paper: www.wired.com/story/algori...
Reposted by maddy varner
New IPTC Photo Metadata Standard
New properties for AI-generated content:
✪ AI System Used
AI engine and/or model name. E.g. ChatGPT DALL-E, Google Gemini, ChatGPT
✪ AI System Version Used
✪ AI Prompt Information
Information given to the AI service as “prompt(s)”
✪ AI Prompt Writer Name
New properties for AI-generated content:
✪ AI System Used
AI engine and/or model name. E.g. ChatGPT DALL-E, Google Gemini, ChatGPT
✪ AI System Version Used
✪ AI Prompt Information
Information given to the AI service as “prompt(s)”
✪ AI Prompt Writer Name
The IPTC Photo Metadata Working Group has released version 2025.1 of the IPTC Photo Metadata Standard, including properties that can be used for AI-generated content. #photometadata #DAM #ai
iptc.org/news/iptc-ph...
iptc.org/news/iptc-ph...
IPTC Photo Metadata Standard adds new properties for AI-generated content - IPTC
IPTC is the global standards body of the news media. We provide the technical foundation for the news ecosystem.
iptc.org
November 28, 2025 at 7:08 PM
New IPTC Photo Metadata Standard
New properties for AI-generated content:
✪ AI System Used
AI engine and/or model name. E.g. ChatGPT DALL-E, Google Gemini, ChatGPT
✪ AI System Version Used
✪ AI Prompt Information
Information given to the AI service as “prompt(s)”
✪ AI Prompt Writer Name
New properties for AI-generated content:
✪ AI System Used
AI engine and/or model name. E.g. ChatGPT DALL-E, Google Gemini, ChatGPT
✪ AI System Version Used
✪ AI Prompt Information
Information given to the AI service as “prompt(s)”
✪ AI Prompt Writer Name
Reposted by maddy varner
I know Part 3 is “ultimately not about sex” but I’m kind of amazed anyone would wiretap the President-elect for texts about felching
November 27, 2025 at 1:43 AM
I know Part 3 is “ultimately not about sex” but I’m kind of amazed anyone would wiretap the President-elect for texts about felching
main Thanksgiving discussion topic right now is the Vatican’s statement on AI, for some reason
November 27, 2025 at 12:10 AM
main Thanksgiving discussion topic right now is the Vatican’s statement on AI, for some reason
Reposted by maddy varner
Scoop: Provisions of the NDAA that would ensure military members’ right to repair their own equipment are set to be removed from the funding act, replaced by language that will require the military to pay subscription fees to defense contractors via “data-as-a-service.”
www.wired.com/story/subscr...
www.wired.com/story/subscr...
The US Military Wants to Fix Its Own Equipment. Defense Contractors Are Trying to Shoot That Down
A push by military contractors could alter pending legislation that would have empowered servicemembers to repair equipment. Lobbyists are pitching a subscription service instead.
www.wired.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Scoop: Provisions of the NDAA that would ensure military members’ right to repair their own equipment are set to be removed from the funding act, replaced by language that will require the military to pay subscription fees to defense contractors via “data-as-a-service.”
www.wired.com/story/subscr...
www.wired.com/story/subscr...
apparently "just got to your local library" was not enough support.character.ai/hc/en-us/art...
November 26, 2025 at 3:11 PM
apparently "just got to your local library" was not enough support.character.ai/hc/en-us/art...
Today is my last day at the FTC. The past 2.5 years have been a whirlwind, and I’m immensely proud of the work my colleagues and I did to protect consumers and understand the impacts of emerging technologies. I’ll miss them greatly but excited for what’s next!
November 21, 2025 at 3:29 PM
Today is my last day at the FTC. The past 2.5 years have been a whirlwind, and I’m immensely proud of the work my colleagues and I did to protect consumers and understand the impacts of emerging technologies. I’ll miss them greatly but excited for what’s next!
Reposted by maddy varner
Oh — the situation has escalated.
Pope Leo has spoken out: says "spiritual rights" of detainees should be respected and calls on the "authorities" to allow "pastoral workers" in.
"Jesus says very clearly … we're going to be asked, how did you receive the foreigner?" www.youtube.com/watch?v=taCi...
Pope Leo has spoken out: says "spiritual rights" of detainees should be respected and calls on the "authorities" to allow "pastoral workers" in.
"Jesus says very clearly … we're going to be asked, how did you receive the foreigner?" www.youtube.com/watch?v=taCi...
