Free Republic

CNET reporter Jackson Ryan published an article last month describing how ChatGPT, an AI that can generate human-sounding text, would affect journalists and the news industry: “ChatGPT Is a Stunning AI, but Human Jobs Are Safe (for Now).” “It definitely can’t do the job of a journalist,” Ryan wrote of ChatGPT. “To say so diminishes the act of journalism itself.” The article said ChatGPT isn’t coming for journalists’ jobs just yet, but the very publication that ran Ryan’s article has been quietly publishing articles written by AI since November, according to Futurism and online marketer Gael Breton. The AI-written CNET...

Ivermectin, an anti-parasitic, was one of many drugs medical professionals reviewed for repurposing early on in the COVID-19 pandemic. Some doctors who gave ivermectin to infected patients saw seemingly positive effects. However, more studies show it has little to no effect when it comes to treating COVID-19. In recent weeks, there has been a dramatic increase in calls to poison centers by people who are taking ivermectin intended for animals. Meanwhile, emergency rooms are seeing more patients who have overdosed a version of the medicine intended as a horse dewormer. The drug has stayed in the headlines following Joe Rogan...

Looks like Obama's promise of a civilian security force just as strong and just as well funded is taking action across the nation in major cities.

Twitter users who disapprove of President Donald Trump are especially prominent on the platform, Pew Research Center finds. There's no question that Twitter plays a major role in US politics, particularly with its policy of letting world leaders like President Donald Trump tweet what they want, even if those tweets violate the tech giant's rules of engagement. But only 22% of Americans actually use Twitter, and of those, most political tweets are coming from a very small number, according to a Wednesday report from the Pew Research Center. Pew analyzed the tweets of more than 2,400 random US adults with...

If you've been a fan of the Mac during the past decade, you've probably felt like a kid who had been an only child until their parents surprised everyone by having a baby late in life. But, this wasn't just any new baby. The little wunderkind went on to become a straight-A student, a sports star and a decent human being loved by everyone in the community. Every once in a while, people remember that the kid has an older sibling -- who they admit is pretty cool, too. That's the Mac. But, after more than a decade of living...

Subtitle: In the face of a new administration, activists and regular people alike embrace tools for keeping their browsing habits and communications private. There's something about a Donald Trump administration in charge of the US National Security Agency that has folks taking government surveillance very seriously. Encrypted email provider ProtonMail and encrypted chat service Signal saw a spike in new users after the election. What's more, privacy advocates say they're hearing from more people who are interested in covering up their tracks online. Eva Galperin, a global policy analyst at the privacy-oriented Electronic Frontier Foundation, said she's received more requests...

Man Squatting in Million-Dollar San Francisco Mansion Arrested After Trying to Steal $300,000 Worth of Art: PoliceA man who was squatting in a multimillion-dollar mansion attempted to pawn about $300,000 in paintings from the property in San Francisco's Pacific Heights neighborhood, according to police. Shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday, a real estate agent at a mansion in the 3000 block of Washington Street, near Alta Plaza Park, reported a man who was apparently not authorized to be on the premises, according to San Francisco police spokesman Officer Carlos Manfredi. The mansion, which spans 21,000 square feet, was once valued at...

Last week, Breitbart News revealed a secret video game journalist mailing list used by a clique of influential writers, editors, and bloggers, some of whom attempted to bully their colleagues with it in an attempt to shape the news agenda for political purposes. We can today reveal the complete list of journalists, some 150 key industry figures, on the list. Outlets with representation span the entire video games journalism universe and include Polygon, Ars Technica, Wired, Eurogamer, Destructoid, Kotaku, Joystiq, TechRadar, and many other well-known brands in games publishing. But they also include freelancers and staffers for publications as solidly...

It’s been a rough couple of days for any freedom loving American. Two big stories broke in relation to the NSA scandal and neither bodes well for the future of privacy in this country. Yesterday’s big story came from CNET. That is significant in and of itself because CNET is not exactly what you would call a site for political news junkies. CNET is more for the computer savvy techies. They are reporting that the feds are applying intense pressure to gather passwords. CNET reports: The U.S. government has demanded that major Internet companies divulge users’ stored passwords, according to...

CNET, one of the Internet's first and most influential authorities on gadgets and tech news, watched its editorial integrity spiral out of control Monday, with staffers quitting and editors left to explain themselves in the wake of explosive new charges over its annual Consumer Electronics Show awards — a scandal, it would appear, that goes all the way to the top of its corporate umbrella, and could shake the entire ecosystem of online tech journalism.

