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Showing posts from May, 2023

How the Shoggoth Meme Has Come to Symbolize the State of A.I.

The Shoggoth, a character from a science fiction story, captures the essential weirdness of the A.I. moment. https://nyti.ms/3qp6Tk8

Would Large Language Models Be Better If They Weren’t So Large?

Teaching fewer words to large language models might help them sound more human. https://nyti.ms/3N2Wdkb

Would Large Language Models Be Better If They Weren’t So Large?

Teaching fewer words to large language models might help them sound more human. https://nyti.ms/3INFlvr

The Surgeon General’s Social Media Warning and A.I.’s Existential Risks

Plus, Kevin and Casey react to this week’s tech headlines. https://nyti.ms/43uBStC

New York City Moves to Regulate How AI Is Used in Hiring

New York City’s pioneering, focused approach sets rules on how companies use the technology in work force decisions. https://nyti.ms/42d5D0S

What to Know About Limiting Your Child’s Screen Time

Concerned parents have many tools, including free software from Apple and Google, to actively oversee how children use their tech. https://nyti.ms/3oppzjs

Mountain of FTX Evidence: Emails, Chat Logs, Code and a Notebook

Prosecutors investigating Sam Bankman-Fried, the cryptocurrency exchange’s founder, have accumulated more than six million pages of documents and other records. https://nyti.ms/3MzNswq

Meta Fined $1.3 Billion for Violating E.U. Data Privacy Rules

The Facebook owner said it would appeal an order to stop sending data about European Union users to the United States. https://nyti.ms/421ueFN

Google’s Photo App Still Can’t Find Gorillas. And Neither Can Apple’s.

Eight years after a controversy over Black people being mislabeled as gorillas by image analysis software — and despite big advances in computer vision — tech giants still fear repeating the mistake. https://nyti.ms/3OHkq0y

Uber Suspends DEI Chief After Employees Complain of Insensitivity

The executive hosted sessions about race and being a white woman that were titled “Don’t Call Me Karen,” prompting an employee uproar. https://nyti.ms/3Iyxwto

China Bans Some Chip Sales of Micron, the US Company

Many analysts see the move as retaliation for Washington’s efforts to cut off China’s access to high-end chips. https://nyti.ms/3BRKyOF

The E-Sports World’s Future Is Uncertain as Growth Stalls

At least two organizations in America’s most prominent league for professional video game players are selling their teams, underscoring the industry’s uncertain future. https://nyti.ms/43jUWux

Why Amazon’s Delivery Network Is Vulnerable to Labor Strife

For years, the e-commerce giant could shield its vast archipelago of warehouses against disruptions from workers. Then it got even bigger. https://nyti.ms/41OlwuA

Another Side of the AI Boom: Detecting What AI Makes

More than a dozen companies have popped up to offer services aimed at identifying whether photos, text and videos are made by humans or machines. https://nyti.ms/3OqaQiO

For Gen Z, Playing an Influencer on TikTok Comes Naturally

There’s stuff to promote now. The followers can come later. https://nyti.ms/3WunKOR

As EV Sales Pick up Pace, Electric Commercial Fleets Lag

Passenger cars dominate the electric vehicle market, but light delivery trucks could benefit from the cost savings and range E.V.s offer. https://nyti.ms/459FS48

Biden Team to Counter Tech Espionage Unveils Cases Involving China and Russia

A new division set up by the government to pursue sanctions evasion and technology espionage announced arrests of individuals with ties to foreign governments. https://nyti.ms/3My2Hrb

Tesla Changed a Deadline for Investor Proposals, Angering Activists

Some shareholders saw the automaker’s decision to move up the deadline by two months as a way to suppress criticism during the company’s annual meeting on Tuesday. https://nyti.ms/3Oaptqj

E.U. Approves Microsoft’s $69 Billion Deal for Activision

The green light follows objections to the blockbuster deal by American and British regulators on the grounds that it would undercut competition. https://nyti.ms/3BsBU9b

U.S.-Made Technology Is Flowing to Sanctioned Russian Airlines

Russian customs data shows that millions of dollars of aircraft parts made by Boeing, Airbus and others were sent to Russia last year despite sanctions. https://nyti.ms/3MtttRB

Google’s A.I. Bonanza and Driverless Car Talk With Cruise C.E.O. Kyle Vogt

Long-awaited tech like A.I., 3-D telepresence and driverless cars is finally reaching the public. https://nyti.ms/42JIqEs

Taiwan Is Running Low on a Strategic Asset: Engineers

Taiwan’s world-dominating microchip sector was built by TSMC’s skilled employees. But a demographic crisis, demanding work culture and flagging interest threaten its lead. https://nyti.ms/3Miaycg

Google I/O: AI Is Embedded in Search, Building on Tech’s New Craze

At the company’s annual conference, Google demonstrated dozens of products and features that work with artificial intelligence, along with new phones. https://nyti.ms/42q8pkt

Striking Writers Are Worried About A.I. Viewers Should Be, Too.

