Apple Tightens macOS Privacy Over AI Agent Issue; YouTube Shorts Recommendations-No Unoriginal Content; Sen. Sanders-Bill Bans Feds from Using Flock; OpenAI Putting Ads in ChatGPT Image Generation

Posted: October 5, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Apple is locking down its macOS privacy controls even more as AI agents get more powerful and more intrusive. 9to5mac.com reports that Apple will tighten up ‘Full Disk Access.’  That change should help protect user privacy. The real purpose for Full Disk Access in the first place is to  “allow backup apps to function properly on the Mac.” That’s good and important…you should back up often. What has been happening though is “some developers” are using the Full Disk Access setting in macOS in “ways that could put users at risk.” Granting Full Disk Access to AI Agents can expose everything on a user’s systems—including files, mail, messages, and even browsing history—without users’ full knowledge and understanding. For communication apps, this can also compromise the privacy of the people users are communicating with.” Shortly, with new controls, a user will have to give explicit permission to an app or Agent to have Full Disk Access. Two always-on agents right now are Meta Muse and OpenAI’s Dots. Both request substantial access to your personal data.

In a victory of sorts for content creators, YouTube has announced that it has adjusted its Shorts recomendations so that users will see less unoriginal content. According to 9to5google.com, users who upload content that blatantly steals video from another channel will not get the same reach as they did before the change, according to what YouTube laid out in its release. The change should mean users will see a focus on original content, and creators that upload original Shorts will likely be rewarded. YouTube hasn’t detailed a rollout date for this change, but it sounds like it may be live already.

It will go no place in this Congress, but if the Democrats take control of both Houses in November, a bill that was moved by Senator Bernie Sanders might get reintroduced in the next Congress and get some traction. TechCrunch.com says the Ban Flock Act would bar federal agencies from using automatic license plate readers, or tapping into data collected by readers run by local police and private companies. Despite its title, the bill doesn’t call out nine-year-old Flock in the text but rather covers any and all ALPR systems. That’s a good thing, since there are 3 different companies that make the license plate reading cams. There are exceptions for toll collection and or uses that Congress approves in future legislation, which would have to limit data retention to 48 hours. State and local governments would be fined for violating the law and sharing with the feds.

Well here’s a real non-shocker…OpenAI is testing a visual ad format during image generation in ChatGPT. Thenextweb.com notes that the commercial is clearly labeled as separate from the image being made— if that makes you feel better about it. Nothing like charging you money via tokens, then making money from serving you ads. The younger folks who have grown up with the ability to pay extra on a subscription for streams will hate this. Usually it’s one or the other…not charging you AND running ads. OpenAI cheerily notes that the advertising doesn’t influence the answers ChatGPT gives. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

Samsung Deletes Health Data If You Don’t Let Train AI; LAPD Lets Flock Contract Expire; Apple Stock in Record Territory-Traders Souring on AI; 200 Experts Urge Action Re AI Effects on Jobs

Posted: July 13, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

In a move that smacks of extortion, Samsung will delete your health data if you refuse to let it use your data to train its AI. Androidpolice.com reports that there is a new option in Samsung Health settings…it lets you turn off Samsung’s ability to use your data to train its AI models. That’s a good thing, BUT…there’s always a but…If you turn it off, then a warning pops up, informing you that turning this option off will delete your existing Samsung Health data and stop any further syncing with Samsung’s servers. It is pretty distressing that the largest smartphone maker by market share is using its might to hold your data hostage to their hungry AI model training program. They are no doubt betting that most people will just say ‘Oh, well,’ and go ahead and let them. A few will opt out, and their health data will go ‘poof.’ This is really not cool. 

A number of municipalities are growing more and more uneasy about the intrusiveness of Flock cameras, as people have raised concerns…and hell at public meetings…over the invasion of privacy of the intrusive cameras. Now, the Los Angeles police will let a contract with Flock expire. According to TechCrunch.com, LAPD’s Chief Information Officer Dean Gialamas said in a statement “This contract is not being renewed because of serious concerns around civil liberties and civil rights issues, particularly around privacy and the data that is being collected from these cameras. The LAPD had to make a difficult decision, in this case discontinuing using Flock services until we can get those data, privacy, security and sharing concerns ironed out through a contractual relationship.” As the third-largest police department in the U.S., the LAPD is one of Flock’s largest government customers to date. Flock has a network of at least 80,000 cameras around the U.S. that scan license plates and allow police and federal agencies to track vehicles. 

