Notices by Casey Newton (caseynewton@mastodon.social)

I wrote about Google's new “Ask YouTube” and other ways the web is being summarized to death https://www.platformer.news/google-agents-daily-brief-newsletters-ask-youtube/

Almost a decade ago, James Manyika bet that tasks would be easy to automate — but jobs wouldn't. Now at Google, he says he's willing to bet against Microsoft, Anthropic, and any other company whose execs say a bloodbath is coming for white-collar work https://www.platformer.news/james-manyika-google-ai-jobs-io-2026/

I wrote about tech companies' move to promote universal basic income to calm the AI backlash and why it's probably not going to work https://www.platformer.news/ubi-ai-public-wealth-fund-musk-openai-bores/

When there are no laws meaningfully regulating military AI use, the Pentagon’s promise to use AI “lawfully” mean almost nothing. The authoritarian AI crisis has arrived https://www.platformer.news/anthropic-pentagon-authoritarian-ai/

The possibility that Meta might build facial recognition again has to be considered against the backdrop of a fast-growing surveillance state in the US — and deepening ties between the tech industry and the military https://www.platformer.news/meta-facial-recognition-return/

The walls are closing in on infinite-scroll feeds and other addictive design mechanics. I wrote about how lawyers and regulators may have finally found a way around Section 230 https://www.platformer.news/social-media-addiction-trial-eu-tiktok-investigation/

Authors of a big new study on teens and social media say that Australia-style bans won't help. But that misses the mounting evidence of direct harms that platforms cause countless kids: https://www.platformer.news/social-media-screen-time-manchester-study-haidt/

The author of a viral Reddit thread alleging fraud at a food delivery company tried to back up his claim by sending me AI-generated documents. Today I'm publishing those documents in the hopes that it helps other reporter see what we're up against in the age of AI https://www.platformer.news/fake-uber-eats-whisleblower-hoax-debunked/

I really encourage folks to check out the document he sent me. Once you know it's fake, the mistakes are easy to spot. But it still amazes me to think that he likely generated this within a few minutes https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/26456842-fake-reddit-post-whistleblower-document/

I wrote about the great Reuters investigation into rampant Chinese scams on Meta's platforms and the class-action case that has the company worried https://www.platformer.news/meta-scams-china-section-230/

When X banned the European Commission's ad account in retaliation for a fine, it demonstrated the exact sort of capricious behavior the DSA is designed to stop https://www.platformer.news/x-eu-fine-account-ban-bier/

I tried to capture everything that's strange about the TikTok deal. A giveaway to Trump's allies and another step toward US media being controlled by his allies https://www.platformer.news/tiktok-deal-framework-questions/

After all that hand-wringing about the dangerous Chinese TikTok algorithm, it appears that Trump is going to let the new American TikTok just license it from China. Whatever!! https://www.platformer.news/tiktok-deal-bytedance-china-trump-bessent/

The chatbot mental health crisis is here. No one is ready for it https://www.platformer.news/chatgpt-suicide-lawsuit-openai-safety/

Chatbots can provide something *like* therapy, but it's not the genuine article — so I think it's good more states are cracking down on how companies present them https://www.platformer.news/ai-therapy-paxton-meta-character/

GPT-5 is alive! Here's what people are saying, why Google and Anthropic may be breathing a sigh of relief, and one weird AI safety trick that I think other labs should borrow: https://www.platformer.news/gpt-5-launch-release-reviews-impressions/

The Substack founders bragged that they were building a different kind of platform. But when they promoted a Nazi this week, they revealed that they have become a social network like any other https://www.platformer.news/substack-nazi-push-notification/

A new Pew study offers data to back up what we have suspected for a while now: AI answers are draining all the traffic out of the web https://www.platformer.news/google-ai-overviews-pew-research/?ref=platformer-newsletter

The conservative pressure campaign that turned all the big tech companies into Trump appeasers is now coming for AI. It's totally unconstitutional, and might work anyway. I talked to some legal experts about it: https://www.platformer.news/andrew-bailey-chatgpt-trump-jawboning-legal-case/

OpenAI's announcement of a partnership with Mattel today made me worry about the prospect of a sycophantic AI Barbie. But the first products will be aimed at families and users 13 and older, I'm told: https://www.platformer.news/openai-mattel-partnership-child-safety/