At the end of September a crucial silicon mine in Spruce Pine was flooded by Hurricane Helene. Ever wonder what happened next? CC-licensed photo by State Archives of North Carolina Raleigh, NC on Flickr.
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This is the last Overspill of 2024 (220 editions, 44 weeks, not bad). We made it! See you again in 2025. (Not sure if it will be Monday 6th or 13th. Exciting!)
A selection of 10 links for you. Enjoy the break. I’m @charlesarthur on Twitter. On Threads: charles_arthur. On Mastodon: https://newsie.social/@charlesarthur. Observations and links welcome.
The ghosts in the machine • Harpers
Liz Pelly:
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I first heard about ghost artists in the summer of 2017. At the time, I was new to the music-streaming beat. I had been researching the influence of major labels on Spotify playlists since the previous year, and my first report had just been published. Within a few days, the owner of an independent record label in New York dropped me a line to let me know about a mysterious phenomenon that was “in the air” and of growing concern to those in the indie music scene: Spotify, the rumor had it, was filling its most popular playlists with stock music attributed to pseudonymous musicians—variously called ghost or fake artists—presumably in an effort to reduce its royalty payouts. Some even speculated that Spotify might be making the tracks itself. At a time when playlists created by the company were becoming crucial sources of revenue for independent artists and labels, this was a troubling allegation.
At first, it sounded to me like a conspiracy theory. Surely, I thought, these artists were just DIY hustlers trying to game the system. But the tips kept coming. Over the next few months, I received more notes from readers, musicians, and label owners about the so-called fake-artist issue than about anything else. One digital strategist at an independent record label worried that the problem could soon grow more insidious. “So far it’s happening within a genre that mostly affects artists at labels like the one I work for, or Kranky, or Constellation,” the strategist said, referring to two long-running indie labels.
By July, the story had burst into public view, after a Vulture article resurfaced a year-old item from the trade press claiming that Spotify was filling some of its popular and relaxing mood playlists—such as those for “jazz,” “chill,” and “peaceful piano” music—with cheap fake-artist offerings created by the company. A Spotify spokesperson, in turn, told the music press that these reports were “categorically untrue, full stop”: the company was not creating its own fake-artist tracks. But while Spotify may not have created them, it stopped short of denying that it had added them to its playlists.
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Deeply reported piece which does not make Spotify look good.
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America’s bird-flu luck has officially run out • The Atlantic
Yasmin Tayag:
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The Louisiana patient was infected with a strain of the virus related to the one that sickened the Canadian teen but different from the one spreading among dairy herds, poultry, and farmworkers. The mutations in this strain “represent the ability of the virus to cause serious disease, but these instances should be isolated in humans for the time being,” Chin-Hong said.
But just because America is in the same place of steady precarity that it has been in for months doesn’t mean that’s a good place to be in. As I wrote in September, we are in an awkward state of in-between, in which experts are on high alert for concerning mutations but the public has no reason to worry—yet. “Right now, I agree that the risk to the general public is low, but we know avian influenza mutates quickly,” Anne Rimoin, an epidemiology professor at UCLA, told me.
The more transmissions among animals—in particular from birds to mammals—the more chances the virus has to mutate to become more threatening to the public. The longer the virus persists in the environment, “the greater potential to mutate, resort, and become more infectious and virulent to humans,” Maurice Pitesky, an animal-infectious-diseases expert at UC Davis, told me.
America is giving the virus a lot of chances to infect people. Although efforts to control the virus, such as regular testing of herds and bulk testing of raw milk, are under way, they have clearly not been enough. The spread of the virus geographically and across mammalian species is unprecedented, Pitesky said. He believes that more efforts should be directed toward shifting waterfowl—ducks, geese, and other wild birds responsible for spreading H5N1—away from commercial farms, where the virus is most likely to be transmitted to humans.
A shot for bird flu exists, and experts have urged the government to vaccinate farmworkers. “Farmers need help,” Pitesky said.