Apple stock is up 15%, adding nearly $600 billion in value since June 25th…putting them back in record territory. Macrumors.com notes that the uptick has come as investors grow uneasy about the mind-boggling sums of cash continually being poured into the AI data center buildout, despite there being no obvious indicator for when investors will get a return on their investment. Apple’s decision to sit out the data center spending spree and instead pay Google for access to its frontier AI models is being increasingly seen by traders as an asset rather than a liability. Apple is using Google’s Gemini to underpin the revamped version of Siri and new Apple Intelligence features across its platforms.

Over 200 researchers and economists, including 15 Nobel laureates and also researchers at AI companies Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI are urging governments and tech leaders to immediately put polices in place and set up institutions to address the economic impact of AI. Reuters.com reports that the group signing on to the statement are warning that the economic transformation could exceed the Industrial Revolution and do so in a ‘vastly shorter’ time frame…affecting workers, companies, and public institutions. “Steam, electricity, and computers ​each gave societies decades to adapt. AI may give us only a ‌few ⁠years,” said Anton Korinek, professor at the University of Virginia. He  continued “We cannot improvise our strategy and institutions in the middle of the transformation; waiting for certainty means arriving ​too late.”

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now. 

LinkedIn Policing ‘AI Slop’; Discord Bows End-toEnd Encryption on Voice and Video Calls; FBI Wants Real-Time Access to License Plate Cans Nationwide; GitHub Breached-3800 Repositories Exfiltrated

Posted: May 20, 2026 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

LinkedIn has had more than its share of AI slop. Now, they are moving to reduce the reach of posts that have hallmarks of AI-generated slop. Engadget.com reports that LinkedIn’s changes will target everything from outright engagement bait, to recycled “thought leadership” and other “generic” content that “lacks the authenticity and originality.” The company is also taking aim at posts and comments that have obvious signs of AI construction like “it’s not X, it’s Y,” phrasing. It would be great if Facebook would follow suit. I frequently see lengthy, verbose posts about someone famous or a historical figure that are obviously written by AI. LinkedIn notes that they aren’t going to take down the AI posts, they will just make sure they don’t appear in other users’ recommendations. The posts will still appear on the poster’s wall, and will be viewable by their direct connections and followers. This is really a good move, as LinkedIn positions itself as a more professional platform. Again…I hope other platforms will follow their lead. 

The online platform Discord is rolling out end-to-end encryption on all voice and video calls. If you aren’t familiar with Discord, it started as a gamer platform initially, but now has all sorts of communities…creators, businesses, and interest groups in addition to gaming. According to bleepingcomputer.com, Discord claims 690 million registered users and over 200 million monthly active users worldwide. I have some younger family members that have set up their own group of family and friends, and use it to chat and communicate frequently. 

In a giant overreach, the FBI wants immediate access to license plate cams nationwide. Talk about casting too wide a net, as the legal expression goes. Arstechnica.com says the feds will pay vendors to help it teach and search of vehicles in near real time. In a statement, the FBI says this is “To evaluate and manage threats to personal safety, property, and law enforcement, the FBI requires professional service firms that can provide License Plate Readers (LPRs) for tracking subjects on roads and highways over the US and its territories.” Flock and Motorola have the cams, and will likely bid on this contract. Flock has deals with over 12,000 cities, towns, counties, and business partners. Some cities have voted to remove the intrusive cams, as they pick up everyone driving past. Motorola sells license plate reader cams that can be installed on busy roadways or even on police cars. Some of the cam data has been handed over to ICE. Flock points out that sharing with the feds is off by default, and that cities and the like have to grant access. They claim that the data from the cams is the property of the agencies that own the cameras. More than ever, Big Brother is Watching!

After an employee device was compromised with what is being called a poisoned VS Code extension, GitHub has confirmed that cybercrime group TeamPCP has exfiltrated around 3800 internal repositories..such as customer enterprises, organizations, and repositories. Thenextweb.com notes that Microsoft-owned GitHub is the world’s largest code-hosting platform. The bad guys want $50,000 or they will leak the proprietary source code and internal organization files. The company moved quickly once it detected the intrusion, isolating the compromised device, removing the extension, and rotating critical credentials within hours. GitHub stressed that the activity involved exfiltration of internal repositories only and that it had found no evidence of impact to customer data, enterprise accounts, or user-hosted repositories. If a platform built on code review and version control can be penetrated through a rogue extension, the implications for less security-mature organizations are sobering.

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.