Nieman Lab: “…Our team of researchers from the Stanford Internet Observatory and Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology investigated over 100 Facebook pages that posted high volumes of AI-generated content. We published the results in March 2024 as a preprint paper, meaning the findings have not yet gone through peer review. We explored patterns of images, unearthed evidence of coordination between some of the pages, and tried to discern the likely goals of the posters. Page operators seemed to be posting pictures of AI-generated babies, kitchens, or birthday cakes for a range of reasons. There were content creators innocuously looking to grow their followings with synthetic content; scammers using pages stolen from small businesses to advertise products that don’t seem to exist; and spammers sharing AI-generated images of animals while referring users to websites filled with advertisements, which allow the owners to collect ad revenue without creating high-quality content. Our findings suggest that these AI-generated images draw in users — and Facebook’s recommendation algorithm may be organically promoting these posts…”
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Category Archives: E-Commerce
The Man Who Killed Google Search
Where’s Your Ed Act via Metafilter – “Edward Zitron has been reading all of google’s internal emails that have been released as evidence in the DOJ’s antitrust case against google. Zitron concludes that Google Search died on February 5th, 2019. It was on that date at Google’s HQ evil lair an emergency meeting, aka a… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 20, 2024
Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 20, 2024 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the… Continue Reading
Inside Amazon’s Secret Operation to Gather Intel on Rivals
WSJ via MSN: “For nearly a decade, workers in a warehouse in Seattle’s Denny Triangle neighborhood have shipped boxes of shoes, beach chairs, Marvel T-shirts and other items to online retail customers across the U.S. The operation, called Big River Services International, sells around $1 million a year of goods through e-commerce marketplaces including eBay,… Continue Reading
Amazon is filled with garbage ebooks. Here’s how they get made.
Vox: “…It’s so difficult for most authors to make a living from their writing that we sometimes lose track of how much money there is to be made from books, if only we could save costs on the laborious, time-consuming process of writing them. The internet, though, has always been a safe harbor for those… Continue Reading
96% of US hospital websites share visitor info with Meta, Google, data brokers
The Register: “Hospitals – despite being places where people implicitly expect to have their personal details kept private – frequently use tracking technologies on their websites to share user information with Google, Meta, data brokers, and other third parties, according to research published today. Academics at the University of Pennsylvania analyzed a nationally representative sample… Continue Reading
Automated Large-Scale Analysis of Cookie Notice Compliance
USENIX Association Report (PDF) Analysing Cookie Notice Compliance – We show that 56.7% of cookie notices do not include an option to opt out of consent, that more than 65.4% of websites with an opt-out option collect users’ data despite explicit negative consent, and that 73.4% of websites do so even when users do not… Continue Reading
It’s Time to Switch to a Privacy Browser
Wired: “Google’s admission that, yes, it does track you while you’re in Chrome’s Incognito mode, is just the latest in a long line of unsettling revelations about just how keenly Big Tech keeps an eye on our movements every time we connect to the internet. Billions of data records will now be deleted as part… Continue Reading
Navigating the Challenges and Opportunities of Synthetic Voices
Axios: “The New York Times plans to make the vast majority of its articles available to users as narrations read via an automated voice, executives tell Axios. Why it matters: The move will help position the Times as one of the biggest audio news companies globally. The company published 2,300 audio recordings, including podcasts, in… Continue Reading
American Astronomical Society Warns of Counterfeit & Fake Eclipse Glasses
“With the April 8th North American total solar eclipse just over two weeks away, counterfeit and fake eclipse glasses are polluting the marketplace…With millions of North Americans only now becoming aware that a solar eclipse is imminent and seeking to get their hands on eye protection, it is critical that everyone understand how to spot… Continue Reading
ReviewMeta.com a Must-Have for Amazon Shoppers
“Have you ever purchased a 5-star product on Amazon that turned out to be a complete piece of garbage? Sadly, virtually everyone has had this frustrating experience… and more than once! One of the reasons people love shopping on Amazon is that you can see all of the product ratings and reviews left by other… Continue Reading
The Incognito Mode Myth Has Fully Unraveled
Wired: “If you still hold any notion that Google Chrome’s “Incognito mode” is a good way to protect your privacy online, now’s a good time to stop. Google has agreed to delete “billions of data records” the company collected while users browsed the web using Incognito mode, according to documents filed in federal court in… Continue Reading
