Open AI whistleblower dies, Is Apple working on smart doorbell?
Suchir Balaji, a former OpenAI engineer and whistleblower who helped train the artificial intelligence systems behind ChatGPT and later said he believed those practices violated copyright law, has died, according to his parents and San Francisco officials. He was 26. Balaji worked at OpenAI for nearly four years before quitting in August. He was well-regarded by colleagues at the San Francisco company, where a co-founder this week called him one of OpenAI’s strongest contributors who was essential to developing some of its products. Independent
There’s been a lot of reporting in recent months around Apple’s efforts to expand its footprint in customers’ homes with in-development products like a wall-mounted smart home hub. According to a new report in Bloomberg, that strategy could also include a smart doorbell. This doorbell would use Apple’s FaceID technology to scan people’s faces as they approach the door, then connect wirelessly to a deadbolt lock and automatically unlock for residents of the home. The doorbell is reportedly in the early stages of development and wouldn’t come to market before the end of 2025. Tech Crunch
In order to avoid paying actual recording artists the $.003 they earn for each play of their songs, Spotify has started filling out its playlists with songs they buy cheaply from production houses and then assign to “ghost artists” with fake names and biographies. Liz Pelly investigated the practice in her article “The Ghosts in the Machine: Spotify’s plot against musicians” in Harper’s Magazine. Link here. Called Perfect Fit Content (PFC), it seems to be mostly used in jazz, easy listening, and ambient music playlists, in which the user is assumed to be listening passively. BoingBoing
For the pope, it was the wrong kind of madonna. The pop legend, she of the 80’s anthem Like a Prayer, has stirred controversy in recent weeks by posting deepfake images on social media which show the pontiff embracing her. It has fanned the flames of a debate which is already raging over the creation of AI art in which Pope Francis plays a symbolic, and unwilling, role. The head of the Catholic church is used to being the subject of AI-generated fakery. One of the defining images of the AI boom was Francis in a Balenciaga puffer jacket.
A weapon that zaps enemy drones out of the sky using radio waves has been fired by British soldiers for the first time. The Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW) can detect, track and engage a range of threats across land, air and sea. The drone killer is capable of neutralising targets up to 1,000 yards away with near-instant effect. Each shot fired costs just 10p, providing a cost-effective complement to traditional missile-based air defence systems. A high level of automation means the system can be operated by a single person and mounted on a military vehicle. Telegraph
