Max Ufberg

cc @longreads.com

Writing from my cell in the age of prison Wi-Fi The expansion of tablets and prison Wi-Fi shows both the promise of connectivity and the cost of relying on billion-dollar contractors.

This John J. Lennon essay offers a searing look at how fragile, tightly controlled tech access shapes life behind bars. Please do give it a read.
www.fastcompany.com/91399196/wri...

AI could deplete drinking water sources around Illinois, Midwest Large data centers working on artificial intelligence that need water for cooling could drain area water supplies, a Great Lakes advocacy group warns.

"Large data centers, many devoted to researching artificial intelligence, are expected to use more than 150 billion gallons of water across the U.S. over the next five years, according to the advocacy organization Alliance for the Great Lakes."

Tech policy could be smarter and less partisan if Congress hadn’t shut down this innovative program For years, the Office of Technology Assessment helped Congress see around corners on science and tech. Its 1995 shutdown left lawmakers flying blind.

Imagine if Congress had an office dedicated to laying out the risks and benefits of emerging technologies. Turns out, it once did! But then Newt Gingrich defunded it 30 years ago. My latest @fastcompany.com: www.fastcompany.com/91378299/off...

How Big Tech Powered A Justice Department Coup After a secret lobbying effort, Trump’s Justice Department ousted staff and reversed course on Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s proposed megamerger.

After a secret lobbying effort, Trump’s Justice Department ousted staff and reversed course on Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s proposed megamerger. www.levernews.com/how-big-tech...

Google is indexing ChatGPT conversations, potentially exposing sensitive user data Thousands of shared ChatGPT chats—including deeply personal details about mental health, relationships, and trauma—are appearing in Google search results, raising major privacy concerns.

NEW: ChatGPT allows Google to index chats users share using the Share functionality - presumably misinterpreting "make this chat discoverable". The result? Frank admissions about sex lives and drug dependencies. My latest for @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91376687/goo... tip @techmeme.com

Hulk Hogan changed media forever with his Gawker lawsuit The superstar athlete, who died on Thursday, cast a long shadow over the world of professional wrestling—and a far more ominous one over the world of internet publishing.

This @fastcompany.com article about the legacy of Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker is well worth a few minutes of your time.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Is Outsourcing More of His Office’s Work to Costly Private Lawyers Despite having an office of hundreds of attorneys, Ken Paxton is frequently opting for private lawyers — many to whom he has personal or political ties — to argue on behalf of Texas. One attorney cost...

NEW: Despite having an office of hundreds of attorneys, Ken Paxton is frequently opting for private lawyers — many to whom he has personal or political ties — to argue on behalf of Texas.

One attorney cost taxpayers more than $24,000 for a day’s work.

With @texastribune.org

thanks for the follow charlize theron

cc @longreads.com

He went undercover to catch art thieves. Now he’s using tech to stop forgeries After decades with the FBI’s Art Crime Team, Ronnie Walker launched the Art Legacy Institute to protect artists before their work gets forged or stolen, rather than after.

I wrote about a former FBI agent who spent decades chasing art forgers, and why he’s now using tech to try to stop fakes before they’re made. www.fastcompany.com/91364175/ron...

Elon Musk’s Long Game to Influence the Texas Legislature While Elon Musk took Washington, D.C., by storm, his company representatives and lobbyists were also notching up big political wins in the heart of his vast business empire: Texas.

This year, Tesla’s lobbyists publicly advocated against only two bills. Both died.

One would have required public hearings if a collision involving an autonomous vehicle — like the robotaxis Musk is rolling out — resulted in a fatality.

With @kutnews.bsky.social & @texastribune.org

Texas flood recovery efforts face an unexpected obstacle: drones As emergency teams race to save lives after deadly flash floods, amateur drone pilots are clogging the skies.

Drones are hampering recovery efforts in Texas from unexpectedly harsh floods - as they hampered wildfires in California in January, and many others. What's going on? My latest for @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91363994/tex...

Anthropic's AI copyright 'win' is more complicated than it looks Tech companies are celebrating a major ruling on fair use for AI training, but a closer read shows big legal risks still lay ahead.

Anthropic's AI copyright "win" might not actually be a win, unless they want to pay billions of dollars. My latest for @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91357755/ant...

Rihanna and The Weeknd champion causes in Africa. The billionaire stakeholder behind their labels faces corruption allegations there Activists say Vincent Bolloré built his fortune through abusive business practices in West Africa. They’re urging UMG artists to take a closer look.

Bolloré's businesses seem to “prey on countries with weak governance standards... Their relative impunity is made possible by the control they have over the media," Chanez Mensous, advocacy and litigation manager at Sherpa. 

@clintrainey.bsky.social reports on Bolloré's corruption allegations 👇

Elon Musk’s DOGE is launching a new AI retirement system. It was built mostly under Biden The controversial government tech task force is claiming credit for a digital breakthrough, but insiders say the Biden administration started building the project years earlier.

