Join us this week as we discuss stories that have been in the news that we're still wondering about, obsessing about, and are as confused about as you are.

Links

• 2G phone networks are being shutdown; read the Rest of World story: https://restofworld.org/2025/shutting-down-2g-networks-phones-obsolete - PI's Low Cost Tech research: https://privacyinternational.org/campaigns/privacy-shouldnt-be-luxury - Listen to our podcast on connectivity and vertical mergers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aX3goC5QawY&pp=ygUldmVydGljYWwgbWVyZ2VyIHByaXZhY3kgaW50ZXJuYXRpb25hbA%3D%3D

• Google anti-trust case and potential break up; read the Washington Post story: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/02/04/google-ai-policies-weapons-harm/ - Google buy Wiz: https://blog.google/inside-google/company-announcements/google-agreement-acquire-wiz/

• Impact of USAID cuts; read the NY Times article: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/15/opinion/foreign-aid-cuts-impact.html - UK cuts: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2ey1g57lxo - PI's work on aid funding surveillance: https://privacyinternational.org/news-analysis/3011/heres-surveillance-us-exports-central-america-aid-and-its-surviving-trumps-cuts; https://privacyinternational.org/press-release/4992/eu-watchdog-finds-commission-failed-protect-human-rights-its-surveillance-aid; https://privacyinternational.org/report/841/aiding-surveillance

• Um-ing and Ah-ing: https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/mind/2025/interjections-important-for-conversation-flow

• Israel, data and AI:

• AI targeting destruction: https://www.972mag.com/lavender-ai-israeli-army-gaza/ and https://www.npr.org/2023/12/14/1218643254/israel-is-using-an-ai-system-to-find-targets-in-gaza-experts-say-its-just-the-st
• Cellphone data for targeting https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/world/middleeast/gaza-invasion-israel-cellphone-data.html
• LLM tool collating surveillance data: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/06/israel-military-ai-surveillance and https://www.972mag.com/israeli-intelligence-chatgpt-8200-surveillance-ai/
• Facial recognition https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/27/technology/israel-facial-recognition-gaza.html
• US last Afghanistan attack on an innocent man: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-58935260 and https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/10/world/asia/us-air-strike-drone-kabul-afghanistan-isis.html

• Outsourced memory; read The Verge article: https://www.theverge.com/reviews/627056/bee-review-ai-wearable