Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Exercises in OSINT and Storage Pains
This week, we discuss OSINT for chat groups, Russell Crowe films, and storage problems.
llms
Fine-Tuning LLMs For ‘Good’ Behavior Makes Them More Likely To Say No
Researchers took inspiration from r/AmITheAsshole to find out if chatbots are likely to demonstrate an exaggerated version of human beings’ “bias for inaction.”
The Abstract
DNA from Prehistoric Proto-City Reveals 'Surprising' Signs of Female-Centered Society
An unprecedented study reveals maternal lineages, female-centered practices, and a “surprising shift” in a 9,000-year-old settlement associated with a goddess cult.
Inside ‘AI Addiction’ Support Groups, Where People Try to Stop Talking to Chatbots
People are self treating themselves and other community members in subreddits like character_ai_recovery, ChatBotAddiction, and AIAddiction.
News
ICE Is Using a New Facial Recognition App to Identify People, Leaked Emails Show
The new tool, called Mobile Fortify, uses the CBP system which ordinarily takes photos of people when they enter or exit the U.S., according to internal ICE emails viewed by 404 Media. Now ICE is using it in the field.
vance
'My Bad:' Babyface Vance Meme Creator On Norwegian Tourist's Detainment
404 Media spoke to Dave McNamee, the original creator of the babyface Vance meme, about free speech, our rights, and how it feels to see the thing you created being blamed for someone's denial of entry to the U.S.
News
Airline-Owned Data Broker Selling Your Flight Info to DHS Finally Registers as a Data Broker
It’s a legal requirement for data brokers to register in the state of California. ARC, the airlines-owned data broker that has been selling your flight information to the government for years, only just registered after being contacted by the office of Senator Ron Wyden.
Deepfakes
A Deepfake Nightmare: Stalker Allegedly Made Sexual AI Images of Ex-Girlfriends and Their Families
An Ohio man is accused of making violent, graphic deepfakes of women with their fathers, and of their children. Device searches revealed he searched for "undress" apps and "ai porn."
Flock
Flock Removes States From National Lookup Tool After ICE and Abortion Searches Revealed
Following 404 Media’s reporting and in light of new legislation, automatic license plate reader (ALPR) company Flock has stopped agencies reaching into cameras in California, Illinois, and Virginia.
News
Balatro Ported to the Gameboy Advance’s e-Reader
A software engineer made a version of the game that runs off code printed onto a small card.
Podcast
Podcast: This Site Unmasks Cops With Facial Recognition
A tool that uses facial recognition to reveal cops' names, a big and complicated AI ruling, and the AI slop between Iran and Israel.
News
AI Models And Parents Don’t Understand ‘Let Him Cook’
LLMs are not familiar with “ate that up,” “secure the bag,” and “sigma,” showing that training data is not yet updated to Gen Alpha terminology.
AI
Judge Rules Training AI on Authors' Books Is Legal But Pirating Them Is Not
A judge rules that Anthropic's training on copyrighted works without authors' permission was a legal fair use, but that stealing the books in the first place is illegal.