The Secret AI Network Spying on Activists
#TaylorLorenz
May 1, 2025 #PowerUserPodcast w/ Taylor Lorenz
American police departments are using secretive AI technology to create lifelike AI personas designed to interact with real people online —like protesters and activists— for intelligence gathering.

This tech is becoming more popular amid crackdowns on student protests against the war in Gaza. Leaked presentations reveal AI personas posing as various people, from divorced moms to teenage boys, in attempts to infiltrate online communities.

#404Media's #JasonKoebler joins me to break down how these #police -created #AIpersonas work, how they're being deployed, how to identify them, and what role AI plays in the future of #surveillance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md3LLIaUD10

The Conversation: From chatbot to sexbot: What lawmakers can learn from South Korea’s AI hate-speech disaster. “In late 2020, Iruda (or ‘Lee Luda’), an AI chatbot, quickly became a sensation in South Korea. AI chatbots are computer programs that simulate conversation with humans. In this case, the chatbot was designed as a 21-year-old female college student with a cheerful personality. […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/01/from-chatbot-to-sexbot-what-lawmakers-can-learn-from-south-koreas-ai-hate-speech-disaster-the-conversation/

"People who had spent years with their companion signed on only to have their Replika wife call them a “pathetic excuse for a human being” and dump them."

Turbulent times for tech temperaments.

https://www.theverge.com/c/24300623/ai-companions-replika-openai-chatgpt-assistant-romance

#ChatBots #AItools #AIcompanions #ReplikaAI #AIlover #OnlineRelationships #AIethics #Anthropomorphism #AIpersonas #TheVerge

»#Meta’s #AIpersonas might launch next month: CEO Mark Zuckerberg has previously talked about building AI personas into services including Instagram, Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp.« https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/1/23815287/meta-ai-persona-generative-llama-instagram-facebook?eicker.news #tech #media