Summary of Today's News from the World of Technology
We cloned Gmail, except you're logged in as Epstein and can browse his emails
This is arguably the most impressive and disturbing tech project of the year. A new web project called Jmail recreates an interface similar to Gmail, allowing users to browse over 2,000 of Jeffrey Epstein's emails, derived from documents released by the U.S. House Oversight Committee. Created by San Francisco developers using AI and OCR technology, the tool facilitates browsing in an interactive, searchable format while linking back to the original scanned documents for verification. The project has gained attention for its unique and unsettling presentation of data.
Source: pcgamer.com
Google must double AI infrastructure performance every six months to meet demand
The head of AI infrastructure at Google revealed that the company needs to double its performance every six months to keep up with the growing demand for artificial intelligence, aiming for a 1,000x increase within 4-5 years while maintaining cost and energy efficiency. This highlights the intense competition and high costs of building AI infrastructure, with companies like OpenAI also investing heavily in data centers. The focus is on creating infrastructure that is more reliable, efficient, and scalable than the competition.
Source: arstechnica.com
IRS deploys AI agents amidst staff reductions
The IRS is implementing AI agents provided by Salesforce to support various departments, such as the Office of Chief Counsel and the Taxpayer Advocate Service. The goal is to increase efficiency in the face of significant staffing cuts.
Source: foxbusiness.com
Large online propaganda campaigns are flooding the web with low-quality AI content, researchers say
A report by Graphika reveals that state-sponsored propaganda campaigns (e.g., from China and Russia) are increasingly using generative AI to create images, videos, and text. However, this content is typically of low quality and unconvincing. Despite the poor quality, AI allows these campaigns to easily scale operations, flooding the internet with propaganda that may not generate high engagement but still pollutes AI training datasets.
Source: graphika.com
Benedict Cumberbatch shares concerns about AI in the film industry
Benedict Cumberbatch stated he feels "quite depressed" about the growing use of AI in film, fearing it threatens to "smooth out" human qualities like fallibility and imperfection, which drive original, creative thinking. While acknowledging AI tools have their place, he emphasized that human limitations and creative struggle are essential for authentic storytelling.
Source: gamesradar.com
Apple's "Slim" iPhone fails to meet expectations
Apple's new "Slim" model has reportedly achieved disappointing sales results shortly after launch, failing to capture the market interest the company anticipated.
Source: macrumors.com