The must-reads
I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 OpenAI has released a tool that detects AI-generated text
Unfortunately, it’s not very good. (WSJ $)
+ The tool returns a lot of both false positives and false negatives. (Axios)
+ It identified only 26% of AI-written text correctly. (Bloomberg $)
+ What the human brain can teach us about AI. (The Atlantic $)
+ Google is apparently testing its own ChatGPT rivals. (CNBC)
+ A watermark for chatbots can expose text written by an AI. (MIT Technology Review)
2 The US defense industry is struggling to arm Ukraine
Its supply chains are straining under the sheer demand for weapons. (FT $)
+ How Russia is sneakily bypassing oil sanctions. (Economist $)
3 Elon Musk’s Twitter feed is an echo chamber
Despite his insistence that the broader platform should be more open and diverse. (NYT $)
+ Twitter isn’t happy at the cost of private jets. (Bloomberg $)
+ We’re witnessing the brain death of Twitter. (MIT Technology Review)
4 A streamer was caught watching deepfake porn of his colleagues
The non-consensual videos demonstrate the dangers of the technology. (Motherboard)
+ A horrifying new AI app swaps women into porn videos with a click. (MIT Technology Review)
5 Covid appears to be scrambling our immune systems
Even mild infections seem to disrupt our ability to fight off diseases. (Slate $)
+ How to work out how healthy your immune system is. (New Scientist $)
6 Tracking truckers hasn’t made long-haul driving safer
It has, however, ushered in a new era of surveillance. (New Yorker $)
7 What’s next for laid-off tech workers?
Their skills are highly prized—especially by businesses outside tech. (Vox)
+ Anonymous app Blind is the hottest place to search for work. (CNN)
+ The US is weaning itself off being a nation of workaholics. (The Atlantic $)
8 Assembling iPhones in Foxconn’s factory is a thankless task
It pays well, but the grueling working conditions challenge employees daily. (Rest of World)
9 Airport protocols are getting faster 🛫
E-gates and biometric passports are making it easier to speed through. (WP $)
10 It’s easier than ever to report a UFO sighting 🛸
Simply fire up Enigma Labs’ app. (Wired $)
Quote of the day
—Programmer Miles Zimmerman recalls a nightmarish experiment with generative AI model Mindjourney, which created images of people with too many fingers and teeth, he tells BuzzFeed.