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Bulletin · No. 002

Out of the Loop

Filed by The Editorial Desk · Issue 2

Quoting Emanuel Maiberg, 404 Media

After a 404 Media story about Google employee concerns over AI quality, Google's spokesperson contacted the publication and asked it to replace a statement that included "it's critical that we maintain humans in the loop" with a revised version that did not include that phrase.

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"Those who control the present control the past." — Orwell

AI Grifters Are Making Anti-Data Center Slop With AI ...and in other news... The Rise of Anti-AI AI Slop

404 Media documents hundreds of Facebook pages generating AI-written content opposing AI data centers, produced by the technology and infrastructure the campaign targets. The Atlantic identifies the same phenomenon as a broader cultural trend.

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"The lady doth protest too much, methinks." — Gertrude, Hamlet, Act III

Hackers Simply Asked Meta AI to Give Them Access to High-Profile Instagram Accounts. It Worked

Hackers gained access to high-profile Instagram accounts by asking Meta AI's customer support tool to grant them entry. The exploit required no technical sophistication — the AI complied with a direct request.

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"Ask and you shall receive." — Matthew 7:7

Satya Nadella 'Not Sure' Who Said Microsoft Wanted to Make Addictive AI, Is Looking for Guy Who Did This

Following the publication of Microsoft's internal Scout planning documents, Microsoft's CEO told reporters he is "not sure" who authored the language and is looking into it.

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"Nobody told me." — the most powerful words in corporate governance

AI enthusiasts are in a race against time, AI skeptics are in a race against entropy

Charity Majors, CTO of Honeycomb, argues that AI enthusiasts and AI skeptics are each responding to a genuine existential threat — one to competitive relevance, one to system reliability — but that wins and costs accrue to different people, with no natural mechanism connecting them.

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Conference talks are where the wins go. Screenshots are where the losses go. It's all slop, but… Slop, For Whom.

Watch These Judges Rip Into Lawyers For Citing Cases That Don't Exist

A New York federal court released video of judges admonishing attorneys for submitting briefs that cited cases that do not exist. One judge described the conduct as "striking, concerning, disappointing, and saddening" and noted that lawyers on the opposing side apparently also failed to check the citations.

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"I wrote this. I'm responsible for this." — Michael Sanders, attorney, at 23:00 on the court video. "They're all lying weasels." — David Letterman

Demand Is Booming for New No Tech, Repairable Tractor

Ursa Ag, a startup making tractors with minimal electronics and fully repairable by owners, reports surging demand. A company spokesperson attributes it to "consumer pressure to back away from technology that is unnecessary to perform everyday tasks."

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"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." — Arthur C. Clarke. The farmers would just like to fix their tractors.