News of the Cyber World

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Google Is Flooding Its News Service with Nonsense AI-Generated Articles

AI-generated rip-off articles have made their way into Google News results, while the tech giant says it is not concerned about whether an article is produced by a human or AI, according to a report by 404 Media.

Google told the outlet that while it tries to counter spam on Google News, it doesn’t focus on how an article is created.

This paves the way for more AI-generated news articles to reach the top of search results and therefore accidentally be viewed by readers as content that was authentically created by humans.

404 Media pointed out that AI-generated news articles on Google News signals that “the black box nature of Google News, with entry into Google News’ rankings in the first place an opaque, but apparently gameable, system.”

It also means that Google “may not be ready for moderating its News service in the age of consumer-access AI, where essentially anyone is able to churn out a mass of content with little to no regard for its quality or originality,” the outlet added.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai Announces Further Job Cuts to Achieve ‘Ambitious Goals’

CNBC reports that in an internal memo addressed to employees, Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google, revealed plans for additional job reductions in 2024. This announcement aligns with the company’s strategic shift towards investment in key areas, particularly artificial intelligence. Pichai emphasized the necessity of making “tough choices” to facilitate these investments. The memo, titled “2024 priorities and the year ahead,” detailed Google’s plan for the new year.
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Google recently announced layoffs in some of its key divisions as part of its workforce strategy. The affected departments include the Voice Assistant unit; the hardware team responsible for Pixel, Nest, and Fitbit devices; and the augmented reality (AR) team. This move comes shortly after Google’s acquisition of Fitbit for $2.1 billion in 2021, which was a significant investment in the wearable technology sector. Despite this acquisition, Google has continued to develop and release new versions of its Pixel Watch, a product that directly competes with Fitbit’s offerings and the Apple Watch.

Google initiated several changes throughout the second half of 2023 to improve efficiency, streamline its operations, and realign resources. This restructuring involved eliminating roles across different teams globally. While the exact number of affected roles has not been announced, the impact is being felt amongst employees, as Alphabet has a reported global workforce of 182,381 as of September 2023.

The Alphabet Workers Union commented on the layoffs, calling them “needless” and promising to continue to fight the company “until our jobs are safe!”

Co-Founder of Google’s DeepMind on the Future of Jobs: AI Systems Are ‘Labor Replacing Tools’

Fortune reports that Mustafa Suleyman, a notable figure in the AI industry and co-founder of the AI firm DeepMind, recently shared his views on the future implications of AI, particularly its effect on the labor market. Suleyman, who founded DeepMind in 2010 alongside Demis Hassabis and Shane Legg and later sold it to Google for £400 million in 2014, spoke at the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland.

Suleyman highlighted two primary ways AI could transform businesses: by making operations more efficient, leading to significant cost savings but often at the expense of human jobs, and by enabling the creation of entirely new operations and processes, which could potentially lead to job creation. However, he cautioned that these changes would significantly disrupt the labor market in the coming years, with the long-term impact remaining uncertain.

“In the long term…we have to think very hard about how we integrate these tools, because left completely to the market and to their own devices, these are fundamentally labor replacing tools,” Suleyman told CNBC.

The debate over AI’s role in the job market is not new. Some experts, like Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne, have raised alarms with studies suggesting a high risk of job automation. For instance, their 2013 study estimated that 47 percent of US jobs might be automated by the mid-2030s. Conversely, other studies, like a 2022 report from the United Nations’ International Labor Organization, have suggested that AI will more likely complement human workers than replace them.

Sheryl Sandberg Quits Board of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta

Gizmodo reports that Sheryl Sandberg, often hailed as the original “girlboss” of Silicon Valley and a longstanding presence at Facebook, has decided to step down from her role on the board of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta. This marks a significant transition for Sandberg, who has been a pivotal figure in shaping the trajectory of the company. Announcing her departure in a Facebook post, Sandberg expressed her profound gratitude and the multitude of memories she amassed during her tenure.

Sandberg stated in the post: “With a heart filled with gratitude and a mind filled with memories, I let the Meta board know that I will not stand for reelection this May.” She further indicated her continued support for Meta in a different capacity, stating, “Going forward, I will serve as an advisor to the company and I will always be there to help the Meta teams.”

Sandberg stepped down from her long-held position as COO and Zuckerberg’s chief lieutenant in 2022.  Her choice to leave Zuckerberg’s board of directors comes as the company remains under a cloud of bad news, including a lawsuit filed by 42 states that accuses the company of targeting young people with addictive features on Facebook and Instagram.

Joining Facebook in 2008, Sandberg has been instrumental in steering the company through various phases of growth and navigating through numerous challenges, including the infamous Cambridge Analytica scandal. “Serving as Facebook’s — and then Meta’s — COO for 14 ½ years and a board member for 12 years has been the opportunity of a lifetime. I will always be grateful to Mark for believing in me and for his partnership and friendship.” she stated in her announcement.

In response to this announcement, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg acknowledged Sandberg’s contributions to the company.

Thousands of Companies Are Monitoring Every Facebook User

A recent study from Consumer Reports engaged 709 volunteers who provided archives of their Facebook user data. Astonishingly, Consumer Reports discovered that 186,892 different companies transmitted data about these users to Facebook. On average, data from each participant was shared by 2,230 companies, with some users’ data being shared by over 7,000 companies.

This examination highlighted a lesser-known form of tracking known as server-to-server tracking, where personal data is transferred directly from a company’s servers to Meta’s servers, alongside the more visible method involving Meta tracking pixels on company websites.

Emil Vazquez, a spokesperson for Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, defended the company’s data practices, stating: “We offer a number of transparency tools to help people understand the information that businesses choose to share with us, and manage how it’s used.” However, Consumer Reports identified issues with these tools, including unclear data provider identities and companies that service advertisers often disregarding user opt-out requests.

A surprising finding was the pervasive presence of LiveRamp, a data broker, appearing in the data of 96 percent of study participants. The list of companies sharing data with Facebook extends beyond obscure data brokers to include well-known retailers like Home Depot, Macy’s, Walmart, and others, such as Experian and TransUnion’s Neustar, Amazon, Etsy, and PayPal. Notably, LiveRamp did not respond to a request for comment on this matter.

The study’s data came from two main collection types: “events” and “custom audiences.” The latter involves advertisers uploading customer lists to Meta, including email addresses and mobile advertising IDs, to target ads on Meta’s platforms. ‘Events’ describe real-world interactions, like website visits or store purchases, facilitated by Meta’s software in apps, tracking pixels on websites, and server-to-server tracking.