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New open letter from current and former researchers at OpenAI and Google DeepMind:

AI companies possess substantial non-public information about the capabilities and limitations of their systems, the adequacy of their protective measures, and the risk levels of different kinds of harm. However, they currently have only weak obligations to share some of this information with governments, and none with civil society. We do not think they can all be relied upon to share it voluntarily.

So long as there is no effective government oversight of these corporations, current and former employees are among the few people who can hold them accountable to the public. Yet broad confidentiality agreements block us from voicing our concerns, except to the very companies that may be failing to address these issues. Ordinary whistleblower protections are insufficient because they focus on illegal activity, whereas many of the risks we are concerned about are not yet regulated. Some of us reasonably fear various forms of retaliation, given the history of such cases across the industry.

The 7 named signers are all former OpenAI or Google DeepMind employees. The 6 anonymous signers are all currently at OpenAI.

See also: Techmeme’s roundup of coverage and commentary.

 ★ 

New open letter from current and former researchers at OpenAI and Google DeepMind:

AI companies possess substantial non-public information about the capabilities and limitations of their systems, the adequacy of their protective measures, and the risk levels of different kinds of harm. However, they currently have only weak obligations to share some of this information with governments, and none with civil society. We do not think they can all be relied upon to share it voluntarily.

So long as there is no effective government oversight of these corporations, current and former employees are among the few people who can hold them accountable to the public. Yet broad confidentiality agreements block us from voicing our concerns, except to the very companies that may be failing to address these issues. Ordinary whistleblower protections are insufficient because they focus on illegal activity, whereas many of the risks we are concerned about are not yet regulated. Some of us reasonably fear various forms of retaliation, given the history of such cases across the industry.

The 7 named signers are all former OpenAI or Google DeepMind employees. The 6 anonymous signers are all currently at OpenAI.

See also: Techmeme’s roundup of coverage and commentary.

Read More 

Jennifer Maloney, reporting for The Wall Street Journal (News+):

There is a new contender in the cola wars, and it isn’t a cola.
It’s Dr Pepper.

The 139-year-old soda brand is now tied with Pepsi-Cola as the No.
2 carbonated soft drink brand in America behind Coke. The regular
versions of Pepsi and Dr Pepper are neck and neck in a spot that
Pepsi has held nearly every year for the past four decades,
according to sales-volume data from Beverage Digest.

Dr Pepper’s new ranking follows a steady climb over the past 20
years. Its ascent is a product of big marketing investments, novel
flavors and a quirk in Dr Pepper’s distribution that has put it on
more soda fountains than any other soft drink in the U.S. At the
same time, consumption of regular Pepsi has fallen as its drinkers
switch to Pepsi Zero Sugar or migrate to other drinks.

The overall Pepsi brand, including Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Zero
Sugar, remains the No. 2 soda trademark in the U.S., though its
market share has been slipping. Coke is the largest, with more
than twice the market share by volume of any of its rivals.

I seldom drink sugared soda anymore, but when I do, I’ve had a lifelong affection for both Coke and Dr Pepper. (If you’re at a place that lets you pour your own fountain drinks, trying mixing Coke and Dr Pepper half-and-half — delicious.) And I’ve always despised both the taste and branding of Pepsi. Dr Pepper, on the other hand, has long handled its status as the upstart in a fun way.

Via Kevin Drum, who, like me, is surprised that the no-sugar variants of these brands aren’t more popular.

Lastly, from the DF archive back in 2003: “Pop Culture”.

 ★ 

Jennifer Maloney, reporting for The Wall Street Journal (News+):

There is a new contender in the cola wars, and it isn’t a cola.
It’s Dr Pepper.

The 139-year-old soda brand is now tied with Pepsi-Cola as the No.
2 carbonated soft drink brand in America behind Coke. The regular
versions of Pepsi and Dr Pepper are neck and neck in a spot that
Pepsi has held nearly every year for the past four decades,
according to sales-volume data from Beverage Digest.

Dr Pepper’s new ranking follows a steady climb over the past 20
years. Its ascent is a product of big marketing investments, novel
flavors and a quirk in Dr Pepper’s distribution that has put it on
more soda fountains than any other soft drink in the U.S. At the
same time, consumption of regular Pepsi has fallen as its drinkers
switch to Pepsi Zero Sugar or migrate to other drinks.

The overall Pepsi brand, including Diet Pepsi and Pepsi Zero
Sugar, remains the No. 2 soda trademark in the U.S., though its
market share has been slipping. Coke is the largest, with more
than twice the market share by volume of any of its rivals.

I seldom drink sugared soda anymore, but when I do, I’ve had a lifelong affection for both Coke and Dr Pepper. (If you’re at a place that lets you pour your own fountain drinks, trying mixing Coke and Dr Pepper half-and-half — delicious.) And I’ve always despised both the taste and branding of Pepsi. Dr Pepper, on the other hand, has long handled its status as the upstart in a fun way.

Via Kevin Drum, who, like me, is surprised that the no-sugar variants of these brands aren’t more popular.

