Technology

The FTC on Wednesday sued Amazon, alleging it tricked customers into signing up for its Prime subscription program and intentionally complicated the cancellation process.

The agency claims Amazon used so-called “dark patterns” to steer users to enroll in Prime without their consent.

As the technology becomes ubiquitous, a vast tasker underclass is emerging — and not going anywhere.

This version comes with a small technical challenge that we're proud to have overcome! This new feature won't be as visible as a graphical change, but it will make hosting a PeerTube platform easier, more resilient and cheaper.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/379275

"Technology leader interested in solving very large problems."

OpenAI's lobbying efforts in the European Union are centered around modifying proposed AI regulations that could impact its operations. The tech firm is notably pushing for a weakening of regulations which currently classify certain AI systems, such as OpenAI's GPT-3, as "high risk."

Altman's Stance on AI Regulation:

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been very vocal about the need for AI regulation. However, he is advocating for a specific kind of regulation - those favoring OpenAI and its operations.

OpenAI's White Paper:

OpenAI's lobbying efforts in the EU are revealed in a document titled "OpenAI's White Paper on the European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act." The document focuses on attempting to change certain classifications in the proposed AI Act that classify certain AI systems as "high risk."

"High Risk" AI Systems:

The European Commission's "high risk" classification includes systems that could potentially harm health, safety, fundamental rights, or the environment. The Act would require legal human oversight and transparency for such systems. OpenAI, however, argues that its systems such as GPT-3 are not "high risk," but could be used in high-risk use cases. It advocates that regulation should target companies using AI models, not those providing them.

Alignment with Other Tech Giants:

OpenAI's position mirrors that of other tech giants like Microsoft and Google. These companies also lobbied for a weakening of the EU's AI Act regulations.

Outcome of Lobbying Efforts:

The lobbying efforts were successful, as the sections that OpenAI opposed were removed from the final version of the AI Act. This success may explain why Altman reversed a previous threat to pull OpenAI out of the EU over the AI Act.

Source (Mashable)

PS: I run a ML-powered news aggregator that summarizes with an AI the best tech news from 50+ media (TheVerge, TechCrunch…). If you liked this analysis, you’ll love the content you’ll receive from this tool!

What comes around is all around

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/1398051

Over the last months there has been an explosion of services driven by generative artificial intelligence. Consumer organizations in EU and the US call for consumer rights to be at the center of its development and implementation.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/1394659

"I have nothing to hide." That's what most people say when I start a conversation about privacy. Have you ever wondered why you should use software that protects your privacy and the privacy of the people you communicate with? To understand this better, I recommend watching the first talk in our LibrePlanet 2023 lightning talk series. In her five minute talk, the speaker will convince you that you are worthy of all the privacy you want and need. For people who claim that they have nothing to hide, she has a persuasive reply: "I have nothing to hide, only everything to protect."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/347903

https://www.ft.com/content/ffb46e79-5524-4bfc-ac78-a4bf848c9f53 [Paywalled,Full article in the comments]

We interviewed Dr. Stallman 6 years ago for our VUC podcast (2007-2019). Unfortunately, the video isn't available as he refused to use YouTube. I know the episode is on Spotify, but it may be available on other podcatchers.