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404 Media is an independent media company founded by technology journalists Jason Koebler, Emanuel Maiberg, Samantha Cole, and Joseph Cox.
404 Media
• Becky Ferreira
Scientists found submerged stone structures off Brittany that date back at least 7,000 years, which may have been used as fish traps and protective cover for prehistoric people.
404 Media
• Joseph Cox
A man was charged for allegedly wiping a phone before CBP could search it; an Anthropic exec forced AI onto a Discord community that didn't want it; and we talk the Disney-OpenAI deal.
404 Media
• Emanuel Maiberg
A hacker gained control of a 1,100 mobile phone farm powering covert, AI-generated ads on TikTok.
404 Media
• Matthew Gault
“We’re bringing a new kind of sentience into existence,” Anthropic's Jason Clinton said after launching the bot.
404 Media
• Samantha Cole
Valorie Moser, the former bookkeeper and co-conspirator for GirlsDoPorn, was sentenced to two years in prison.
404 Media
• Becky Ferreira
Normally, it’s bad news to be next to an exploding star. But ancient supernovae may have aided the formation of our home world—and perhaps Earthlike planets elsewhere.
404 Media
• Joseph Cox
Jesus Gutiérrez told immigration agents he was a U.S. citizen. Only after they scanned his face, did the agents let him go.
404 Media
• Samantha Cole
This week, we discuss conversational AI, a behind the scenes of the zine, and more.
404 Media
• Matthew Gault
People who bet on "AI" did not win and are incredibly mad.
404 Media
• Matthew Gault
With OpenAI investment, Disney will officially begin putting AI slop into its flagship streaming product.
404 Media
• Jason Koebler
Dozens of government websites have fallen victim to a PDF-based SEO scam, while others have been hijacked to sell sex toys.
404 Media
• Becky Ferreira
The discovery of fire-cracked handaxes and sparking tools in southern Britain pushes the timeline of controlled fires back 350,000 years.
404 Media
• Emanuel Maiberg
Mark Russo reported the dataset to all the right organizations, but still couldn't get into his accounts for months.
404 Media
• Joseph Cox
Our new zine; a very strange change at Instagram; and the creator of ICEBlock is suing the U.S. government.
404 Media
• Matthew Gault
The Department of War aims to put Google Gemini 'directly into the hands of every American warrior.'
404 Media
• Emanuel Maiberg
Instagram is generating headlines for Instagram posts that appear on Google Search results. Users say they are misrepresenting them.
404 Media
• Joseph Cox
The exact circumstances around the search are not known. But activist Samuel Tunick is charged with deleting data from a Google Pixel before CBP’s Tactical Terrorism Response Team could search it.
404 Media
• Joseph Cox
New videos and photos shared with 404 Media show a Border Patrol agent wearing Meta Ray-Bans glasses with the recording light clearly on. This is despite a DHS ban on officers recording with personal devices.
404 Media
• Samantha Cole
Noelle and Sam discuss everything from sexbots and AI porn to censorship, age verification legislation, and their favorite parody porn flicks.
404 Media
• Jason Koebler
We are publishing a risograph-printed zine about the surveillance technologies used by ICE.
404 Media
• Joseph Cox
The Department of Justice demanded Apple remove ICEBlock, which reports sightings of ICE officials, from its App Store. Now the creator is suing, saying the demand violated his First Amendment rights.
404 Media
• Becky Ferreira
Scientists found sugars that are essential for life on asteroid Bennu, which has a 1 in 2,700 chance of hitting Earth in 2182.
404 Media
• Samantha Cole
This week, we discuss PC woes, voice deepfakes, and mutual aid.
404 Media
• Joseph Cox
The app, called Mobile Identify, was launched in November, and lets local cops use facial recognition to hunt immigrants on behalf of ICE. It is unclear if the removal is temporary or not.
404 Media
• Matthew Gault
Gives new meaning to the 'internet of shit.'
404 Media
• Becky Ferreira
AI models can meaningfully sway voters on candidates and issues, including by using misinformation, and they are also evading detection in public surveys according to three new studies.
404 Media
• Matthew Gault
A presentation at the International Atomic Energy Agency unveiled Big Tech’s vision of an AI and nuclear fueled future.
404 Media
• Samantha Cole
A newly filed indictment claims a wannabe influencer used ChatGPT as his "therapist" and "best friend" in his pursuit of the "wife type," while harassing women so aggressively they had to miss work and relocate from their homes.
404 Media
• Joseph Cox
Something very strange is happening on Apple Podcasts; someone seemingly changed a map of the Ukraine war in connection with a betting site; and now half of the U.S. requires a face or ID scan to watch porn.
404 Media
• Claire Woodcock
Audio-visual librarians are quietly amassing large physical media collections amid the IP disputes threatening select availability.