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What will 2025 bring? Join us next year for Pandemic Watching Brief!
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IT expert convicted for repeatedly lying about inventing Bitcoin • BBC News
Joe Tidy:
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A computer scientist has been found to have committed contempt of court for falsely and persistently claiming to be the mysterious inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto.
In March, the High Court ruled Craig Wright was not Satoshi, and ordered him to stop claiming he was.
However, he continued to launch legal cases asserting he had intellectual property rights to Bitcoin, including a claim he was owed $1.2 trillion ($911bn).
A judge said that amounted to a “flagrant breach” of the original court order and sentenced him to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years.
It means if Wright – who is from Australia but lives in the UK – continues to claim he invented the cryptocurrency he will face being jailed.
However, Wright, who appeared via videolink, refused to disclose where he was, saying only he was in Asia. It means an international arrest warrant would have to be issued if the UK authorities wanted to detain him.
Wright’s actions were described in court as “legal terrorism” that “put people through personal hell” in his campaign to be recognised as Bitcoin’s inventor.
The judge, Mr Justice Mellor, said Wright arguments were “legal nonsense” but acknowledged that he was not in the UK and “appears to be well aware of countries with which the UK does not have extradition arrangements”.
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And so we tie all that up. Can we hope we will hear no more from Craig Wright?
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Misleading Google search results on UK asylum seeker crime rate used 2017 data from Germany • Full Fact
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Google’s search results and its AI overview have been giving misleading answers to questions about the number of crimes committed by asylum seekers in the UK—quoting figures that were actually from 2017 in Germany.
There’s no evidence these figures reflect the current crime rate among asylum seekers in the UK, though official data is limited and neither the Office for National Statistics (ONS) nor the Home Office publish equivalent UK figures.
But in recent months we’ve seen screenshots of some of these misleading Google search results circulated on social media.
After we contacted Google about this last week, the misleading results seem to be no longer appearing in searches on the topic.
A Google spokesperson told Full Fact: “We aim to surface relevant, high quality information in all our Search features and we continue to raise the bar for quality with ongoing updates and improvements. When issues arise—like if our features misinterpret web content or miss some context—we use those examples to improve and take appropriate action under our policies.”
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Full Fact is a fact-checking organisation in the UK. Misleading results like this in its AI overview carry the imprimatur of Google, seen by many as “the source that’s correct”. Google’s response? “Oh”.
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October 2024: Quartz mine crucial for making chips reopens ten days after Hurricane Helene’s devastation • Tom’s Hardware
Jowi Morales:
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Sibelco, one of the two companies mining ultra-high-purity quartz at Spruce Pine, North Carolina, has restarted production a little over ten days after Hurricane Helene devastated the area. According to its press release, Sibelco only suffered minor damage, and all its employees are safe and accounted for. With the company restarting shipments to its customers and ramping production to full total capacity, the chipmaking industry is assured that it won’t have issues with the pure quartz supply needed to make the silicon base of semiconductors.
Hurricane Helene was a Category 4 hurricane that severely affected the Spruce Pine area, thus raising some fears that it would disrupt the accessible and affordable supply of quartz needed to create silicon ingots. These ingots are sliced into thin wafers and polished, then etched to form the chips we find on our computers. However, you can’t just melt ultra-pure silicon in any container to create the silicon ingots you need to make chips. Impurities in the container could react with the molten silicon, so you need an equally pure quartz crucible to hold it.
Most chip makers and their suppliers have enough silicon wafers or silicon ingots to weather a disruption in the supply chain, so many did not expect any significant industry repercussions from the tragedy. Besides, there are other quartz sources globally, although they’re likely not as readily available and affordable as what the North Carolina mines supply.
Nevertheless, Sibelco’s production restart is welcome news for the entire industry. After all, the supply chain horror stories that started during the 2020 COVID pandemic and extended until 2022 are fresh in our memories, and we don’t want a repeat of that.
