in the clear: 2024-02-26

This is a running list of various media I've looked at each week. It's mostly for reference and to give an impression of the type of news that I'm exposed to. Bullets are written by me and numbers are summaries of the respective article from an LLM.

If you have any suggestions or know of other good news sources, please leave a comment in the guestbook or reach out to me directly. I can't spend all my time reading about current events, but I like to try and stay informed whenever possible.

EFF: Nevada's Attack on E2EE

1. Nevada is seeking an emergency order to stop Meta from rolling out end-to-end encryption in Facebook Messenger for users under 18.
2. The lawsuit claims that Meta's products are deceptively designed to keep users addicted to the platform.
3. Blocking minors' use of end-to-end encryption would be counterproductive and a violation of privacy.
4. Such a ruling would raise serious constitutional concerns and could potentially prohibit all platforms from offering encryption.
5. EFF plans to speak up for users in the Nevada proceeding and fight this misguided effort to prohibit encryption.
6. EARN IT and Stop CSAM bills pending before Congress could give state governments more tools to eliminate encryption.

NYT Opinion: American's Savings are Shrinking

1. Americans' personal saving rate decreased to 3.7% in December 2022, the lowest since 2008, but excess savings from the pandemic still leave households with significant spending power.
2. Wealthier households have seen the most significant wealth gains during the pandemic, while middle-income and younger households have experienced more modest gains.
3. Rising stock and housing market values have made people feel wealthier, encouraging increased spending.
4. Lower-income households have seen the most substantial growth in inflation-adjusted earnings since the pandemic began.
5. The outlook suggests that the US will avoid a recession in 2024, with a renewed expansion likely due to a capex/productivity revival.
6. Heather Boushey, the chief economist of President Biden’s Investing in America Cabinet, advocates for shaping industries to be pro-competitive from the beginning to prevent the need for unwinding highly concentrated industries in the future.

Cybernews: Privacy from ChatGPT

1. OpenAI's new 'Memory' feature allows ChatGPT to remember and train on user conversations, raising data privacy concerns.
2. Critics argue that the long-term storage of user data can have unpredictable consequences for privacy.
3. OpenAI's architecture, a huge repository of continuously learning data, can exhibit rogue behavior or bias after six months.
4. Ottenheimer advocates for a system where individuals own and manage their data, sharing happens with informed consent, and information is deleted when it's no longer needed.
5. The researcher highlights the importance of self-regulation in the AI industry, shifting towards the concept of integrity breaches rather than privacy breaches.
6. Violations of AI regulations can damage a company's reputation, affecting consumer perception and market competitiveness.

• I wonder how the queries/conversations with ChatGPT compare in sensitivity to like online searches
• I feel like there's so much storage of public information that people can give consent to, but I definitely prefer individuals to be more informed

Gizmodo: Wendy's Surge Pricing

1. Wendy's plans to introduce surge pricing in the form of "dynamic prices" for menu items at all its US restaurants by 2025.
2. The dynamic pricing will be based on factors like demand, supply, competitor pricing, and external factors, with prices changing throughout the day.
3. This new pricing strategy is expected to result in immediate sales growth for Wendy's, but it's a risky approach as many consumers view dynamic pricing as price gouging.
4. Wendy's has previously announced tech-focused initiatives, such as an AI chatbot for drive-thru and self-driving robots for delivery, but some of these have turned out to be less technologically advanced than initially advertised.
5. The surge pricing will be initially tested through Wendy's digital menus, which are being rolled out to all US company-operated restaurants by the end of 2025.
6. Wendy's is hoping that consumers will be accepting of surge pricing, given its prevalence in ridesharing services.

