There Are No Girls on the Internet

Meta announces they will stop promoting "political" content, kicks the can on what "political" means. Internet shopping company Temu ran ads during the Super Bowl, but an awful lot of people claim that their app compromised their private information, and experts say it looks like malware. We don't recommend installing it! An unscrupulous anti-abortion company used geolocation data from a data broker to target people who had visited clinics with a national abortion misinformation campaign. On the streets of San Francisco strangers came together, put aside their differences, and joined forces to destroy a self-driving Waymo car. It's a news roundup!  Uber, Lyft, DoorDash drivers in the U.S. to strike on Valentine’s Day for fair pay: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/uber-lyft-doordash-drivers-us-strike-valentines-day-fair-pay-rcna138450 Temu app contains ‘most dangerous’ spyware in circulation: class action lawsuit: https://www.fashiondive.com/news/temu-class-action-lawsuit-data-collection/699328/ Would you buy this Temu purse? https://www.instagram.com/p/Crl1copvr_u/  Instagram and Threads will no longer promote ‘political’ content. No one knows what they define as ‘political’ but it's a safe bet that (Daniel Day Lewis Voice) There Will Be Bias. https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/15/success/instagram-threads-political-content/index.html A data broker company tracked visits to 600 Planned Parenthood locations around the country, then sold the data to fuel an anti-abortion misinformation ad campaign, senator says: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/02/13/planned-parenthood-location-track-abortion-ads-00141172 Protesters Gather Outside OpenAI Headquarters: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2024-02-13/ai-protest-at-openai-hq-in-san-francisco-focuses-on-military-work?leadSource=reddit_wall A crowd destroyed a driverless Waymo car in San Francisco: https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/11/24069251/waymo-driverless-taxi-fire-vandalized-video-san-francisco-china-town Nearly 1 in 5 Americans believe Taylor Swift is involved in an election conspiracy theory: https://www.monmouth.edu/polling-institute/reports/MonmouthPoll_US_021424/ Weird times for media outlets: https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-weekend-essay/is-the-media-prepared-for-an-extinction-level-event See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Have you seen trad wife content on social media lately? Bridget joins Sam and ANney over at Stuff Mom Never Told You to break down what's behind it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to Joey breakdown TikTok’s crisis of femininity on Stuff Mom Never Told You: https://omny.fm/shows/stuff-mom-never-told-you/tiktoks-crisis-of-femininity  A Straight Woman Walks Into a Lesbian Bar… And Generates TikTok Controversy: https://www.them.us/story/tik-tok-lesbian-bar-drama-controversy-explained Bluesky is now open for anyone to join: https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/06/bluesky-is-now-open-for-anyone-to-join/ Conservative influencers are using AI to cover up photos of sex workers: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/conservative-influencers-are-using-ai-cover-photos-sex-workers-rcna137341 Gina Carano Sues Disney Over ‘Mandalorian’ Firing In Lawsuit Funded by Elon Musk:  https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/gina-carano-sues-disney-mandalorian-firing-lawsuit-elon-musk-1235817466/ SpaceX accused of sexual harassment and discrimination in ex-workers’ suit: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/feb/06/spacex-accused-sexual-harassment-discriminationSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If anything happens to me, talk to the Barbz.  In this episode from 2022, we talk to Kimberly Foster about being the target of Nicki Minaj’s most toxic fandom.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

WELCOME TO THE THE MELANINOCRACY  Get out of the way! It’s Black History Month!!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Mf0X1oDHM Universal Music Group to remove songs from TikTok after failing to reach deal: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/universal-music-group-remove-songs-tiktok-rcna136506 FKA twigs says ‘all record labels ask for are TikToks’: ‘I got told off for not making enough effort’: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/fka-twigs-tiktok-instagram-label-b2082496.html  Senators use mean words to demand tech executives take action to protect kids online: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/01/31/technology/child-safety-senate-hearing These ‘toys’ are killing our kids op ed by Julie Scelfo in the Hill: https://thehill.com/opinion/4438362-these-toys-are-killing-our-kids/ Joey on Stuff Mom Never Told You breaking down Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA): https://omny.fm/shows/stuff-mom-never-told-you/what-is-kosa-and-why-is-it-so-scary FCC moves to criminalize most AI-generated robocalls: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/fcc-moves-criminalize-ai-generated-robocalls-rcna136347 Photo of Australian lawmaker digitally altered by news channel to have bigger boobs and a cropped top: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/31/world/australia/australia-georgie-purcell-9news-photoshop.html  RuPaul’s Drag Race star Crystal speaks out after Laurence Fox loses libel case: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/crystal-drag-queen-laurence-fox-high-court-b2487199.html  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Those horrifying deep fake AI images of Taylor Swift that circulated on social media last week are a threat to all of us. It’s time for real cultural and legislative change. Check out Dr. Joy Buolamwini’s Algorithmic Justice League: https://www.ajl.org/ Listen to Dr. Joy Buolamwini’s episode: https://omny.fm/shows/there-are-no-girls-on-the-internet/biden-s-executive-order-on-ai-protects-privacy-and 404 Media’s reporting on Microsoft: https://www.404media.co/ai-generated-taylor-swift-porn-twitter/ Teen Marvel star speaks out about sexually explicit deepfakes: ‘Why is this allowed?’ https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/misinformation/teen-marvel-star-xochitl-gomez-speaks-deepfake-rcna134753 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kelly Osbourne addresses infamous 2015 remarks about Latinos on 'The View': https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/kelly-osbourne-addresses-infamous-2015-remarks-latinos-view-rcna134755 Researchers Say the Deepfake Biden Robocall Was Likely Made With Tools From AI Startup ElevenLabs: https://www.wired.com/story/biden-robocall-deepfake-elevenlabs/ AI-Generated Taylor Swift Porn Went Viral on Twitter. Here's How It Got There: https://www.404media.co/ai-generated-taylor-swift-porn-twitter/ Oklahoma schools gig for Libs of TikTok founder: Does it meet state's own rules? https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2024/01/26/libs-of-tiktok-chaya-raichik-oklahoma-school-library/72361037007/ Conversion therapy content is being banned by social media companies thanks to the work of LGBTQ+ group: https://www.advocate.com/business/conversion-therapy-ban-social-media Man Jailed, Raped, and Beaten After False Facial Recognition Match, $10M Lawsuit Alleges: https://www.vice.com/en/article/3akekk/man-jailed-raped-and-beaten-after-false-facial-recognition-match-dollar10m-lawsuit-alleges Parents worry AI-generated influencers are promoting unrealistic beauty standards to kids: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/parents-worry-ai-influencers-promote-unrealistic-beauty-standards-rcna134814  AI is producing ‘fake’ Indigenous art trained on real artists’ work without permission: https://www.crikey.com.au/2024/01/19/artificial-intelligence-fake-indigenous-art-stock-images/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In our last news roundup, Bridget and Mike had conflicting and surprisingly strong feelings about self checkout machines. And it turns out, listeners do, too! We got more emails about this seemingly low stakes topic than any other. Why did this touch a nerve?! We don’t know but there’s something there, and we’re here for it. We read some listener emails, which make great points for and against. Are these machines dystopian symbols of our crumbling social connectedness? Or are they convenient devices for buying groceries, and maybe the real dystopian symbols were the capitalist overlords we met along the way? You be the judge!   Self-Checkouts Often Inaccessible to Disabled Shoppers:  https://foodinstitute.com/focus/self-checkout-often-inaccessible-to-disabled-shoppers/ LA Times report on self checkouts and loneliness (paywalled): https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2023-08-28/some-skip-self-checkout-to-combat-loneliness-build-human-connection TikTok Lawyer explains why you should avoid using self-checkouts in stores: https://scoop.upworthy.com/lawyer-explains-why-you-should-avoid-using-self-checkouts-in-stores-576190-576190-576190-576190 Washington Post piece: Dear grocery store owners: I don’t work for you! https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/10/31/rick-reilly-self-checkout-rebellion/ Walmart reveals it's tracking checkout theft with AI-powered cameras in 1,000 stores: https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-tracks-theft-with-computer-vision-1000-stores-2019-6 Feeling lonely? Too many of us are. Here’s what our supermarkets can do to help: https://theconversation.com/feeling-lonely-too-many-of-us-are-heres-what-our-supermarkets-can-do-to-help-211126 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week on the Patreon: Bridget remembers the time she met Sheryl Sandberg. https://TANGOTI.com/patreon  Google promised to delete sensitive location data about abortion clinic visits. A new study finds that it still isn’t living up to that promise: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/16/google-keeps-location-history-data-abortion-clinics-despite-delete-pledge  Teen deepfake victim pushes for federal law targeting non-consensual, AI-generated explicit content - the Preventing Deepfakes of Intimate Images Act: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/deepfake-law-ai-new-jersey-high-school-teen-image-porn-rcna133706  OpenAI quietly removes ban on military use of its AI tools: https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/16/openai-quietly-removes-ban-on-military-use-of-its-ai-tools.htm AI already being used to select bombing targets in Gaza:  https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/dec/01/the-gospel-how-israel-uses-ai-to-select-bombing-targets  Formula E Team Fires Its AI-Generated Influencer after Fans Balk: https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a46353319/formula-e-team-fires-ai-generated-influencer/ It's not just you, Google Search really has gotten worse: https://mashable.com/article/google-search-low-quality-research  The Self-Checkout Nightmare(?) May Finally Be Ending: https://gizmodo.com/the-self-checkout-nightmare-may-finally-be-ending-1851169879 See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tech expert Bridget joins the hosts to discuss leaving behind negativity in tech for the new year. They delve into the impacts of AI and unethical practices on women online, the challenges faced by women and marginalized groups, and the importance of diversity in the tech industry.