Speaking Truth to Tech Power by Ben Werdmuller on Surf
Surf - Stories about big tech, democracy, and society, with a particular focus on investigative journalism.
We are bombarding America’s forests with Roundup
https://sh.itjust.works/post/59230773
We are bombarding America’s forests with Roundup - sh.itjust.works
This is because, unbeknownst to most people, logging companies and the US Forest
Service have been spraying massive amounts of herbicide in clear-cut and
fire-ravaged forests of California—and throughout the nation. And not just any
herbicide, but glyphosate, a potent and problematic weed killer best known by
the brand name Roundup. This once-idyllic landscape, spanning tens of thousands
of acres, is among California’s most heavily sprayed forest areas. The Pacific
Crest Trail—a hiking route immortalized in the Hollywood movie Wild, starring
Reese Witherspoon—runs straight through it. Yet thanks to all the chemicals, it
remains a moonscape even now, nearly five years after the Dixie Fire.
‘Nigel is mad to accept his money’: who is Christopher Harborne, the mystery billionaire bankrolling Reform?
A crypto tycoon is giving record-breaking amounts to Farage’s party. But little is known about his motives.
After years of waiting, many opioid victims will be shut out of Purdue settlement
https://sh.itjust.works/post/59068806
After years of waiting, many opioid victims will be shut out of Purdue settlement - sh.itjust.works
Then they waited. The Supreme Court in 2024 rejected the first bankruptcy
settlement because it shielded the Sacklers from future lawsuits. Finally, last
November, a federal judge approved a new plan that would allow the payouts to
start. But this $7.4 billion bankruptcy plan — including $870 million that has
been set aside for individual victims — will shut out tens of thousands of those
who originally applied for a settlement, ProPublica and The Philadelphia
Inquirer found. Fewer than half of those who filed claims against Purdue will
get any kind of help under the new plan, despite the company touting it as “the
only opioid settlement to date that meaningfully compensates individual
victims.” Court records show the new plan slashed payments for victims, imposed
tougher eligibility requirements and eliminated compensation for teenagers who
bought Purdue drugs on the street. Estimated settlement amounts for people whose
family members fatally overdosed dropped to as little as $8,000; the previous
payout for an OxyContin death had been $48,000.
Thiel-backed AI project to block bad press looks like a bust
https://sh.itjust.works/post/59018256
Thiel-backed AI project to block bad press looks like a bust - sh.itjust.works
The latest incarnation of this belief system arrives in the form of Objection
AI, a project that presents itself as a kind of “truth tribunal” for journalism.
The program is the brainchild of Aron D’Souza, an Australian lawyer whose most
notable professional achievement remains his role in helping orchestrate
entrepreneur and investment capitalist Peter Thiel’s legal strategy to secretly
bankroll the lawsuit that destroyed Gawker. (After the outlet outed Thiel as gay
in 2007, he backed former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan’s successful privacy
lawsuit for publishing his sex tape.) The money behind Objection comes from that
same ecosystem: investors like Thiel and Balaji Srinivasan, a crypto evangelist
and prediction-market enthusiast. Objection AI’s logistics are startling. For a
starting fee of $2,000, anyone can file a complaint against a piece of
journalism, even if they are not the subject of the article. It can be a
competitor, a political ally or a stranger with a random grievance. Once the
complaint is filed, a team of investigators — described by D’Souza as including
former FBI, CIA and National Security Agency officials — assembles an evidence
file. The journalist is invited to defend their reporting. Then the material is
handed over to what Objection calls its “AI tribunal”: a collection of large
language models from major AI companies, coordinated by a proprietary system.
The tribunal issues a so-called verdict on the factual claims in the story. That
verdict feeds into a public score, the “Honor Index,” a numerical rating
attached to the journalist’s name, and marketed as a measure of their integrity
and track record.
Ah yes, the investigative journalism nobody asked for: Show HN is now the AI-fueled, vibe-coded playground of the internet 🤖✨. Apparently, "subjective feelings" need scoring systems—because humans are simply too nuanced. 🧠🔍 Next up: measuring the existential dread of reading these articles. 📈😅
https://www.adriankrebs.ch/blog/design-slop/ #ShowHN #AI #VibeCoding #InvestigativeJournalism #ExistentialDread #HackerNews #ngatedShow HN submissions tripled and now mostly share the same vibe-coded look
An attempt to detect AI design patterns in Show HN pages
Washington police lag on required deescalation, mental health training
https://sh.itjust.works/post/58913532
Washington police lag on required deescalation, mental health training - sh.itjust.works
Washington law enforcement officers are way behind completing deescalation and
mental health training required under the state’s marquee police accountability
law. That’s according to a report released this week by the state auditor’s
office. The audit found just 16% of veteran officers and 14% of new officers had
finished the 40 hours of training. Roughly 42% of vets were at least halfway
done. At this rate, under half of the state’s officers will have finished the
training by a 2028 deadline. The mandated training aims to reduce use-of-force
cases, making civilians and officers safer, and thus improving trust in law
enforcement.
Caught in the Crackdown: As Arrests at Anti-ICE Protests Piled Up, Prosecutions Crumbled
https://sh.itjust.works/post/58859468
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