meta

Suicides. Self harm. Depression and anxiety. The toll of a social media-addicted, phone-based childhood has never been more stark. It can be easy for teens, parents and schools to feel like they’re trapped by it all. But in this conversation with Tristan Harris, author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt makes the case that the conditions that led to today’s teenage mental health crisis can be turned around – with specific, achievable actions we all can take starting today.

This episode was recorded live at the San Francisco Commonwealth Club.  

Correction: Tristan mentions that 40 Attorneys General have filed a lawsuit against Meta for allegedly fostering addiction among children and teens through their products. However, the actual number is 42 Attorneys General who are taking legal action against Meta.

Clarification: Jonathan refers to the Wait Until 8th pledge. By signing the pledge, a parent  promises not to give their child a smartphone until at least the end of 8th grade. The pledge becomes active once at least ten other families from their child’s grade pledge the same.

Gmail turns 20, AI PC definition, xz Utils backdoor

• 20 years of Gmail
• Backdoor found in widely used Linux utility breaks encrypted SSH connections
• An Accidental Discovery of a Backdoor Likely Prevented Thousands of Infections
• EU probes Apple, Meta and Alphabet under landmark new law
• Google Podcasts service shuts down in the US next week
• Daniel Kahneman, Who Plumbed the Psychology of Economics, Dies at 90 - The New York Times
• The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness?
• Social Media, Authoritarianism, and the World As It Is - LPE Project
• Phison Announces Strategic Partnerships Deploying aiDAPTIV+ at NVIDIA GTC 2024
• Microsoft says this single key is the difference between an AI PC and just a PC with AI

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Allyn Malventano, Daniel Rubino, and Doc Rock

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech

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Beneath the race to train and release more powerful AI models lies another race: a race by companies and nation-states to secure the hardware to make sure they win AI supremacy. 

Correction: The latest available Nvidia chip is the Hopper H100 GPU, which has 80 billion transistors. Since the first commercially available chip had four transistors, the Hopper actually has 20 billion times that number. Nvidia recently announced the Blackwell, which boasts 208 billion transistors - but it won’t ship until later this year.

RECOMMENDED MEDIA 

Chip War: The Fight For the World’s Most Critical Technology by Chris Miller

To make sense of the current state of politics, economics, and technology, we must first understand the vital role played by chips

Gordon Moore Biography & Facts

Gordon Moore, the Intel co-founder behind Moore's Law, passed away in March of 2023

AI’s most popular chipmaker Nvidia is trying to use AI to design chips faster

Nvidia's GPUs are in high demand - and the company is using AI to accelerate chip production

RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES

Future-proofing Democracy In the Age of AI with Audrey Tang

How Will AI Affect the 2024 Elections? with Renee DiResta and Carl Miller

The AI ‘Race’: China vs. the US with Jeffrey Ding and Karen Hao

Protecting Our Freedom of Thought with Nita Farahany

Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

• The Panel discusses video Formats and aspect ratios
• House of Reps pass bill that could ban TikTok
• TechDirt: TikTok ban would be unconstitutional and doesn't actually help with threats
• TikTok estimated to be worth $100B, or $40B if it doesn't include the algorithm
• US wants to ban TikTok for the sins of every social media company
• What social media is the panel using?
• Musk's SpaceX is building spy satellite network for US intelligence agency, sources say
• Musk dumps Don Lemon after sitting through one interviuew
• "Gurman: CarPlay is now all Apple has left, should they charge for the more advanced version? + Apple planning for the biggest AirPods push yet with new low-end, mid-range models"
• Microsoft is hosting its Surface/AI event next week, what do we think about Microsoft's current PC and AI ambitions?
• FCC raises broadband minimums to 100Mbps/20Mbps, up from 25Mbps/3Mbps
• Pornhub says adios to Texas
• Profile of the UberCheats dev, who created an app to see how the Uber algorithm was screwing over workers
• What media is the panel watching?

