Surveillance Log 009 - 2025-11-28
Welcome to this week’s list of five (or less!) interesting links. If you want to revisit earlier weeks, all previous issues are available here.
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Meet the Group Breaking People Out of AI Delusions — This is a “jaw on the floor” read, straight out of a dystopian William Gibson novel. While it doesn’t require a huge stretch to imagine chatbots triggering delusions in their users, the stories mentioned here bring home the toll on individuals, their family and their friends. The number of people affected, based on statistics from OpenAI itself, is alarming. Such figures should trigger public health-style regulations of technologies like this, much as new pharmaceuticals are regulated. (Futurism)
Pranksters Re-Created a Working Version of Jeffrey Epstein’s Gmail Inbox — Wired’s headline undersells this project in my opinion. The Epstein affair is egregious. His recently released cache of emails starkly illustrates the assumption of impunity and the hypocrisy afflicting many of the so-called “elite.” Taking these emails and making them available in a user-friendly and familiar format is not a prank, it’s a throwback to the original ethos of the internet: information wants to be free, accessible to all, and used to speak truth to power. (Wired $)
The rise of Hoto and Fanttik — As China climbs the economic value chain, it’s no surprise that Chinese brands are starting to displace Western ones. This shift often goes unnoticed because it happens through channels—TikTok, Amazon—unfamiliar to their traditional Western consumers. This article marshalls all the facts and paints a compelling picture of the sense of purpose driving the Chinese challengers and the impact they have in the West. (The Verge)