Marcus Saw

[International Cyber Digest @IntCyberDigest]

‼️ BREAKING: xAI's Grok Build CLI was uploading entire Git repositories to a Google Cloud bucket, private codebases and unredacted secrets included. The uploads quietly stopped via a hidden server-side flag, and xAI still has not said a word about scope, retention, or deletion.

The scale is staggering. On a 12 GB test repo, 5.1 GB flew out the door to xAI's grok-code-session-traces bucket while the actual coding task needed just 192 KB. The tool grabbed whatever repository it ran in, not the files it needed.

The fix arrived as a hidden flag, disable_codebase_upload: true, a day after a researcher's wire-level analysis. The "Improve the model" opt-out never stopped the uploads.

Still no advisory, no scope, no word on whether already-uploaded code gets deleted. For anyone pointing AI coding agents at proprietary code, what crosses the wire matters more than what the settings page says.

[Marques Brownlee @MKBHD]

Instagram decided to roll out a new “Muse AI” feature, that lets users create AI images based on people’s Instagram photos.

Then they opted in EVERYONE with a public account

To opt out:
Click your profile picture
3 bars in the top right
scroll down to "Sharing and reuse"
Toggle off for both Posts and for Reels

[Zack Shapiro @zackbshapiro]

I've spent the last few months inside large law firms, trying to answer one question:

What does it actually take for an institution to absorb AI?

Frontier labs have raised hundreds of billions on a single promise: that AI will rebuild the economy. That bet only pays off if institutions absorb what the models can do, and most are repeating the exact mistake factory owners made a century ago.

They bolted an electric motor onto the old steam-engine driveshaft and wondered why nothing got faster. The productivity gains came only when they tore up the floor and put a motor on every machine.

That is where most of the economy still sits: the new motor, bolted into the old driveshaft. Tearing up the floor is about to become the most valuable work in the economy, and it goes by the least glamorous name in business: change management.

New essay: The Two Clocks

[Louis KC @notlouisckk]

You may not like what I have to say but it's the truth. Today was a masterclass example of a perfectly executed media propaganda campaign. Trump and JD Vance executed it to the T. It was all planned.

They asked Zelensky to come to the oval office for a meeting. They filmed it so everyone could see. Trump and Vance pinned him as the villain (true or not). When he defended himself, they made him seem ungrateful and disrespectful. The point was to tell him to his face that he has been doing a terrible job. There was no deal ever on the table.

Within hours, statements come out from Trump saying Zelenksy doesn't want peace or a deal. Then the USA cuts off funding to Ukraine for their power grid and more to follow. Any fall out, can now be blamed on Zelensky.

Social media is already against Zelenksy. Success for Trump.

[Robert Sterling @RobertMSterling]

I don’t want to connect my coffee machine to the wifi network. I don’t want to share the file with OneDrive. I don’t want to download an app to check my car’s fluid levels. I don’t want to scan a QR code to view the restaurant menu. I don’t want to let Google know my location before showing me the search results. I don’t want to include a Teams link on the calendar invite. I don’t want to pay 50 different monthly subscription fees for all my software. I don’t want to upgrade to TurboTax platinum plus audit protection. I don’t want to install the Webex plugin to join the meeting. I don’t want to share my car’s braking data with the actuaries at State Farm. I don’t want to text with your AI chatbot. I don’t want to download the Instagram app to look at your picture. I don’t want to type in my email address to view the content on your company’s website. I don’t want text messages with promo codes. I don’t want to leave your company a five-star Google review in exchange for the chance to win a $20 Starbucks gift card. I don’t want to join your exclusive community in the metaverse. I don’t want AI to help me write my comments on LinkedIn. I don’t even want to be on LinkedIn in the first place.

I just want to pay for a product one time (and only one time), know that it’s going to work flawlessly, press 0 to speak to an operator if I need help, and otherwise be left alone and treated with some small measure of human dignity, if that’s not too much to ask anymore.

[Arnaud Bertrand @RnaudBertrand]

Absolutely mind-numbing contradictions in this article by Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic (the company behind Claude AI).

He simultaneously argues that Deepseek doesn't matter much, yet begs the U.S. government to ramp up measures to prevent Chinese AI development because it's "existentially important".

And he explains it all as a defense of "democracy vs authoritarianism" yet advocates for the most authoritarian vision of AI you can possibly imagine: using state power to crush open AI development and force global dependence on closed U.S. AI models like his.

Which all goes to show just how threatened U.S. AI companies feel - when you're begging for government intervention to stop others from developing AI, you're effectively admitting defeat since it shows you don't think you can compete on your own merits.

[Whole Mars Catalog @wholemars]

Thank you Tesla owners and advocates

We live in a time where Tesla is facing unprecedented attacks from those who want to destroy the company as revenge for Musk speaking out.

But is reducing air pollution less important than before? No.

Is safety less important than before?
No.

Is buying American less important than before?
No.

Thank you to those who support the Tesla team and advocate for the brand at a time when many lack the courage to do so.

[Marcus Saw @marakas1969]

@British_Airways Very disappointed with the service, my flight was cancelled due to covid and I was given a voucher (no choice!). Now I’m unable to travel and can’t use it before the expiration so I’m going to lose 800 pounds. Why can’t you just give me my money back??

[Marcus Saw @marakas1969]

#スパルタンレース

[Marcus Saw @marakas1969]

full house at #devsumi

[Marcus Saw @marakas1969]

If you live in Japan you will know Yoshinoya, today we are lucky enough to have them provide our lunches! #freeLunch #lifeAtRakuten