Jason Koebler

Plus, big tech seems to be, well, cute-washing all of its AI agents.

Then Jason Koebler of 404 Media stops by to tell us about the current state of Flock, and the work that 404 Media has done to help with legislation, uh, regarding Flock cameras.

Then I talk about a change in the state of medical testing, uh, and how animal testing may be going the way of the dodo.

All of that coming up on Tech News Weekly.

Over the past few weeks, 404 Media has been digging into Flock.

If you haven't heard about Flock, well, get ready, and the surveillance network around it, and the reporting is already making waves in both courtrooms and at the Capitol.

Here to walk us through, uh, all of it is 404 Media co-founder Jason Koebler.

Welcome back, Jason.

Ah, but politically, it will be after the midterms, and therefore, who cares, right? Um, this is a terrible idea and therefore, it's highly likely that this is what we do.

Meanwhile, we got this fantastic article from Jason Koebler over at 404 Media.

"Meta tests Muse AI agent calls that are actually made by humans in a call center." And think about this for a second here, guys.

Oh, this personal assistant, Muse, it's so good.

Just this week, warnings from anthropic researchers that AI could kill humanity set off alarm bells on Capitol Hill, and prompted a bipartisan group of lawmakers to call for immediate action to regulate the AI industry, from Republican Senator Ted Cruz, to independent populist Bernie Sanders, who is organizing senators for a briefing next week on the, quote, "extraordinary dangers of AI." The world we've long been told to fear is here, but how much do we actually know about these tools and how the government is using them, not just against you and your neighbors, but around the world? To take us down the rabbit hole, I'm joined by my colleague, Intercept reporter Sam Biddle, a senior technology reporter who focuses on issues of surveillance, privacy, and corporate power.

Also joining us is Jason Koebler, co-founder of 404 Media, where he writes about surveillance and AI.

Sam and Jason, welcome to the Intercept Briefing.

Really great to be here.

... a, a contractor is gonna urge restraint with the use of their product.

I mean, you know, anything's possible, but, um, it would be surprising.

After a quick break, more from Intercept senior technology reporter Sam Biddle and Jason Koebler, co-founder of 404 Media, where he writes about surveillance and AI.

[upbeat jingle] The use of surveillance at home is also being powered, unfortunately, [laughs] by AI, like the license plate readers we've been discussing used by Flock and other government agencies.

... tracked wherever you go? A vast network of license plate cameras helps police solve crimes, but also raises alarm over privacy and mass surveillance.

Journalist Jason Koebler speaks to Hari Sreenivasan about his investigation.

[intro music] Welcome to the program, everyone.

I'm Christiane Amanpour in London.

According to an investigation by the independent American news publication, 404 Media, the outlet, in association with a group of hackers, breached the Flock system by simply ripping down the camera from above the roadway, and they gained access to vast amounts of sensitive information like that.

They uncovered something far more sinister, they say, about what the cameras can be used for.

404 Media co-founder and journalist Jason Koebler joins Hari Sreenivasan to explain the risks of this technology and how people are fighting back now.

Christiane, thanks.

Some police use it to track activities that are legal in some states and illegal in others.

Jason Koebler is the co-founder of 404 Media.

He's broken stories on high-profile cases of police misusing the Flock system.

Well, it is interesting because Flock initially pitched itself, uh, to homeowners associations and to local police as being a way to recover stolen vehicles.

There are stories of these cameras solving crimes and of the system being a problem.

Obviously, the negative experiences are just as impactful and just as important as one of these, quote-unquote, positive experiences, right? And I think if you read the paper, like, we're very, like, we're down the middle.

Jason Koebler with 404 Media says he's concerned about the technology being used for a lot more than car thefts these days.

It's been used to track undocumented immigrants.

This is a word Walt Mossberg used decades ago, and it remains even more true in the age of AI, where they need more information to serve their corporate purposes.

Jason Koebler is the co-founder of 404 Media.

He and his colleagues have been reporting on Flock for the past few years, along with a lot of other amazing reporting they do at 404 Media.

Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble is the David O. Sears Presidential Endowed Chair of Social Sciences and a professor at the University of California at Los Angeles.