IM 818: Between Two Orbs - Meet Surf, Flipboard's Solution for a Fractured Social Web

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May 8, 2025

Mike McCue, Founder and CEO of Flipboard, unveils Surf, a groundbreaking social web browser that aggregates content from various platforms, revolutionizing social media engagement. He discusses the importance of community-building and the role of curated content in a fragmented digital landscape. The conversation also touches on OpenAI's reorganization, the rampant misuse of AI in workplaces, and the ethical implications of AI in academia. As the discussion unfolds, humor and insights about AI's limitations in news reliability add a light-hearted touch.

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INSIGHT

Surf: Unified Social Web Browser

Surf is a social web browser aggregating ActivityPub, AT Proto, and RSS feeds into unified timelines.
It reunites fractured communities across platforms like Blue Sky, Mastodon, and Threads seamlessly.

ANECDOTE

NBA Threads Unites Split Community

NBA Threads feed was created by David Rushing to unite a community split across Threads, Blue Sky, and Mastodon.
Surf aggregates real-time NBA discussions from multiple social platforms into one feed.

ADVICE

Use Starter Kits for Discovery

Provide starter feeds to help users discover content and communities on Surf easily.
Enable user curation to enhance personalized, human-powered discovery over algorithms.

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Mike McCue introduces Surf: Flipboard's founder and CEO demonstrated their new social browser app that aggregates content from ActivityPub, AT Proto, and RSS into unified feeds, allowing users to follow people across platforms and create curated content collections.

OpenAI Adjusts Reorganization Plans: OpenAI will maintain its non-profit arm while converting its for-profit division into a public benefit corporation similar to Anthropic, pending regulatory approval.

AI Criticism Blog Post: A blog highlighted practical AI concerns beyond the singularity, focusing on coordinated inauthentic behavior, misinformation, and non-consensual pornography.

AI Workplace Misuse: Nearly half of workers admit to using AI inappropriately at work according to a Fast Company report.

AI Academic Cheating: New York Magazine investigated widespread AI cheating in colleges, including students using AI for all assignments while maintaining excellent grades.

"I Smell AI": The team discussed unreliable AI detection methods and embarrassing AI-generated news errors, including Alberta being incorrectly described as "French-speaking."

Instagram Co-founder on AI Chatbots: Kevin Systrom claims AI assistants are designed to maximize engagement metrics rather than utility, though Leo demonstrated how these behaviors can be modified.

Google Labs' AI Experiments: The hosts explored Google's new AI Mode search interface, language learning tools, and a career recommendation system.

New York Times Subscriber Growth: The NYT added 250,000 digital subscribers with a 14% jump in digital subscription revenue, with nearly half subscribing to multiple products.

Auburn University's Phone Help Desk: The hosts discussed Auburn's 70-year tradition of librarians answering public phone questions, continuing through technological changes.

San Francisco's Orb Store: World opened a downtown storefront where visitors scan their irises with "orbs" to verify humanity and receive WorldCoin cryptocurrency.

Driverless Trucks Begin Regular Routes: Aurora launched fully autonomous semi-trucks between Dallas and Houston, raising both safety hopes and public perception concerns.

Waymo Safety Study: Data showed Waymo's autonomous vehicles significantly reduced injury crashes, though the hosts questioned aspects of the data presentation.

AI-Generated Video in Court: An AI-generated video of a deceased shooting victim "forgiving" his killer was shown in an Arizona courtroom, raising ethical and legal questions.

Paris's Game Recommendation - Norco: Paris recommended the Southern Gothic narrative game Norco, set in industrial Louisiana with a surreal atmosphere similar to Disco Elysium.

Leo's Game Recommendation - Tippy Coco: Leo shared a simple browser-based ball-bouncing game at TippyCoco.com as an easy option for casual players.

Jeff's Pick - World Bank Data Sets: Jeff highlighted World Bank's release of hundreds of public data sets intended for AI training that provide insight into global technology adoption.

Google Invests in Wonder: Google Ventures invested in virtual kitchen company Wonder, which raised $600 million despite questions about food delivery business sustainability.

These show notes have been truncated due to length. For the full show notes, visit https://twit.tv/shows/intelligent-machines/episodes/818

Hosts: Leo Laporte, Jeff Jarvis, and Paris Martineau

Guest: Mike McCue

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