
Free Daily Podcast Summary
by 404 Media
Welcome to the podcast from 404 Media where Joseph, Sam, Emanuel, and Jason catch you up on the stories we published this week. 404 Media is a journalist-owned digital media company exploring the way technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world. We bring you unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL through investigative reporting, smart blogging, and breaking news. At 404 Media you’ll read, and hear, stories you can’t find anywhere else written by journalists who are leading experts on their beats.
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In this bonus collaboration with our friends at The Intercept, 404 Media's Jason Koebler and the Intercept's Sam Biddle and Akela Lacy discuss the ways AI is already used to empower private surveillance companies that filter data to the government, how AI is used in war, and the prospect of an AI apocalypse. This podcast was recorded live in Los Angeles at The Loved One on September 12. Check out The Intercept Briefing podcast wherever you get your podcasts, and find a full transcript of this pod here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
We start this week with Joseph’s story about the people who are reading real ChatGPT users’ prompts and conversations. He got a bunch of documents all about these contractors and saw real prompts himself. After the break, Sam tells us all about the Automattic CEO getting kicked out. Then coming back again. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel tells us why a16z thinks enshittification is not real. Inside ‘Project Lily’: The Humans Reading Your ChatGPT Chats Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg Put on 'Leave of Absence' Automattic’s Matt Mullenweg Claims He’s Back 'In Control' Sources say Automattic’s board is out after failed attempt to oust CEO Matt Mullenweg A16z Says You Actually Love Social Media, Enshittification Isn’t Real YouTube version: https://youtu.be/AyPuYrjLk1E Subscribe at 404media.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week we’re joined by Jennie Rose Halprein. Jennie is the executive director of Library Futures, a non-profit that advocates for a fair digital future for libraries and the communities they serve. We have written a bunch of stories about libraries over the years, and I have talked to Jennie a few times for those stories. I always have really interesting conversations with her, but a lot of what we talk about never makes it into a story. That’s why I wanted to share one of those conversations with you today. We of course touch upon censorship but also many other subjects, so I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/mS0xofGW2hE Subscribe at 404media.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Take control of your data footprint risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Go to https://incogni.com/404Media and use code 404MEDIA for 60% off an annual plan. That's code 404MEDIA at https://incogni.com/404Media We start this week with Joseph’s story about the secretive predictive policing units inside DHS that are analyzing Americans’ financial data and having local cops pull them over. After the break, Jason tells us about the funky shirt designed to fool AI-camera systems. In the subscribers-only section, we talk all about our third anniversary events. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/o0AG6A5MIRg RSVP: Killer Technology With 404 Media A Secretive DHS ‘Predictive Policing’ Unit is Analyzing Americans’ Financial Habits and Pulling Them Over This 'Digital Camouflage' Shirt Confuses AI-Powered Surveillance Cameras We Are Going to Be Okay: A Three Year Anniversary Events Recap Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week Jason talks to Lindsey Isaacs and her lawyer, Patrick McGeehan. Last year, Lindsey was falsely arrested and imprisoned after authorities used Flock’s license plate reader system to pull over the wrong person in a hit-and-run that killed three people. Lindsey spent 13 days in jail because of this screwup. This all happened because authorities were looking for a black dodge Durango, and used Flock’s freeform search to look for a black SUV. Lindsey happened to be driving a black dodge Durango 3 miles west of where the crash happened a few minutes beforehand. Lindsey was arrested even though there was no damage to her car. She again, spent 13 days in jail before the charges against her were dropped. This is one of the worst cases of Flock-related policing screwups we’ve ever seen, and an innocent person had their life upended because of it. We spoke to Lindsey and Patrick about what happened, the case, Flock surveillance, and their lawsuit against the police who did this to her. Subscribe at 404media.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Take control of your data footprint risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Go to https://incogni.com/404Mediaand use code 404MEDIA for 60% off an annual plan. That's code 404MEDIA at https://incogni.com/404Media We start this week with Emanuel’s follow-up to his Amazon book scanning story, in which he spoke to someone who worked in the Amazon warehouse which destroys books to train Amazon’s AI products. After the break, Emanuel and Sam tell us about the same few names appearing in LLM output over and over again. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph tells us why ICE is buying loads of data about ‘voter fraud’. You're Invited: 404 Media's Third Anniversary Live Podcast and Party! Inside the Warehouse Where Amazon Scans and Destroys Books for AI Training The AI ‘Ghosts’ Contaminating Academic Publishing ICE Plans to Spend Millions on Boston Dynamics Dog Robots ICE Wants the Country’s Voter Data Youtube Version: https://youtu.be/PcNdLnLF7mo Subscribe at 404media.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This week Joseph talks to Paul Raffile, a cybercrime researcher, and Erin West, founder of Operation Shamrock. The pair recently traveled to Nigeria to track down a scammer and meet a bunch more. This conversation is some fascinating insight into how scammers live, how they can be identified, and platforms like Meta’s responsibility. I Hunted the Men Who Blackmail Children Online Youtube Version: https://youtu.be/973m4leS25c Subscribe at 404media.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Take control of your data footprint risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Go to https://incogni.com/404Mediaand use code 404MEDIA for 60% off an annual plan. That's code 404MEDIA at https://incogni.com/404Media We start this week with Jason’s piece on a cop making a fake Flock camera to catch a vandal. How can you be charged with destroying expensive property if… the camera wasn’t real? After the break, Sam tells us about how Darth Vader loves Flock. In the subscribers-only section, we talk a bit about three years of 404 Media. You're Invited: 404 Media's Third Anniversary Live Podcast and Party! RSVP: Killer Technology With 404 Media Man Charged With 3 Felonies For Breaking 3D-Printed ‘Decoy’ Flock Camera The Man Behind the Anti-Flock Darth Vader Mask Wants to Know: 'When Will This End?' YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/rYCvhAOGAjM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Welcome to the podcast from 404 Media where Joseph, Sam, Emanuel, and Jason catch you up on the stories we published this week. 404 Media is a journalist-owned digital media company exploring the way technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world. We bring you unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL through investigative reporting, smart blogging, and breaking news. At 404 Media you’ll read, and hear, stories you can’t find anywhere else written by journalists who are leading experts on their beats.
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