Kyle Wiggers

Mastodon CEO Criticizes Meta's Moderation Changes, Cautions Threads Users on Cross-Posting Eugen Rochko, the CEO of Mastodon, has raised concerns about Meta’s recent decision to shift its moderation approach. Meta announced that it would replace fact-checking across its platforms with a crowdsourced Community Notes system, similar to what’s used on X (formerly Twitter). Rochko described this change as “deeply troubling” and warned that it could have serious implications, particularly for marginalized communities. He also addressed how this impacts users who cross-post from Threads—a Meta platform—onto Mastodon using the fediverse-sharing feature. Rochko made it clear that Mastodon will enforce its existing policies, including taking action against hate speech and other violations, even for content originating from Threads. The fediverse-sharing feature, introduced by Meta last year, allows Threads users to share posts directly on Mastodon, expanding their audience. While Rochko initially saw this as a step forward for decentralized social media, not everyone in the Mastodon community feels the same. Some smaller Mastodon servers have blocked Threads entirely, citing concerns over moderation and privacy. Similarly, Meta has blocked certain Mastodon servers for similar reasons. This latest moderation shift from Meta has created uncertainty about how large Mastodon instances, are like Mastodon. social, will handle Threads accounts moving forward. Rochko assured Mastodon users that the platform is prepared to address any challenges that arise. For those uncomfortable with Meta’s new direction, Rochko suggested moving to Mastodon as an alternative. However, he acknowledged that transitioning from Threads to Mastodon isn’t as straightforward as moving between Mastodon servers, due to Threads’ current limitations in fully integrating with the fediverse. By reinforcing its commitment to protecting its community, Mastodon aims to maintain a space that prioritizes thoughtful moderation and user trust. https://lnkd.in/dG6hDTT8? Platform: TechCrunch Author: Sarah Perez #mastodon #meta #metasocial #moderation #threads #socialmedia #socialmediaplatforms #bigtech #technews #socialmedianews #technology #crossposting

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𝗣𝘆𝗿𝗲𝘅 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘃𝘀. 𝗔𝗜 𝗙𝗮𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗚𝗼𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗿 I’ll admit, my sister-in-law is 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 with Pyrex. She has a collection worth thousands, maybe even tens of thousands of dollars. Who knew a casserole dish could be such a hot commodity? And look, I get it—Pyrex is 𝘤𝘰𝘰𝘭. But is it 𝘈𝘐-𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨-𝘵𝘩𝘦-𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 cool? Ehh, not quite. Now, what I do think is cool—scratch that, 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥-𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨—is Corning’s transformation from kitchen staple to AI powerhouse. You see, thanks to William Patalon III’s latest article, I found out that the company behind your grandma's favorite dishware is now positioning itself to ride the AI wave like a pro surfer. Yup, Corning has gone from 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸 to 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗰𝗸, and the market hasn't even caught on yet. Turns out Corning’s been flexing its muscles in the optical fiber and display tech game for years. And with their new AI-driven 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱, they’re looking to add $3 billion in annual sales by 2026. That’s right—Corning is gearing up to power AI data centers and the Internet of Things, leaving casserole dishes in the dust. So while my sister-in-law is on the hunt for her next vintage Pyrex gem, I’ll be keeping an eye on Corning’s next-gen innovations—and maybe picking up some shares along the way. Catch William Patalon’s full breakdown of Corning’s AI game plan here: https://lnkd.in/gvCvny7h. #AIRevolution #TechStocks #Innovation #ArtificialIntelligence #Investing

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This week on Decoder I sat down with Anthropic's new chief product officer Mike Krieger to discuss his journey from cofounding Instagram and Artifact to now working for one of the hottest AI companies in the industry. Anthropic has billions in funding from some of the biggest names in tech, primarily Amazon, to develop Claude, the name of both its industry-leading AI model and a chatbot that competes with ChatGPT. At the same time, Anthropic has an intense safety culture that’s distinct among the big AI firms of today. The company is notable for employing some people who legitimately worry AI might destroy mankind, and I wanted to know all about how that tension plays out in product design. I was a big fan of Artifact, too, so I wanted to know more about Mike's decision to shut it down as well as the decision to sell the underlying tech to Yahoo. Then I wanted to know why he decided to join Anthropic and work in AI, an industry with a lot of investment but very few consumer products to justify it. What’s this all for? What products does Mike see in the future that make all the AI turmoil worth it, and how is he thinking about building them? Check out a clip from the conversation below that's all about where Anthropic sources training data, a contentious topic in the AI industry, and read and listen to the full interview on The Verge: https://lnkd.in/eiJBr7se