Lastly, from the DF archive back in 2003: “Pop Culture”.

Read More 

In iOS 17, Apple introduced an all-new design in Messages for adding attachments like photos or stickers. Everything you can attach — new images from Camera, old images from your Photos library, location-sharing, stickers, or iMessage “apps” — is accessed from an unusual-looking menu that opens when you tap the “+” button. Just one button, “+”, that opens a menu with everything. It’s an unusual-looking menu. It’s simple, and while not flashy, it’s not unattractive — but it doesn’t look or feel like any other menu or scrolling list in iOS. Even after almost year of using it (dating back to iOS 17 betas) I still think it looks … unfinished? Like an early mockup that hasn’t yet been polished or refined. I’m genuinely curious if we will see more menus like this in iOS 18, or if this unique design only lasts one year and Apple comes up with something better (or at least more consistent with the rest of the system).

The number one complaint people have with this menu is that in earlier versions of iOS, it was easier to get to the Photo library picker, because there was a dedicated button for it. The new design is a much better presentation for the entire plethora of attachment types, but it adds an extra step to get to your own photos.

But, there’s a shortcut: long-press on the “+” button and you’ll jump right to the photo picker. (Also, you can long-press then drag to reorder the items in the menu itself.)

 ★ 

In iOS 17, Apple introduced an all-new design in Messages for adding attachments like photos or stickers. Everything you can attach — new images from Camera, old images from your Photos library, location-sharing, stickers, or iMessage “apps” — is accessed from an unusual-looking menu that opens when you tap the “+” button. Just one button, “+”, that opens a menu with everything. It’s an unusual-looking menu. It’s simple, and while not flashy, it’s not unattractive — but it doesn’t look or feel like any other menu or scrolling list in iOS. Even after almost year of using it (dating back to iOS 17 betas) I still think it looks … unfinished? Like an early mockup that hasn’t yet been polished or refined. I’m genuinely curious if we will see more menus like this in iOS 18, or if this unique design only lasts one year and Apple comes up with something better (or at least more consistent with the rest of the system).

The number one complaint people have with this menu is that in earlier versions of iOS, it was easier to get to the Photo library picker, because there was a dedicated button for it. The new design is a much better presentation for the entire plethora of attachment types, but it adds an extra step to get to your own photos.

But, there’s a shortcut: long-press on the “+” button and you’ll jump right to the photo picker. (Also, you can long-press then drag to reorder the items in the menu itself.)

Read More 

My thanks to Atoms for sponsoring last week at DF to promote their second collaboration with Marques Brownlee, the limited edition Model 251.1. Matte black high-tops with reflective details and red highlights (natch, for MKBHD), they blend function and style. Designed for everyday comfort, the 251.1 also includes a water-repellent upper and membrane, making it one of the most versatile sneakers you can own.

I’m wearing a pair as I type this, and feel cooler than I have any right to feel at my age. These are great sneakers.

 ★ 

My thanks to Atoms for sponsoring last week at DF to promote their second collaboration with Marques Brownlee, the limited edition Model 251.1. Matte black high-tops with reflective details and red highlights (natch, for MKBHD), they blend function and style. Designed for everyday comfort, the 251.1 also includes a water-repellent upper and membrane, making it one of the most versatile sneakers you can own.

I’m wearing a pair as I type this, and feel cooler than I have any right to feel at my age. These are great sneakers.

Read More 

A bunch of inspiring choices, as usual, including previous DF sponsors Procreate and Copilot.

 ★ 

A bunch of inspiring choices, as usual, including previous DF sponsors Procreate and Copilot.

Read More 

Michael Kan, PC Mag:

On Friday, the ICQ website posted a simple message: “ICQ
will stop working from June 26.” It now recommends users migrate
to the messaging platforms from VK, the Russian social media
company that acquired ICQ from AOL in 2010, but under a different
corporate name.

It’s an unceremonious end for a software program that helped kick
off instant messaging on PCs in the 1990s. ICQ, which stands for
“I Seek You,” was originally developed at an Israeli company
called Mirabilis before AOL bought it in 1998 for $407
million.

Perhaps no area of computing was more disrupted by the smartphone revolution than messaging. Pre-mobile, “instant messaging” had a surprising number of popular platforms. AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) was tops amongst my cohort, almost certainly because Apple’s iChat — the Mac-only predecessor to the app we now call Messages — started in 2002 exclusively as an AIM client. But Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, and ICQ were all popular too. The list of protocols that the popular Mac chat app Adium supported was very long.

They all worked more or less the same way, and using any of these protocols was a lot like messaging today with iMessage, WhatsApp, or Signal. But there was one big difference: with the old “instant” messengers, you were only available while your computer was online. And even then, you could set your “status” — green for “sure, hit me up, I’m free”, and red for “I’m online, but don’t bother me right now”. And if you quit your messaging client or, you know, closed your laptop, poof, you were offline and unavailable.

