The 404 Media Podcast

404 Media
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TECH NEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Welcome to the podcast from 404 Media where Joseph, Sam, Emanuel, and Jason catch you up on the stories we published this week. 404 Media is a journalist-owned digital media company exploring the way technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world. We bring you unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL through investigative reporting, smart blogging, and breaking news. At 404 Media you’ll read, and hear, stories you can’t find anywhere else written by journalists who are leading experts on their beats. Subscribe to 404 Media at 404media.co to gain access to an ad-free version of this podcast, as well as a bonus podcast episodes. Subscribers are the bedrock of building a sustainable business for our journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Ring Is Back and Scarier Than Ever

    We start this week with exciting news: we bought a Super Bowl ad! For… $2,550. We explain how. After the break, Jason tells us about Ring’s recently launched Search Party feature, and gives us a very timely reminder of what Ring really is and how we got here. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph breaks down Lockdown Mode and how it kept the FBI out of a Washington Post reporter’s phone. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 2:49 - Watch 404 Media’s Super Bowl Ad 27:29 - With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet: SUBSCRIBER'S STORY - FBI Couldn’t Get into WaPo Reporter’s iPhone Because It Had Lockdown Mode Enabled YouTube version: https://youtu.be/0JK-VSrtlWw Watch 404 Media’s Super Bowl Ad With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet FBI Couldn’t Get into WaPo Reporter’s iPhone Because It Had Lockdown Mode Enabled Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    50 min

  2. 3 DAYS AGO

    The Screen Time Panic Sets Parents Up to Fail

    Patrick Klepek on the reality of parenting in the age of Roblox and YouTube. I listened to hours of podcasts about how screen time affects kids of all ages and how parents should manage screen time but I still felt completely unprepared for this challenge when I had a kid.  I think the reason for that is that there’s a lot of reporting about how screens are impacting kids, and a lot of reporting about the research into this subject, but rarely did I encounter a conversation between parents that talks about how any of that information can be realistically applied in the real world.   This week on the podcast we’re joined by Patrick Klepek in order to have the kind of conversation I wish I heard before I became a parent, but I think there’s something here for everyone. Patrick is the cofounder of Remap, a website and one of my favorite podcasts about video games, and the writer behind Crossplay, a newsletter about the intersection of parenting and games. Patrick is also my former colleague at Vice, back when I worked at Motherboard and he at Waypoint. Patrick has been reporting about video games for most of his life, is a wonderful writer, and a parent. I find his perspective on many of these issues—screen time, parental controls, YouTube, Roblox—extremely useful and interesting, and I hope you do as well.  YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/LjK1Swsm1m4 Listen to the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.  Become a paid subscriber for early access to these interview episodes and to power our journalism. If you become a paid subscriber, check your inbox for an email from our podcast host Transistor for a link to the subscribers-only version! You can also add that subscribers feed to your podcast app of choice and never miss an episode that way. The email should also contain the subscribers-only unlisted YouTube link for the extended video version too. It will also be in the show notes in your podcast player. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    1h 26m

  3. 4 FEB

    The Latest Epstein Dump is a Disaster

    We start this week with Sam and Emanuel’s article about the latest Epstein dump, and how it’s really a disaster in a lot of ways. After the break, Matthew runs us through Moltbot and its terrible security. After the break, Emanuel breaks down his two recent stories about a fundamental issue exposing a bunch of very sensitive data. 0:00 - Intro 2:19 - DOJ Released Unredacted Nude Images in Epstein Files 25:08 - Silicon Valley’s Favorite New AI Agent Has Serious Security Flaws 34:55 - Exposed Moltbook Database Let Anyone Take Control of Any AI Agent on the Site YouTube version: https://youtu.be/gDcOOP_Y9cU DOJ Released Unredacted Nude Images in Epstein Files Silicon Valley’s Favorite New AI Agent Has Serious Security Flaws Exposed Moltbook Database Let Anyone Take Control of Any AI Agent on the Site App for Quitting Porn Leaked Users' Masturbation Habits Massive AI Chat App Leaked Millions of Users Private Conversations Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    55 min

  4. 2 FEB

    How Identity Literally Changes What You See (with Samuel Bagg)

    This week Joseph talks to Samuel Bagg, assistant professor of political science at the University of South Carolina. Bagg recently wrote a fascinating essay, linked below, about how the problem with lots of things might be knowledge-based (people believing stuff that’s wrong or dangerous) but the solution is not more knowledge. It’s all about social identity. This is an incredibly interesting discussion, and definitely check out more of Bagg’s writing. The Problem is Epistemic. The Solution is Not The Dispersion of Power: A Critical Realist Theory of Democracy YouTube version:  https://youtu.be/lNKOqp-rZL8 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    50 min

  5. 28 JAN

    Creators Worry Porn Platform Is Falling Into ‘AI Psychosis’

