Online romance scams netted con artists over $1.1 billion in 2023, with an average reported loss of around $2,000 per target. These victims who span age, gender, and demographics often aren’t only out of money—their time, emotions, and sometimes even physical safety can be on the line. And while the CEO of the largest online […]
A completely free email service offering 1 GB of storage, integrated search capabilities, and automatic message threading? Too good to be true. At least, that’s what many people thought 20 years ago today, when Google announced Gmail’s debut. To be fair, it’s easy to see why some AP News readers wrote letters claiming the outlet’s […]
Please do not spend nearly a decade working to secretly clone endangered sheep in a bid to create giant Frankensheep hybrids for wealthy people to hunt for sport. It is very illegal, and the US government will make an example out of you. Case in point: Arthur “Jack” Schubarth. The 80-year-old owner of a 215-acre […]
You probably don’t know about Automattic, but they know you. As the parent company of WordPress, its content management systems host around 43 percent of the internet’s 10 million most popular websites. Meanwhile, it also owns a vast suite of mega-platforms including Tumblr, where a massive amount of embarrassing personal posts live. All this is […]
US farmers are closer than ever to raising genetically edited pigs immune to one of the animal’s deadliest diseases. But while millions of dollars could be saved with livestock impervious to highly virulent, diverse strains of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS), animal rights groups maintain the cutting-edge idea isn’t an ethical solution, but yet […]
It’s hard to write about Sora without feeling like your mind is melting. But after OpenAI’s surprise artificial intelligence announcement yesterday afternoon, we have our best evidence yet of what a yet unregulated, consequence-free tech industry wants to sell you: a suite of energy-hungry black box AI products capable of producing photorealistic media that pushes […]
The Federal Communications Commission unanimously ruled on Thursday that robocalls containing AI-generated vocal clones are illegal under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991.The telecommunications law passed over 30 years ago now encompasses some of today’s most advanced artificial intelligence programs. The February 8 decision, effective immediately, marks the FCC’s strongest escalation yet in its […]
That one aunt of yours (you know the one) may finally think twice before forwarding Facebook posts of “lost” photos of hipster Einstein and a fashion-forward Pope Francis. On Tuesday, Meta announced that “in the coming months,” it will attempt to begin flagging all AI-generated images made using programs from major companies like Microsoft, OpenAI, […]
Meta continues to steadily roll out updates for younger users in an attempt to bolster their safety and privacy. On Thursday, the tech company announced some of its most restrictive measures yet—in theory. Teens users, by default, will no longer receive direct messages on Instagram and Facebook from anyone that isn’t a follower or connection. […]
The director of the Department of Homeland Security’s cybersecurity infrastructure protection agency confirms she was the victim of a dangerous “swatting” attempt late last month. As first reported on January 22 by cybersecurity news outlet, The Record, local police in Arlington County, VA, arrived at Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director Jen Easterly’s residence […]
