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Saturday, August 2, 2025

Polaris of Enlightenment

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https://nordictimes.com/tech/whistleblower-on-democrats-ai-plans-absolutely-horrifying/

Tech

Whistleblower on Democrats’ AI plans: “Absolutely horrifying”

Published 18 December 2024
– By Editorial Staff
Marc Andreessen says the Democratic Party's approach to AI threatens his and Silicon Valley's interests.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Investor and software developer Marc Andreessen says he was “very scared” when he met with US government officials last May to discuss the future of artificial intelligence.

He describes the meetings and the government’s plans for the technology as “absolutely horrifying” – and the main reason why he abandoned the Democratic Party and supported Donald Trump.

What scared Andreessen the most was the view of those in power on what the role of government should be when it comes to AI. He described one young official he met as “radicalized”, “out for blood”, and whose political ideas the investor perceived as directly harmful to his own and Silicon Valley’s interests.

It became clear to Mr. Andreessen that the Democratic government was seeking almost complete control of AI development and was only interested in promoting a few companies with which the government worked closely.

– They actually said flat out to us – don’t do AI startups, don’t fund AI startups, he explains.

“Will be completely controlled”

– AI is a technology basically that the government is going to completely control, Andreessen summarizes the Biden administration’s stance.

After the meetings, the entrepreneur decided to openly support Trump, whom he sees as a leader who promotes innovation. Trump’s strategy of reducing government control over business and encouraging private companies in technology is the opposite of the Biden administration’s policy, he says.

– I don’t know much about tech, but I don’t need to, because you guys know a lot about it. You guys should go build tech companies. The American tech companies should win, Trump is reported to have said.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Marc Andreessen, born July 9, 1971 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, is an American entrepreneur, investor and software developer. He is best known as the co-founder of Mosaic, the first popular web browser, and Netscape Communications, the company behind the Netscape Navigator web browser that revolutionized Internet use in the 1990s.

Andreessen graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a degree in computer science and has since become one of the most influential people in the tech industry. He is also a co-founder and partner of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has invested in prominent companies such as Facebook, Twitter and Airbnb.

In 2012, he was inducted into the Internet Hall of Fame in recognition of his pioneering efforts in internet development.

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https://nordictimes.com/tech/zuckerberg-skipping-ai-glasses-puts-you-at-a-cognitive-disadvantage/

Tech

Zuckerberg: Skipping AI glasses puts you at a “cognitive disadvantage”

The future of AI

Published yesterday 13:41
– By Editorial Staff
"The ideal form factor for AI, because you can let an AI see what you see throughout the day, hear what you hear, and talk to you", believes the Meta CEO.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg warns that people without AI glasses will find themselves at a significant mental “disadvantage” in the future. During the company’s quarterly report, he shared his vision of glasses as the primary way to interact with artificial intelligence.

On Thursday, Meta released its quarterly report. In a call directed at investors, CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke about the company’s investment in smart glasses and warned about the consequences of staying outside this development, reports TechCrunch.

— I continue to think that glasses are basically going to be the ideal form factor for AI, because you can let an AI see what you see throughout the day, hear what you hear, and talk to you, Zuckerberg said during the investor call.

By adding screens, even more value can be unlocked, he argued, whether it involves holographic fields of vision or smaller displays in everyday AI glasses.

— I think in the future, if you don’t have glasses that have AI – or some way to interact with AI – I think you’re … probably going to be at a pretty significant cognitive disadvantage compared to other people, he added.

Unexpected success

Meta has focused on “smart” glasses like the Ray-Ban Meta and Oakley Meta models. The glasses allow users to listen to music, take photos and ask questions to Meta AI. The products have become a surprising success – revenue from Ray-Ban Meta glasses more than tripled compared to the previous year.

However, the Reality Labs division has been costly. Meta reported $4,53 billion in operating losses for the second quarter, and since 2020, the unit has lost nearly $70 billion.

Competition is growing. OpenAI acquired Jony Ive’s startup company this spring for $6.5 billion to develop AI devices, while other companies are exploring AI brooches and pendants.

However, Zuckerberg is convinced about the future of glasses and connects them to the Metaverse vision.

— The other thing that’s awesome about glasses is they are going to be the ideal way to blend the physical and digital worlds together, he concluded.

Meta has previously been known for contributing to the increasing surveillance society and has also ignored health aspects regarding radiation from wireless technology.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/tech/samsung-and-tesla-sign-billion-dollar-deal-for-ai-chip-manufacturing/

Tech

Samsung and Tesla sign billion-dollar deal for AI chip manufacturing

The future of AI

Published 31 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
Image of the construction of Samsung's large chip factory in Taylor, located in Texas, USA.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

South Korean tech giant Samsung has entered into a comprehensive agreement with Tesla to manufacture next-generation AI chips. The contract, which extends until 2033, is worth $16.5 billion and means Samsung will dedicate its new Texas-based factory to producing Tesla’s AI6 chips.

Samsung receives a significant boost for its semiconductor manufacturing through the new partnership with Tesla. The electric vehicle manufacturer has chosen to place production of its advanced AI6 chips at Samsung’s facility in Texas, in a move that could change competitive dynamics within the semiconductor industry, writes TechCrunch.

