Have a nice Tuesday! Tuesday's Tech Drop is the past week's top stories from the intersection of technology and politics.
Sen. Cruz's interesting podcast deal
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said he is not paid to host a podcast on iHeartMedia three days a week. Meanwhile, the Houston Chronicle recently reported that media platforms paid a total of $630,850 to a super PAC supporting Cruz's campaign. The arrangement raises ethical questions about whether donations cross the line. According to Texas Monthly, “Cruz's senators denounced the new complaints as 'lazy attacks during an election year.'”
For the record, iHeartMedia is owned by Clear Channel. Clear Channel is a familiar company to right-wing media figures, the same company that platformed commentator Rush Limbaugh. A spokesperson for the company told Forbes that Mr. Cruz was not compensated, “but the company sells ad inventory for podcasts, and the revenue reported by the super PAC is “related to those ad sales.'' '''
For more information, san antonio current.
RFK Jr.'s obsession with technology
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says President Joe Biden is a greater threat to democracy than Donald Trump due to the Biden administration's support for online content moderation efforts aimed at stopping the spread of hate speech He was widely criticized for his CNN interview. And disinformation.
Kennedy, who makes a living spreading conspiracy theories about vaccine safety, is running an independent presidential campaign that could spoil this fall's campaign and help Trump win. .
Kennedy acknowledged in the interview that Trump tried to undermine the results of the 2020 election. But he also pushed a lie popular among conservatives, claiming the Biden administration is engaged in online censorship.Kennedy then claimed that this was more dangerous than Trump. literally ending democracy as we know it. His comments illustrate the point I've been shouting from the mountaintops as Kennedy tries to make inroads with nonwhite voters: He's not an ally — he spreads bigotry and misinformation. He's just a wealthy, privileged white guy whose ability to suppress his own ability (to name just one) is more important than the right to vote for non-white people.
read more washington post.
President Biden's AI order
President Joe Biden has ordered all federal agencies in the United States to appoint a chief artificial intelligence officer with “extensive experience in AI.” The plan is part of an effort to ensure that all government agencies are equipped to mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence, and that virtually all government agencies and their operations will be able to rely on AI (if not already happening). This is a reminder that you may be affected by IRS, HUD, etc.
read more ars technica.
Team Biden hopes to woo Haley voters
In an effort to collect as many votes as possible for this fall's presidential election, the Biden campaign is targeting those who cast primary votes for Nikki Haley in the race for the Republican nomination. Axios reported last week about ads aimed at Haley voters running in ZIP codes where Haley did well in the primary. Data is likely to play a key role in this year's elections, as candidates seek to craft specific messages that appeal to voters' regions, races, genders and age groups.
read more Axios.
futuristic failure of new york city
New York City's rapid adoption of artificial intelligence tools still takes a hit another Get caught. Local media outlet The City has taken down a report about an AI-powered chatbot introduced by Mayor Eric Adams' administration to answer New Yorkers' questions about city laws and other policy issues. The report said the chatbot was spewing out bad information, including false claims about tenant rights and tipping laws. A spokesperson for the city's Office of Technology and Innovation told the city, “The city has made it clear that the chatbot is a pilot program and will be improved upon.”
read more City.
SBF cheated on Tucker's appearance
Before FTX co-founder Sam Bankman Fried is sentenced to 25 years in prison on fraud charges, prosecutors in his case said he needed help to restore his reputation after the scandal erupted in 2022. submitted a document containing a list of ideas. One idea seems to be to appear on former Fox News host Tucker Carlson's show, come out as a Republican and denounce the “woke mob.” The document includes a line describing these options as “unvetted and probably bad ideas,” but the revelations highlight how the thinking of wealthy elites and attacks on the so-called woke people are part of the right-wing movement. It provides a window into how this can be a useful tool for generating goodwill from others. Winger.
read more business insider.
AI weapons are cause for concern
Fourteen activist groups led by nonprofit consumer advocacy group Public Citizen have co-signed a letter calling on the U.S. military to ensure it does not develop and deploy autonomous weapons that rely on artificial intelligence. The group is seeking assurances that the drone development program, known as the Replicator initiative, will not be used to develop new AI-powered weapons. It's a worthy goal and a necessary goal. However, it is highly doubtful that the military will give such guarantees.
However, the group has issued a dire warning: “The ambiguity surrounding the Replicator program essentially ensures a catastrophic arms race over autonomous weapons. It is a race in which all of humanity will lose.”
read more Citizens.
X plays with porn
Elon Musk's hateful social media platform X is rolling back content moderation, opening the door to pornography and other NSFW content. As reported by TechCrunch, Musk's platform is announcing a new update that will allow users to share NSFW content with their communities (basically small groups on the platform) without their posts being filtered. That's what it means.
read more tech crunch.
AI’s environmental impact
The global race to develop artificial intelligence tools could cause significant damage to the environment. Vox predicts that superfast computers that require huge amounts of energy to process data for AI tools could worsen climate change unless authorities take steps to reduce AI's environmental impact. A report was published.
read more vox.