November 4, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Oh — the situation has escalated.
Pope Leo has spoken out: says "spiritual rights" of detainees should be respected and calls on the "authorities" to allow "pastoral workers" in.
"Jesus says very clearly … we're going to be asked, how did you receive the foreigner?" www.youtube.com/watch?v=taCi...
Pope Leo has spoken out: says "spiritual rights" of detainees should be respected and calls on the "authorities" to allow "pastoral workers" in.
"Jesus says very clearly … we're going to be asked, how did you receive the foreigner?" www.youtube.com/watch?v=taCi...
Reposted by maddy varner
Today marks 30 days of the government shutdown and federal workers -- 750,000 were furloughed -- are barely making ends meet.
@telliotter.bsky.social + @makenakelly.bsky.social spoke to federal workers struggling to pay bills, working side gigs, and relying on free food programs to get by:
@telliotter.bsky.social + @makenakelly.bsky.social spoke to federal workers struggling to pay bills, working side gigs, and relying on free food programs to get by:
Federal Workers Are Barely Making It Through the Government Shutdown
The US government shut down 30 days ago. WIRED spoke with more than a dozen federal workers who have struggled to pay bills, worked side gigs, and relied on free food programs to get by.
www.wired.com
October 30, 2025 at 12:55 PM
Today marks 30 days of the government shutdown and federal workers -- 750,000 were furloughed -- are barely making ends meet.
@telliotter.bsky.social + @makenakelly.bsky.social spoke to federal workers struggling to pay bills, working side gigs, and relying on free food programs to get by:
@telliotter.bsky.social + @makenakelly.bsky.social spoke to federal workers struggling to pay bills, working side gigs, and relying on free food programs to get by:
i tried "vibe coding" once and it did this to my terminal, thanks,
October 29, 2025 at 6:03 PM
i tried "vibe coding" once and it did this to my terminal, thanks,
cooking up some good stuff this weekend (black walnut dye)
October 24, 2025 at 10:43 PM
cooking up some good stuff this weekend (black walnut dye)
shot
Surrogate pregnancies are increasingly popular in tech circles, and the practice is expected to explode globally in the coming decade. It’s also shockingly unregulated. This is a story about what happens when it goes horribly wrong.
The Baby Died. Whose Fault Is It?
When her son died in utero, a venture capitalist went to extremes to punish her surrogate.
www.wired.com
September 4, 2025 at 12:09 AM
shot
Reposted by maddy varner
Don't miss this @forbes.com article by @shalinjyotishi.bsky.social on our brand new searchable inventory of contract provisions from over 175 union agreements that address workplace technologies, protect worker rights, and shape technology adoption, use, and oversight.
www.forbes.com/sites/shalin...
www.forbes.com/sites/shalin...
New Database Helps Labor Unions Navigate AI And Digital Technologies
Researchers at the UC Labor Center have created a database to help labor unions navigate the sector's response to AI, surveillance tools, and other digital technologies.
www.forbes.com
July 28, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Don't miss this @forbes.com article by @shalinjyotishi.bsky.social on our brand new searchable inventory of contract provisions from over 175 union agreements that address workplace technologies, protect worker rights, and shape technology adoption, use, and oversight.
www.forbes.com/sites/shalin...
www.forbes.com/sites/shalin...
I am absolutely loving my new hobby, extracting data from pdfs and shoving it into a sqlite database
June 24, 2025 at 3:07 AM
I am absolutely loving my new hobby, extracting data from pdfs and shoving it into a sqlite database
im listening to the NASA livestream and one of the NASA guys opened his monologue about how long the astronauts have been up on the ISS w "for all the statistic freaks out there"
March 18, 2025 at 4:56 AM
im listening to the NASA livestream and one of the NASA guys opened his monologue about how long the astronauts have been up on the ISS w "for all the statistic freaks out there"
you can currently bid on the United States Postal Inspection Service’s auction lot consisting of one (1) year-long microsoft 365 subscription www.govdeals.com/asset/47/26459
www.govdeals.com
March 5, 2025 at 1:39 AM
you can currently bid on the United States Postal Inspection Service’s auction lot consisting of one (1) year-long microsoft 365 subscription www.govdeals.com/asset/47/26459
FTC takes first ever action related to connected vehicle data! www.ftc.gov/news-events/...
