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Reposted by Tom Simonite

Kevin Schaul @kevinschaul.bsky.social · 9d

Just ran some evals on Claude Sonnet 4.5. It's better than 4 on some but worse on a lot. LLM progress is so weird. You really gotta test this stuff on what you care about.

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Reposted by Tom Simonite

Joseph Fink @planetoffinks.bsky.social · 14d

CHOTINER: And you thought it would be funny to do a fake interview by me?
ME: A lot of people have, so
CHOTINER: You were looking for engagement?
ME: Well, to make someone laugh I guess
CHOTINER: How many likes and reposts did it get?
ME: That's, uh, not really the metric...look can we start over

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Reposted by Tom Simonite

James Ball @jamesrball.com · 13d

Pete Hegseth has summoned every general and admiral in the US military around the world to an *in person* meeting next week. And he’s given no reason.

That’s basically unprecedented. There’s lots of reasons you don’t do it, too – not least that it’s bound to make the rest of the world twitchy.

Hegseth orders rare, urgent meeting of hundreds of generals, admirals

The Pentagon has summoned military officials from around the world for a gathering in Virginia. Top generals and their staffs don’t know the reason for the meeting.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 19d

When he named Brendan Carr as his FCC chair, Trump called him a "warrior for free speech."

We wrote about how he has become a warrior against it.

Gift link: wapo.st/4pxe2t0

Trump’s media enforcer is relishing his Jimmy Kimmel moment

Brendan Carr has become the personification of the president’s crusade against the mainstream media, and he’s just getting started.

wapo.st

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Tom Simonite @simonite.bsky.social · 19d

By @kevinschaul.bsky.social & @nitasha.bsky.social Gift link: wapo.st/3KeqLR0

OpenAI won’t say whose content trained its video tool. We found some clues.

Tests by The Washington Post show OpenAI’s video generator Sora can mimic Netflix shows, TikTok clips and movies, suggesting it used versions of the originals.

wapo.st

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Tom Simonite @simonite.bsky.social · 19d

Sora can mimic Netflix shows, movies, TikTok videos and Twitch streams, suggesting it was trained on versions of the originals. Netflix said it didn't provide data to OpenAI. Twitch said it doesn't have a partnership w/ OpenAI.

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Tom Simonite @simonite.bsky.social · 19d

OpenAI won't say whose content it used to train its video generator Sora. Here are some clues.
Gift link: wapo.st/3KeqLR0

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Reposted by Tom Simonite

Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 20d

Top story on @washingtonpost.com this morning: www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Trump, allies seek to punish speech they dislike following Kirk killing

The White House-directed campaign, which is likely to face legal challenges, defies past GOP rhetoric condemning the label “hate speech” as a pretext for political persecution.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Tom Simonite

Gerrit De Vynck @gerritd.bsky.social · 22d

Who's using ChatGPT?

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Tom Simonite @simonite.bsky.social · 22d

"The complaint filed by Juliana’s parents is the third high-profile case in the past year brought by a U.S. family alleging that an AI chatbot contributed to a teen’s death by suicide." www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

A teen contemplating suicide turned to a chatbot. Is it liable for her death?

A lawsuit filed by the parents of 13-year-old Juliana Peralta against Character AI is the latest to allege a chatbot contributed to a teen’s death by suicide.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Tom Simonite

nitasha tiku @nitasha.bsky.social · 22d

A new wrongful death lawsuit alleges that Character AI and Google are liable for the death by suicide of a 13-year-old girl in Colorado, Juliana Peralta

This is the third wrongful death claim against a popular AI app for a teen's death by suicide this year www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

A teen contemplating suicide turned to a chatbot. Is it liable for her death?

A lawsuit filed by the parents of 13-year-old Juliana Peralta against Character AI is the latest to allege a chatbot contributed to a teen’s death by suicide.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Tom Simonite

Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 26d

Visceral closeup videos of Charlie Kirk getting shot in the neck were everywhere on social media. A lot of parents were not pleased that mainstream social apps’ algorithms showed it to their kids.

Story today by @tatumhunter.bsky.social & me (gift link): wapo.st/4n6oBSi

‘My kid has seen this. Now what?’: Parents reel as Charlie Kirk video goes viral

Gory social videos of Charlie Kirk’s shooting have inundated children, leaving parents feeling powerless and disturbed.

wapo.st

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Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 28d

I asked Bluesky how it's moderating graphic videos of the Charlie Kirk assassination, as well as responses that glorify violence or call for retribution.