• Seems like a natural progression of a company optimizing their profits with a huge amount of real-time data
• I wonder if there will be privacy-preserving food ordering apps if companies start to make this popular

NPR: Michigan Voters Call to be 'uncommitted' to Biden

1. Young Michigan voters, led by state representative Abraham Aiyash, are pushing for an "uncommitted" vote in the primary, urging President Biden to call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and halt additional aid to Israel.
2. The movement, called "Listen To Michigan," is led by young organizers and supported by several young elected leaders, including Aiyash, who is the son of Yemeni immigrants.
3. Despite the ongoing conflict in Gaza, organizers are standing firm in their demands for Biden, who recently announced a temporary ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
4. The campaign was started by predominantly millennial and Gen Z organizers from the Dearborn area, aiming to get more than 10,000 uncommitted votes, the margin that former President Trump won by in Michigan in 2016.
5. The movement has grown beyond the Arab community, becoming a multi-faith, multi-race, and multi-generational push for change.
6. Some voters are conflicted, as they are dissatisfied with Biden's first term but also concerned about the potential consequences of a Trump presidency.

WSJ: Can Zoom's Business Boom Again?

1. Zoom's revenue growth has been sluggish, with just 2.6% growth in the last fiscal year.
2. The company's stock price has slumped nearly 7% over the last six months.
3. Zoom announced a generative AI tool, Zoom AI Companion, but has not seen significant success in this area.
4. The company's quarterly results were better than expected, with adjusted operating income and billings exceeding analyst forecasts.
5. Zoom announced a $1.5 billion share buyback plan, and has a war chest of about $7 billion in cash and equivalents.
6. The consumer side of the business has stabilized, but the enterprise segment has felt the impact of corporate budget crunches and competition.

Economist: Mistral Competes with OpenAI

1. French startup Mistral has released a new large language model (LLM) called Mistral-Large, which nearly rivals OpenAI's GPT-4 in important aspects of performance.
2. Mistral also announced a deal with Microsoft, making its models available via Azure cloud, and unveiled a ChatGPT competitor called Le Chat.
3. Mistral's LLMs are open-source, with the statistical innards publicly available, allowing for modifications by anyone.
4. The company has raised €490m ($531m) in funding, with big investors including Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, and Eric Schmidt.
5. Mistral's success is attributed to a mix of French engineering education, American big-tech experience, clever data curation, and political connections.
6. The company is yet to generate meaningful revenues and faces regulatory challenges, but aims to provide businesses with more control over the LLMs they use.

Wired: Protect Loved Ones from Financial Scams

1. Elderly family members may be overpaying for internet, mobile, and TV services due to predatory marketing and lack of digital skills.
2. Pushy salespeople often use tactics similar to scammers, creating a false sense of urgency to secure a sale.
3. To help, discuss financial matters openly with loved ones, be mindful of not being judgmental, and share worries and advice.
4. Simple rules to reduce scam risk: avoid sharing personal info, never send money to unknown parties, and stay updated on common scams.
5. Regularly review subscriptions and financial health, using comparison websites and phone calls to negotiate better rates.
6. Encourage strong passwords and password managers, and be aware that some security advice can create misunderstandings and worries.

EFF: Open Source Beats Authoritarianism (Podcast)

1. Audrey Tang is Taiwan's first Digital Minister, known for her work in open source technology and open culture.
2. Tang's role as Digital Minister is focused on promoting plurality, collaboration, and shared reality in digital spaces.
3. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) praises Taiwan's openness approach, contrasting it with more authoritarian governments that lock up data and decision-making.
4. Tang's initiatives in Taiwan align with EFF's core values, such as combining laws, norms, architecture, and markets.
5. During the pandemic, Tang served as the Chief Information Officer for Taiwan, focusing on privacy protection, social movement, and protecting the economy.
6. Taiwan's approach during the pandemic emphasized openness, innovation, and collaboration, resulting in no administrative takedowns of speech and no anti-vax political factions.

NewAtlas: 90% of Tattoo Inks contain Ingredients Not Listed on the Label (Paper)

1. A study by Binghamton University found that 90% of US tattoo inks contain unlisted ingredients, including some with known health effects.
2. The researchers analyzed tattoo inks from big-name and smaller manufacturers, with Dynamic being the only manufacturer who had correct labeling across all pigments.
3. The unlisted substances were present at high concentrations (2,000 parts per million or more) and could be intentionally added or due to incorrectly labeled or contaminated materials.
4. Prior to 2022, the FDA classified tattoo inks as 'cosmetic' and they weren't regulated, but the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) now regulates them.
5. The study highlights the need for tighter manufacturing regulations around tattoo inks and aims to empower tattoo artists and their clients.
6. The research is the first study to explicitly look at inks sold in the United States and is probably the most comprehensive.

