An unknown number of “targeted cuts” are coming to staffers who support the 22-member board that polices the world’s largest social media network. Launched in 2019, Meta has contributed $280 million to keep the board operational through 2025... which is a lot for a company that just emerged from its “year of efficiency.”
[The Washington Post]
According to Financial Times, regulators are concerned that Meta isn’t doing enough to stifle disinformation being seeded by countries like Russia in order to undermine EU elections.
Officials reportedly also believe Meta’s process for flagging illegal content isn’t “user-friendly enough to comply with the EU Digital Services Act.” The probe would apparently begin today.
[FinancialTimes]
Alex Garland isn’t the only filmmaker thinking about the current state the US’ political system. During a recent appearance on The Ringer’s The Town podcast, Aaron Sorkin shared that he’s in the early stages of writing a new The Social Network-esque movie about January 6th and Facebook’s role in galvanizing the attempted coup.
[The Hollywood Reporter]
A series of bot-filled communities on Facebook keep popping up to praise AI-generated images of Jesus Christ. The Dead Internet Theory explains why the internet might feel lonely even when there are many voices crying out “Amen 🙏.”
Well... if you can’t beat ‘em, #scarlettjohansson
404 Media reports that a parent soliciting advice in a Facebook group got something unexpected when Meta’s AI chatbot chimed in with some thoughts. The reply starts with “I have a child who is also 2e,” which refers to a child who is both academically advanced and has a disability. Let me stop you right there, AI chatbot.
That’s the question being raised by its Oversight Board, which today announced two new cases looking into how Meta handled explicit fakes of female public figures posted to Facebook and Instagram. One of which could concern the fake Taylor Swift images that circulated online earlier this year.
The board’s investigation will take a few weeks before reaching a final non-binding decision.
A bunch of places covered AI-generated images of an unholy Jesus/shrimp hybrid going viral on Facebook earlier this year, but the attention didn’t cause Zuck to take any action to slow the situation down. Here’s JC Noods laying back on a Lambo, a post which has 36,000 likes on Facebook right now. The AI internet is going great, y’all.