Host: Devindra Hardawar

Guests: Alex Lindsay, Glenn Fleishman, and Scott Stein

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsors:

• NetSuite.com/TWIT
• panoptica.app
• ziprecruiter.com/twit
• mintmobile.com/twit
• expressvpn.com/twit

• VMware needs immediate patching
• Midnight Blizzard still on the offensive
• China is quietly "de-American'ing" their networks
• Signal Version 7.0, now in beta
• Meta, WhatsApp, and Messenger -meets- the EU's DMA
• The Change Healthcare cyberattack
• SpinRite update
• Telegram's end-to-end encryption
• KepassXC now supports passkeys
• Login accelerators
• Sites start rejecting @duck.com emails
• Tool to detect chrome extensions change owners
• Sortest SN title
• Passkeys vs 2FA

Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-965-Notes.pdf

Hosts: Steve Gibson and Mikah Sargent

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page.

For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6.

Sponsors:

• vanta.com/SECURITYNOW
• joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT
• kolide.com/securitynow
• business.eset.com/twit

TikTok Ban, Creepy AI, Practical Fusion

• Why Trump now opposes banning TikTok
• Spain tells Sam Altman, Worldcoin to shut down its eyeball-scanning orbs
• OpenAI announces new members to the board of directors
• OpenAI Responds to Elon Musk's Lawsuit
• Palantir wins US Army contract for battlefield AI
• Welcome to the Valley of the Creepy AI Dolls
• AI Marilyn Monroe Marks Another Step Forward In Extending Celebrity Brand Value Beyond The Grave
• The Panel discusses Bluesky and general social media
• FDA Clears First Over-the-Counter Continuous Glucose Monitor
• Microsoft says Russian hackers stole source code after spying on its executives
• Apple hit with €1.8bn fine for breaking EU law over music streaming
• MIT Claims Superconducting Breakthrough Means Fusion Power Can Be Practical
• "Disgraceful": Messy ToS update allegedly locks Roku devices until users give in

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Roberto Baldwin, Mike Masnick, and Louise Matsakis

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

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• robinhood.com/boost
• kolide.com/twit
• bitwarden.com/twit

• Nevada attempts to block Meta's end-to-end encryption for minors.
• A survey of security breaches
• Edge's Super-Duper Secure Mode moves into Chrome
• DoorDash dashes our privacy
• Avast charged $16.5 million for selling user browsing data
• No charge for extra logging!
• European Parliament's IT service has found traces of spyware on the smartphones of its security and defense subcommittee members
• LockBit RaaS group disrupted
• Firefox v123
• The ScreenConnect Authentication Bypass
• SpinRite update
• Introducing BootAble
• Cox moving to Yahoo Mail for users
• Credit Card security
• Exploiting password complexity reqirements?
• Email only logins
• Flipper Zero in Canada
• German Router security
• More Flipper Zero in Canada
• Throwaway email addresses
• Shared email accounts
• Password quality enforcement
• Fingerprint tech and some future stories

Show Notes - https://www.grc.com/sn/SN-963-Notes.pdf

Hosts: Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/security-now.

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

You can submit a question to Security Now at the GRC Feedback Page.

For 16kbps versions, transcripts, and notes (including fixes), visit Steve's site: grc.com, also the home of the best disk maintenance and recovery utility ever written Spinrite 6.

Sponsors:

• canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT
• vanta.com/SECURITYNOW
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• joindeleteme.com/twit promo code TWIT

• Zuckerberg says Quest 3 is 'the better product' vs. Apple's Vision Pro
• Apple to be fined over $500 million under EU antitrust law
• Fighting the smartphone 'invasion': the French village that voted to ban scrolling in public
• 2 Twitter books are coming out
• Bluesky opens up to the public
• The Reply Guy Constitution
• Kids Online Safety Act secures enough support to pass Senate
• Leak of Russian 'Threat' Part of a Bid to Kill US Surveillance Reform, Sources Say
• Intel accused of inflating CPU benchmark results
• Amazon Argues National Labor Relations Board Is Unconstitutional
• Apple iMessage, Microsoft Bing Dodge EU's Big Tech Crackdown
• FCC commissioner wants to investigate Apple over Beeper Mini shutdown
• Bored Apes' creator Yuga Labs acquires Proof, takes over Moonbirds NFT brand
• Sarah Silverman's copyright infringement suit against OpenAI will advance in pared-down form

