CYBER

What happens when a for profit company is run by a non-profit board of directors who are ideologically opposed to the company’s product? You get something like what happened to OpenAI over the past week, which saw its board of directors sack CEO Sam Altman before eventually reinstating him and resigning. It’s a weird story that involves AI, predictions of the end of the world, strange pagan rites in Silicon Valley offices, and a Harry Potter fanfic...

When “Alison” started working for Operation Underground Railroad, she wanted to make a difference in the lives of kids. She was a former Marine and social worker who’d seen the devastating effects that abuse could have on people. She wanted to stop it before it happened.

She ended up with a broken orbital bone, bleeding and vomiting in a gym after a training exercise gone wrong...

It’s a bad time to be a crypto-person. Some of crypto’s biggest evangelists are facing serious federal jail time. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts of wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering after a disastrous trial. Some owners of Bored Ape NFTs experienced vision injuries at a recent gathering. Prices are in the toilet and SEC regulators are circling.

And yet, many crypto holders are holding out hope that the number will go up again soon...

Rhino sounds like a good deal at first. When people move into a new apartment, they often have to pay a large lump sum security deposit to their landlord. For people who can’t pay, Rhino offers to bill them a little bit every month in lieu of the deposit. But there’s a catch: unlike security deposits, money sent to Rhino is never returned...

Kias and Hyundais are being stolen in America at an alarming rate. Using a screwdriver and a USB cable, it’s trivially easy to steal one. Kia and Hyundai blame social media, but the problem is so overwhelming that several cities are suing the car manufacturer for creating a crime epidemic by electing not to build a $100 anti-theft device into some models.

This week on Cyber, Motherboard Reporter Aaron Gordon stops by to walk us through what’s really behind the viral crime wave...

There’s a lot of reasons to be worried about the future. Climate change, nuclear weapons, space junk, and World War III are all threats both present and long-term. But, every day, people are trying to make the world a better place. It lands them in weird situations like skinny dripping with Soviet officers at the height of the Cold War or getting drunk with engineers in North Korea.

This week on Cyber, Dr...

Have you noticed your internet is …. kinda shitty? Does Spotfiy’s smart shuffle keep playing the same Cure song over and over again? Does a quick google search give you page after page of obvious advertisements? Want to leave Facebook behind but that one group chat keeps you checking in day after day?

Well have I got the book for you. It’s The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation...

Putting new technology to use is an exciting prospect. But going from purchase to production isn’t always smooth—even when it’s something everyone is looking forward to. Code Comments covers the bumps, the hiccups, and the setbacks teams face when adjusting to new technology—and the triumphs they pull off once they really get going.

In this episode, World Wide Technology (WWT) helps organizations set up their tech infrastructure. But they also have to do it for themselves...