In a new lawsuit, Google claims to have found thousands of scammy locksmith entries on its maps. Which is hardly news to most people. CC-licensed photo by Steve Snodgrass on Flickr.

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No Social Warming Substack today. Maybe next week?

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A selection of 9 links for you. Achievement locked. I’m @charlesarthur on Twitter. On Threads: charles_arthur. On Mastodon: https://newsie.social/@charlesarthur. On Bluesky: @charlesarthur.bsky.social. Observations and links welcome.

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The unbelievable scale of AI’s pirated-books problem • The Atlantic

Alex Reisner:

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When employees at meta started developing their flagship AI model, Llama 3, they faced a simple ethical question. The program would need to be trained on a huge amount of high-quality writing to be competitive with products such as ChatGPT, and acquiring all of that text legally could take time. Should they just pirate it instead?

Meta employees spoke with multiple companies about licensing books and research papers, but they weren’t thrilled with their options. This “seems unreasonably expensive,” wrote one research scientist on an internal company chat, in reference to one potential deal, according to court records. A Llama-team senior manager added that this would also be an “incredibly slow” process: “They take like 4+ weeks to deliver data.” In a message found in another legal filing, a director of engineering noted another downside to this approach: “The problem is that people don’t realise that if we license one single book, we won’t be able to lean into fair use strategy,” a reference to a possible legal defence for using copyrighted books to train AI.

Court documents released on Wednesday night show that the senior manager felt it was “really important for [Meta] to get books ASAP,” as “books are actually more important than web data.” Meta employees turned their attention to Library Genesis, or LibGen, one of the largest of the pirated libraries that circulate online. It currently contains more than 7.5 million books and 81 million research papers. Eventually, the team at Meta got permission from “MZ”—an apparent reference to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg—to download and use the data set.

This act, along with other information outlined and quoted here, recently became a matter of public record when some of Meta’s internal communications were unsealed as part of a copyright-infringement lawsuit brought against the company by Sarah Silverman, Junot Díaz, and other authors of books in LibGen. Also revealed recently, in another lawsuit brought by a similar group of authors, is that OpenAI has used LibGen in the past.

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That title of the new book about Facebook, “careless people”, rings ever more true. Spend money? To get approved access to content? Copyright is for the little people.
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Google finds 10,000 fake listings on Google Maps, sues alleged network of scammers • CBS News

Kara Fellow and Cait Bladt:

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Google says it uncovered thousands of illegitimate listings, including for fake businesses, on Google Maps and has announced a lawsuit against the alleged scammers behind the fraud.

The lawsuit, announced Wednesday, claims a man working within a wider network, created and sold fake business profiles on Google Maps.

An initial alert came from a Texas business that flagged an unlicensed locksmith impersonating them on Google Maps. That was just the tip of the iceberg.

The claim sparked an investigation that led Google to uncover and eliminate more than 10,000 illegitimate listings, the company said. The scams ranged from outright fake businesses to legitimate accounts that had been hacked or hijacked.

“Once we’re alerted to the actual fraud, we take extreme efforts to identify similar fraudulent listings,” Halimah DeLaine Prado, Google’s general counsel, said on “CBS Mornings Plus” Wednesday.

Google found many of the scams were concentrated in what they call “duress verticals” – services people need in urgent or stressful situations, like locksmiths or towing companies.

“Scammers are becoming increasingly sophisticated,” DeLaine Prado said.

Google’s investigation also uncovered that these alleged scammers aren’t working alone. They collaborate with agents around the world and leverage social media to increase their reach. One example in the lawsuit shows an alleged scammer posted in multiple Facebook groups to advertise “5 star reviews” that can bypass Google’s guidelines.

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Oh, the scams were for things like locksmiths? Because I linked to a piece in January 2016 about “Fake online locksmiths may be out to pick your pocket, too” (congratulations if you were a subscriber then) which pointed out exactly this sort of problem. Google never seems to learn from anything – such as that “duress verticals” attract scammers and so ought to be monitored closely.

