Google hits pause on Gemini’s people pictures
After a diversity initiative proved disastrous, it’s time to loosen chatbot guardrails
Casey Newton
Founder and editor of Platformer, a publication about the intersection of tech and democracy. Prior to founding Platformer in October 2020, Newton was the longtime Silicon Valley editor of The Verge.
AI
The AI-generated propaganda is working
Nearly half of people found influence campaigns written by GPT-3 effective, a new study finds
Meta
Meta punts on politics
The company won't show you political content on its apps unless you're looking for it. Should it?
AI
Google’s next top model arrives
The company finally has an answer to GPT-4 — but OpenAI is about to change the questions
Bluesky
Bluesky is back
Twitter’s natural heir is finally open to the public — and it has some big ideas for social networking
AI
Scenes from a dying web
Child Safety
The Senate blasts tech CEOs over child safety
After another empty spectacle, can anyone find a path forward?
Child Safety
The social networks head back to Congress
Everyone is unhappy with the state of child safety online. Can senators break the logjam?
Apple
Apple readies its Vision
I loved my time with the Vision Pro. But what is it for?
X
The Taylor Swift deepfakes are a warning
For years, researchers predicted a huge wave of AI-powered harassment. Now it's all happening on X
Netflix
Netflix's Raw deal
Can an algorithm make pro wrestling respectable?
Meta
Meta bets bigger on AI
The company plans to build best-in-class models and give them away for free. So how will it profit?
Spotify
How platforms killed Pitchfork
Critics were once our best guides to new music. Then came streaming and AI
OpenAI
OpenAI makes an election plan
Concerns over deepfakes are mounting — but there are reasons for optimism
Newsletter
Why Platformer is leaving Substack
We’ve seen this movie before — and we won’t stick around to watch it play out
Newsletter
Meta seeks to hide harms from teens
But to change the conversation, the company will have to do more than tweak its settings