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In the 2000s, anti-copyright activists were punching up by taking on the record and film industries. But now they’ve thrown their lot in with major tech companies (and the MPA) to try to stop artists from using copyright law to rein in generative AI. #techindustry #generativeai #ai #artificialintelligence #copyright

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Need more proof that AI is changing how we talk about tech? Look no further than today's Made by Google keynote. Google spent the first half hour of its event chatting about Gemini -- even going so far as to demo its AI updates on other Android devices -- before finally unveiling its latest Pixel lineup of phones, smartwatches and earbuds. Welcome to hardware reveals in the age of AI, where highly anticipated gadgets take a backseat at their own party. My thoughts for CNET: https://lnkd.in/gVn2GfmU #Gemini #AI #Google #MadebyGoogle #tech #Pixel9

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The prompt is pivotal for powering GenAI solutions, acting as the foundational blueprint that determines the quality & relevance of the AI's output (AI can't think on its own). But the critical question is: how does a Prompt Engineer craft the most intelligent prompt? The answer lies in leveraging the most robust data source - and in the realm of marketing that is VidMob. Yes, Vidmob holds the richest cross-channel Creative Data asset in the world. If you want to learn more about how Vidmob can empower your brand please reach out. The Prompt is the Creative. #CreativeData #CreativeTechnology #DataDrivenMarketing #CreativeExcellence #DigitalTransformation The Wall Street Journal

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A bit of personal news -- today is my last day at TheStreet. Leaving feels strange, but I am so grateful for the opportunity I've had over the past year to delve ever deeper into the world of artificial intelligence. I've learned so much about so many things, and it has been a pleasure and a joy to become a part of this wonderful industry. I'll be taking a (short) bit of time to reset and then will be jumping into a new challenge which I'm really excited to share with you all. Right now, though, I wanted to take a minute to look back at some of the work I've done over the past year that I'm really proud of. My first deep dive into AI https://lnkd.in/eibkdzsc My first exploration of the risks https://lnkd.in/dQxN5Pyv An exploration of human creativity in the face of AI art https://lnkd.in/eWJE9a8j A dive into the viability of safe self-driving https://lnkd.in/evGuBsdS A breakdown of all the ethical implications of AI https://lnkd.in/eiQcM7cz The sustainability/AI story https://lnkd.in/eej_Z6aB AI and self-awareness (spoiler alert: it isn't sentient) https://lnkd.in/eAxzXe8P Resilience in the face of deepfake abuse https://lnkd.in/dsjr3NVE A sincere thank you to everyone who shared their insights, stories and expertise with me. And a sincere thank you to TheStreet for letting me really go crazy with AI - I never planned on covering this topic, it just sort of happened. I can't imagine not writing about AI, now. There will be much more to come.

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TikTok is a step nearer to a U.S. ban, just as the video-sharing app’s social commerce bet has started to bear fruit. A U.S. appeals court upheld a federal law on Friday that mandates that TikTok’s Chinese parent ByteDance must sell its stake in the popular social media app to a government-approved buyer by Jan. 19 or face a national ban. The court decision raises the stakes of TikTok’s social commerce ambitions in the U.S. It could all come crashing down if the app is banned in January. As a result, brands, sellers and agencies would lose a vital source of revenue. “We’ve witnessed businesses go from generating $100 in sales on TikTok Shop to $100,000 in just 30 to 60 days,” said Ana Barrett, director of social commerce at marketing agency LiveCraft. “This isn’t an isolated trend; creators have achieved incredible milestones, such as generating over $2 million in sales within just a few hours during live shopping events.” Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/e9pf_CD5 Thanks so much to Ana Barrett, Nicole R. and Mindy Yang for speaking with me for this one. #ecommerce #tiktok #tiktokshop #liveshopping #socialcommerce

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Meta recently detailed its efforts in attracting young adult users to Facebook. Marketplace is a big part of its strategy. Pinterest, meanwhile, says its user base is "aging down" and growing fastest among Gen Z. I wrote about how social media apps of the millennial era stack up in attracting Gen Z users that are now in their 20s, and what that means for competition in the digital advertising market. Another factor to watch: If TikTok is indeed banned in the U.S., where do its users end up? https://lnkd.in/ePEvTegc

