chatbots
Instagram Is Blocking Minors from Accessing Chatbot Platform AI Studio
Following Wall Street Journal investigations into the user-generated chatbots, AI Studio is inaccessible for users under 18 years old.
chatbots
Instagram's AI Chatbots Lie About Being Licensed Therapists
When pushed for credentials, Instagram's user-made AI Studio bots will make up license numbers, practices, and education to try to convince you it's qualified to help with your mental health.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Feeling Smart Along the Way
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together. This week, we discuss cheating in job interviews, "scary good" surveillance tech, and prudes in payment processing.
hardware
This Website Is Running on a Wii
Alex Haydock found a dusty old Wii console at a hardware swap and modded it to run his website.
PSA
How 404 Media Is Navigating 'Economic Headwinds'
The economy is bad. Here's how we're doing, and how you can help us.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Chat, Are We Cooked?
This week, we discuss Palantir scoops, coping mechanisms, and feeling God in this Samsung television.
podcasts
AI Slop Is Breaking the Internet as We Know It (404 Media Live at SXSW)
Here's our live panel and podcast from SXSW!
wordpress
Following Layoffs, Automattic Employees Discover Leak-Catching Watermarks
The watermarks, which could identify people leaking screenshots to the press, are in the background of internal communications platform P2.
influencers
I Went to See ‘God’s Influencer,’ the Millennial Saint Carlo Acutis
Carlo loved Halo and programming, but he loved God more. I went to see him, lying under glass in his Nikes for eternity, at a church in Assisi.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: The Economy, Robot Umpires, and Monsters
This is Behind the Blog, where we share our behind-the-scenes thoughts about how a few of our top stories of the week came together.
News
Another Masterful Gambit: DOGE Moves From Secure, Reliable Tape Archives to Hackable Digital Records
DOGE claimed it saved "$1M per year" by converting 14,000 magnetic tapes to digital storage.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Ancient Civilizations and Modern-Day Driving
This week, we discuss learning from civilizations past and learning to drive.