    We start this week with Sam’s piece about ManyVids, and how some creators believe its CEO, and the person who controls their livelihood, may be experiencing ‘AI psychosis’. After the break, Jason gives us an update on some mysterious disappearing ICE footage. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about Flock and what police are being told to do: not describe what they’re using the AI cameras for. Timestamps: 0:00 - Intro 2:41 - Aliens and Angel Numbers: Creators Worry Porn Platform ManyVids Is Falling Into ‘AI Psychosis’; Amid Backlash, Massive Porn Platform ManyVids Doubles Down on Bizarre, AI-Generated Posts 32:12 - DHS Says Critical ICE Surveillance Footage From Abuse Case Was Actually Never Recorded, Doesn't Matter YouTube version: https://youtu.be/EFv0rD9F9es Aliens and Angel Numbers: Creators Worry Porn Platform ManyVids Is Falling Into ‘AI Psychosis’ DHS Says Critical ICE Surveillance Footage From Abuse Case Was Actually Never Recorded, Doesn't Matter Police Told to Be ‘as Vague as Permissible’ About Why They Use Flock Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    50 min

  6. 26 JAN

    Exposing the People Behind Deepfake Porn Sites with Bellingcat Investigator Kolina Koltai

    This week, Sam is in conversation with Kolina Koltai. Kolina is an investigator, senior researcher and trainer at Bellingcat. Her investigations focus on the people and systems behind AI companies and platforms that peddle non-consensual deepfake explicit imagery. They discuss how she found herself in this field, her recent investigation uncovering the man behind two deepfake porn sites, and how it feels to watch these sites go down after exposing the people running them. YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/CbmUwwVGaf4 Stories discussed: Profiting From Exploitation: How We Found the Man Behind Two Deepfake Porn Sites Behind a Secretive Global Network of Non-Consensual Deepfake Pornography Unmasking MrDeepFakes: Canadian Pharmacist Linked to World’s Most Notorious Deepfake Porn Site Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    52 min

  7. 21 JAN

    Here’s What Palantir Is Really Building

    We start this week with Joseph’s article about ELITE, a tool Palantir is working on for ICE. After the break, Emanuel tells us how AI influencers are making fake sex tape-style photos with celebrities, who can’t be best pleased about it. In the subscribers-only section, Matthew breaks down Comic-Con’s ban of AI art. 0:00 - Intro 2:16 - ‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid 22:45 - Instagram AI Influencers Are Defaming Celebrities With Sex Scandals Subscriber's Story: Comic-Con Bans AI Art After Artist Pushback YouTube version: https://youtu.be/b-QHWpqjD-E Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    45 min

  8. 19 JAN

    How Wikipedia Will Survive in the Age of AI (With Wikipedia’s CTO Selena Deckelmann)

    The Wikimedia Foundation’s chief technology and product officer explains how she helps manage one of the most visited sites in the world in the age of generative AI.  Wikipedia is turning 25 this month, and it’s never been more important.  The online, collectively created encyclopedia has been a cornerstone of the internet decades, but as generative AI started flooding every platform with AI-generated slop over the last couple of years, Wikipedia’s governance model, editing process, and dedication to citing reliable sources has emerged as one of the most reliable and resilient models we have.  And yet, as successful as the model is, it’s almost never replicated.  This week on the podcast we’re joined by Selena Deckelmann, the Chief Product and Technology Officer at the Wikimedia Foundation, the nonprofit organization that operates Wikipedia. That means Selena oversees the technical infrastructure and product strategy for one of the most visited sites in the world, and one the most comprehensive repositories of human knowledge ever assembled. Wikipedia is turning 25 this month, so I wanted to talk to Selena about how Wikipedia works and how it plans to continue to work in the age of generative AI.   YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/39LR9ouJR3c Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Listen to the weekly podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or YouTube.  Wikipedia’s value in the age of generative AI The Editors Protecting Wikipedia from AI Hoaxes Wikipedia Pauses AI-Generated Summaries After Editor Backlash Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors Jimmy Wales Says Wikipedia Could Use AI. Editors Call It the 'Antithesis of Wikipedia' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
    55 min
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About

Welcome to the podcast from 404 Media where Joseph, Sam, Emanuel, and Jason catch you up on the stories we published this week. 404 Media is a journalist-owned digital media company exploring the way technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world. We bring you unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL through investigative reporting, smart blogging, and breaking news. At 404 Media you’ll read, and hear, stories you can’t find anywhere else written by journalists who are leading experts on their beats. Subscribe to 404 Media at 404media.co to gain access to an ad-free version of this podcast, as well as a bonus podcast episodes. Subscribers are the bedrock of building a sustainable business for our journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    404 Media
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    157
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 404 Media
  • Show Website
    The 404 Media Podcast

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