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Tying up loose ends: this was set up to be the Giant Drama at the end of September after Hurricane Helene: OMG semiconductor supply chain disruption?!?! Instead it turns out they got it all up and running again and everything’s hunky dory. Drink!
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US temporarily bans drones in parts of NJ, may use “deadly force” against aircraft – Ars Technica
Jon Brodkin:
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The Federal Aviation Administration temporarily banned drones over parts of New Jersey yesterday and said “the United States government may use deadly force against” airborne aircraft “if it is determined that the aircraft poses an imminent security threat.”
The FAA issued 22 orders imposing “temporary flight restrictions for special security reasons” until January 17, 2025. “At the request of federal security partners, the FAA published 22 Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) prohibiting drone flights over critical New Jersey infrastructure,” an FAA statement said.
…The latest notices follow numerous sightings of objects that appeared to be drones, which worried New Jersey residents and prompted state and federal officials to investigate and issue several public statements. The FAA last month imposed temporary flight restrictions at the Picatinny Arsenal, an Army research and manufacturing facility, and a Bedminster golf course owned by President-elect Donald Trump.
On December 16, a joint statement was issued by the US Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the FAA, and Department of Defense. The “FBI has received tips of more than 5,000 reported drone sightings in the last few weeks with approximately 100 leads generated,” but evidence so far suggests “the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones,” the statement said. “We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast.” in the areas covered by this NOTAM” unless they have clearance for specific operations, the FAA said. Allowed operations include support for national defense, law enforcement, firefighting, and commercial operations “with a valid statement of work.”
“Pilots who do not adhere to the following proc[edure] may be intercepted, detained and interviewed by law enforcement/security personnel,” the FAA said. Violating the order could result in “civil penalties and the suspension or revocation of airmen certificates,” and criminal charges, the FAA said.
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Americans have absolutely lost their minds over this. The UK had the same thing with drones allegedly being seen over Gatwick airport. No evidence was ever found.
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IMF reaches staff-level agreement with El Salvador on an Extended Fund Facility Arrangement • International Monetary Fund
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IMF staff and the El Salvadoran authorities have reached a staff-level agreement on a new arrangement under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for about US$1.4bn to support the government’s reform agenda. The agreement is subject to IMF Executive Board approval.
The program aims to strengthen fiscal and external sustainability, through implementation of an ambitious and growth-friendly fiscal consolidation plan, as well as actions to enhance reserve buffers.
Early efforts to improve governance, transparency, and resilience will be essential to boost confidence and the country’s growth potential, against the backdrop of strong security improvements.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin-related risks are being mitigated. Acceptance of Bitcoin by the private sector will be voluntary and public sector’s participation in Bitcoin-related activities will be confined.
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Whoa whoa whoa. So Bukele’s experiment with El Salvador becoming the “bitcoin nation” is over. Taxes will be paid in US dollars, and the El Salvador government’s e-wallet Chivo will be “gradually unwound”.
I asked back in March 2022 how you’d evaluate the success of this experiment. The answer seems to be: could Bukele use it to get a good cash injection from the IMF?
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After 12 years of writing about bitcoin, here’s how my thinking has changed • Moneyness
JP Koning:
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What I’ve learnt after many years of writing about bitcoin is that it’s a relatively innocuous phenomena, even pedestrian. When it does lead to bad outcomes, I’ve outlined how those can be handled with our existing tools. But here’s what does have me worried.
If you want to buy some bitcoins, go right ahead. We can even help by regulating the trading venues to make it safe. But don’t force others to play.
