Reading List

The most recent articles from a list of feeds I subscribe to.

Sources: SoftBank is in talks to invest up to $30B more in OpenAI; SoftBank is already one of OpenAI's largest shareholders after investing $22.5B in December (Kate Clark/Wall Street Journal)

Kate Clark / Wall Street Journal:
Sources: SoftBank is in talks to invest up to $30B more in OpenAI; SoftBank is already one of OpenAI's largest shareholders after investing $22.5B in December  —  The Japanese conglomerate is exploring further investment as part of the startup's efforts to raise up to $100 billion

The best Android phones

The Android ecosystem is all about choice. While iPhone owners have a smaller pool of new devices to pick from when it’s time to upgrade, there’s a wider range of choices on Android. Some Android phones even fold in half! Imagine. On the flip side, all that choice can make for some hard decisions. Here’s […]

Court Filing Claims Zuckerberg Blocked Curbs at Meta on Sex-Talking Chatbots for Minors

Jeff Horwitz, reporting for Reuters:

Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg approved allowing minors to access AI chatbot companions that safety staffers warned were capable of sexual interactions, according to internal Meta documents filed in a New Mexico state court case and made public Monday.

The lawsuit — brought by the state’s attorney general, Raul Torrez, and scheduled for trial next month — alleges that Meta “failed to stem the tide of damaging sexual material and sexual propositions delivered to children” on Facebook and Instagram. [...]

Messages between two employees from March of 2024 state that Zuckerberg had rejected creating parental controls for the chatbots, and that staffers were working on “Romance AI chatbots” that would be allowed for users under the age of 18. We “pushed hard for parental controls to turn GenAI off — but GenAI leadership pushed back stating Mark decision,” one employee wrote in that exchange.

Horwitz was with The Wall Street Journal for a long time; his is a byline worth paying attention to.

Who Is Nicholas Deml, the Newly Named Rikers ‘Remediation Manager’?

Former Vermont Department of Corrections Commissioner Nicholas Deml smiles in a headshot with fall foliage in the background

After seven months of reviewing candidates, a federal judge overseeing Rikers Island announced the appointment of Nicholas Deml, a former CIA officer, as the “remediation manager” who will have sweeping powers to enact highly-anticipated reforms at the troubled jail complex.  Judge Laura Taylor Swain ordered Deml — who most recently headed the Vermont detention system […]

The post Who Is Nicholas Deml, the Newly Named Rikers ‘Remediation Manager’? appeared first on THE CITY - NYC News.

Meta is spending millions to convince people that data centers are cool and you like them

Over the last few months of 2025, Meta spent $6.4 million on an ad campaign running in cities across the country, from Sacramento to Washington, with a clear mission: win over viewers on the construction of new data centers. As the New York Times reports, the ad campaign is anchored by short, folksy video spotlights […]