From a Bluesky spokesperson: "We're suspending accounts that are encouraging violence; we are taking down close-up videos of the event."

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Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · Sep 6

Business Insider yanked 40 essays with suspect bylines. A @washingtonpost.com probe into these mass retractions found key links between the bogus writer “Margaux Blanchard” and another individual, suggesting a broader scheme. Here’s what I found: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Business Insider yanked 40 essays with suspect bylines. Are they related?

“Margaux Blanchard” appears to be one dubious element of a broader scheme to peddle bogus articles to a number of publications.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Tom Simonite

Andrew Couts @couts.bsky.social · Aug 20

🚨Journalism job alert🚨

We're hiring an investigative reporter to join my team at @wired.com. We're looking for someone who has both traditional and non-traditional reporting skills (coding/data work/OSINT, etc). Fit the bill? Come work with me! condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CondeCareers...

Senior Writer, Investigations

WIRED is where a better future is imagined. For three decades, we have been the indispensable guide to a world in constant transformation. We cover humanity’s biggest challenges, from climate change t...

condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com

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Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · Aug 18

New: My deep dive into the business of AI slop. wapo.st/4mFECxC

Making cash off ‘AI slop’: The surreal video business taking over the web

A mad rush of creators is using AI video tools to flood the web — and turn a profit — with videos that can seem remarkably real.

wapo.st

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Tom Simonite @simonite.bsky.social · Aug 12

A horrifying investigation into the chart crime scene that is the AI industry by @shiraovide.bsky.social, with top notch illustration from the great Elena Lacey

www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Analysis | The AI industry is awash in hype, hyperbole and horrible charts

Just checking: 69.1 is a larger number than 30.8, right?

www.washingtonpost.com

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Will Oremus @willoremus.com · Aug 4

Meta fired its fact-checkers, citing concerns of liberal bias, and replaced them with a version of X's "Community Notes." How's that going?

Well, my coworker @geoffreyfowler.bsky.social proposed 65 fact-checks debunking false posts... and only 3 got approved. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Column | Zuckerberg fired the fact-checkers. We tested their replacement.

Our tech columnist drafted 65 community notes, Meta’s new crowdsourced system to fight falsehoods. It failed to make a dent.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · Jul 23

Wired rules. Just an incredible group of journalists who are completely meeting the moment. And you can subscribe for $2 a month, which is insane www.wired.com/story/a-new-...

A New Era for WIRED—That Starts With You

As of today, there are even more ways to enjoy WIRED’s journalism, including premium newsletters and livestream Q&As. Join us.

www.wired.com

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Tom Simonite @simonite.bsky.social · Jul 22

Maybe those robots will be ... trains

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Reposted by Tom Simonite

Will Oremus @willoremus.com · Jul 22

New: As Trump prepares to unveil his "AI Action Plan," more than 80 labor, environmental, consumer and tech watchdog groups have signed on to a "People's AI Action Plan" that calls for regulations that put ordinary people's interests over those of the industry. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

Analysis | Trump’s ‘Artificial Intelligence Action Plan’ is already stirring debate

Critics unveiled their own “People’s AI Action Plan” ahead of new executive orders expected to address energy and “woke” AI.

www.washingtonpost.com

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Tom Simonite @simonite.bsky.social · Jul 22

UK government minister: AGI by 2029
Also UK government: HS2 high speed rail project won't be complete until sometime after 2033
www.learningfromexamples.com/p/the-uk-exp...

The UK expects AGI in four years. Why doesn’t it act like it?

Trust me bro Westminster edition

www.learningfromexamples.com

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nitasha tiku @nitasha.bsky.social · Jul 12

New from me. Hope you’ll give it a read www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...

Tech billionaire Trump adviser Marc Andreesen says universities will ‘pay the price’ for DEI

Tech investor and Trump adviser Marc Andreessen in a private group chat attacked colleges for promoting diversity, saying they had discriminated against “native born kids.”

www.washingtonpost.com

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Reposted by Tom Simonite

Drew Harwell @drewharwell.com · Jul 11

New: If a person spewed Nazi garbage like Grok, they'd get fired in an instant. Elon Musk's chatbot just got a promotion. Why don't companies face any consequences for AI disasters? There might be a few ways to turn the tide ... wapo.st/4095Rbh

Grok’s Nazi tirade sparks debate: Who’s to blame when AI spews hate?

Antisemitic outbursts from the chatbot promoted by Elon Musk shows how AI companies often face minimal consequences when their projects go rogue.

wapo.st

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