In the wake of SignalGate, a knockoff version of Signal used by a high-ranking member of the Trump Administration was hacked. Today on Uncanny Valley, we discuss the platforms used for government communications.
Read More »Trump’s Tariffs Are Threatening America’s Apple Juice Supply Chain
Few foods are more American than apple pie, but the truth is, some of the country’s favorite apple products aren’t actually made in the United States. Apple juice, a perennial lunchroom staple, is a prime example. The vast majority of the apple juice Americans drink is imported from countries like …
Read More »Signal Clone Used by Mike Waltz Pauses Service After Reports It Got Hacked
The messaging app used by at least one top Trump administration official has suspended its services following reports of hackers stealing data from the app. Smarsh, TeleMessage’s parent company, says it is now investigating the incident. “TeleMessage is investigating a potential security incident. Upon detection, we acted quickly to contain …
Read More »FEMA Is Ending Door-to-Door Canvassing in Disaster Areas
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is making significant changes to how it will respond to disasters on the ground this season, including ending federal door-to-door canvassing of survivors in disaster areas, WIRED has learned. A memo reviewed by WIRED, dated May 2 and addressed to regional FEMA leaders from Cameron …
Read More »Mike Waltz Has Somehow Gotten Even Worse at Using Signal
On ThursdaY, Reuters published a photo depicting then-United States national security adviser Mike Waltz checking his phone during a cabinet meeting held by President Trump in the White House. If you enlarge the portion of the image that captures Waltz’s screen, it seems to show him using the end-to-end encrypted …
Read More »DOGE Is in Its AI Era
Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) operates on a core underlying assumption: The United States should be run like a startup. So far, that has mostly meant chaotic firings and an eagerness to steamroll regulations. But no pitch deck in 2025 is complete without an overdose of artificial …
Read More »A DOGE Recruiter Is Staffing a Project to Deploy AI Agents Across the US Government
According to sources with direct knowledge, Jancso disclosed that AccelerateX had signed a partnership agreement with Palantir in 2024. According to the LinkedIn of someone described as one of AccelerateX’s cofounders, Rachel Yee, the company looks to have received funding from OpenAI’s Converge 2 Accelerator. Another of AccelerateSF’s cofounders, Kay …
Read More »Apple May Face Criminal Charges for Allegedly Lying to a Federal Judge
Apple “willfully chose not to comply” with a court order to loosen its app store restrictions—and one of its executives lied under oath about the company’s plans, a federal judge wrote on Wednesday. Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers has referred the situation to the US Attorney’s Office in San Francisco “to …
Read More »DOGE Put a College Student in Charge of Using AI to Rewrite Regulations
Another source told WIRED that Sweet has also been using the tool at other parts of HUD. WIRED reviewed a copy of the output of the AI’s review of one HUD department, which features columns displaying text that the AI model found to be needing an adjustment while also including …
Read More »Behold the Social Security Administration’s AI Training Video
Amidst the chaos and upheaval at the Social Security Administration (SSA) caused by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), employees have now been asked to integrate the use of a generative AI chatbot into their daily work. But before any of them can use it, they all need …
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