Alas, that seems to be where we are headed. There is a growing effort to arm-twist the rest of society into joining in by having governments acquire bitcoins, in the U.S.’s case a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. The U.S. government has never entered the World Series of Poker. Nor has it gone to Vegas to bet billions to tax payer funds on roulette or built a strategic Powerball ticket reserve, but it appears to be genuinely entertaining the idea of rolling the dice on Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is an incredibly infectious early-bird game, one that after sixteen years continues to find a constant stream of new recruits. How contagious? I originally estimated in a 2022 post, Three potential paths for the price of bitcoin, that adoption wouldn’t rise above 10%-15% of the global population, but I may have been underestimating its transmissibility. My worry is that calls for government support will only accelerate as more voters, government officials, and bureaucrats catch the orange coin mind virus and act on it. It begins with a small strategic reserve of a few billion dollars. It ends with the Department of Bitcoin Price Appreciation being allocated 50% of yearly tax revenues to make the number go up, to the detriment of infrastructure like roads, hospitals, and law enforcement. At that point we’ve entered a dystopia in which society rapidly deteriorates because we’ve all become obsessed on a bet.
Although I never wanted to ban Bitcoin, I can’t help but wonder whether a prohibition wouldn’t have been the better policy back in 2013 or 2014 given the new bitcoin-by-force path that advocates are pushing it towards. But it’s probably too late for that; the coin is already out of the bag. All I can hope is that my long history of writing on the topic might persuade a few readers that forcing others to play the game you love is not fair game.
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I had no idea where this blogpost was going to start or end up. But also, you can’t prohibit bitcoin! Unless, perhaps, you figure out a way to ban bitcoin exchanges, which also isn’t really feasible.
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How to lose a fortune with just one bad click • Krebs on Security
Brian Krebs:
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Adam Griffin is still in disbelief over how quickly he was robbed of nearly $500,000 in cryptocurrencies. A scammer called using a real Google phone number to warn his Gmail account was being hacked, sent email security alerts directly from google.com, and ultimately seized control over the account by convincing him to click “yes” to a Google prompt on his mobile device.
Griffin is a battalion chief firefighter in the Seattle area, and on May 6 he received a call from someone claiming they were from Google support saying his account was being accessed from Germany. A Google search on the phone number calling him — (650) 203-0000 — revealed it was an official number for Google Assistant, an AI-based service that can engage in two-way conversations.
At the same time, he received an email that came from a google.com email address, warning his Google account was compromised. The message included a “Google Support Case ID number” and information about the Google representative supposedly talking to him on the phone, stating the rep’s name as “Ashton” — the same name given by the caller.
Griffin didn’t learn this until much later, but the email he received had a real google.com address because it was sent via Google Forms, a service available to all Google Docs users that makes it easy to send surveys, quizzes and other communications.
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The answer to how to lose a fortune seems to be “keep it in crypto”. Ironically, the other week John Siracusa on the ATP podcast was explaining how his (tiny) investment in crypto had been stolen – by, he reckoned, the site which had issued his cryptojunk, where he had gone to check how much it was worth but which he figured now must have had some sort of password-stealing malware installed.
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Leak: this is Lenovo’s rollable display laptop • The Verge
Jay Peters:
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Lenovo showed off a laptop concept with a rollable display last year, and in 2025, it might release one that you can actually buy. Leaker Evan Blass just shared images of what he says is a sixth-generation Lenovo ThinkBook Plus, and based on two of the images, it has a display that extends upward to reveal more display underneath.
It seems pretty similar to the concept from 2023, which also extended upward to show more screen. In these images from Blass, Lenovo is showing how the extended screen can be used for multitasking, such as by watching a YouTube video in the lower half of the screen or having a document on hand under a PowerPoint presentation.
Blass’ leak doesn’t include any specs, so we don’t yet know many important details about this rumored laptop.
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Lenovo is very keen on trying wild laptop ideas which then get absolutely no traction anywhere in the market and are abandoned within a year.
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| • Why do social networks drive us a little mad? • Why does angry content seem to dominate what we see? • How much of a role do algorithms play in affecting what we see and do online? • What can we do about it? • Did Facebook have any inkling of what was coming in Myanmar in 2016?Read Social Warming, my latest book, and find answers – and more. |
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The Overspill: when there's more that I want to say 