FTC Takes Action Against General Motors for Sharing Drivers’ Precise Location and Driving Behavior Data Without Consent
The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against General Motors (GM) and OnStar over allegations they collected, used, and sold drivers’ precise geolocation data and driving behavior informati
www.ftc.gov
January 18, 2025 at 12:55 AM
FTC takes first ever action related to connected vehicle data! www.ftc.gov/news-events/...
if you’re saddened by the panera news do not fear, it appears there is still time to stock up on gallons of charged lemonade
May 8, 2024 at 2:30 AM
if you’re saddened by the panera news do not fear, it appears there is still time to stock up on gallons of charged lemonade
just donated my Sigma Award winnings to @proofnews.bsky.social, a new newsroom led by @juliaangwin.com. I would not have had the skills to do the work we did on LA's priority scores–let alone been a journalist *at all*–without Julia's mentorship over the years. Excited to see what this crew does!
If you want accurate information about an upcoming election, don't trust AI. We tested queries voters might ask the five leading AI models and found that half of their responses were inaccurate. www.proofnews.org/seeking-elec...
Seeking Reliable Election Information? Don’t Trust AI
Experts testing five leading AI models found the answers were often inaccurate, misleading, and even downright harmful
www.proofnews.org
May 2, 2024 at 3:42 PM
just donated my Sigma Award winnings to @proofnews.bsky.social, a new newsroom led by @juliaangwin.com. I would not have had the skills to do the work we did on LA's priority scores–let alone been a journalist *at all*–without Julia's mentorship over the years. Excited to see what this crew does!
Reposted by maddy varner
I was the journalist who found this filing and asked about it 👇🏼
March 31, 2024 at 12:09 AM
I was the journalist who found this filing and asked about it 👇🏼
Hypothesis: “AI chatbots will follow company policies and direct users toward trustworthy websites when asked voting-related questions.”
Results: www.proofnews.org/leading-ai-c...
Results: www.proofnews.org/leading-ai-c...
Leading AI Companies OpenAI and Anthropic Are Not Keeping Their Election Promises
AI companies have made pledges in recent months to limit the potential for election misinformation on their platforms. Those promises are proving hard to keep.
OpenAI, which created the ChatGPT model...
www.proofnews.org
March 13, 2024 at 12:23 PM
Hypothesis: “AI chatbots will follow company policies and direct users toward trustworthy websites when asked voting-related questions.”
Results: www.proofnews.org/leading-ai-c...
Results: www.proofnews.org/leading-ai-c...
Reposted by maddy varner
I’m delighted to announce that today I’m launching a new nonprofit journalism studio: Proof News.
Proof is into proving things! Our goal is to question, test, and investigate the most important issues of our time. We will always tell you what we know and what we don’t know.
www.proofnews.org
Proof is into proving things! Our goal is to question, test, and investigate the most important issues of our time. We will always tell you what we know and what we don’t know.
www.proofnews.org
Proof
Proof provides data-driven reporting and analysis of the most important questions of our time. Join our mailing list for updates.
www.proofnews.org
February 27, 2024 at 7:27 PM
I’m delighted to announce that today I’m launching a new nonprofit journalism studio: Proof News.
Proof is into proving things! Our goal is to question, test, and investigate the most important issues of our time. We will always tell you what we know and what we don’t know.
www.proofnews.org
Proof is into proving things! Our goal is to question, test, and investigate the most important issues of our time. We will always tell you what we know and what we don’t know.
www.proofnews.org
Reposted by maddy varner
Our first investigation at @proofnews.bsky.social is a test of whether voters can trust AI to provide accurate information about elections.
Answer: they cannot. Thread 👇🏻
Answer: they cannot. Thread 👇🏻
If you want accurate information about an upcoming election, don't trust AI. We tested queries voters might ask the five leading AI models and found that half of their responses were inaccurate. www.proofnews.org/seeking-elec...
Seeking Reliable Election Information? Don’t Trust AI
Experts testing five leading AI models found the answers were often inaccurate, misleading, and even downright harmful
www.proofnews.org
February 27, 2024 at 7:34 PM
Our first investigation at @proofnews.bsky.social is a test of whether voters can trust AI to provide accurate information about elections.
Answer: they cannot. Thread 👇🏻
Answer: they cannot. Thread 👇🏻
ngl I bought a gallon of the panera death lemonade and I’ve been ripping through it this past week
February 8, 2024 at 9:30 PM
ngl I bought a gallon of the panera death lemonade and I’ve been ripping through it this past week