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Amanda Silberling, Abrar Al-Heeti, and Shoshana Weissmann

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech

Get episodes ad-free with Club TWiT at https://twit.tv/clubtwit

Sponsors:

• ziprecruiter.com/twit
• expressvpn.com/twit
• panoptica.app
• canary.tools/twit - use code: TWIT
• mintmobile.com/twit

Was it political progress, or just political theater? The recent Senate hearing with social media CEOs led to astonishing moments — including Mark Zuckerberg’s public apology to families who lost children following social media abuse. Our panel of experts, including Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, untangles the explosive hearing, and offers a look ahead, as well. How will this hearing impact protocol within these social media companies? How will it impact legislation? In short: will anything change?

Clarification: Julie says that shortly after the hearing, Meta’s stock price had the biggest increase of any company in the stock market’s history. It was the biggest one-day gain by any company in Wall Street history.

Correction: Frances says it takes Snap three or four minutes to take down exploitative content. In Snap's most recent transparency report, they list six minutes as the median turnaround time to remove exploitative content.

RECOMMENDED MEDIA 

Get Media Savvy

Founded by Julie Scelfo, Get Media Savvy is a non-profit initiative working to establish a healthy media environment for kids and families

The Power of One by Frances Haugen

The inside story of France’s quest to bring transparency and accountability to Big Tech

RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES

Real Social Media Solutions, Now with Frances Haugen

A Conversation with Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen

Are the Kids Alright?

Social Media Victims Lawyer Up with Laura Marquez-Garrett

Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

Bluesky Goes Public, Zuck's AI plans

• The panel discusses the Apple Vision Pro
• Transcribe Glass
• X rival Bluesky launches to public with option to pick your algorithm
• Tech layoff tracker - layoffs.fyi
• A general discussion on AI
• Zuckerberg's Plan for AI Hinges on Your Facebook and Instagram Data
• The panel looks back at the proto-internet
• Reddit Doesn't Have to Share IP-Addresses of Piracy Commenters, Court Rules
• David Kahn, Leading Historian of Codes and Code Breaking, Dies at 93
• The passing of John Walker, programmer and co-founder of AutoDesk

Host: Leo Laporte

Guests: Cathy Gellis, Harry McCracken, and Nicholas De Leon

Download or subscribe to this show at https://twit.tv/shows/this-week-in-tech

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Sponsors:

• bitwarden.com/twit
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• NetSuite.com/TWIT
• robinhood.com/boost

You asked, we answered. This has been a big year in the world of tech, with the rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence, acceleration of neurotechnology, and continued ethical missteps of social media. Looking back on 2023, there are still so many questions on our minds, and we know you have a lot of questions too. So we created this episode to respond to listener questions and to reflect on what lies ahead.

Correction: Tristan mentions that 41 Attorneys General have filed a lawsuit against Meta for allegedly fostering addiction among children and teens through their products. However, the actual number is 42 Attorneys General who are taking legal action against Meta.

Correction: Tristan refers to Casey Mock as the Center for Humane Technology’s Chief Policy and Public Affairs Manager. His title is Chief Policy and Public Affairs Officer.

RECOMMENDED MEDIA 

Tech Policy Watch

Marietje Schaake curates this briefing on artificial intelligence and technology policy from around the world

The AI Executive Order

President Biden’s executive order on the safe, secure, and trustworthy development and use of AI

Meta sued by 42 AGs for addictive features targeting kids

A bipartisan group of 42 attorneys general is suing Meta, alleging features on Facebook and Instagram are addictive and are aimed at kids and teens

RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES 

The Three Rules of Humane Tech

Two Million Years in Two Hours: A Conversation with Yuval Noah Harari

Inside the First AI Insight Forum in Washington

Digital Democracy is Within Reach with Audrey Tang

The Tech We Need for 21st Century Democracy with Divya Siddarth

Mind the (Perception) Gap with Dan Vallone

The AI Dilemma

Can We Govern AI? with Marietje Schaake

Ask Us Anything: You Asked, We Answered

Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

As AI development races forward, a fierce debate has emerged over open source AI models. So what does it mean to open-source AI? Are we opening Pandora’s box of catastrophic risks? Or is open-sourcing AI the only way we can democratize its benefits and dilute the power of big tech? 

