Episodes
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We start this week with Emanuel's story on how AI-powered ads on Buzzfeed are recommending people buy things like a hat worn by a person who died by suicide. After the break, Joseph talks about an unprecedented leak out of phone forensics tech Graykey. In the subscribers-only section, Sam tells us about HarperCollins' AI deal and how MIT Press is exploring one too.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/CAw0VvCvavA
AI-Powered Buzzfeed Ads Suggest You Buy Hat of Man Who Died by Suicide
Leaked Documents Show What Phones Secretive Tech ‘Graykey’ Can Unlock
HarperCollins Confirms It Has a Deal to Sell Authors' Work to AI Company
AI Companies Are Trying to Get MIT Press Books
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This episode is sponsored by DeleteMe. Friend of 404 Media Matthew Gault talks to Rachel Tobac, CEO of SocialProof Security, about the ways scammers and criminals are using AI, and how it's changing social engineering attacks.
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Episodes manquant?
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This week Joseph starts with his scoop on how Apple quietly introduced code that reboots iPhones, locking out cops. After the break, we all talk about the big Blue Sky migration. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about how we plan to cover, and what to cover, in the new U.S. administration.
YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNRjqqe29iE
Apple Quietly Introduced iPhone Reboot Code Which is Locking Out Cops
The Big Blue Sky Migration
Why the Work Still Matters
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On Election Day in the U.S. Jason tells us about EagleAI, a piece of software that could be used to purge voter rolls in the country. After the break, Sam breaks down Microsoft's mistake around gender-predicting AI, and an experiment to test when Instagram considers a nipple as female. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph goes long on his investigation into the infostealer industry.
YouTube version: https://youtu.be/JDAW53zv29g
Inside the Plan to Use AI to Purge Voter Rolls
Microsoft Provided Gender Detection AI on Accident
When Does Instagram Decide a Nipple Becomes Female?
Inside the Massive Crime Industry That is Hacking Billion Dollar Companies
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An Elon Musk-funded super PAC has expanded an advertising campaign in which it is impersonating Democrats and targeting registered Republicans with policies unpopular with conservatives they say Kamala Harris will pass if she wins the election. Plus, Sam takes us inside Northwell Health, New York's largest hospital system, which is pushing AI on its doctors.
Articles discussed in this podcast:
https://www.404media.co/elon-musk-funded-pac-supercharges-progress-2028-democrat-impersonation-ad-campaign/
https://www.404media.co/northwell-health-ai-hub-tool-chatgpt-doctors/
https://www.404media.co/scientists-and-archivists-worry-epic-games-control-of-the-3d-model-market-will-destroy-cultural-heritage/
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In this special interview episode of the 404 Media podcast, I talked to Susanna Gibson, a nurse practitioner who ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates in 2023 and is now a victim advocate for folks targeted by non-consensual intimate imagery online—after becoming one herself last year.
Most people probably recognize Gibson from her candidacy and the news stories surrounding it. While she was running for office, images of her having sex with her then-husband started circulating on the internet without her consent. But I had the chance to get to know her a little deeper: We got into why she became a nurse, what inspired her to enter politics, and the moment she found out about the videos. The experience changed the trajectory of her life.
We talk about her shift to advocacy with her nonprofit, MyOwn Image, which has the mission of fighting technology-facilitated gendered violence. Gibson recently introduced model legislation for states that provides a framework for addressing image-based sexual abuse.
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This week we start with a massive story about location data. Privacy advocates gained access to a tool bought by multiple U.S. agencies called Locate X, which tracks smartphones around the world. We focused on how it can be used to track abortion clinic visitors. After the break we have a special guest: Becky Ferreira, author of our recently launched column The Abstract! Becky tells us all about her journey into science journalism and a couple of the studies she's covered. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains how he found a Musk-funded PAC was targeting opposing Snapchat ads to Muslim and Jewish voters in the U.S.
YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGsobtws2MU
Inside the U.S. Government-Bought Tool That Can Track Phones at Abortion Clinics
Is There Life on Europa?
This Is Exactly How an Elon Musk-Funded PAC Is Microtargeting Muslims and Jews With Opposing Messages
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We start this week's episode with the ongoing (and pretty confusing!) conflict between Wordpress.com and WP Engine. It might sound like drama, but it actually could have ramifications for the wider web. Sam talks us through it. After the break, Jason explains how he used AI to apply to more than a dozen jobs over breakfast, and how tons of other people are using these tools themselves. In the subscribers-only section, Jason talks about a presentation inside the National Archives which shows the agency's big push towards AI.
YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-H_E4yjTJZQ
‘The Community Is In Chaos:’ WordPress.org Now Requires You Denounce Affiliation With WP Engine To Log In
‘I Applied to 2,843 Roles’: The Rise of AI-Powered Job Application Bots
‘AI-Mazing Tech-Venture’: National Archives Pushes Google Gemini AI on Employees
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This week we start with Joseph's piece about a couple of Harvard students who cobbled together a pair of Meta's smart glasses that automatically dox people just by looking at them. After break, Sam and Emanuel talk about two Hurricane Helene stories about data and AI. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph talks about a hacked dataset that shows the prompts used on an AI companion site. Heavy content warning for that section.
YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-z3QcY6aGpQ
Someone Put Facial Recognition Tech onto Meta's Smart Glasses to Instantly Dox Strangers
Hurricane Helene Knocked One of the World’s Largest Climate Data Archives Offline
Hurricane Helene and the ‘Fuck It’ Era of AI-Generated Slop
Hacked ‘AI Girlfriend’ Data Shows Prompts Describing Child Sexual Abuse
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This is a trailer for the subscribers-only podcast for 404 Media's one year anniversary! We go long on the business, subscriber numbers, what people value, how to get our articles in front of people, and what we're looking to do next year! If you want to hear the rest, please become a subscriber at 404media.co.
