Tech columnist for the @BBC and co-host of The Interface podcast. I cover how we use technology, and how technology uses us
New York City
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Thomas Germain retweeted
this story is absolutely crazy. @maxwelltani uncovered a network of paid actors posing as conservative political pundits and disseminating AI-generated, anti-Dem misinformation on YouTube
semafor.com/article/09/02/20…
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"We take misinformation seriously"
Here is one of the examples showcased by @henkvaness tested for a SynthID:
We take misinformation seriously – every image created with Nano Banana in Google Earth includes the SynthID digital watermark, so if someone is unsure about an image, they can ask the Gemini app or use Lens in Search to see if the image was AI-generated. In addition, we prevent image creation on harmful topics and are continually updating our protections → policies.google.com/terms/ge…
Community note
Google's SynthID only watermarks AI-generated portions of Nano Banana images in Google Earth (less than 25% in tested examples), not the entire image, limiting full verification as AI-generated. digitaldigging.org/p/googles-synt…
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Thomas Germain retweeted
If the take is anything besides “we live in a society that’s normalizing surveillance culture and rewarding freaks for invading people’s privacy so we fight it less when our government does it” I’m not interested
Rumored lawyers caught making out in Central Park goes viral and divides the internet trib.al/FWTTAUH
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Thomas Germain retweeted
Meta in June: NameTag "doesn't exist!"
Meta in July: NameTag is a "great feature"
Meta’s AI glasses are one of the company’s most successful products in years. They offer genuine utility, with a direct way for users to interact with its AI. But people have long been wary of smart glasses—especially when face recognition is involved.
Here’s @boztank on Meta's NameTag feature, which identifies faces and alerts the glasses wearer when it detects someone they know. piped.video/watch?v=VmQl7Tsw…
Produced by @atlanticrethink, The Atlantic's creative marketing studio.
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Thomas Germain retweeted
"Nearly impossible to speak up, we are silenced by the mob!" - guy with opinion printed in the New York Times
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Thomas Germain retweeted
BOMBSHELL reporting finds Princeton climate researchers took tens of millions of dollars from BP to publish research, shaped and edited by BP, promoting carbon capture & storage and fossil fuels.
Landmark "Wedges" climate paper promoting CCS now confirmed to be BP propaganda.
Princeton greenwashed fossil fuels and essentially lied about carbon capture in return for cash from BP. propublica.org/article/wedge…
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Thomas Germain retweeted
2 weeks ago, I was out with the "computa make these guys super gay and horny" guy to write an article about him. I talked to a fan of his who recognized him on the street, after a minute or so of chatting the fan mentioned how he had been inspired to get the Meta glasses, too. Only then did I realize he was wearing them -- and that that light was on and recording.
I've reviewed and tested these glasses, I was literally in the middle of reporting a story about the use of them in public, and even still I didn't notice someone was using them while I was literally talking to them
A guy and his friends came up to us at a bar asking to play Jenga. My friends agreed, but while playing something seemed off with the way they were talking and making conversation. Then I looked closer and realized he'd been recording us the entire conversation.
When I called it out, he admitted he was livestreaming us to his followers. He told us he's a content creator, but we never gave consent. We got out of there fast.
Here's what actually scared me. I own the OG Meta Ray-Bans. My friends clowned me because the recording light is a huge obvious flash, you can see it from across a room. His were the newest version. The light just dims faintly now. You'd never know unless you were staring right at it.
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On iOS and macOS, WhatsApp stores chat databases unencrypted in an app group container accessible to apps from the same developer. So all Meta apps on the same iPhone (e.g., Facebook) can read WA chats in plaintext without permission, and users wouldn't be notified. Demo👇
Here’s the post. This actually refers to a class action lawsuit filed by the law firm Quinn Emanuel. As best I can see, the allegations are pretty much the same. blog.cryptographyengineering…
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Thomas Germain retweeted
Another incredible must read article by @thomasgermain and tenacious advocacy from @lilyraynyc👏 "Ray says the best defence is to remember what AI actually is: a tool that confidently gives you one answer, whether it's right or wrong." bbc.com/future/article/20260…
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Thomas Germain retweeted
Thank you for the quotes, @thomasgermain!!
"Google's AI is being manipulated. The search giant is quietly fighting back"
via @thomasgermain @BBC
bbc.com/future/article/20260…
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Thomas Germain retweeted
"Google's AI is being manipulated. The search giant is quietly fighting back"
via @thomasgermain @BBC
bbc.com/future/article/20260…
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Thomas Germain retweeted
I've spent years interviewing data workers who are the lifeblood of the AI industry in countries like Kenya, Colombia, and the Philippines.
Now it's the #4 fastest growing job in the U.S.
AI is coming for your job, and it's not in the way that you think.
NEW: These workers are training AI to take their own jobs.
There’s a hidden workforce powering the rise of AI — it's one of the fastest growing jobs in the U.S.
We investigated America’s AI sweatshops, and found a new gig economy that threatens to absorb all of us.
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Thomas Germain retweeted
They've been lying to you about blue light
For a decade we've heard blue light from our screens is ruining our sleep. It's a great story, but it's not what the science shows
The real culprit isn't the glow from your phone, and I've got practical advice that could fix your sleep
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Thomas Germain retweeted
“The Government Lies to Us” podcast from the government
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Thomas Germain retweeted
This runs counter to all the newsroom bosses pushing reporters to use AI to churn out moar content:
The Times says a strategy of publishing “fewer, better stories” has led to three consecutive months of record-breaking global audience growth - including Google traffic increases
The Times has gone from publishing more than 200 stories a day to about 150 – a 25% cut
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Thomas Germain retweeted
It's live: @trippmickle & a few other authors from @nytimes published new research about how frequently Google's AI Overviews are wrong.
It includes a quote from both @thomasgermain and me about listicles influencing AI responses.
Check it out -
nytimes.com/2026/04/07/techn…
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They've been lying to you about blue light
For a decade we've heard blue light from our screens is ruining our sleep. It's a great story, but it's not what the science shows
The real culprit isn't the glow from your phone, and I've got practical advice that could fix your sleep
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The answer is simple. GO OUTSIDE IN THE MORNING. Take a 15 min walk first thing. Then do the same around 3:00 or 4:00pm. It still works if it's cloudy. The science is very clear. This exposes you to a ton of light and limits the impact of the light you get before bed
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I dug into the science and called a ton of researchers to get the truth on this. Check out my latest column for the BBC if you want to know more bbc.com/future/article/20260…
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