Good Monday Morning!
It’s April 28th. Wednesday is the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. The US Army’s website has a page that offers ways to commemorate service members and their families.
Today’s Spotlight is 838 words, about 3 minutes to read.
3 Headlines to Know
Tesla Lawsuit Claims Odometer Inflates Mileage
A new California lawsuit says Tesla uses “predictive algorithms” to overcount miles, void warranties faster, and push owners out of coverage early.
EU Hits Apple, Meta With $800 Million in Fines
The European Union fined Apple and Meta a combined $800 million for breaking new digital competition rules under 2024’s Digital Markets Act.
Meta Expands Threads Ads Launches New Insta Features
Meta rolled out global Threads ads, launched “Edits” to rival CapCuts, and is testing collaborative Stories to boost user engagement across Instagram.
Meta Owns The Social Ads Network
By The Numbers
George’s Data Take
Axios shows social media ad revenue as it should be, with everything scaled the same way. Your takeaway is that there are cooler social ad platforms, but the next 8 combined don’t equal the combined might of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram. Keep following the money.
Shortcuts Can Be Expensive
Running Your Business
Warner Music Group sued Crumbl for $23 million, claiming the cookie chain used 159 hit songs on TikTok and Instagram without permission in order to boost sales and social media growth.
Silver Beacon Behind The Scenes
Shortcutting copyright is too common. Big brands and startups alike grab software, images, and hit songs to get fast attention. It works until it doesn’t.
Crumbl grew from one store to 1,000 in eight years, but this move could get expensive.
Meta’s AI Disaster: Celebrities’ Voices, Sexual Roleplay, and a Furious Disney
Image by ChatGPT, prompted by George Bounacos
Meta’s quest to dominate the AI race is melting down on multiple fronts with ugly consequences.
First came the revelations that Meta’s digital companions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp have been seducing underage users in graphic sexual roleplay.
Celebrity-voiced bots, including those modeled on Kristen Bell, John Cena, and even Judi Dench, were recorded engaging in sexually explicit verbal scenarios with people of all ages, including adults posing as 12- and 14-year-olds.
Meta’s bots even acknowledged the illegality mid-roleplay, but barreled forward anyway.
Disney is furious, publicly demanding Meta stop misusing intellectual property like Bell’s “Princess Anna” voice from Frozen in these conversations. Meta downplayed the problem, quietly tweaked a few settings, but left most of the underlying behavior intact.
If that wasn’t reckless enough, Meta’s previous science-fiction AI project Galactica, was pulled after just two days because it spewed fake research, dangerous misinformation, and hallucinated citations while presenting itself as fact. Scientists called it a “random bullshit generator” that could easily mislead the public or worse.
Newly unsealed court documents also show Meta secretly trained its models on stolen content from LibGen, a notorious piracy site hosting millions of illegally copied books. The same company waving the flag of innovation was raiding a black market to feed its AI.
Mark Zuckerberg is no longer a scrappy boy genius chasing trends. He’s a full-grown executive running one of the most powerful companies in human history. Remember that chart showing the billions in advertising they bring in? He and Meta are far past the time of making deliberate choices that blow past ethical lines, public safety, and common sense.
Social Security’s AI Training Fails Key Warning
Practical AI
The Social Security Administration rolled out an AI chatbot, but forgot to tell employees in its training video not to upload personal data. A correction sheet was sent around later.
Android Will Auto-Reboot After Three Days for Security
Protip
Android phones will now restart automatically if left locked for three days, protecting encrypted data from anyone who grabs your phone without permission.
RFK Jr. Spreads False Information on Measles, Vaccines, and Autism
Debunking Junk
In two months at HHS, RFK Jr. fired 10,000 workers and promoted debunked idea linking autism, measles, and obesity to vaccines, infections, and food additives, the kind of analysis you’d expect when a conspiracy-driven environmental lawyer runs public health.
Goodyear’s Celebratory “Forever”
Screening Room
World’s First Safe, Touchable 3D Hologram
Science-Fiction World
A Spanish team built a hologram system you can grab and move safely, using elastic materials instead of dangerous spinning projectors.
New Sticker Reads Your Body to Catch True Emotions
Tech For Good
A rechargeable patch from Penn State tracks heart rate, skin temperature, and more to detect real emotional state even when facial expressions lie.
Fish Labels Mean Better Wine Bets
Coffee Break
A Pudding research project found wines with animals on the label are often cheaper without losing quality while bottles with fish give you the best odds of scoring a great deal. And like every Pudding project, the data visualization is perfect.
Sign of the Times
