Privacy articles

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Dallas garbage trucks are using AI cameras to flag code violations and give homes a "blight score"

Privacy concerns and fears of unfair fines are fueling a backlash against the program
WTF?! Want another reason why there's a big pushback against artificial intelligence? In Dallas, AI-powered cameras mounted on trash collection trucks are photographing properties and assigning them a "blight score" – a rating based on perceived code violations.
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A cybersecurity researcher covered a Toyota in an AI-generated pattern to confuse Flock cameras

The demonstration tested whether adversarial design can defeat computer-vision algorithms
What just happened? Bill Swearingen's noRecognition project is testing whether computer-generated patterns can interfere with software used to identify people, vehicles, and other objects on surveillance cameras. The project received its first public test Friday at the Def Con cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas. Swearingen worked with Donut Media to cover a 2009 Toyota Yaris with one of his patterns and drive it past a Flock camera. "We proved it was effective," Swearingen, a cybersecurity professional and founder of SIXCYBER, told TechCrunch.
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AI slop, privacy fears, and endless scrolling are making people fall out of love with the internet

A new survey reveals growing frustration with tracking, deepfakes, and time-wasting algorithms
A hot potato: Remember the days when the internet was a fun place full of memes and funny videos, and you couldn't use AI to fulfill the request, "photos or it didn't happen"? Today, many people's view of the net is becoming negative, with 50% of users expecting their data to be exposed, AI making everything hard to believe, and the web stealing too much of their time.
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GrapheneOS says its data-wiping "duress" password is perfectly legal, after user faces federal charges

Get Off My Phone: The recently unveiled case brought by the US Department of Justice against a GrapheneOS user is rekindling debate around privacy and effective operational security on mobile devices. The GrapheneOS Foundation has joined that debate, reaffirming some key points about the operating system's security features and whether previously deleted data can ever be recovered.
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Apple's smart glasses are delayed as company wrestles with privacy concerns

Apple is reportedly exploring camera restrictions and on-device processing to prevent its wearable from becoming a privacy nightmare
Through the looking glass: Apple is facing a dilemma: how can a company that has long prided itself on respecting users' privacy release a product notorious for spying on people – smart glasses? It's something that Cupertino is worried about, which is why its take on the device is reportedly being delayed until late 2027.
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US prosecutors charge Atlanta man after GrapheneOS phone wipes itself during airport search

Prosecutors say the OS erased evidence, but advocates warn the case could criminalize security tools
A hot potato: A federal case in Atlanta is raising questions about a privacy-focused mobile operating system, with prosecutors arguing that its features were used to erase evidence. The US Department of Justice is attempting to prosecute Atlanta resident Sam Tunick under a federal statute that makes it a crime to destroy property in an effort to prevent it from being seized.