This Is the True Scale of New York’s Airbnb Apocalypse

This Is the True Scale of New York’s Airbnb Apocalypse

The number of short-term Airbnbs available in New York City has dropped 70 percent after the city began enforcing a new law requiring short-term rental operators to register their homes. But despite the new requirements, there are still thousands of listings that could be unregistered. The drop, recorded between August 4 and September 5, the…

Britain Admits Defeat in Controversial Online Safety Bill

Britain Admits Defeat in Controversial Online Safety Bill

Tech companies and privacy activists are claiming victory after an eleventh-hour concession by the British government in a long-running battle over end-to-end encryption. The so-called “spy clause” in the UK’s Online Safety Bill, which experts argued would have made end-to-end encryption all but impossible in the country, will no longer be enforced after the government…

AI Can Be An Extraordinary Force For Good—if It’s Contained

AI Can Be An Extraordinary Force For Good—if It’s Contained

In a quaint Regency-era office overlooking London’s Russell Square, I cofounded a company called DeepMind with two friends, Demis Hassabis and Shane Legg, in the summer of 2010. Our goal, one that still feels as ambitious and crazy and hopeful as it did back then, was to replicate the very thing that makes us unique…

Meta Isn’t Enforcing Its Own Political Ads Policy, While the 2024 US Election Looms

Meta Isn’t Enforcing Its Own Political Ads Policy, While the 2024 US Election Looms

“America’s education system has been hijacked by one side,” Marissa Streit, PragerU’s CEO, told Time earlier this month. Some of the ads found by MMFA on Facebook and Instagram encourage users to sign petitions to allow PragerU’s materials in schools. Others direct to some of the organization’s videos with accompanying text accusing teachers of promoting…

People Are Increasingly Worried AI Will Make Daily Life Worse

Over the past year or so, you’ve probably had conversations with friends, family, and coworkers about the rise of generative AI capable of making convincing text and imagery—but perhaps also about the hype and fear swirling around the technology. A poll out this week finds that worry over harmful effects of AI is outpacing the…