What was that we were hearing a few days ago from Google about the importance of free speech, protection from tyranny, etc.? We take it that this moral crusade doesn't include support for a free press. "An attorney for Google and YouTube indicated today that the Web giants may call a prominent tech reporter to the witness stand in an effort to reveal who leaked the journalist confidential documents from the ongoing Viacom and Premier League copyright cases." the enormously public stance and actions Google is taking right now to protest censorship and government control over the media in China,...

CBS (NYSE: CBS), in a bid to extend its online properties, announced today that it would purchase CNET Networks (NASDAQ: CNET) for $1.8 billion in cash, or $11.50 a share. Through the acquisition of the popular Internet network, whose properties include ZDNet, news.com and TechRepublic, CBS is looking to build out its online presence and become one of the most heavily trafficked brands on the Web. CBS, which largely sat out the cable channel buying boom in the early 1990s compared to its competition such as NBC, has been trying to leapfrog into the Web as a way to diversify...

The FBI has recently adopted a novel investigative technique: posting hyperlinks that purport to be illegal videos of minors having sex, and then raiding the homes of anyone willing to click on them. Undercover FBI agents used this hyperlink-enticement technique, which directed Internet users to a clandestine government server, to stage armed raids of homes in Pennsylvania, New York, and Nevada last year. The supposed video files actually were gibberish and contained no illegal images. A CNET News.com review of legal documents shows that courts have approved of this technique, even though it raises questions about entrapment, the problems of...

Lock was cut on gate barring road San Francisco man died close to feed, shelter in wilderness, officials say The Associated Press Updated: 3:25 p.m. PT Dec 8, 2006 CENTRAL POINT, Ore. - A San Francisco man who got stranded with his family in the snowy wilderness had taken a wrong turn in the car down a logging road that is normally blocked by a gate, but vandals had cut the lock, authorities said Friday. James Kim, 35, was found dead of exposure in a mountain creek Wednesday, two days after his wife and the couple's two daughters were rescued...

GRANTS PASS, Oregon (AP) -- The remote logging road that James Kim and his family drove down before getting stranded deep in the Rogue River Canyon is normally blocked by a locked metal gate, but it was open the night they got lost because a vandal had cut the lock, authorities said Friday. The Kims were stranded more than a week with little food after driving 15 miles past the gate. James Kim was later found dead of exposure after setting out on foot for help. Kati Kim and their daughters, Penelope, 4, and Sabine, 7 months, were airlifted out....

Just heard on CNN Headline News he was found. Rescue personal saw flashing object and found him. No word of his condition.

Searchers Find SF Man In Oregon Wilderness POSTED: 8:00 pm PST November 30, 2006 UPDATED: 12:12 pm PST December 6, 2006 MERLIN, Ore. -- Airborne rescuers spotted a flash in a heavily wooded area and then caught a glimpse of a man laying face down they believe may be missing San Francisco resident James Kim in the Oregon wilderness Wednesday.Searchers were being lowered from the helicopter to assist the man.There was no immediate word on his condition.Clothing and bits of an Oregon map turned up Tuesday in a drainage in which search and rescue teams sought James Kim, 35, who...

Searchers intensified their efforts Tuesday to find a San Francisco man missing for more than a week in a rugged, remote area of the snow-covered Oregon Coast Range as his wife and two young children, rescued just the day before, recovered in a hospital. Trained dogs, horse patrols and a helicopter with heat-sensitive sensors were sent to join other helicopters, snowmobiles and foot patrols Tuesday for 35-year-old James Kim. Trackers had followed his footprints until dark Monday night. "They determined that he went over the side of the road into the Big Windy Creek drainage area and that's when the...

Snowbound in a car with their two daughters -- one a 4-year-old, the other an infant -- Kati and James Kim tried to keep warm by running the engine at night. Snip When the food ran out, James Kim ate wild berries, uncertain whether they were safe, his family said. Finally, when no help arrived, authorities said he set out on foot to find help in the remote area of southern Oregon, wearing only tennis shoes, pants, a sweater and a jacket. Snip Kati Kim flagged down a helicopter search crew with an umbrella and was rescued along with her...

Wife and two daughters of senior editor James Kim found in Oregon; search is still on for James Kim, who left the car on foot two days ago. The wife and daughters of missing CNET senior editor James Kim have been found alive and airlifted to a local hospital, authorities announced at a press conference in Merlin, Ore., Monday afternoon. James Kim left the car on snowshoes two days ago to seek help and has not been found, the official said. The search for him continues. According to the official speaking at the news conference, the conditions of Kati, Penelope...