NYT: Summer in Chicago

1. Chicago experienced an unseasonably warm winter, with temperatures reaching 70°F in February.
2. The warm weather caused ice rinks to melt and led to uncommon outdoor activities in the city.
3. The sudden warmth made some people uncomfortable, with one social worker from India finding it "omnious" and "crazy."
4. Meteorologists warn of severe thunderstorms, potential tornadoes, and large hail in the Chicago area due to the warm spell.
5. The rapid temperature drop and extreme weather conditions have resulted in wildfires in Nebraska and Kansas.
6. The unseasonably warm winter has negatively impacted tourism and snow-related industries in the Great Lakes region.

NPR: Apple Cancels its Electric Car Project

1. Apple has ended its 10-year development project for a self-driving electric car, known as Project Titan.
2. Hundreds of employees working on the project will be moved to other divisions focusing on artificial intelligence.
3. The project's cancellation is estimated to have cost Apple billions of dollars and affected around 2,000 employees.
4. Some employees will be laid off, but the exact number remains unclear.
5. Apple's entry into the electric vehicle market was anticipated to transform the industry, but the company was reportedly still many years away from releasing its own car.
6. Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared to welcome the news, sharing a social media post about Apple winding down its car project with a saluting emoji and a cigarette.

NYT: Persuading Migrants to Leave New York

1. A $25 million state program aims to relocate migrant families from NYC to ease shelter system pressure, but many are reluctant to leave due to job opportunities, public schools, and lack of transportation in other counties.
2. The program is only operating in 5 of NY's 62 counties, where rent is high, due to limited county executive cooperation.
3. Out of 1,250 families the program aimed to help, only 174 have found homes, partly due to a slow rollout and marketing, as well as a housing crisis and landlord reluctance.
4. The program is strictly voluntary, and no migrant is required to leave NYC.
5. The state offers bonuses up to $15,000 to landlords who participate in the program, and marketing videos have been produced to attract migrants.

Polygon: Nintendo Suing Maker of Open-source Switch Emulator

1. Nintendo is suing the makers of Yuzu, an open-source Nintendo Switch emulator, due to pirated copies of games being played on it.
2. Yuzu is a free emulator that allows Nintendo Switch games to be played on Windows PC, Linux, and Android devices.
3. Nintendo claims that Yuzu bypasses its security measures and enables the use of pirated games.
4. The lawsuit is a result of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom being leaked and played using Yuzu before its official release.
5. Nintendo alleges that Yuzu earns over $30,000 per month from its Patreon and has earned at least $50,000 in paid downloads.
6. Nintendo is seeking to shut down the emulator and is asking for damages due to the illegal use of its intellectual property.

Axios: Illinois Governor adds $500 million to quantum computing quest

1. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is allocating $500 million in the state's budget to boost quantum computing and establish it as a hub for future semiconductors and AI.
2. The proposal includes $200 million for a cryogenic facility, $100 million for a quantum campus site, and $200 million in matching funds.
3. This investment aims to complement Illinois' bid for the National Semiconductor Technology Center, an R&D accelerator established as part of the CHIPS Act.
4. Nick Farina, CEO of quantum computing startup EeroQ, praised Chicago as the best place for this work, citing it as the reason for basing their company there.
5. National security watchdogs warn that the US is in a race with China and other global competitors to lead in the development of quantum computing and semiconductors.
6. The investment is seen as a catalyst for job creation and investment attraction in Illinois.

