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Recently we had a FOIA Forum where we focused on getting information from federal government agencies. With any new administration there is a flurry of activity, and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests are a way to get more information on what is happening inside government.
Voice AI startup ElevenLabs has landed $180 million in fresh funding, tripling its valuation to $3.3 billion just a year after hitting unicorn status. The Series C round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and Iconiq Growth, with additional backing from NEA, […]
Electronics, avocados, vegetables, cars, tractors, crude oil â these are some of the things that could soon get more expensive for US consumers. Under President Donald Trumpâs proposed plan, goods coming in from Mexico and Canada will be subject to a 25 percent tariff beginning on February 1st. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has also said Trump was âvery much still consideringâ tariffs on China on the same day. As of late Thursday, the specifics of these plans were still up in the air.
Sweeping tariffs were one of Trumpâs marquee campaign promises leading up to the election in November. Heâs previously threatened up to a 60 percent tariff on goods from China, a 100 percent tariff on goods from Mexico, and even a 200 percent tariff on John Deere products imported into the US. Despite this, Trump failed to levy any tariffs on day one of his presidency, with Bloomberg reporting on Thursday that his administration lacked even concepts of a plan. His first round is now supposed to hit goods from Mexico and Canada, the two largest trade partners for the US.
In 2022, around $1.8 trillion of goods and services moved between countries under the current United St …
The Pebble is the smartwatch that started it all and, in many ways, nothing has truly replaced it nearly a decade later. Now, a new generation of the Pebble smartwatch is coming, and this is what you should expect to see from it.
The Meta Safety Advisory Council has written the company a letter about its concerns with its recent policy changes, including its decision to suspend its fact-checking program. In it, the council said that Meta's policy shift "risks prioritizing political ideologies over global safety imperatives." It highlights how Meta's position as one of the world's most influential companies gives it the power to influence not just online behavior, but also societal norms. The company risks "normalizing harmful behaviors and undermining years of social progress... by dialing back protections for protected communities," the letter reads.
Facebook's Help Center describes the Meta Safety Advisory Council as a group of "independent online safety organizations and experts" from various countries. The company formed it in 2009 and consults with its members on issues revolving around public safety.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the massive shift in the company's approach to moderation and speech earlier this year. In addition to revealing that Meta is ending its third-party fact-checking program and implementing X-style Community Notes — something, X's Lina Yaccarino had applauded — he also said that the company is killing "a bunch of restrictions on topics like immigration and gender that are just out of touch with mainstream discourse." Shortly after his announcement, Meta changed its hateful conduct policy to "allow allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation." It also removed removed a policy that prohibited users from referring to women as household objects or property and from calling transgender or non-binary people as "it."
The council says it commends Meta's "ongoing efforts to address the most egregious and illegal harms" on its platforms, but it also stressed that addressing "ongoing hate against individuals or communities" should remain a top priority for Meta as it has ripple effects that go beyond its apps and websites. And since marginalized groups, such as women, LGBTQIA+ communities and immigrants, are targeted disproportionately online, Meta's policy changes could take away whatever made them feel safe and included on the company's platforms.
Going back to Meta's decision to end its fact-checking program, the council explained that while crowd-sourced tools like Community Notes can address misinformation, independent researchers have raised concerns about their effectiveness. One report last year showed that posts with false election information on X, for instance, didn't show proposed Community Notes corrections. They even racked up billions of views. "Fact-checking serves as a vital safeguard — particularly in regions of the world where misinformation fuels offline harm and as adoption of AI grows worldwide," the council wrote. "Meta must ensure that new approaches mitigate risks globally."
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/social-media/meta-safety-advisory-council-says-the-companys-moderation-changes-prioritize-politics-over-safety-140026965.html?src=rss
UNITED STATES - JANUARY 31: Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled "Big Tech and the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Crisis," in Dirksen building on Wednesday, January 31, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Reese's new gooey product has caused some confusion, but the Hershey brand is here to clear things up in its Super Bowl 59 commercial. Since Reese's Chocolate Lava Big Cup hit stores nationwide last year, some fans have hankered for lava. Those cravings have gotten a little out of whack. See: the hungry hordes of...
Martha Stewart means business in the kitchen, and she won't be distracted by her erstwhile sous chef Matthew McConaughey, who's trying to make a connection between the salad she's tossing and the upcoming Super Bowl. "What are you talking about," Stewart says to McConaughey in the latest teaser for Uber Eats' fifth consecutive Big Game...
The debut HexClad Super Bowl ad isn't about its star and brand co-owner Gordon Ramsey, his comedic foil Pete Davidson, or whether or not celebrities are aliens. It's about convincing more than 100 million consumers to spend a bit more on cookware once, then perhaps never again. For those unfamiliar with HexClad, it was founded...
The DeepSeek story contains multitudes. Itâs a story about the stock market, whether thereâs an AI bubble, and how important Nvidia has become to so many peopleâs financial future. Itâs also a story about China, export controls, and American AI dominance. And then, somewhere in there, thereâs a story about technology: about how a startup managed to build cheaper, more efficient AI models with few of the capital and technological advantages its competitors have.
On this episode of The Vergecast, we talk about all these angles and a few more, because DeepSeek is the story of the moment on so many levels. Nilay and David discuss whether companies like OpenAI and Anthropic should be nervous, why reasoning models are such a big deal, and whether all this extra training and advancement actually adds up to much of anything at all. (Nilay has a long comparison to Bluetooth, in case that helps you guess where we land.)
After that, we go through our email inbox ([email protected]) and the Vergecast Hotline (866-VERGE11), and talk about some of your responses to last weekâs question about how people use AI. Thank you so much to everyone who wrote in and called! There a …
A company that emerged from the marine engineering sector holds the secret to the ultra-luxury brand’s remarkable material that is as light as plastic, but several times stronger than steel.
Behance co-creator Scott Belsky has announced he’s leaving his position as Adobe’s Chief Strategy Officer to become a partner at independent film production company A24. Belsky initially joined Adobe when it acquired the Behance artist portfolio platform for $150 million in 2012.
Following a brief departure in 2016, he rejoined Adobe in 2017 to lead its product development across Creative Cloud and has since become one of the design software giant’s most respected and recognizable figures. Belsky played a key role in launching Adobe’s lineup of Firefly generative AI products, which debuted its first AI video model in October last year.
“After 7 years since returning to Adobe… i’ll be shifting gears over the coming months + jumping into the fast-evolving world of filmmaking and storytelling (a longtime passion),” Belsky said in his farewell message. “It’s hard to leave a team, mission, and customer base I care for deeply, but the Adobe team, strategy, and pipeline has never been stronger.”
Belsky says he will be relocating to New York City and will remain in the “extended family of Adobe” as a “future tech partner.” According to Adobe chief marketing officer Lara Balazs, Belsky’s A24 partner role will see him building “tools and resources” to help support filmmakers’ creative visions.
“I’m excited to see how his experience developing technology will translate to the entertainment industry,” Balazs said on Adobe’s blog. “We have always partnered with studios around the world, and we have already begun conversations with Scott and A24 on how the two companies can partner to progress the art of storytelling.”
