Universities are offering content creation degrees for around £30,000, teaching students how to build audiences and monetise content on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. While some graduates say the courses provide valuable industry contacts, established creators remain skeptical about the value. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c61mvy1emr2zo #Media #SocialMedia #CreatorEconomy
#Human contractors reviewing #imageeditingprompts for #Microsoft’s #Copilot AI are exposed to #explicit and #disturbing content, including #sexuallyexplicit requests and #nonconsensual material. This raises #privacy concerns and highlights the hidden #humanelement in AI development, where workers are often underpaid and exposed to traumatising content. https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/human-contractors-seeing-creepy-prompts?eicker.news #media #socialmedia
Tech workers in San Francisco connected ChatGPT to a Toyota Corolla and got it to navigate a parking lot using an off-the-shelf language model with no prior driving training. Only one model managed to complete the course. https://www.404media.co/these-tech-workers-made-chatgpt-drive-a-toyota-corolla/ #Media #SocialMedia #AI
A surveillance company is pitching police departments on adding facial recognition to Flock licence plate cameras, despite Flock itself refusing to offer the feature. VIDIZMO says it can export Flock data for facial recognition, behaviour prediction and racial and gender analysis. Privacy experts say the company's plans are "appalling". https://www.404media.co/surveillance-company-tells-cops-it-wants-to-add-facial-recognition-to-flock-cameras/ #Media #SocialMedia #Privacy
Meta has launched Muse AI for small businesses, offering agentic artificial intelligence tools to help improve workflows and integrate with partner apps. The move signals Meta's push to bring AI assistance to SMBs. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/meta-launches-muse-ai-for-smbs/831714/ #Media #SocialMedia #AI
#BrownBrothersMedia #halted #publishing after a Futurism investigation revealed AI content mills using #fakeauthors. Google appears to have suppressed sites including VegOut, Silicon Canals and Space Daily; MakeTechEasier and Ideapod remain visible. https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/brown-brothers-media-halts-publishing?eicker.news #media #socialmedia
The word algorithm has evolved from a mathematical term to describe what users see on Instagram. Instagram now lets users "tune my algorithm", but few understand or control it. https://theconversation.com/from-equations-to-instagram-feeds-how-algorithm-changed-its-meaning-288574 #Media #SocialMedia #AI
A lawyer used ChatGPT to generate court briefs containing completely fabricated witnesses and testimony in a murder case. The New Mexico Supreme Court found the attorney in contempt, sanctioning him 5,000 USD. Judges criticised the lawyer for relying on AI despite widespread reports of AI hallucinations in legal proceedings. https://www.404media.co/chatgpt-fake-witnesses-testimony-stephen-aarons-new-mexico/ #Media #SocialMedia #AI
A person has created an AI torture chamber on GitHub that runs simulated pain experiments on large language models, sparking a heated debate about model welfare and AI consciousness. The project has drawn millions of views on X and triggered discussions about whether AI systems can suffer. Critics say the debate is absurd since LLMs are not conscious. https://www.404media.co/someone-torturing-llms-in-a-robot-prison-has-triggered-the-dumbest-debate-in-ai-yet/ #Media #SocialMedia #AI
#Reddit will end #RSS feeds on 13 November and public #API access by March 2027 due to scraping and AI bots. Moderators are advised to use Discord Relay Devvit; no replacement exists for external feeds. Old Reddit access will be restricted to recent users. https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/reddit-is-killing-rss-feeds-ending-public-api-access-because-of-ai-bots/?eicker.news #media #socialmedia
Social media has not killed personal style but has changed how we communicate it, research finds. Formats like "kinda chic" on TikTok and Instagram have created recognisable ways of presenting fashion, meaning what we remember is the style of sharing, not individual outfits. https://theconversation.com/social-media-hasnt-killed-personal-style-its-killed-how-we-communicate-it-292483 #Media #SocialMedia #ShortFormVideo
Eight in ten Australian adults support restricting children's access to social media, with 51% strongly supporting the measure. Australia enacted a law in December 2025 requiring platforms to verify ages and remove accounts of children under 16. Older Australians are especially supportive, with 89% of those aged 65+ in favour. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2026/10/01/what-do-australians-think-about-social-media-restrictions-for-kids/ #Media #SocialMedia #Privacy
YouTube is updating its Shorts algorithm to prioritise original creator content and reduce reach for re-uploaded videos without added value. The change mirrors Instagrams efforts to boost authentic creators. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/youtube-updates-shorts-algorithm-to-put-more-focus-on-original-content/831976/ #Media #SocialMedia #Shorts
Journalists are increasingly receiving AI-generated tips via email that are clearly written by AI, according to 404 Media. The phenomenon highlights how AI agents are now being used to spam inboxes worldwide. https://www.404media.co/behind-the-blog-freaking-out/ #Media #SocialMedia #AI
A federal judge has ruled that a Flock licence plate search violated the Fourth Amendment, calling the technology 'indiscriminate mass surveillance.' The ruling is one of the first of its kind to find the automated licence plate reader system unconstitutional. https://www.404media.co/federal-judge-rules-a-flock-search-was-indiscriminate-mass-surveillance-and-unconstitutional/ #Media #SocialMedia #DataPrivacy
Research suggests that to counter misinformation online, we need to adopt the same communication style as the false claims themselves. A study found messages using familiar language were five times more likely to be clicked on than neutral wording. https://theconversation.com/a-new-study-finds-that-to-counter-misinformation-online-we-need-to-copy-its-style-293220 #Media #SocialMedia #AI
OKX and NYSE owner ICE plan to launch 24/7 tokenised stock trading under the SEC's Innovation Exemption. The venture will offer tokenised versions of more than 60 US stocks including Nvidia, Tesla and SpaceX, trading against stablecoins. https://decrypt.co/380032/okx-and-nyse-owner-ice-plan-24-7-tokenized-stock-trading-under-sec-exemption #Web3 #Blockchain #InstitutionalAdoption
arXiv, the academic preprint repository, is imposing rate limits on submissions after being overwhelmed by AI-written papers. Researchers can now only submit two papers per month, as submissions have doubled in two years to over 40,000. Volunteer moderators struggle to keep up with low-quality AI-generated content. https://www.404media.co/arxiv-is-rate-limiting-submissions-because-it-cant-keep-up-with-ai-slop/ #Media #SocialMedia #AI
Meta rushed to fix a security flaw in its new Muse AI assistant shortly before launch. The vulnerability could have allowed users to access internal Meta databases and was serious enough to involve Mark Zuckerberg directly. Meta is offering up to 300,000 USD through its bug bounty programme for similar issues. https://www.404media.co/meta-rushed-to-fix-muse-vm-escape-vulnerability-immediately-before-launch/ #Media #SocialMedia #AI
Strive, the Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin treasury company co-founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, has purchased 2,000 Bitcoin worth about 169 million USD - its biggest purchase in four months. The average purchase price was around 84,422 USD per coin between September 28 and October 2. Strive now holds 29,462 BTC, representing a 48% increase since July. https://decrypt.co/380129/strive-adds-169m-bitcoin-biggest-buy-four-months #Web3 #Blockchain #InstitutionalAdoption