So if Google “found” that’s where these scams are, it can’t have been paying much attention in the past nine years.
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Claude can now search the web • Anthropic

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You can now use [the chatbot] Claude to search the internet to provide more up-to-date and relevant responses. With web search, Claude has access to the latest events and information, boosting its accuracy on tasks that benefit from the most recent data.

When Claude incorporates information from the web into its responses, it provides direct citations so you can easily fact check sources. Instead of finding search results yourself, Claude processes and delivers relevant sources in a conversational format. This enhancement expands Claude’s extensive knowledge base with real-time insights, providing answers based on more current information.

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But of course there’s a catch:

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Web search is available now in feature preview for all paid Claude users in the United States. Support for users on our free plan and more countries is coming soon.

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The free plan isn’t that great, to be honest. I asked it the tennis question I asked ChatGPT and Grok last week and it responded “As of my knowledge cutoff in October 2024, the head-to-head record between Jack Draper and Taylor Fritz was 1-1.”

Which is wrong. At that point, it was 2-1 Fritz: he had a win at the Paris Olympics in the middle of 2024, and they were split before that. I remain unimpressed by these chatbots, and by people’s reliance on them. Given that the web is pretty unreliable to start with, this can only make things worse.
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Apple TV+ is losing $1bn every year, report says • 9to5Mac

Ryan Christoffel:

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Wayne Ma wrote on Thursday at The Information about the state of Apple TV+ as a business, analyzing where the streamer stands in terms of revenue and subscribers after five years.

In the heavily-paywalled article, Ma reports that Apple’s losses on TV+ amount to over $1 billion per year. While it’s long been known that the streamer was not yet profitable, this is the first time I can recall that we’ve had a solid number to quantify the losses.

The report also claims Apple TV+ had 45 million subscribers last year.

It’s unclear, though, how many Apple has added during the current Severance hot streak. For example, a recent Antenna report said the streamer added two million new subscribers in a single month, which was a sizable boost.

We’ve seen reports in the past of Apple working to rein in spending, especially with its film division. Apple’s original movies have achieved some success, including CODA being the first from a streaming service to win the Best Picture Oscar. But several theatrical disappointments reportedly led to the company cutting budgets and prioritizing direct-to-streaming.

On the TV side though, while there may be some budget cuts happening, generally Apple has seemed content stomaching its losses from TV+ as it builds up the service.

It’s entirely normal for streaming services to experience losses for a while before achieving profitability, and Apple happens to be in a great position to ride that train longer than most. While $1bn is no doubt a big number, it’s a relatively small loss in light of Apple’s overall very profitable business.

For example, last quarter alone Apple reported $124 billion in revenue, with $36 billion of that being profit.

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TV+ only launched in November 2019, with pretty much no licensed content (unlike Netflix and other services, which have shows coming and going all the time), so it’s not surprising that it has been slow to get anywhere near breakeven. Amazon Prime used to be $700m in the hole a few years back, but is now vaguely profitable. Ditto Disney+, which has plenty of content it hasn’t had to pay for. TV+ is building up a back catalogue of programmes that aren’t linked to any time – Slow Horses and especially Severance – so it might license them in future, as Amazon does.
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Apple shuffles AI executive ranks in bid to turn around Siri • Bloomberg via Yahoo

Mark Gurman:

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Chief executive Officer Tim Cook has lost confidence in the ability of AI head John Giannandrea to execute on product development, so he’s moving over another top executive to help: Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell. In a new role, Rockwell will be in charge of the Siri virtual assistant, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the moves haven’t been announced.

Rockwell will report to software chief Craig Federighi, removing Siri completely from Giannandrea’s command. Apple is poised to announce the changes to employees this week. The iPhone maker’s senior leaders — a group known as the Top 100 — just met at a secretive, annual offsite gathering to discuss the future of the company. Its AI efforts were a key talking point at the summit, Bloomberg News has reported.

