Crazy story on this week’s episode of the Interface

Remember Havana Syndrome? In 2017 US diplomats in Cuba started mysteriously suffering brain damage after hearing a noise. Many thought it a conspiracy theory. After investigating, @nickywoolf.bsky.social concluded it wasn't. He was right. This week on The Interface youtube.com/watch?v=UYVHzkq2X7Y

Trying to remember which dystopian novel this is from.... Burger King employees have to walk around with an AI headset that judges how "friendly" they are www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...

In a test, researchers found one AI was better at math when you made it pretend to be on Star Trek. The bizarre reality is our world is full of robots that act like guys. Some say AI does better when you're nice, others recommend threats. In my latest, I found the truth www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Katie is one of my favorite writers but I'm the hot dog champ and I won't be dethroned. I was impressed with her espresso technique at the Paris event though

"$20 billion trillion trillion" that outta do it abc7.com/post/russia-...

This is… wild. Palantir has a new internship that’s exclusively for neurodivergent people And apparently they think being autistic makes you right wing? “This is not a diversity initiative” lol

People all over the world are using this trick to make AI tell you lies on subjects as serious as medical questions and personal finance From my new BBC podcast The Interface

UPDATE: ChatGPT is adding new lore to my hot dog career. Also it says I have a new job at the AP? Here I am slaving away at the BBC, I wish someone had told me

X's algorithm is in fact doing what you think it's doing. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

I just did the dumbest thing of my entire career to prove a much more serious point. I tricked ChatGPT and Google, and made them tell other users I’m a competitive hot-dog-eating world champion People are using this trick on a massive scale to make AI tell you lies. I’ll explain how I did it

. @thomasgermain.bsky.social tricked ChatGPT and Google's AI so now they say I'm a "passionate amateur" at eating hot dogs and known in the industry for my "triple-dog" speed www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Current state of things: One Fox News host casually declares that Epstein’s money comes from “Jewish billionaires” and a “Jewish banking family,” another responds that he was a “sex rabbi.” www.mediamatters.org/fox-news/jes...

Weird I guess there are a lot of people who don’t like giant tech companies with the power of nation states following their every move?

Episode 1 is OUT!! 🥳 🙌 This week on The Interface, we discuss: * That insane Superbowl ad for Ring * The US TikTok takeover * And the beef that launched ChatGPT Listen wherever you get your podcasts: app.magellan.ai/listen_links...

I just launched a brand new tech column AND a podcast with the BBC. The show's called The Interface, new episodes every Thursday With your support, I’m prepared to answer the biggest question in tech: what is a computer?? Let me tell you all about it ~~ app.magellan.ai/listen_links...

It hit me that there isn't a single service that shows you ALL the restaurants in an area. Google Maps won't show me all the spots on a street near my house no matter how far I zoom in. Every other app is the same What if god forbid I want to make my own decision instead of relying on an algorithm?

NEW: No TikTok account? They're tracking you anyway TikTok harvests sensitive and embarrassing information about you even if you don't use the app. Last week I watched websites send TikTok data on cancer diagnoses, fertility treatment, and mental health crises Here's what you can do about it: /1

Some Personal News, as they say! very, very excited to announce that from Feb 12 I'll be co-hosting a new weekly BBC show, The Interface, along with the stellar @karenhao.bsky.social and @thomasgermain.bsky.social!

Your phone doesn’t take photos anymore. It builds them. Most of it’s subtle. Sometimes it’s AI hallucination Once you spot it, you can’t unsee it www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Happy birthday Elmo

Great news for the "I want AI that kills people" crowd www.reuters.com/business/aer...