DOGE is racing to digitize federal retirements—with a system built under Biden, not Trump. Insiders tell @fastcompany.com it's a prototype not ready for prime time. www.fastcompany.com/91332785/dog...

California’s location data privacy bill aims to reshape digital consent Assembly Bill 1355 would require opt-in consent for collecting and sharing geolocation data, a targeted approach that reflects growing national concern over surveillance and use of sensitive data.

New one from me on @fastcompany.com: This California bill could redefine digital consent by requiring opt-in approval before companies collect or share your location data www.fastcompany.com/91333177/cal...

guilty as charged

DOGE Aide Who Helped Gut CFPB Was Warned About Potential Conflicts of Interest Before he helped fire most Consumer Financial Protection Bureau staffers, DOGE’s Gavin Kliger was warned about his investments and advised to not take any actions that could benefit him personally, ac...

DOGE guy at the CFPB owned verboten stocks.

He was explicitly warned by ethics lawyers that he wasn’t permitted to take any action that could benefit those companies — and him.

He then helped fire workers anyway.

Including the ethics lawyers who warned him.

www.propublica.org/article/cfpb...

How DOGE used AI to reshape the government in just 100 days Critics warn that the rushed, untested use of AI could lead to wrongful firings, mishandling of sensitive data, and lasting damage to core public services.

New from me: Critics warn that DOGE’s rushed use of AI could lead to wrongful firings, mishandling of sensitive data, and lasting damage to core public services. www.fastcompany.com/91324480/dog...

How DOGE used AI to reshape the government in just 100 days Critics warn that the rushed, untested use of AI could lead to wrongful firings, mishandling of sensitive data, and lasting damage to core public services.

New from me: Critics warn that DOGE’s rushed use of AI could lead to wrongful firings, mishandling of sensitive data, and lasting damage to core public services. www.fastcompany.com/91324480/dog...

The Trump administration’s Signal scandal shows humans will always be the weakest link in cybersecurity A catastrophic breach involving top U.S. officials shows that even the most secure apps are useless when human error enters the chat.

You can use the most secure encrypted messaging app in the world, but it's the dumb human in the loop that'll reveal your plans to bomb Yemen to the world. My latest for @fastcompany.com on that ridiculous Signal breach and its ramifications www.fastcompany.com/91305043/tru...

‘This might be the one thing that could bring parties together’: UFO film director on the surprising bipartisan support in Congress Director Dan Farah’s new documentary brings the alien conversation into the mainstream, with help from some of the most powerful names in Washington.

I talked to Age of Disclosure director Dan Farah about how he managed to get Marco Rubio, Kirsten Gillibrand, Jim Clapper and dozens of other officials to go on record about alien life. www.fastcompany.com/91301211/dan...

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber on her company's ascendant year and what she's planning next With 33 million users and counting, Bluesky is showing that decentralization may be social media's best path forward.

What does a decentralized social network look like when it starts to scale? For @fastcompany.com’s Most Innovative Companies program, I looked at how @bsky.app — and its CEO @jay.bsky.team — are evolving with the shifting social media landscape. www.fastcompany.com/91271080/blu...

Federal workers fired by Elon Musk's DOGE are sharing their anxieties on Reddit Government employees are taking to the online forum to share layoff horror stories and discuss their next steps.

For @fastcompany.com, I spoke to federal workers fired as part of Elon Musk's efficiency drive - who have congregated on Reddit as succour www.fastcompany.com/91280346/fed...

Instagram's AI bots are often sexually suggestive—and sometimes underage Instagram’s AI Studio can create characters that range from bizarre to borderline illegal.

*scoop* @fastcompany.com: Instagram’s AI Studio can create characters that range from bizarre to borderline illegal. www.fastcompany.com/91276645/ins...

Trump’s firing of the U.S. government archivist is far worse than it might seem The National Archives and Records Administration does more than just preserve documents: It’s the scaffolding of the American political system.

For @fastcompany.com, I wrote about Trump's firing of the Archivist of the United States and its larger potential consequences for American governance www.fastcompany.com/91277620/tru...

This Google Maps 'safety' feature could actually make roads more dangerous Google Maps now prompts drivers to confirm traffic incidents, but experts warn the urgent requests could lead to dangerous distractions on the road.

Google Maps has become dangerously distracting.

The app now issues alerts – with loud chimes – prompting users to confirm incidents like stalled cars.

The alerts direct drivers to look away from the road, and there’s no way to turn them off. That’s reckless UX.

Me in @fastcompany.com 🧵

States are turning their public benefits systems over to AI. The results have often led to ‘immense suffering’ A recent report released by TechTonic Justice found that most public benefits systems are riddled with AI.

States are using AI to determine whether someone should get public benefits, how much they should get, whether they should stay on, and if they committed fraud. What could go wrong. www.fastcompany.com/91265363/sta...