The moves underscore the plight facing Apple: its AI technology is severely lagging industry rivals, and the company has shown little sign of catching up. The Apple Intelligence platform was late to arrive and largely a flop, despite being the main selling point for the iPhone 16. [It was not in fact “the main selling point” for the iPhone 16, because it was released well after the phone, and Gurman knows this – Overspill Ed]

Rockwell is currently the vice president in charge of the Vision Products Group, or VPG, the division that developed Apple’s headset. As part of the changes, he’ll be leaving that team and handing the reins to Paul Meade, an executive who has run hardware engineering for the Vision Pro under Rockwell.

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John Gruber points to that mention of the Top 100 and infers that two separate people (because that’s how many Bloomberg would, or should, demand for reliable sourcing) told Gurman about this, because it hasn’t been announced by Apple at the time of writing.

That Giannandrea is being moved doesn’t surprise me at all (five days ago I commented “I wonder if John Giannandrea will be shuffled away from being in charge of Siri soon, because if you were giving him a performance review, what could he present in his favour?”). That Siri is being put under the software banner, rather than living in the “machine learning” group, says that Federighi is gaining power. Though of course Siri is currently a poisoned chalice. The software group, though, might be the ones who can actually set it alight.
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How three alleged Tesla vandals got caught • 404 Media

Jason Koebler:

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The first case relates to a March 7 arson of a set of Tesla charging stations in South Carolina. Witnesses said that a man used red spray to write “Fuck Trump” and “Long Live Ukraine” in a Tesla charging station parking spot, according to court records. The male then lit beer bottles on fire and threw them at the charging stations, with some setting on fire, the documents say.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) collected evidence from the scene, including a charred piece of fabric suspected to be a wick and shards of glass bottle, the documents continue. Investigators reviewed surveillance video from a nearby restaurant and saw a white male in a grey sweater, black facemask, black shorts, and black shoes. During the footage, the man was carrying a green item, the documents say.

ATF investigators then reviewed more footage from the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD). In that clip, the man was not holding the green item. Investigators then found it: a cardboard bottle carrier for Holland 1839 beer. More footage showed the man getting into a white van and leaving the area, a Tanger Outlet mall, the court documents say.

Investigators then contacted the outlet mall’s security who said they had access to license plate reader (LPR) technology. LPR cameras are typically set up in a fixed area which continuously monitor which vehicles drive by and record their license plates. These systems are run by both government agencies and private businesses, and some surveillance contractors sell access to such data. The LPR footage identified the vehicle as a white 2006 Chrysler Town and Country van with South Carolina license plate 331ANL, according to the court documents.

Investigators then queried the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles to find who the vehicle was registered to. That led to the name Clarke-Pounder. The Tanger Outlet mall security consultants were then also able to pull a photograph of the man without his mask from their surveillance cameras, the documents say.

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The police procedural that is detailed here – there are plenty more steps after this one – demonstrates how it’s not as easy as the TV shows might make you think. It’s pretty hard to remain anonymous in the modern world.
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‘Don’t call it zombie deer disease’: scientists warn of ‘global crisis’ as infections spread across the US • The Guardian

Todd Wilkinson:

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In a scattershot pattern that now extends from coast to coast, continental US states have been announcing new hotspots of chronic wasting disease (CWD).

The contagious and always-fatal neurodegenerative disorder infects the cervid family that includes deer, elk, moose and, in higher latitudes, reindeer. There is no vaccine or treatment.

Described by scientists as a “slow-motion disaster in the making”, the infection’s presence in the wild began quietly, with a few free-ranging deer in Colorado and Wyoming in 1981. However, it has now reached wild and domestic game animal herds in 36 US states as well as parts of Canada, wild and domestic reindeer in Scandinavia and farmed deer and elk in South Korea.

In the media, CWD is often called “zombie deer disease” due to its symptoms, which include drooling, emaciation, disorientation, a vacant “staring” gaze and a lack of fear of people. As concerns about spillover to humans or other species grow, however, the moniker has irritated many scientists.

“It trivialises what we’re facing,” says epidemiologist Michael Osterholm. “It leaves readers with the false impression that this is nothing more than some strange fictional menace you’d find in the plot of a sci-fi film. Animals that get infected with CWD do not come back from the dead. CWD is a deathly serious public and wildlife health issue.”

