Adi Robertson

Senior Editor, Tech & Policy

Apple and Microsoft reportedly want iMessage and Bing off the EU’s tech ‘gatekeeper’ list

Adi RobertsonSep 4, 2023

Luxury brands are still desperately trying to make blockchain happen.

I was going to ask if companies like Prada really gain much by storing certificates of authenticity (a concept that far predates the blockchain!) on a distributed ledger system rather than some basic, un-sexy centralized database. Then I learned there’s a much funnier issue here: you can’t even check the database yourself!

After several rounds of questioning, Aura Consortium’s and Prada’s press teams said I couldn’t yet certify the bag myself, but Prada Group could access the information through an NFC chip inserted in the item.

Oh, and as usual, nobody seems to know what “owning” something through a blockchain legally means.

Is My Prada Bag Real? The New Way to Spot Fake Designer Purses

[Bloomberg]

Meta’s next Quest Pro might be a team-up with LG

Adi RobertsonSep 4, 2023

Porn age verification law is unconstitutional, says judge

Adi RobertsonAug 31, 2023

Adi RobertsonAug 30, 2023

The Internet Archive is more important — and more threatened — than ever.

Many people know the Internet Archive through the Wayback Machine, one of the most important web history repositories in existence. But its broader archival initiatives have left it facing legal challenges from the publishing and music industries. On today’s Vergecast I broke down the status of the suits and what they could mean for the future of digital preservation... and while we’re at it, what’s copyright really meant for, anyway?

The New York subway’s ride tracker has a scary security loophole

Adi RobertsonAug 30, 2023

Farewell, Magic Leap 1.

Per an email sent to Magic Leap developers, the 2018 mixed reality headset will be officially retired December 31st, 2024, as the company focuses on updates to the Magic Leap 2 and future products. On top of no longer selling the ML1, that includes the following:

- OS Updates: Magic Leap will only address outages that impact core functionality (as determined by Magic Leap) until December 31, 2024.
- Customer Care will continue to offer Magic Leap 1 product troubleshooting assistance through December 31, 2024.
- Cloud Services: On December 31, 2024, cloud services for Magic Leap 1 will no longer be available, core functionality will reach end-of-life and the Magic Leap 1 device and apps will cease to function.

The headset was never the breakthrough product Magic Leap dreamed it might be — but it was an intriguing experiment worth remembering.

Adi RobertsonAug 18, 2023

How does Creative Commons work with AI, anyway?

The team behind the popular copyright framework has taken a stab at answering that question, and the short answer is “it’s complicated and depends on how courts interpret the scope of copyright protections and fair use.” Perhaps most importantly, they emphasize that copyright simply isn’t the only concern involved:

Though using CC licenses and legal tools for training data and works produced by generative AI may address some legal uncertainty, it does not solve all the ethical concerns raised, which go far beyond copyright — involving issues of privacy, consent, bias, economic impacts, and access to and control over technology, among other things. Neither copyright nor CC licenses can or should address all of the ways that AI might impact people.

Understanding CC Licenses and Generative AI - Creative Commons

[Creative Commons]