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February 2, 2025, 5:55 PM
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| Vittoria Elliott / Wired: |
Six engineers, apparently between 19 and 24 years old and linked to Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, are helping Musk gain control of federal infrastructure with DOGE — Engineers between 19 and 24, most linked to Musk's companies, are playing a key role as he seizes control of federal infrastructure.
More: New York Times, TechCrunch, New York Times, Mashable, The Guardian, New Republic, Wait - what ?, and Associated Press
Bluesky: @criminalerin, @criminalerin, @martinsfp, @martinpagh, @tyleraking.com, @markwelch, @jeffjarvis, @brendannyhan, @lefwin, @newrepublic.com, @flglchicago, @epopppp, @epopppp, @kayelles, @billthepony, @hcrichardson, @timmarchman, @epopppp, @epopppp, @dell, @chloeneast, @karlbode.com, and @epopppp
Mastodon: @mastodonmigration …, @bruno_j_navarro …, @gleick@mas.to, @cdarwin@c.im, @cdarwin@c.im, @dangillmor@mastodon.social, @charvaka@hivemind.plus, @zackwhittaker@mastodon.social, and @susankayequinn@wandering.shop
Threads: @adam_kinzinger, @adam_kinzinger, @dakotawillink, @mark_r_vickers, @anildash, @tominchicago, @tominchicago, @yannlecun, and @attorneyryan
X: @shashj and @joshuaogundu
LinkedIn: Regina Phelps and Daniel Williams
| Bloomberg: |
Donald Trump's EO for levies on China says the “de minimis” exemption for items under $800 no longer applies, affecting Alibaba, JD.com, Shein, Temu, and others — - President could block tariff exemption for packages under $800 — Change could affect retailers such as Alibaba, Shein, Temu
More: Benzinga, Bloomberg, Digital Trends, New York Times, BBC, The Independent, The Irish Times, and San Diego Union-Tribune
Bluesky: @mcspocky. Threads: @carnage4life. X: @ksvane, @loyaladvisor, @esaagar, @zoomyzoomm, @envisionedluna, @stevendickens3, @trungtphan, @maphumanintent, @georgejnasr, @scottlincicome, @tobi, @maiamindel, @graphcrimes, @apmechan, @hingeloss, @scottspacek, @josephpolitano, @dieworkwear, @rarohde, @everydayeddie, @staunovo, @danieldimartino, @ryswk, @tmclaughlin3, @clintverse, @scottlincicome, @dieworkwear, @msmelchen, @alexkolicich, @vtg2, @mikeisaac, @halcapllc, @rhcm123, @michaelsobolik, and @zichenwanghere. Forums: r/Economics
| Heidi Mitchell / Wall Street Journal: |
A look at Future You, an AI-based research tool that lets users interact with a virtual older self and is currently being used by 60K people from 190 countries — A new artificial-intelligence tool allowed me to talk to my 80-year-old self. It's going to be quite a life. — It turns out I'm going to write a book!| Matthew Keys / The Desk: |
The US NTSB says it will stop emailing updates about two recent plane crashes to news outlets and reporters, opting to exclusively post updates on its X account — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on Saturday said it will stop e-mailing news organizations and reporters …
More: The Verge and Media Play News
Bluesky: @pharmesq, @danjensenpr, @martinsfp, @jackietoale, @kklinke, and @frankiefrank
Mastodon: @gleick@mas.to, @carnage4life@mas.to, @benroyce@mastodon.social, and @grivettcarnac@mstdn.social. Threads: @quillmatiq
X: @ntsb_newsroom, @jason_kint, @whstancil, @geofurb, @chromatic_x, @mikejgallant, @hourspr, @thezedwards, @mikesisak, @joshkovensky, @dougfisher, @itsmelissabrown, @johndickson72, @zwirnm, @natedog155, @michaelkasdan, @matthewkeyslive, @vsbuffalo, @conspacecase, and @nycsouthpaw
Forums: Hacker News, r/politics, r/moderatepolitics, r/ATC, r/WeirdGOP, and r/news
| Kevin Roose / New York Times: |
OpenAI's Operator is currently more an intriguing demo than a product most people need to spend $200/month on, but it points to a future of powerful AI agents — In the past week, OpenAI's Operator has done the following things for me: — Ordered me a new ice cream scoop on Amazon.| Sima Kotecha / BBC: |
The UK announces four new laws that make it illegal to possess, create, or distribute AI tools designed to produce CSAM, becoming the first country to do so — Four new laws will tackle the threat of child sexual abuse images generated by artificial intelligence (AI), the government has announced.
