𝓚𝓲𝓻𝔂𝓼 🐧

prompt injection is objectively hilarious. What do you mean you tricked the robot into giving you money?!

This is an email I sent earlier today to all employees at Coinbase: Team, Today I’ve made the difficult decision to reduce the size of Coinbase by ~14%. I want to walk you through why we're doing this now, what it means for those affected, and how this positions us for the future. Why now Two forces are converging at the same time. We need to be front footed to respond to both. First, the market. Coinbase is well-capitalized, has diversified revenue streams, and is well-positioned to weather any storm. Crypto is also on the verge of the next wave of adoption, with stablecoins, prediction markets, tokenization, and more taking off. However, our business is still volatile from quarter to quarter. While we've managed through that cyclicality many times before and come out stronger on the other side, we’re currently in a down market and need to adjust our cost structure now so that we emerge from this period leaner, faster, and more efficient for our next phase of growth. Second, AI is changing how we work. Over the past year, I’ve watched engineers use AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks. Non-technical teams are now shipping production code and many of our workflows are being automated. The pace of what's possible with a small, focused team has changed dramatically, and it's accelerating every day. All of this has led us to an inflection point, not just for Coinbase, but for every company. The biggest risk now is not taking action. We are adjusting early and deliberately to rebuild Coinbase to be lean, fast, and AI-native. We need to return to the speed and focus of our startup founding, with AI at our core. What this means To get there, we are not just reducing headcount and cutting costs, we’re fundamentally changing how we operate: rebuilding Coinbase as an intelligence, with humans around the edge aligning it. What does this mean in practice? - Fewer layers, faster decisions: We are flattening our org structure to 5 layers max below CEO/COO. Layers slow things down and create coordination tax. The future is small, high context teams that can move quickly. Leaders will own much more, with as many as 15+ direct reports. Fewer layers also means a leaner cost structure that is built to perform through all market cycles. - No pure managers: Every leader at Coinbase must also be a strong and active individual contributor. Managers should be like player-coaches, getting their hands dirty alongside their teams. - AI-native pods: We’ll be concentrating around AI-native talent who can manage fleets of agents to drive outsized impact. We’ll also be experimenting with reduced pod sizes, including “one person teams” with engineers, designers, and product managers all in one role. In short: AI is bringing a profound shift in how companies operate, and we’re reshaping Coinbase to lead in this new era. This is a new way of working, and we need to leverage AI across every facet of our jobs. To those who are affected I know there are real people behind these decisions — talented colleagues who have poured themselves into this company and our mission. To those of you who will be leaving: thank you. You’ve helped build Coinbase into what it is today, and I am sincerely grateful for everything you've done. All impacted team members will receive an email to their personal account in the next hour with more information, and an invitation to meet with an HRBP and a senior leader in your organization. Coinbase system access has been removed today. I know this feels sudden and harsh, but it is the only responsible choice given our duty to protect customer information. To those affected, we will be providing a comprehensive package to support you through this transition. US employees will receive a minimum of 16 weeks base pay (plus 2 weeks per year worked), their next equity vest, and 6 months of COBRA. Employees on a work visa will get extra transition support. Those outside of the US will receive similar support, based on local factors and subject to any consultation requirements. Coinbase prides itself on talent density. Our employees are among the most talented people in the world, and I have no doubt that your skills and experience will be highly sought after as you pursue your next chapters. How we move forward To the team that is staying, I know this is a difficult day. We’re saying goodbye to colleagues and friends you've been in the trenches with. But here’s what I want you to know as we move forward together: Over the past 13 years, we have weathered four crypto winters, gone public, and built the most trusted platform in our industry. We’ve made it this far by making hard decisions and by always staying focused on our mission. This time will be no different – nothing has changed about the long term outlook of our company or industry. And most importantly, our mission has never been more important for the world. Increasing economic freedom requires a new financial system, and we’re building it. The Coinbase that emerges from this will be more capable than ever to achieve our mission. Brian

Microsoft Edge loads all your saved passwords into memory in cleartext — even when you’re not using them.

🚨META’S SMART GLASSES ARE RECORDING YOU IN YOUR MOST INTIMATE MOMENTS.. AND SENDING ALL OF IT TO WORKERS IN KENYA WHO WATCH EVERY SECOND.. THEN META FIRED 1,108 OF THEM FOR TALKING ABOUT IT.. Swedish journalists discovered that footage from Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses is being sent to a facility in Nairobi, Kenya.. Where workers manually watch and label everything the glasses capture.. Not AI watching.. Humans watching.. Over 30 workers confirmed what they see every day.. People in intimate situations.. People on the toilet.. People undressing.. Credit card numbers.. Banking passwords.. Private messages on phone screens.. All completely visible.. One worker said.. “I don’t think they know, because if they knew they wouldn’t be recording”.. Meta marketed these glasses as “built for your privacy”.. “You’re in control of your data and content”.. The AI features cannot function without sending your footage to Meta’s servers.. There is no local option.. If you use the AI.. Your private life leaves your device.. Swedish journalists visited 10 retail stores.. Every single sales rep incorrectly told customers all data stays on the phone.. Not one knew the footage goes to Kenya.. Meta claims face-blurring protects identities.. Workers say it barely works.. Faces fully visible in low light, fast movement, complex backgrounds.. People in your bedroom.. Fully visible.. To strangers making $1.50 an hour.. Workers said the facility was “saturated with content that could trigger enormous scandals if leaked”.. So the company put them under constant camera surveillance and banned personal devices.. Workers surveilled to prevent them from leaking the surveillance footage they were watching.. Then the investigation went public.. Meta terminated the entire contract.. Claimed Sama “didn’t meet our standards”.. Sama fired back.. “At no point were we notified of any failure to meet those standards”.. 1,108 Kenyan workers.. Fired.. Six days notice.. Labor activists called it retaliation.. “The workers who trained the AI saw everything.. Owned nothing.. And lost their jobs the moment they spoke about it”.. 55% of these workers report clinical distress.. 52% meet thresholds for major depression.. They earn $1.50 an hour.. Meta made $56.3 billion last quarter.. The head of the Data Labelers Association said it best.. “It is African Intelligence powering European intelligence.. Which they are now calling Artificial Intelligence”.. Meta has sold 7 million of these glasses.. Targeting 10 million by year end.. A class-action lawsuit has been filed.. Kenya’s courts ruled Meta can be sued directly.. 200 former workers are pursuing a $1.6 billion claim.. 7 million cameras on 7 million faces.. Sending everything to the cheapest labor market they can find.. And they called it “built for your privacy.”

Learning lessons from Jurassic Park

Dick Van Dyke turned 100 years old a few months ago and is no longer allowed to play with LEGOs.