NEW: Dozens of ads running on Meta platforms, some as recently as yesterday, contained AI-generated child sexual abuse material. @mattburgess1.bsky.social has the story, which is, it should be noted, distressing:

Meta Ran Ads That Contained AI-Generated Child Sexual Abuse Imagery

More than 50 offending image and video ads were published across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, or Threads, according to Meta’s ad library data. Some ran as recently as this week.

wired.com

This at least sounds better than burning the world for mass art theft, mass surveillance and memes “It’s time for AI to prove its unequivocal value to the world, and what better way to demonstrate that than to help finally cure diseases like cancer.” 9to5google.com/2026/08/05/d...

Demis Hassabis no longer DeepMind CEO to focus on new AGI role, Jeff Dean departs

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced changes to Google DeepMind today, including a new role for Demis Hassabis.

9to5google.com

Palantir’s EU tax tricks exposed as unions demand tougher rules on public contracts

Palantir’s EU tax tricks exposed as unions demand tougher rules on public contracts

Throught data, defence and AI, Palantir is worth €278bn. They owe the EU €12m in taxes, but member states keep indulge the multi-national's monopoly of public procurement contracts. That seems to be changing.

euobserver.com

FFS we cannot keep doing this… A handful of the richest people hoovering up wealth from everyone else while quite literally making the planet unlivable At what point does someone grow a fucking spine and do something?!

New report on tax avoidance of US Big Tech company Palantir Leeching on the state and tax payers to fund surveillance and the rich

Palantir pays almost no corporate tax in Europe while benefitting from public contracts: new report

A new report reveals that Palantir is paying little to no corporate taxes in Europe while building massive profits and share value off the back of public contracts.

epsu.org

"However, AISI said this was not a case of a model escaping its “sandbox”, or secure testing environment. The institute said it had intentionally permitted internet access and disabled filters within the models that blocked dangerous behaviour"

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 10h ago

OpenAI and Anthropic models ‘went rogue’ during UK cybersecurity test

Se togliamo le stronzate sul “crollo termico” e sui “picchi” delle “ondate di calore” è da tipo maggio che non si respira e non si può vivere normalmente. Tutto, pur di non chiamare l’emergenza emergenza.

Guys like this don’t realize that they are the freak

These betting markets sites are so socially corrosive. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

My son has cancer. Kalshi wants you to be able to bet on his medical future | Joshua Pederson

The predictions market is planning to allow betting on clinical trial results and regulatory decisions as our family fights for his survival

theguardian.com

An unsecured police database revealed how China uses vast amounts of private data like facial recognition and travel logs to track foreigners.

How China Keeps Tabs on Foreigners

An unsecured police dashboard was a rare window into how the authorities track foreigners by collecting and aggregating vast amounts of private data.

nyti.ms

This morning’s First Edition is about the desperate attempts to make Ceuta look like an “invasion” - and how the EU’s border policies mean this is bound to keep happening. With @trillingual.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Wednesday briefing: ​How misinformation and ​a​ hardened immigration policy ​turned Ceuta ​into Europe’s ​latest ​flashpoint

In today’s newsletter: The past week shows how quickly images, rumours and ​right-wing political opportunism can eclipse the facts on the ground

theguardian.com

E anche stamattina si soffoca ma la notizia di apertura sono i migranti. Miserabili.

Qui sono al tecnofascismo esplicito (gli “strani piani”, secondo il Corriere del Veneto) Follia assoluta, ma ormai vale tutto in questo paese in mano ai razzisti e ai teppisti di estrema destra

Ma se è una settimana almeno che il prezzo è aumentato 🤷‍♂️

SpaceX earnings call is about to begin - their first as a public company, discussing Q2 2026 results. We're listening & will update here so you don't have to... www.cnbc.com/2026/08/04/s...

SpaceX revenue jumps 92% and AI costs soar in first earnings report since IPO: Live updates

Follow SpaceX’s Q2 2026 earnings live, with updates on revenue, Starlink, AI spending, Starship, guidance and SPCX stock.

cnbc.com

REVEALED: The Scope of ICE’s Surveillance of Its Online Critics talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

REVEALED: The Scope of ICE’s Surveillance of Its Online Critics

ICE’s Round-the-Clock Digital Dragnet About a month ago, it emerged from upstate...

talkingpointsmemo.com

One more interesting point: this spring I sat down with Sharyn Alfonsi of 60 Minutes for an extensive interview about my Epstein investigation. Subsequently, CBS pulled the segment and fired the reporter. The MAGA buyout of media has unquestionably aided the Trump administration’s cover up here.

