Happy Tuesday! Here’s your Tuesday Tech Drop, some of the past week’s top stories from the intersection of politics and technology.
Zuckerbot’s populist manifesto
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg yet again appears desperate for a populist rebrand.
After years of sidling up to the MAGA movement, Zuckerberg just unleashed a 6,500-word manifesto outlining his vision for artificial intelligence titled “The Future Is for Everyone.” And it reads like an AI chatbot’s poor attempt to relate to humans.
Zuckerberg criticizes people who predict AI “doom,” while arguing for the industry to adopt Meta’s open-source model strategy — that is, rather than the proprietary models offered by Meta’s competitors at OpenAI and Anthropic. Put another way: What’s best for the AI industry is what serves Zuck’s company best. Otherwise, he says, AI labs other than his own will control access to “superintelligence.”
If you’re thinking Zuckerberg may not be the best messenger for this kind of populist rhetoric, you’re not alone. Over at Tech Crunch, Russell Brandom rebuked the Meta CEO’s dismissive tone, explaining that distrust toward Meta and social media more broadly makes him difficult to take seriously on this matter. Brandom also argued against the sunny portrayal of AI tools, saying: “Even as Zuckerberg tries to paint a picture of the wonderful future abundant superintelligence will bring, he keeps reminding us of all the ways it’s likely to go wrong.”
Read more at Tech Crunch.
Truth Social special access
Donald Trump’s media company said more than 10 customers have agreed to pay $60,000 to $100,000 monthly for the brazenly corrupt feature on Truth Social that allows Wall Street to obtain early access to the president’s social media posts.
Read more at MS NOW.
Prison companies tout ankle monitors
The two largest private prison companies in the country, CoreCivic and Geo Group, touted massive profits on earnings calls, with executives saying new revenue opportunities have been created through the ankle monitors being used in Trump’s racist anti-immigrant crackdown.
Read more at MS NOW.
Democrats tout bill for workers displaced by AI
A new bill being pushed by Rep. Greg Casar of Texas and other House Democrats would tax companies that use AI to decrease their workforce and use the money to assist displaced workers.
You can read the text of the legislation here.
Flock Safety faces growing outcry
Bipartisan backlash continues to brew toward Flock Safety, a Trump administration-aligned surveillance company that has established a massive network of surveillance cameras that, in some cases, have been used by officers to stalk people in their personal lives.
Read more at Politico.
Meta ordered to make changes
A New Mexico judge fined Meta $567 million and ordered the company to institute new safeguards to curb psychological harm to children, leaving activists hopeful of efforts to regulate social media platforms in other states.
Read more at PBS.
Data centers’ corrosive impacts
Plans for an Amazon data center in Texas are fueling concerns that the center may become the single largest source of pollution in the country. The backlash comes amid growing bipartisan anger over the construction of new data centers and their corrosive impacts on surrounding areas.
Read more at Futurism.
Crypto bill stalls
Despite an expensive lobbying push by the cryptocurrency industry, a potential landmark bill regulating cryptocurrencies has stalled in the Senate. The Financial Times reported on how the Senate went on recess without voting on the Clarity Act, a development that dampens hope for a regulatory framework that some crypto enthusiasts have desperately wanted.
Read more at the Financial Times.
The post Zuckerberg’s AI manifesto is a robot’s best attempt at humanity appeared first on MS NOW.