NYT: Cities want people to eat more plants

1. The Plant Based Treaty, launched in 2021, aims to reduce dairy and meat consumption for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
2. The treaty is non-binding, and its effects range from messaging to specific plans to reduce meat and dairy in institutions and schools and cut down on food waste.
3. The treaty has been endorsed by cities such as Amsterdam, Los Angeles, and Edinburgh, as well as Nobel laureates, politicians, scientists, and celebrities.
4. The meat and dairy industries are particularly harmful to the environment, accounting for a significant portion of greenhouse gas emissions and requiring large amounts of water.
5. A study from the University of Oxford found that vegan diets result in fewer greenhouse gas emissions, less water use, and less biodiversity loss compared to diets heavy in meat.
6. The treaty is not intended to impose meat taxes or bans, but rather to encourage plant-based food consumption and reduce meat consumption for environmental and health reasons.

IAPP: Executive Order Restricting Data Transfers to 'countries of concern'

1. U.S. President Joe Biden plans to bar data brokers from selling U.S. citizens' sensitive personal data to adversarial countries.
2. The executive order targets six countries of concern: China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Russia, and Venezuela.
3. The order aims to protect "genomic data, biometric data, personal health data, geolocation data, financial data, and certain kinds of personal identifiers."
4. The order directs the DOJ and DHS to establish high security standards for commercial transactions and prevent access to Americans' data.
5. The order is not a substitute for a federal privacy law, and it may not end the commercial sale of personal data, but could have a chilling effect on data brokers' business practices.
6. The order is issued under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, and the DOJ may impose criminal penalties for flagrant violations.

WSJ: Effect of Friends on Our Finances

1. People tend to measure their financial health based on their friends and social media posts, which can make their own finances seem inadequate.
2. A recent report found that 25% of people feel less satisfied with their wealth due to social media, and 33% have overspent to "keep up with the Joneses."
3. Constantly comparing yourself to others on social media can lead to feelings of inadequacy and overspending.
4. New research shows that people are also always calibrating their perceived income relative to their peers.
5. It's important to focus on your own financial goals and progress, rather than constantly comparing yourself to others.
6. Instead of relying on social media for information about the economy, it's better to analyze your own financial situation and seek diverse perspectives.

NYT: N.Y.P.D. Misconduct Settlements Cost $500 Million Over 6 Years

1. New York City paid over $500 million in police misconduct settlements in the past six years, with nearly $115 million paid in 2023 alone.
2. The median payout has more than doubled since 2018, rising from $10,500 to $25,000 in 2023.
3. A significant portion of these settlements is due to overturned convictions from the 1990s, primarily affecting Black and Hispanic individuals.
4. The increase in convictions being reversed and subsequent settlements is attributed to the city avoiding protracted litigation and providing justice for wrongful convictions.
5. Critics argue that the high settlement costs are due to increased spending on policing and violent practices, rather than investing in public services and social safety nets.
6. Complaints against police officers have risen significantly, with 5,550 complaints received in 2023, a 50% increase from 2022.

Economist: Are Passive Funds to Blame for Market Mania

1. Passive investing through index funds has become dominant in US markets, making up over 50% of investments.
2. This shift has led to concerns about "unthinking money" and potential market distortions, particularly during market manias.
3. The rise of passive investing may contribute to the concentration of value in a few large companies.
4. Passive investing has made it more challenging for active fund managers to outperform the market, leading to a decline in their numbers.
5. Academics and analysts are debating the impact of passive investing on market performance and future trends.
6. The shift towards passive investing has reduced the number of analysts covering companies, potentially weakening the focus on market fundamentals.

Lawfare: Digital Watermarks are not ready for LLMs

1. The article discusses concerns and challenges related to the use of digital watermarks in large language models (LLMs), such as privacy, copyright protection, and trustworthiness.
2. LLMs lack introspection and cannot police themselves, making it difficult to ensure their safety and responsible use.
3. A proposed solution to improve LLM safety is embedding hidden, permanent, immutable "watermarks" in LLM-generated content to document its origin.
4. However, the cost of circumventing these watermarks can be low, and their resiliency is questionable, making them a potentially ineffective solution.
5. The authors advise against making hard-to-reverse choices regarding mandating safety mechanisms for LLMs and recommend looking to the cybersecurity realm for guidance.
6. Key challenges in implementing digital watermarks include establishing a clear threat model, ensuring trustworthiness, and understanding the implications for privacy and copyright protection.