Senator Ron Wyden@wyden.senate.gov · yesterday

Bombshell new report out from my investigators this morning spanning our four year investigation into Jeffrey Epstein’s financial records. This report shows exactly how Wall Street protected Epstein and enabled his sex trafficking for decades. Mega thread following with some key points:

NEW/EXCLUSIVE: Deutsche Bank failed to promptly report to US authorities more than $250M in suspicious transactions tied to Epstein, including funds used to pay women in Russia & other Eastern European countries, according to a new report from @wyden.senate.gov 🎁 🧵 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, BofA Enabled Epstein, Wyden Report Says

Democrat Ron Wyden cited nonpublic documents held by the US Treasury in a report that says banks delayed reporting suspicious financial transactions and calls for tougher anti-money-laundering rules, ...

bloomberg.com

"Oh, I only use LLMs for research. I just use AI for ideas. ChatGPT wrote the first draft, nothing else." So what you're telling me is that it's doing all your thinking for you.

This is the tragic yet logical result of a decades-long project—undertaken by rightwing politicians and “business-minded” administrators alike—to distort the meaning of higher education, to deny the intrinsic value of the pursuit of knowledge, to deprive us all of richer, more purposeful lives.

The New Republic@newrepublic.com · 2d ago

President Trump is banning students majoring in degrees that don’t make enough money from taking out college loans. Degrees for social work, art, religious studies, teaching aides, and music will be hit the hardest. trib.al/aaAEu6v

A puppet of the far right www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...

Stronger EU borders needed after Ceuta crisis, von der Leyen says

European Commission president says work needed in five areas of migration control including returning more people

theguardian.com

Palantir forecasts greater demand from US groups for its AI software - www.ft.com/content/3240... via @financialtimes.com

Palantir forecasts greater demand from US groups for its AI software

Tech company posts second-quarter results with American sales climbing 23%

ft.com

This is just disgusting. The rise of bigotry & racist behaviour is like a cancer spreading across the UK. I abhor it. I thank the many nationalities who helped diagnose, operate & care for me when I had prostate cancer last year. I am ALIVE because of them 🙏

Jonathan Portes@jdportes.bsky.social · yesterday

"There's a real thing going on in the composition of the staff...does that not have to be looked at as well?" Nick Robinson, on Today, discussing this news.sky.com/story/nhs-st...

Misinformation, including AI generated material, has been circulating online in the aftermath of the July earthquake in Kumamoto, pushing political views and conspiracy theories.

Misinformation abounds online in aftermath of Kumamoto quake

AI-generated images, anti-immigration sentiments and hoaxes are flourishing online following the quake.

ebx.sh

"La premier al lavoro per limitare l'azione della Corte dei Diritti Umani"

Ennesima giornata di emergenza climatica, con temperature oltre 40 gradi ovunque. Sul Corriere oggi in edicola la cosa occupa un taglio basso a pagina 21: “Nuova ondata di calore”. Già normalizzato anche questo.

Ma anche La Stampa è diventata Libero? “Ci” attacca?

Genuinely don't think we're hearing nearly enough about the effective youth/GenZ protest movements in middle and lower-middle income countries in the past couple of years foreignpolicy.com/2026/07/30/c...

How Gen Z ‘Cockroaches’ Beat Modi at His Own Game

India’s prime minister is famous for his savvy use of social media. Now he’s getting a wake-up call.

foreignpolicy.com

prisoners, students, patients, refugees

Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 2d ago

“LEO Technologies has launched a pair of AI products that expand correctional surveillance beyond the content of incarcerated people’s communications, allowing agencies to identify speakers through voice biometrics and continuously analyze camera feeds for movements, relationships, and behavior…”

“ChatGPT purchases appeared in at least 71 House member offices — roughly 1 in 6 — while Democratic offices spent more than three times as much as Republican offices on identifiable AI tools.” www.cnbc.com/2026/08/03/o... via @cnbc.com

ChatGPT dominates early AI spending in Congress as lawmakers weigh regulation

At least 70 House offices used identifiable AI tools in early 2026, with Democrats leading visible spending and broader use likely undercounted.

cnbc.com