The fact that this feature exists means OpenAI paid 100s of people to have e-sex with the robot to make sure it doesn’t get weird

My biggest regret in life is choosing a career where you never get to use walkie talkies

YouTube is testing AI on your videos without consent. Today it’s filters. Tomorrow, who decides what’s real www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Had a great time at lectures on tap at @caveatnyc.bsky.social watching @thomasgermain.bsky.social open our eyes to the deeper side of YouTube

Google has a new button. It might destroy the web as you know it. Experts say the new “AI Mode” is an asteroid aimed at the heart of the internet, one that could decimate millions of websites. It seems this chapter of online history is over. Here’s what comes next: www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Google wrote the rules, they created the game and they rewarded the players. Now they're turning around and saying, 'That's my infrastructure, the web just happens to live in it.’ 🔗 www.bbc.com/future/artic... by @thomasgermain.bsky.social

Right now, there are trains in California that can’t start until someone inserts a floppy disk. 50 years into Microsoft’s reign, Windows XP and MS-DOS still run elevators, hospitals, ATMs and more. I went inside the ghost world of obsolete PCs www.bbc.com/future/artic...

For years, YouTube didn't disclose how many videos it hosted. That fundamental-but-missing figure about one of the most important parts of our digital communication infrastructure is what launched our big @idpiumass.bsky.social YouTube project. But now there's an official number(ish)! [1/7]

"Republicans are advancing what could become the largest expansion of immigration enforcement funding in U.S. history—between $175 and $345 billion... and so far none of the key players will answer the simplest question: What, exactly, are taxpayers being asked to fund?" via @migrantinsider.com

If you call the Oregon Tele-Pome hotline today, I’ll read you a poem. 503-928-7008. This heart-poem from my core was originally published by @fonografeditions.bsky.social Thanks to @mojgani.bsky.social and @oregonhumanities.org for putting together the incredible hotline & for featuring me.

NEW from the BBC: Why it might be time to ditch your phone case www.bbc.com/future/artic...

20 years later, Facebook figured out that what people really want is…. to talk to their friends about.fb.com/news/2025/03...

If you can explain why King Charles' playlist is only on Apple Music please get in touch with me immediately www.nytimes.com/2025/03/10/a...

There’s a secret YouTube no one gets to see - a vast, uncurated documentary of human life. We found a way to explore it. The average video has just 41 views. That means most of the platform is invisible, until now www.bbc.com/future/artic...

There’s a secret YouTube you never get to see - a vast, uncurated documentary of human life. We found a way to explore it. The average video has just 41 views. That means most of the platform is invisible, until now www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Thoroughly enjoyed this article. It is a struggle to explore in spite of YT's algorithms. With that in mind, I do love stumbling upon heartfelt, playful, creative, and unexpected content. Thank you for writing a insightful article on a very addictive resource. 😊

It is not just fake news, Ad revenue funds the worst content on the Internet, including child sexual abuse. @thomasgermain.bsky.social (BBC) Platforms keep telling us, for over a decade, that this is just a mistake and that -trust me, bro- it will be fixed soon. www.bbc.com/future/artic...

YouTube is almost 20 years old and more popular than ever, but there's still a ton we don't know about it. The BBC's @thomasgermain.bsky.social has a story about our work at @idpiumass.bsky.social to uncover some of those YouTube fundamentals. www.bbc.com/future/artic...

New for the BBC: Friday is YouTube's 20th birthday, but the most basic facts about the platform are still closely guarded secrets. For example: How much YouTube do we all watch? Answer: 8 MILLION YEARS per month Check out the mind blowing details Google wont tell you ⬇️ www.bbc.com/future/artic...

ICYMI: Google, Amazon, and Microsoft allowed their ad networks to place advertisements on a shady image-sharing website that hosted child sexual abuse material. Ad safety experts say the website's mechanics should have raised big red flags. Read more from @thomasgermain.bsky.social, here:

NEW: Google, Amazon and Microsoft's ad systems funneled money to a site that hosts images of child sex abuse www.bbc.com/future/artic...

Today is Elmo's birthday, which is one of the greatest mysteries known to science Every year, Elmo turns three and a half years old – again. I forced some of the world’s most respected astrophysicists to write equations that explain how this is possible gizmodo.com/elmo-age-bir...

Please help Chris with this investigation

New from the BBC: As thousands flee the fires in LA, roads that barely do the job during normal times become a matter of life and death. This week evacuees in my hometown faced choke points, gridlock and the tough decision of whether to abandon their cars to the fire www.bbc.com/future/artic...

I guess Musk won the cage match.

adrian dittman is elon musk confirmed

The universe was really speaking to @thomasgermain.bsky.social today