More: Reuters, Neowin, Forbes, Metro.co.uk, The Independent, Daily Express, The Guardian, and The Mirror
| Bloomberg: |
Some parents say they are eschewing 529 college savings plans and other traditional investments to invest in cryptocurrency to build wealth for their children — Despite the risks and volatility, some families are investing in cryptocurrency to build wealth for their children.
More: crypto.news. Bluesky: @sevenbelow, @tsonic45, @regbazile, @tingolino, @jessefelder, @dailyharbinger, and @wilkos. Mastodon: @cryptadamist@universeodon.com
| Bill Toulas / BleepingComputer: |
Google says APT groups from 20+ countries are using Gemini primarily for productivity gains rather than to develop or conduct novel AI-enabled cyberattacks — Multiple state-sponsored groups are experimenting with the AI-powered Gemini assistant from Google to increase productivity …
More: NCRI, Moneycontrol, Android Authority, and Android Central
| Kyle Wiggers / TechCrunch: |
In a Reddit AMA, Sam Altman admitted that DeepSeek has lessened OpenAI's lead and said OpenAI has been “on the wrong side of history” in terms of open sourcing — To cap off a day of product releases, OpenAI researchers, engineers, and executives, including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman …
More: Maginative, The Economic Times, Thurrott, Agence France-Presse, Runtime, The Decoder, Ace of Spades HQ, VentureBeat, The Indian Express, Livemint, Analytics India Magazine, Business Insider, and Wall Street Journal
Bluesky: @shashj and @saltcreekbrews
X: @marionawfal, @varunrdeshpande, @michaelfnunez, @tanayj, @iterintellectus, @skupor, @tsarnick, and @andrewcurran_
Forums: r/OpenAI, r/NoShitSherlock, r/ChatGPT, r/technology, and Slashdot
| Foo Yun Chee / Reuters: |
Intel received €515.55M in default interest from the EU after being reimbursed a €1.06B fine levied in 2009; the EU's top court sided with Intel in October 2024 — U.S. chipmaker Intel (INTC.O) has received 515.55 million euros ($536 million) in default interest …
More: Wall Street Pit
| Brian Heater / TechCrunch: |
Google's X spins out Heritable Agriculture, which aims to use AI to improve crop yield, as the incubator aggressively spins off companies under CEO Astro Teller — Google's X “moonshot factory” this week announced its latest graduate. Heritable Agriculture is a data- and machine learning …
More: Screen Rant
| Katie McQue / The Guardian: |
A US man pleads guilty to a cyberstalking campaign against a professor, including by creating chatbots on Crushon.ai and JanitorAI using her personal info — James Florence, 36, agreed to plead guilty after using victim's information to guide chatbots in impersonation
Bluesky: @anabrandusescu. X: @blakersdozen. LinkedIn: Maree Crabbe. Forums: r/technology and r/whenwomenrefuse
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| Shivangi Acharya / Reuters: |
| Andy Bounds / Financial Times: |
More: Reuters. Bluesky: @carnage4life, @quinnypig.com, and @nataliegreenpeer. Mastodon: @1br0wn@eupolicy.social. LinkedIn: Ken Pucker
Forums: r/europeanunion and r/neoliberal
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| Josh Boak / Associated Press: |
More: The Verge, PYMNTS.com, Breitbart, CNN, Bloomberg, Politico, The Hill, Axios, Boston Herald, NPR, Reuters, CBS News, New York Times, United States Committee …, Associated Press, Tennessee Star, and RedState
Bluesky: @lefwin, @eburnett, and @mindwalkermana
X: @chopracfpb, @yashar, @jmargetta, @patrickgaspard, @sunrisemvmt, @saalevine, @sawyerhackett, and @helaineolen. LinkedIn: Mike Cush
Forums: r/politics, r/economicCollapse, r/law, and r/economy
| Ayush Tiwari / Scroll.in: |
Bluesky: @scroll.in. X: @nehaverma107, @singhamritaa, @shoaibdaniyal, @scroll_in, @haramitheatre, @sheehanj920, @nidhisuresh_, @sighyush, @scroll_in, @scroll_in, @scroll_in, @scroll_in, @scroll_in, and @scroll_in. LinkedIn: Ayush Tiwari