A.I. screenwriting, a point of contention in the Writers Guild strike, may not yet be ready for prime time. But streaming algorithms and derivative programming have prepared the way for it. https://nyti.ms/44QqKZy

The Companies Trying to Make Live Shopping a Thing in the U.S.

The market for selling goods in real time online is relatively small, but a number of start-ups and big tech names are betting American consumers will catch on. https://nyti.ms/42Kvyhk

How to Get the Forecast When Apple Weather is Down

iPhone users experienced a brief outage of Apple’s Weather app on Tuesday. Here are some alternatives to plan your day around your local forecast. https://nyti.ms/3nFJYQX

‘Rip and Replace’: The Tech Cold War Is Upending Wireless Carriers

As China and the United States jockey for tech primacy, wireless carriers in dozens of states are tearing out Chinese equipment. That has turned into a costly, difficult process. https://nyti.ms/44KWijf

The Discreet Thrill of Lurking Online

There’s a world of wholesome drama out there in strangers’ social media content, if you know where to look. You don’t even need to post yourself. https://nyti.ms/42p2Xyk

Sam Bankman-Fried, in First Detailed Defense, Seeks to Dismiss Charges

The FTX founder, who has been charged with fraud, said the crypto exchange and its law firm had been acting against him and offering only the most incriminating evidence to prosecutors. https://nyti.ms/3nHxAzQ

The Women Who Are Giving Dating Apps the Summer Off

Summer is the season where romantic encounters heat up. Some singles are logging off to see what’s out there. https://nyti.ms/3B8uZ50

Elizabeth Holmes Opens Up About Her Theranos Trial and What Comes Next

The black turtlenecks are gone. So is the voice. As the convicted Theranos founder awaits prison, she has adopted a new persona: devoted mother. https://nyti.ms/42D3DQj

Hollywood Writers Strike Is ‘Going to Be a While’

The writers and entertainment companies remain far apart on several key issues, including money, and the standoff could last for months. https://nyti.ms/3HNH5UJ

Twitter Criticized for Allowing Texas Shooting Images to Spread

Graphic images of the attack went viral on the platform, which has made cuts to its moderation team. Some users said the images exposed the realities of gun violence. https://nyti.ms/3B5Djma

Backup Power: A Growing Need, if You Can Afford It

Extreme weather linked to climate change is causing more blackouts. But generators and batteries are still out of reach for many. https://nyti.ms/3M0bl1k

‘Ron DeSoros’? Conspiracy Theorists Target Trump’s Rival.

Ron DeSantis, a likely contender for the Republican presidential nomination, must court far-right voters who consider him a tool of the Deep State. https://nyti.ms/3NIt92c

Were You Misled By Fake Reviews Online?

If you chose a purchase based on reviews and the end result didn’t live up to your expectations, The Times wants to hear your story. https://nyti.ms/3LzhXCf

How to Automatically Edit and Enhance Your Smartphone Photos

Photo apps have been using artificial intelligence for years to give you control over the look of your images. Here’s how to take advantage of that. https://nyti.ms/42kh5by

Google Promised to Defund Climate Lies, but the Ads Keep Coming

Google said in 2021 that it would stop running ads alongside videos and other content that denied the existence and causes of climate change. https://nyti.ms/3p69bUI

When AI Chatbots Hallucinate

Ensuring that chatbots aren’t serving false information to users has become one of the most important and tricky tasks in the tech industry. https://nyti.ms/3VpYzfN

‘The Godfather of A.I.’ Quits Google and Warns of Danger Ahead

For half a century, Geoffrey Hinton nurtured the technology at the heart of chatbots like ChatGPT. Now he worries it will cause serious harm. https://nyti.ms/3oZyurr