ArsTechnica: Judge issues restraining order keeping DOE from tracking bitcoin miners

1. A lawsuit by bitcoin miners has obtained a restraining order against the US Department of Energy (DOE) from gathering information about the energy used by bitcoin mining operations.
2. The DOE aimed to require large bitcoin mining operations in the US to fill out a survey to understand the impact of bitcoin mining on the US grid and its reliability.
3. The bitcoin miners argued that the survey would reveal confidential business information and cause irreparable harm.
4. The judge, Alan Albright, issued the injunction based on the DOE's voluntary delay of the survey and the miners' likelihood of success on the merits of their case.
5. The judge also criticized the DOE's claim of a 30-minute survey completion time as "extremely inaccurate, if not grossly misleading."
6. The DOE may face challenges in obtaining information from bitcoin miners, making future electricity needs planning more difficult due to the rapid expansion of their energy use.

NYT: Court Rulings Give States New Power to Protect Groundwater

1. Court rulings in Idaho, Nevada, and Montana have strengthened states' ability to regulate groundwater usage and limit overpumping.
2. Idaho has the worst rate of groundwater decline in the US, with farmers using wells to irrigate crops, particularly alfalfa for dairy cattle.
3. Nevada has seen significant decreases in water levels, with large water users pushing back against state regulations. A recent ruling affirmed the state's authority to block developments that could harm water supplies.
4. In Montana, a judge ruled that the state failed to impose adequate limits on new homes relying on groundwater, blocking a proposed housing development in a depleted area.
5. California has passed a law to limit overpumping, requiring local officials to reduce pumping to sustainable levels. Penalties will be imposed on those who fail to comply.
6. The White House has asked scientists to brief the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology about the groundwater situation, including potential actions and time available for government intervention.

Guardian: Court orders maker of Pegasus spyware to hand over code to WhatsApp

1. NSO Group, maker of Pegasus spyware, ordered by US court to hand over code to WhatsApp.
2. Decision a major legal victory for WhatsApp in ongoing litigation against NSO since 2019.
3. NSO's Pegasus software can hack any mobile phone, accessing calls, messages, and location data.
4. NSO blacklisted by Biden administration in 2021 for acting against US foreign policy and national security interests.
5. NSO sells spyware to government clients worldwide, including those that have targeted dissidents and journalists.
6. New US policy to impose global visa restrictions on individuals misusing commercial spyware, including EU and Israel.

The Verge: Passing KOSA just got more complicated

1. The Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) has gained enough support to potentially pass in the Senate, but other lawmakers and groups see this as an opportunity to promote their own legislation.
2. Senator Brian Schatz has introduced the Protecting Kids on Social Media Act, which would require parental consent for minors to use social media.
3. However, the support for this bill among Republican leaders is unclear, with some previously backing senators withdrawing support.
4. Tech industry groups are pushing for the Invest in Child Safety Act, which focuses on directing funding to law enforcement for investigating child predators.
5. KOSA has undergone changes to gain support, including removing the ability of state attorneys general to enforce the bill.
6. Some groups still have concerns about censorship and children's access to resources, but Senator Schumer's support gives KOSA a significant advantage.

CA Gov: CPPA Applauds Introduction of Bill to Expand Access to Opt-Out Preference Signals

1. Assembly member Josh Lowenthal introduced AB 3048, a bill that would require browsers and devices to offer opt-out preference signals for consumers to exercise their privacy rights.
2. The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives California consumers the right to stop the sale and sharing of their personal information, including via opt-out preference signals.
3. Google Chrome, Apple Safari, and Microsoft Edge, which occupy over 90% of the desktop browser market, do not offer support for opt-out preference signals.
4. This bill aims to make it easier for consumers to operationalize their privacy rights by requiring browsers to support the ability for consumers to exercise their opt-out rights in a single step.
5. If passed, California would become the first state to require browser vendors to directly support opt-out preference signals.
6. The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) is committed to promoting the education and awareness of consumers’ privacy rights and businesses’ responsibilities under the CCPA.

