😺 AI saves journos?

PLUS: a $25 million AI scam

Welcome, humans.

It didn’t take long before we saw our first Apple Vision Pro in the wild (a coffee shop, if you must know). We have some ideas for where the AVP intersects with AI, but first: hit reply if you’ve seen some wacky behavior or have tried it already!

Here’s what you need to know about AI today:

Microsoft is partnering with Semafor to build AI media tools.
Deepfakes ended up costing one company $25 million.
Our guidance for safeguarding against deepfakes.
Three students won $700,000 for decoding an ancient scroll using AI.

Microsoft wants to help media keep pace with AI.

There’s struggling, and then there’s *media industry* struggling.

Every. single. media. brand. you. can. think. of. had layoffs in 2023, with many more in January alone. Not fun times!

(This makes us sad kitties! High-quality journalism is an important part of civil society and a strong democracy.)

While these layoffs aren't directly tied to AI (it's more about media companies struggling to make enough money), the potential for AI to completely disrupt media is a matter of when, not if.

Modern media startups know they aren’t immune, which is likely why our friends at Semafor are partnering with Microsoft to develop innovative AI-enabled products.

Here’s the dealio:

Microsoft is funding a new breaking news feed (dubbed Signals) that supplements its existing reporting:
- In essence, Semafor journalists will utilize GPT-4 powered tools to sift through a plethora of news sources online (e.g., NYT, WSJ, etc.).
- The “editors will then evaluate and verify sources, compose summaries, and clearly cite and link readers to the original information”.
- Think of it as a quicker, online spin on Morning Brew.

It’s a big win for Semafor... they get cold hard cash (never hurts) plus a seat at the table shaping new tools at the forefront of the AI media landscape.

…and a big example for media leaders, who are scrambling to figure out what “journalism in the AI world” actually entails (hint: it’s not using AI to autogenerate articles). This might be the first real case study!

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Scammers unveil a daring new scheme.

404 Media

There’s only one thing more nightmare-ish than a Zoom team meeting:

A team meeting where a scammer impersonates your boss using deepfake technology and convinces you to hand over $25.6M.

For one unfortunate soul, this nightmare recently became a stark reality (seriously, here’s what went down).

With AI-powered scams on the rise, we’ve discussed some safeguarding measures. But sometimes you have to double-check even the best-laid plans.

For example, one of our readers suggested ID verification to confirm someone's identity. Then we caught wind of OnlyFake, an underground site that uses AI to create $15 fake IDs so convincing they can pass online verification checks.

So here’s our (revised) guidance:

Tell the people around you that scarily realistic deepfakes are closer than they might think.
Proceed with caution whenever someone unexpectedly reaches out.
Establish safe words or phrases with your key contacts.

P.S. Although eyeball-scanning tech still seems a bit dystopian, we have to give credit where credit is due to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, whose investment in “digital identity” startup Worldcoin is looking increasingly prescient.

Around the Horn.

The $700,000 grand prize for decoding an ancient scroll using AI has been claimed by three students across the US and Europe.
Palantir stock rose 17% after reporting surging demand for AI products.
The UK government will spend $125 million on AI research and regulation.