The whole illustration is just weird looking, for one thing. As for sloppy details, the tree is in soft focus but somehow has a crisp edge, the carton is labeled both “Whole Milk” and “Lowfat Milk”, and the “Cow Fun Puzzle” maze is just goofily wrong. (I can’t recall ever seeing a puzzle of any kind on a milk carton, because they’re waxy and hard to write on. It’s like a conflation of milk cartons and cereal boxes.)

[Update, 29 December: Turns out, the “lowfat” milk carton props from the actual show have the same mistake with “whole milk” printed above. That doesn’t change that it’s a stupid mistake to copy, or that there are a slew of other telltale signs that the image was generated by AI.]

The Apple TV X account retweeted Cook, and added a credit: “We thought you might like this festive artwork by Keith Thomson, made on MacBook Pro.”

Apple didn’t tag the “Keith Thomson” who supposedly created this artwork for them, but if it’s this Keith Thomson, Apple must have somehow fallen for a scam, because that Keith Thomson’s published paintings are wonderful. It does seem to be that Keith Thomson’s signature on Apple’s sloppy illustration, though. (I like a bunch of the paintings from that Keith Thomson, and love a few of them, but this one in particular feels like it was made just for me. It’s perfect.)

Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai / TechCrunch:
A profile of the Digital Security Helpline, run by Access Now, which gives 24/7 help to reporters and others who suspect they are victims of government spyware  —  For more than a decade, dozens of journalists and human rights activists have been targeted and hacked by governments all over the world.

New York Times:
Q&A with Edison Scientific CEO Sam Rodriques about Kosmos, Edison's AI tool for scientific research, why AI probably won't cure diseases anytime soon, and more  —  A tech C.E.O. explains why A.I. probably won't cure diseases anytime soon.  Hint: You still need humans.  —  Video

Eleanor Olcott / Financial Times:
A look at Chinese food delivery giant Meituan's subsidy war with Alibaba and JD.com, leading Meituan to a big Q3 loss and internal debate over global expansion  —  Competition from Alibaba and JD.com for fast-growing instant retail market has hit the Beijing-based group

OpenAI is hiring a Head of Preparedness. Or, in other words, someone whose primary job is to think about all the ways AI could go horribly, horribly wrong. In a post on X, Sam Altman announced the position by acknowledging that the rapid improvement of AI models poses "some real challenges." The post goes on […]