CBC: Police now need a warrant to get a person's IP address, Canadian Supreme Court rules

1. Supreme Court of Canada rules that police need a warrant to obtain a person's IP address.
2. An IP address is considered to reveal personal information, thus protected by the Charter.
3. The case involves Andrei Bykovets, convicted of online fraud offenses.
4. Police obtained two IP addresses from Moneris, a third-party payment processing company.
5. The dissenting opinion argues that an IP address alone reveals limited information.
6. The ruling has implications for online privacy and law enforcement needs.

NYT: A Conservative Judge’s Critique of the Supreme Court’s Reliance on Tradition

1. Judge Kevin C. Newsom, a conservative federal appeals court judge, critiqued the Supreme Court's reliance on tradition in interpreting the Constitution.
2. The Supreme Court's decisions on abortion and gun rights have drawn on traditions that emerged after the constitutional provisions were ratified.
3. Sherif Girgis, a law professor at Notre Dame, called this approach "living traditionalism" and argues that it has no obvious justification in originalist terms.
4. The Supreme Court has used "living traditionalism" in cases addressing separation of powers, federal-courts issues, states' rights, and individual rights.
5. Critics of traditionalism argue that it provides a far too amorphous and manipulable criterion for constitutional interpretation.
6. Justice Stephen G. Breyer, in his book "Reading the Constitution: Why I Chose Pragmatism, Not Textualism," defends his pragmatic approach and argues that longstanding practice matters.

NPR: This diet swap can cut your carbon footprint and boost longevity

1. A new study published in Nature Food found that swapping red and processed meat for plant protein a few times a week can improve health and reduce the diet-related carbon footprint.
2. Cutting red meat consumption in half can shrink your carbon footprint by 25% and may increase life expectancy by approximately nine months.
3. A plant-based diet can provide all the protein and nutrients needed for muscle strength, as long as some planning is done.
4. Livestock requires more land and water, and beef production emits 20 times more greenhouse gas per gram of protein compared to beans.
5. Small changes in diet can have significant impacts, and a diet good for health is also good for the environment.
6. Sudden changes in diet can be challenging, so it's essential to find ways to add more protein to plant-based meals gradually.

NYT Opinion: Why Elon Musk Is the Second Most Important Person in MAGA

1. Elon Musk, CEO of various companies including SpaceX and Tesla, is highly influential in the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement, despite his controversial personal life and the content on his social media site, X.
2. The concentration of right-wing power and adulation in two figures, namely Donald Trump and Elon Musk, is a significant development of the 21st century.
3. Right-wing media is struggling, with most right-wing sites losing a significant percentage of their visitors from 2020 to 2024, except for Newsmax and Fox News.
4. Social media, particularly Musk's X, has become the central way in which many right-wing figures reach the public, altering the way the right speaks and thinks.
5. The dependence on social media is shaping the right's position on free speech, leading to laws trying to dictate private companies' moderation policies.
6. The reliance on social media has a corrosive effect on both right and left, but the right currently depends on Musk's X as their main stage, while the left has mostly abandoned Twitter.

NYT: 33 year old Millennials

1. The 1990 and 1991 birth years, referred to as "peak millennials," are the largest part of the biggest generation and have significantly influenced various aspects of the economy.
2. At 33 and 34 years old in 2024, this age group is at a critical juncture in their financial lives, with many starting families and buying houses, leading to increased competition for resources.
3. The peak millennials' influence is evident in the consumer economy, with trends like the "experience economy" and the rise of tiny homes and athleisure being driven by their spending habits.
4. The housing market has experienced significant changes due to this age group, with a surge in demand for houses and a shift from urban to suburban areas.
5. The peak millennials' impact on the housing market is expected to continue for the rest of the decade, with high demand for entry-level single-family homes and limited housing supply.
6. The competition for resources and the housing market's challenges have resulted in many peak millennials delaying major life milestones, like buying houses and starting families.