We are in desperate need of ways to distinguish between human and AI-written text to counter potential misuse of the technology, and researchers are developing tools to do just that. But the rapid pace of AI development means we’re constantly playing catch-up. Read the full story.
— Melissa Heikkilä
They must be read
I’ve been combing the internet to find today’s funniest/most important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1 Twitter users have voted to remove Elon Musk in a poll
It remains to be seen if Musk actually follows through on the results. (FT$)
+ Twitter has banned links to rival social media sites. (The Verge)
+ The journalists’ accounts were banned and reinstated over the course of a chaotic weekend. (ENJOY $)
+ What Musk wants from the authors he has entrusted the Twitter files to. (Slate $)
+ We are witnessing the brain death of Twitter. (MIT Technology Review)
2 Sam Bankman-Fried was due to appear in a Bahamian court today
The FTX founder is expected to agree to extradition to the United States to face fraud charges. (WP$)
+ Crypto evangelists in Puerto Rico are doubling. (The Guardian)
+ However, investors in the US are throwing in the towel. (WSJ$)
3 Russian drones target Kiev’s power grid
It is Moscow’s third attack on the city in less than a week. (Reuters)
+ Ukrainian developers use sophisticated software to predict enemy troop movements. (The Guardian)
4 Digital mental health services fail vulnerable users
Some LGBTQ+ users say they were assigned unsympathetic therapists. (WSJ$)
5 A teenage YouTuber is at the center of a child labor lawsuit
It highlights how loosely regulated social media is. (LA Times $)
6 Climate change-induced drought triggers a food disaster
Millions of people living in the Horn of Africa are among the first to suffer. (Undark Magazine)
7 Silicon Valley is pulling the plug on its elaborate Christmas parties
Many companies think it’s a bad look, given the sector’s recent redundancies. (The information $)
+ Big Tech’s legendary benefits are also disappearing. (Insider $)
8 Portugal’s digital nomad dream is dying
Building a remote labor village doesn’t necessarily mean said workers will show up. (Wired $)
+ Our water infrastructure needs to change. (MIT Technology Review)
9 Instagram Notes is a throwback to the golden age of instant messaging
For millennials raised on AIM, the nostalgia is overwhelming. (WSJ$)
10 How embroidery inspired the first computer program
Ada Lovelace was an algorithm pioneer. (Reverse)