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Over the past two weeks we've had a ton of stories where AI and other companies have opted users into data collection and processing by default. What the hell is going on??? They're all doing it at once! Jason starts us off with how Udemy created an 'opt-out window'. If you missed it, you're out of luck until next year. Then after the break, Sam and Joseph discuss similar stories with PayPal and LinkedIn. In the subscribers-only section, Sam talks about how a woman was essentially trapped in a driverless Waymo.
Massive E-Learning Platform Udemy Gave Teachers a Gen AI 'Opt-Out Window'. It's Already Over.
Paypal Opted You Into Sharing Data Without Your Knowledge
LinkedIn Is Training AI on User Data Before Updating Its Terms of Service
Men Harassed A Woman In A Driverless Waymo, Trapping Her In Traffic
*This show is sponsored by BetterHelp*
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We have two related stories this week. First, Joseph, Emanuel, and Sam break down their experiences with Telegram, and the social network's massive policy shift. The company says it will now process valid legal requests from law enforcement for user data. After the break, Joseph tells us how the walls are closing in on one of the most disruptive hackers in recent memory. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel explains why Nintendo's lawsuit against Palworld is bad, and why Nintendo will probably win.
YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90T71r3h7oc
Telegram Changes Policy, Says It Will Provide User Data to Authorities
The Walls Are Closing in on the Snowflake Hacker
‘Cold-Blooded Business’: Nintendo Is Patent Trolling Palworld Because It Got Too Big
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We chime in on the developing story coming out of Lebanon about a wave of exploding pagers. Jason has some unusual expertise that is pretty relevant here. After the break, Jason breaks down why Larry Ellison's AI-powered surveillance dystopia is already here. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel explains how he figured out what is, and is not, happening with Snapchat's future AI selfie ads.
Experts: Lebanon Pager Explosions Likely Not Lithium Batteries Alone
Larry Ellison's AI-Powered Surveillance Dystopia Is Already Here
Snapchat Reserves the Right to Use AI-Generated Images of Your Face in Ads
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We've got a really varied one today. First, Sam talks about the new wave of sextortion emails which send a target their home address to scare them into paying. After the break, Jason talks about the rise of the right to repair movement, but for your body and prescription drugs. In the subscribers-only section, Jason breaks down a years old Reddit mystery that is finally solved, thanks to some facial recognition tech.
Sextortion Scammers Try to Scare People by Sending Photos of Their Homes
‘Right to Repair for Your Body’: The Rise of DIY, Pirated Medicine
'Celebrity Number Six' Internet Mystery Is Solved
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The organization that runs National Novel Writing Month, a November challenge to write 50,000 words, said "the categorical condemnation of Artificial Intelligence has classist and ableist undertones." Does it?
Also Discussed:
NaNoWriMo Says Condemning AI Is ‘Classist and Ableist’
This Is Doom Running on a Diffusion Model
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Emanuel and Jason break down the arrest of Telegram cofounder Pavel Durov, a slide deck showing "active listening" advertising based on microphone data, and a concerning new study that shows AI-generated CSAM is more common than you think.
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This month Joseph went to the annual DEF CON hacking conference and spoke to a bunch of interesting hackers, researchers, and technologists. We wanted to provide our paying subscribers with a snapshot of what it's like to be at DEF CON—the sounds, the vibe, the people, the hacks. Become a paying subscriber now at 404media.co to listen!
The Golden Age of Hackers in Vegas Is Over
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This week Sam starts with how Taylor Swift could sue Donald Trump for posting a series of fake, AI-generated images that claimed she wanted fans to vote for the presidential candidate. After the break, Joseph pieces together how the U.S. has been quietly using hacked messages from an encrypted phone company to prosecute alleged cocaine traffickers. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about how Sam triggered a lawsuit against Nvidia for scraping YouTube, and go longer on why we generate impact and how.
Swift Could Sue Trump Under State Law for Fake AI Endorsement
US Feds Are Tapping a Half Billion Encrypted Messaging Goldmine
Nvidia Sued for Scraping YouTube After 404 Media Investigation
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We're dedicating a whole episode to Sam's new narrative piece on how a ragtag group of friends hunted down a wanted sex trafficking ringleader. First we give you all the context for why this person, Michael Pratt, eventually ended up on the FBI's Most Wanted list. Then Sam breaks down the hunt for Pratt, told through the eyes of the people who were there. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains how and why hackers are "Airbnb hopping."
'She Turned Ghost White:' How a Ragtag Group of Friends Tracked Down a Sex Trafficking Ringleader
‘Airbnb Hopping’: How Hunted Hackers Stay on the Run From Kidnappers
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This is a big one. Sam got hold of a massive leak of internal Nvidia emails, Slack messages, and documents which show how the tech giant is scraping YouTube and Netflix for its own purposes. In the second half of the show, Jason peels back the curtain on who is behind the wave of AI spam on Facebook and how they're doing it; finally an answer after months of investigation. In the subscribers-only section, we talk DEF CON, our experiences at the conference, and give a little preview of something DEF CON-related for our paying subscribers coming soon.
Leaked Documents Show Nvidia Scraping ‘A Human Lifetime’ of Videos Per Day to Train AI
Where Facebook's AI Slop Comes From
Hotel to Search Rooms During DEF CON Hacking Conference
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