Tech News Digest: Data Privacy, AI Infrastructure, and Self-Improving Systems
Data Privacy Under Scrutiny
An investigation reveals that Alpharetta, Georgia's police department shares automatic license plate reader data with a network of more than 2,000 organizations, including federal agencies and wildlife commissions, highlighting the rapid expansion of surveillance infrastructure.
Read more: How an Atlanta Suburb Ended Up Sharing Flock Data With More Than 2,000 Organizations
Consumer Data Requests Often Met with Deletion Instead
A California resident's experiment exercising their legal right to access personal data collected about them by over 100 companies resulted in many firms responding with deletion notices instead of the requested data—revealing a gap between consumer rights and corporate compliance practices.
Read more: I Asked 100 Companies for My Data. I Got Deletion Notices Instead
VC Giants Bet Big on AI's Physical Infrastructure
Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has announced a $1.1 billion 'Machine Age' fund aimed at accelerating investments in the physical infrastructure supporting AI, marking a notable shift for the software-focused venture firm.
Read more: a16z creates a $1.1B 'Machine Age' fund to 'accelerate the physical buildout of AI'
Anthropic Demonstrates Self-Improving AI Capabilities
Anthropic researchers have shown that AI systems can be trained to identify and correct specific misaligned behaviors across multiple benchmarks without sacrificing overall performance, marking a step forward in automated alignment research.
Read more: An Anthropic researcher just gave us a peek at self-improving AI