Business

The China Issue

Made in China

A Dark-Money Campaign Is Paying Influencers to Frame Chinese AI as a Threat

Build American AI, a nonprofit linked to a super PAC bankrolled by executives at OpenAI and Andreessen Horowitz, is funding a campaign to spread pro-AI messaging and stoke fears about China.

Taylor Lorenz

Access Denied

The Chinese Government Just Got the World’s Largest Digital Rights Conference Canceled

Vittoria Elliott and Zeyi Yang

Backchannel

You Found Satoshi? Let’s See the Receipts

Steven Levy

Backchannel

Apple's Next CEO Needs to Launch a Killer AI Product

Tim Cook was a great CEO, but he didn’t crack AI. It’s job number 1 for John Ternus.

Steven Levy

AI Drafting My Stories? Over My Dead Body

AI-assisted writing is creeping into newsrooms under the guise of efficiency. But the trade-off may be more profound than publishers are willing to admit.

Steven Levy

This Startup Wants You to Pay Up to Talk With AI Versions of Human Experts

Onix is launching a “Substack of bots,” where digital twins of health and wellness influencers dispense advice 24/7. And maybe hawk their products.

Steven Levy

John Perry Barlow, JFK Jr., and a Night of Grief I Can’t Forget

Watching Love Story brought back a surreal evening in 1994.

Steven Levy

AI Lab

5 AI Models Tried to Scam Me. Some of Them Were Scary Good

The cyber capabilities of AI models have experts rattled. AI’s social skills may be just as dangerous.

Will Knight

AI Could Democratize One of Tech's Most Valuable Resources

AI is making it easier to design chips and optimize software for different silicon. Some startups envision a revolution in chipmaking.

Will Knight

The US Army Is Building Its Own Chatbot for Combat

The AI system, trained on real military data, is meant to give soldiers mission-critical information.

Will Knight

AI Models Lie, Cheat, and Steal to Protect Other Models From Being Deleted

A new study from researchers at UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz suggests models will disobey human commands to protect their own kind.

Will Knight

Model Behavior

How Shivon Zilis Operated as Elon Musk’s OpenAI Insider

Messages presented at trial reveal how Zilis, the mother of four of Musk’s children, acted as an intermediary between him and OpenAI.

Maxwell Zeff and Paresh Dave

How Elon Musk Squeezed OpenAI: They ‘Are Gonna Want to Kill Me’

Tensions flared on the third day of trial in Musk v. Altman as OpenAI’s lawyers cross-examined Musk.

Maxwell Zeff and Paresh Dave

Elon Musk Testifies That He Started OpenAI to Prevent a ‘Terminator Outcome’

The judge also warned Musk and Sam Altman to curb their “propensity to use social media to make things worse outside the courtroom” after both sides traded attacks online.

Paresh Dave and Maxwell Zeff

Some Musk v. Altman Jurors Don't Like Elon Musk

Musk’s lawsuit challenges OpenAI’s evolution under Sam Altman. But during jury selection, several potential jurors voiced negative views of Musk himself.

Maxwell Zeff and Paresh Dave

Made in China

Rednote Draws a Line Between China and the World

As the platform expands abroad, it’s taking steps to separate Chinese users from the international audiences it once brought together.

Zeyi Yang and Louise Matsakis

The Online Fiction Boom Reimagining China’s History

Chinese fantasy novels reimagine the past with modern tech and ideology. A new book argues they also help reinforce authoritarian politics.

Zeyi Yang

China Is Cracking Down on Scams. Just Not the Ones Hitting Americans

As Beijing clamps down on fraud at home, researchers say crime syndicates are shifting their focus to victims elsewhere.

Lily Hay Newman

AI Research Is Getting Harder to Separate From Geopolitics

A policy change announced by NeurIPS, the world’s leading AI research conference, drew widespread backlash from Chinese researchers this week and then was quickly reversed.

Will Knight and Zeyi Yang

Artificial Intelligence

Musk v. Altman Kicks Off, DOJ Guts Voting Rights Unit, and Is the AI Job Apocalypse Overhyped?

In this episode of Uncanny Valley, we get into how the Elon Musk-Sam Altman trial goes way beyond their rivalry and could have major implications both for OpenAI and also the AI industry at large.

Brian Barrett, Zoë Schiffer, and Leah Feiger

Elon Musk Seemingly Admits xAI Has Used OpenAI’s Models to Train Its Own

While answering questions under oath, Musk argued it’s standard practice for AI labs to use their competitors’ models.

Maxwell Zeff and Paresh Dave

OpenAI Rolls Out ‘Advanced’ Security Mode for At-Risk Accounts

OpenAI is rolling out Advanced Account Security for people concerned that their ChatGPT or Codex accounts could be potential targets of phishing attacks.

Lily Hay Newman

Sanctioned Chinese AI Firm SenseTime Releases Image Model Built for Speed

With US restrictions limiting its access to advanced tech, SenseTime is doubling down on open source with a new model optimized to run on Chinese-made chips.

Zeyi Yang

Big Tech

Good Luck Getting a Mac Mini for the Next ‘Several Months’

Apple CEO Tim Cook told analysts that AI adoption has happened faster than expected.

Lauren Goode

Here’s How Much San Francisco Tech Companies Pay for Police Protection

A recent attack on Sam Altman’s home and OpenAI offices has put corporate security under renewed scrutiny. Records reveal how much some tech firms spend to arm up.

Paresh Dave

Apple’s Next Chapter, SpaceX and Cursor Strike a Deal, and Palantir’s Controversial Manifesto

In this week’s episode of Uncanny Valley, we talk about Tim Cook’s legacy as CEO at Apple and what his long-rumored departure means for the future of one of the world's biggest companies.

Brian Barrett, Zoë Schiffer, and Leah Feiger