Correction: When discussing the large language model Bloom, Elizabeth said it functions in 26 different languages. Bloom is actually able to generate text in 46 natural languages and 13 programming languages - and more are in the works.

RECOMMENDED MEDIA 

Open-Sourcing Highly Capable Foundation Models

This report, co-authored by Elizabeth Seger, attempts to clarify open-source terminology and to offer a thorough analysis of risks and benefits from open-sourcing AI

BadLlama: cheaply removing safety fine-tuning from Llama 2-Chat 13B

This paper, co-authored by Jeffrey Ladish, demonstrates that it’s possible to effectively undo the safety fine-tuning from Llama 2-Chat 13B with less than $200 while retaining its general capabilities

Centre for the Governance of AI

Supports governments, technology companies, and other key institutions by producing relevant research and guidance around how to respond to the challenges posed by AI

AI: Futures and Responsibility (AI:FAR)

Aims to shape the long-term impacts of AI in ways that are safe and beneficial for humanity

Palisade Research

Studies the offensive capabilities of AI systems today to better understand the risk of losing control to AI systems forever

RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES

A First Step Toward AI Regulation with Tom Wheeler

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Mustafa Suleyman Says We Need to Contain AI. How Do We Do It?

The AI Dilemma

Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_

The next frontier of the internet is the metaverse. That's why Mark Zuckerberg changed the name of his company from Facebook to Meta, and just sold $10 billion in corporate bonds to raise money for metaverse-related projects.

How might we learn from our experience with social media, and anticipate the harms of the metaverse before they arise? What would it look like to design a humane metaverse — that respects our attention, improves our well-being, and strengthens our democracy?

This week on Your Undivided Attention, we talk with two pioneers who are thinking critically about the development of the metaverse. Professor Jeremy Bailenson is the Founding director of Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, where he studies how virtual experiences lead to changes in perceptions of self and others. Dr. Courtney Cogburn is an Associate Professor at Columbia's School of Social Work, where she examines associations between racism and stress-related disease. Jeremy and Courtney collaborated on 1000 Cut Journey, a virtual reality experience about systemic racism.

CORRECTIONS: 

1. In the episode, Courtney says that the average US adult consumes 9 hours of media per day, but the actual number in 2022 is closer to 13 hours.
2. Finally, Aza mentions the "pockets of 4.6 billion people" — implying that there are 4.6 billion smartphone users. The global number of social media users is 4.7 billion, and the number of smartphone users is actually 6.6 billion.

RECOMMENDED MEDIA: 

Experience on Demand: What Virtual Reality Is, How It Works, and What It Can Do

https://www.amazon.com/Experience-Demand-Virtual-Reality-Works/dp/0393253694
Jeremy Bailenson's 2018 book exploring how virtual reality can be harnessed to improve our everyday lives

Experiencing Racism in VR

https://www.ted.com/talks/courtney_cogburn_experiencing_racism_in_vr_courtney_d_cogburn_phd_tedxrva
Courtney Cogburn's 2017 TEDx talk about how using virtual reality to help people experience the complexities of racism

Do Artifacts Have Politics?

https://faculty.cc.gatech.edu/~beki/cs4001/Winner.pdf   
Technology philosopher Langdon Winner’s seminal 1980 article, in which he writes, "by far the greatest latitude of choice exists the very first time a particular instrument, system, or technique is introduced."

RECOMMENDED YUA EPISODES: 

Do You Want To Become A Vampire? with LA Paul

https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/39-do-you-want-to-become-a-vampire

Pardon the Interruptions with Gloria Mark

https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/7-pardon-the-interruptions

Bonus - What Is Humane Technology?

https://www.humanetech.com/podcast/bonus-what-is-humane-technology

Your Undivided Attention is produced by the Center for Humane Technology. Follow us on Twitter: @HumaneTech_