— The strategic importance of this is hard to overstate, wrote Tesla founder Elon Musk on X when the deal was announced.

The agreement represents an important milestone for Samsung, which has previously struggled to attract and retain major customers for its chip manufacturing. According to Musk, Tesla may end up spending significantly more than the original $16.5 billion on Samsung chips.

— Actual output is likely to be several times higher, he explained in a later post.

Tesla’s chip strategy takes shape

The AI6 chips form the core of Tesla’s ambition to evolve from car manufacturer to an AI and robotics company. The new generation chip is designed as an all-around solution that can be used both for the company’s Full Self-Driving system and for the humanoid robots of the Optimus model that Tesla is developing, as well as for high-performance AI training in data centers.

Tesla is working in parallel with Taiwanese chip manufacturer TSMC for production of AI5 chips, whose design was recently completed. These will initially be manufactured at TSMC’s facility in Taiwan and later also in Arizona. Samsung already produces Tesla’s AI4 chips.

Since 2019, Tesla has developed its own custom chips after leaving Nvidia’s Drive platform. The first self-developed chipset, known as FSD Computer or Hardware 3, was launched the same year and installed in all of the company’s electric vehicles.

Musk promises personal involvement

In an unusual turn, Samsung has agreed to let Tesla assist in maximizing manufacturing efficiency at the Texas factory. Musk has promised personal presence to accelerate progress.

— This is a critical point, as I will walk the line personally to accelerate the pace of progress. And the fab is conveniently located not far from my house, he wrote.

The strategic partnership could give Samsung the stable customer volume the company needs to compete with industry leader TSMC, while Tesla secures access to advanced chip manufacturing for its growing AI ambitions.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/tech/womens-app-hacked-thousands-of-private-images-leaked/

Tech

Women’s app hacked – thousands of private images leaked

Published 29 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
1 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

An app that helps women identify problematic men became a target for hackers. Over 70,000 images, including selfies and driver’s licenses, were leaked to 4chan.

The dating app Tea, which allows women to warn each other about “red flags” in men, suffered a major data breach last week. According to 404 Media, hackers from the 4chan forum managed to access 72,000 images from the app’s database, of which 13,000 were selfies and driver’s license photos.

The app was created by software developer Sean Cook, inspired by his mother’s “terrifying” dating experiences. Tea has over four million active users and topped Apple’s App Store last week.

Careless data handling

The company stored sensitive user data on Google’s cloud service Firebase, where the information became accessible to unauthorized parties. Several cybersecurity experts have criticized the company’s methods as “careless”.

— A company should never host users’ private data on a publicly accessible server, says Grant Ho, professor at the University of Chicago, to The Verge.

Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, law professor at George Washington University, warns that digital “whisper networks” lose control over sensitive information.

— What changes when it’s digital and recoverable and save-able and searchable is you lose control over it, he says.

Tea has launched an investigation together with external cybersecurity companies.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

https://nordictimes.com/tech/vogue-faces-backlash-over-use-of-ai-generated-model/

Tech

Vogue faces backlash over use of AI generated model

Published 29 July 2025
– By Editorial Staff
The woman on the left in Vogue magazine does not exist in reality but has instead been created using AI.
2 minute read
Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

Fashion magazine Vogue is using an AI-generated model in a new advertising campaign for clothing brand Guess. This has sparked strong reactions – from both readers and industry professionals – who warn about unrealistic beauty standards.

In the campaign, a blonde woman poses in a summer dress. The fine print reveals that the model was created by AI company Seraphinne Vallora. The criticism is extensive, with critics arguing that these ideals are unattainable – even for real models.

“Wow! As if the beauty expectations weren’t unrealistic enough, here comes AI to make them impossible”, writes one person on platform X.

Some readers are so upset about the use of AI models that they are choosing to boycott the magazine because it has “lost its credibility” and are calling the practice “worrying”.

Creates unhealthy beauty standards

Fashion magazines have long been influential in shaping beauty standards, particularly for women. During the 2010s, a backlash grew against the thin “size zero” ideal. More and more publications began featuring models of different sizes within the so-called plus-size trend. Vogue, which has been described as “high fashion’s bible”, was slow to follow suit, leading to criticism. Only after pressure did the magazine begin showing greater diversity on its covers.

The use of AI models now raises concerns about new, inhuman standards, says Vanessa Longley, CEO of the organization Beat, which works against eating disorders.

— If people are exposed to images of unrealistic bodies, it can affect their thoughts about their own body, and poor body image increases the risk of developing an eating disorder, she tells BBC.

Former model Sinead Bovell, who five years ago actually wrote an article about how AI models risk replacing real models, also criticizes the campaign. She questions how it might affect those working in the fashion industry, but above all believes it risks having a negative effect on people’s mental health.

— Beauty standards are already being influenced by AI. There are young girls getting plastic surgery to look like a face in a filter – and now we see people who are entirely artificial, she says.

Vogue told the BBC that the AI model was an advertisement, not an editorial decision, but declined to comment further. Guess has also not commented on the criticism of its advertisement.

Editorial Staff
editorial@nordictimes.com

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