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Will you opt out from Meta using your post data to train its AI models? Notifications are due to go out this week, with scraping starting in October. A few more details below:

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New from 404 Media: “It’s total chaos internally at Meta right now.” We spoke to five current Meta employees, said staff are furious about Meta's content policy changes. Especially around the anti-LGBTQ changes. https://lnkd.in/e5vgacqu

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Meta's 'Made with AI' Label Sparks Confusion by Misidentifying Genuine Content; Here's What's Happening #meta #AI #artificialintelligence #madewithAI #instagram #reels #technology #news #technews #flagged #generativeAI #tech

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💫 EVERYONE💫 is pitching reporters on AI topics right now. I feel like I’m re-living the 2018 era of companies thinking that being “cloud native” was exciting enough on its own to earn media coverage. Having AI in your product is relatively expected now. It's not news. Here’s what’s working when it comes to landing AI-related media coverage: ➡ REAL EXAMPLES: How are businesses (or people!) actually using AI? If you don’t have customers you can name drop or connect to reporters, you can still talk about this anecdotally. Or, why not be customer zero? How is your own company using your AI-powered technology to improve XYZ? ➡ RESULTS: So you have those examples of how people are using AI… what was the outcome? Did they reduce customer acquisition costs by X%? Did they reduce the time needed to create assets by X%? And most enticing… did they grow revenue or become more profitable?  ➡ EXCITING DATA: If you can come up with an interesting survey topic on AI that hasn't already been done, do it! For example, my favorite daily news podcast Morning Brew Daily recently covered a survey that found that most consumers are actually turned off by brands who say their products use AI. (Probably because so many companies are putting the hype cart before the horse on this tech…). That's an eye-opening stat. ➡ CONTROVERSY: Procreate recently announced it will NOT be using AI in its products. Cue mega press coverage. Companies who announce that they are replacing employees with AI are also getting mega coverage. AWS CEO Matt Garman just went viral for saying that developers are not going to be coding soon due to AI. 😬 ➡ UNEXPECTED USE CASES: Everyone is using AI to "optimize productivity" and "deliver cost efficiencies." But if you're using it to do something exciting, like improve the accuracy of cancer diagnoses, design cars, or get more people to vote, the story is much more interesting. (Your unexpected use case doesn't have to be world-changing, though that certainly helps). ➡ BIG $$$: If you're announcing $50 million+ in funding for your AI startup, or that you're now valued at $5 billion, LFG. If you're being acquired (or acquiring someone) for $100 million+, that's news. If you have seen a major boost in revenue thanks to AI or selling your AI products, great! What’s NOT working: 🤔 Simply dropping the words “AI-powered” or “gen AI” into your press release. 🙄 Pitching yourself as an “AI expert” if you don’t have a background in actually developing AI. 🚫 Calling machine learning “gen AI.” 💤 Pitching a survey about how 87% of business leaders are interested in adopting AI. 💵 Announcing $10 million in funding. You might land coverage in tech publications (*if* your story is interesting!) but it's not Bloomberg material.

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Spotify is ramping up its investment in video by enhancing its audiobook offering with video clips, its latest experiment aligning with consumers' growing preference for video content. The platform is also testing author pages and a follow-along visual experience. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gErNt9if

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I spoke to Reddit COO Jen L. Wong this afternoon to discuss the social media platform's second quarterly results as a public company. Reddit is "executing well" against both consumer and ad-platform roadmaps, according to Wong. Reddit, which recently clinched deals with the NFL, NBA, MLB, PGA Tour and NASCAR, could also extend its partnership program to more sports globally. Here's my story for MarketWatch #Reddit $RDDT

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Meta surpassed analyst expectations in its second-quarter earnings report released Wednesday. Its revenue hit $39 billion, a 22% increase over the same period last year. Wall Street analysts had expected just over $38 billion. Meanwhile, the company said it expects infrastructure costs — such as the money it's plowing into building its artificial intelligence capabilities — to be a "significant driver of expense growth." It's expecting to spend at least $35 billion to $37 billion this year — an increase from its last estimate. It kept its maximum spend estimate at $40 billion for the year, and it plans to keep spending in 2025, too. Read why investors don't seem to mind in Business Insider https://lnkd.in/eQuHjxYP

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