If you wanted to contact someone asynchronously, you sent them an email. If you wanted to chat with messaging, you both needed to be online simultaneously. Modern messaging is like a cross between email and instant messaging: you can chat, live, just like with instant messaging, but you can send a new message any time you want. There is no distinction between your being “online” or “offline”. You are just an identity with modern messaging, not a presence.

You can see why modern messaging platforms took over. Always-available protocols were destined to win out over only-available-when-you’re-logged-in protocols. And the nature of how smartphones work compared to PCs made the transition swift. But you can also see why classic instant messaging platforms evoke nostalgia: it was nice to be able to go offline.

 ★ 

Michael Kan, PC Mag:

On Friday, the ICQ website posted a simple message: “ICQ
will stop working from June 26.” It now recommends users migrate
to the messaging platforms from VK, the Russian social media
company that acquired ICQ from AOL in 2010, but under a different
corporate name.

It’s an unceremonious end for a software program that helped kick
off instant messaging on PCs in the 1990s. ICQ, which stands for
“I Seek You,” was originally developed at an Israeli company
called Mirabilis before AOL bought it in 1998 for $407
million.

Perhaps no area of computing was more disrupted by the smartphone revolution than messaging. Pre-mobile, “instant messaging” had a surprising number of popular platforms. AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) was tops amongst my cohort, almost certainly because Apple’s iChat — the Mac-only predecessor to the app we now call Messages — started in 2002 exclusively as an AIM client. But Yahoo Messenger, MSN Messenger, and ICQ were all popular too. The list of protocols that the popular Mac chat app Adium supported was very long.

They all worked more or less the same way, and using any of these protocols was a lot like messaging today with iMessage, WhatsApp, or Signal. But there was one big difference: with the old “instant” messengers, you were only available while your computer was online. And even then, you could set your “status” — green for “sure, hit me up, I’m free”, and red for “I’m online, but don’t bother me right now”. And if you quit your messaging client or, you know, closed your laptop, poof, you were offline and unavailable.

If you wanted to contact someone asynchronously, you sent them an email. If you wanted to chat with messaging, you both needed to be online simultaneously. Modern messaging is like a cross between email and instant messaging: you can chat, live, just like with instant messaging, but you can send a new message any time you want. There is no distinction between your being “online” or “offline”. You are just an identity with modern messaging, not a presence.

You can see why modern messaging platforms took over. Always-available protocols were destined to win out over only-available-when-you’re-logged-in protocols. And the nature of how smartphones work compared to PCs made the transition swift. But you can also see why classic instant messaging platforms evoke nostalgia: it was nice to be able to go offline.

Read More 

Douglas Adams:

I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to
technologies:

Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and
ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.
Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and
thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can
probably get a career in it.
Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the
natural order of things.

 ★ 

Douglas Adams:

I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to
technologies:

Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and
ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.

Anything that’s invented between when you’re fifteen and
thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can
probably get a career in it.

Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is against the
natural order of things.

Read More 

Two more on the “best decade ever” front. First a classic 2010 John Oliver segment for The Daily Show, wherein he “hopes to find the better, simpler time before America was ruined.”

Second, this 2007 Tom the Dancing Bug comic by Ruben Bolling.

 ★ 

Two more on the “best decade ever” front. First a classic 2010 John Oliver segment for The Daily Show, wherein he “hopes to find the better, simpler time before America was ruined.”

Second, this 2007 Tom the Dancing Bug comic by Ruben Bolling.

Read More 

Craig Hockenberry returns to the show. Topics include the upcoming Daylight DC-1 monochrome “e-paper” tablet, more thoughts on the new iPad Pros, and what we expect/hope for from Apple at WWDC. Also: a one-button keyboard.

Sponsored by:

Trade Coffee: Enjoy 30% off your first month of coffee.
Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order.
Nuts.com: The world’s best snacks, delivered fast and fresh.

 ★ 

Craig Hockenberry returns to the show. Topics include the upcoming Daylight DC-1 monochrome “e-paper” tablet, more thoughts on the new iPad Pros, and what we expect/hope for from Apple at WWDC. Also: a one-button keyboard.

Sponsored by:

Trade Coffee: Enjoy 30% off your first month of coffee.
Squarespace: Make your next move. Use code talkshow for 10% off your first order.
Nuts.com: The world’s best snacks, delivered fast and fresh.

Read More 

Tantacrul, on X:

I’m legit shocked by the design of @Meta’s new notification
informing us they want to use the content we post to train their
AI models. It’s intentionally designed to be highly awkward in
order to minimise the number of users who will object to it. Let
me break it down.

Each step of the process exhibits one or more dark patterns — and there are an absurd number of steps. Meta at its worst. This exemplifies everything untrustworthy and icky about Meta and AI itself. It’s just gross.

 ★ 

Tantacrul, on X:

I’m legit shocked by the design of @Meta’s new notification
informing us they want to use the content we post to train their
AI models. It’s intentionally designed to be highly awkward in
order to minimise the number of users who will object to it. Let
me break it down.

Each step of the process exhibits one or more dark patterns — and there are an absurd number of steps. Meta at its worst. This exemplifies everything untrustworthy and icky about Meta and AI itself. It’s just gross.

Read More