The 404 Media Podcast

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We start this week with Joseph’s story about the FCC’s wild proposal to require peoples’ government ID numbers to even get a phone plan. The FCC is doing it to curb robocalls, but also said it would be useful for a bunch of other stuff. After the break, Jason tells us all about cops abusing Flock to stalk girlfriends and other people. In the subscribers’ only section, Emanuel explains how a software update is impacting Amazon drivers.

FCC Wants to Kill Burner Phones By Forcing Telecoms to Get All Customers’ IDs

Cops Keep Getting Arrested for Using Flock to Stalk People

Software Update Automatically Turns off Amazon Delivery Drivers’ AC During Dangerous Summer Heat

YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/hP53hSJSsSU
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This week, I’m thrilled to be joined by Imani Thompson. Imani is a digital security trainer and host of a series of events called Cache Me Outside, where she and partner orgs help people understand their personal security, divest from big tech platforms, and learn how to stay safe online. She recently hosted a “de-Googling” party and a self-doxxing rave.

We get into how platforms have tried to make surveillance cute, why that damn Duolingo owl emotionally manipulates you, and why learning about privacy best practices when surrounded by community works. 

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A 'Self-Doxing' Rave Helps Trans People Stay Safe Online

Now you can break up with big tech at a bar: ‘cybersecurity disguised as a party’

Fix It With Piggy

YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/C4WVYBEIgzM
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We start this week with Emanuel’s story about the internal memes Google employees are making all about AI. Definitely check out some of the examples in the article or on YouTube. After the break, Jason tells us how Microsoft explicitly wants to “make people addicted” to its new AI assistant, according to an internal document. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains how companies are using Reddit to manipulate AI search results and big LEGO drama.

Google Employees Internally Share Memes About How Its AI Sucks

Microsoft Wants to 'Make People Addicted' to its New AI Assistant, Internal Documents Reveal

Companies Are Using Reddit to Manipulate ChatGPT and Google AI Search

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Emanuel talks to Devindra Hardawar about AI in Hollywood and the state of the movie industry.

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I didn’t plan it this way, but it’s a good coincidence that my interview with Devindra Hardawar is coming out on the week that the first Star Wars movie in years is being crushed at the box office by two low budget horror movies. Something is extremely off at Hollywood, or at least the old studio executives and streamers who control most of the money that funds movies.

 

This week we’re joined by Devindra Hardawar. Devindra is a senior editor at Engadget and a co-host of The Filmcast, a podcast about film I’ve been listening to for 15 years. We’ve covered the intersection of the movie industry and AI here and there on 404 Media, but Devindra lives at that intersection. He’s the perfect person to talk to about AI and film, but also the state of the industry more broadly, how to fit movies into your life in the age of the infinite scroll, how to introduce kids to film, and more. 

YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/imCSQkhFkoM
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Go to surfshark.com/404Media to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN, plus there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee—or just use code 404MEDIA at checkout!

We start this week with Jason’s story about one of the wildest hacking stories in a while. Hackers simply asked Meta’s AI to change the email address on a target Instagram account, and the chatbot did so. Insane. After the break, Emanuel tells us about Amazon’s internal leaderboard for tracking AI usage and how it was cheated. In the subscribers-only section, we provided an update on our lawsuit against ICE.

Hackers Simply Asked Meta AI to Give Them Access to High-Profile Instagram Accounts. It Worked

Amazon Shuts Down Internal AI Leaderboard After Employees Cheated

We Sued ICE to Get Its Spyware Contract. The Agency Is Redacting Essentially Everything

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