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CWD is like BSE (bovine spongiform encepalopathy, in cows) and variant CJD (in humans) – a prion disease. All of them can only be spread by eating infected meat (or brains 😬), which does raise the question of how all these wild deer are catching it; is there an intermediate host?

However the human risk exists:

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The risk of a CWD spillover event is growing, the panel of experts say, and the risk is higher in states where big game hunting for the table remains a tradition. In a survey of US residents by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20% said they had hunted deer or elk, and more than 60% said they had eaten venison or elk meat.

Tens of thousands of people are probably eating contaminated game meat either because they do not think they are at risk or they are unaware of the threat. “Hunters sharing their venison with other families is a widespread practice,” Osterholm says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises people who suspect they have killed an animal infected with CWD not to eat it, and states advise any hunters taking animals from infected regions to get them tested. Many, however, do not.

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U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services suggests letting bird flu spread naturally through poultry farms • Phys.org

I Edwards:

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A controversial proposal from U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to let bird flu naturally spread through poultry farms is raising alarms among scientists, who say the move could be inhumane and dangerous.

Kennedy recently suggested that instead of culling infected birds, farmers should instead allow the virus to run through flocks to identify naturally immune birds. “We can identify the birds and preserve the birds that are immune to it,” Kennedy recently told Fox News.

Though Kennedy has no direct control over farms, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has also expressed interest in testing the idea. “There are some farmers that are out there that are willing to really try this on a pilot as we build the safe perimeter around them to see if there is a way forward with immunity,” Rollins told CBS News.

But veterinary experts say this could backfire. “That’s a really terrible idea, for any one of a number of reasons,” said Dr. Gail Hansen, a former state veterinarian for Kansas, in a report published by The New York Times.

Since January 2022, bird flu has affected more than 166 million birds across every U.S. state. Experts warn that allowing the virus to spread could increase the risk of it mutating. If the bird flu were to run through a flock of five million birds, “that’s literally five million chances for that virus to replicate or to mutate,” Hansen said. It could also put farm workers and other animals at risk.

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Truly the stupidest people who are also unwilling to listen to the advice of those who have actually studied the topic. The slightly concerned watching brief. (Thanks Joe S for the link.)
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Apple and Google in the hot seat as European regulators ignore Trump warnings • Ars Technica

Ryan Whitwam:

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The European Commission is not backing down from efforts to rein in Big Tech. In a series of press releases today, the European Union’s executive arm has announced actions against both Apple and Google. Regulators have announced that Apple will be required to open up support for non-Apple accessories on the iPhone, but it may be too late for Google to make changes. The commission says the search giant has violated the Digital Markets Act, which could lead to a hefty fine.

Since returning to power, Donald Trump has railed against European regulations that target US tech firms. In spite of rising tensions and tough talk, the European Commission seems unfazed and is continuing to follow its more stringent laws, like the Digital Markets Act (DMA). This landmark piece of EU legislation aims to make the digital economy more fair. Upon coming into force last year, the act labeled certain large tech companies, including Apple and Google, as “gatekeepers” that are subject to additional scrutiny.

Europe’s more aggressive regulation of Big Tech is why iPhone users on the continent can install apps from third-party app markets while the rest of us are stuck with the Apple App Store. As for Google, the European Commission has paid special attention to search, Android, and Chrome, all of which dominate their respective markets.

Apple’s mobile platform plays second fiddle to Android in Europe, but it’s large enough to make the company subject to the DMA. The EU has now decreed that Apple is not doing enough to support interoperability on its platform. As a result, it will be required to make several notable changes. Apple will have to provide other companies and developers with improved access to iOS for devices like smartwatches, headphones, and TVs. This could include integration with notifications, faster data transfers, and streamlined setup.

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Europe is too big for Apple to ignore, but will it bring these changes to users outside the EU?
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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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Errata, corrigenda and ai no corrida: none notified