Hi all, hope you enjoyed the return of the Sizzlefather on Friday. Turns out the old boy’s still got it!

I’m flying back from India today and I’m planning on having the edition come out around a normal time tomorrow barring any hiccups. Talk soon.

The News

Teen social media ban tech trial might show it’s possible, but there’s a few more questions that need to be answered

Checking Australians’ ages online will require either accepting error-prone methods or handing over ID, a government-commissioned report has found. The Age Assurance Technology Trial put out its report (Cam’s link to the report here) which has the details about the 60-ish providers who tested technology options to enforce Australia’s teen social media ban, as well as the signalled but not yet announced adult website age check policy.

The Sizzle: I won’t have time to read the report until later in the week so I will hold off on saying too much other than this: if you take the report entirely at face value, it shows that the less onerous methods of proving someone’s age (like facial analysis) have high error rates even in ideal conditions, and the solution to this is to require more imposing age verification methods like government ID. More to come, but for now here’s some additional reading

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Mark Zuckerberg’s AI ambitions aren’t going great

Mark Zuckerberg’s AI FOMO continues to hit road bumps. After spending a few months throwing out $100m+ offers to lure top talent, Meta’s AI teams have been hit by departures or — in at least one case — people just literally not showing up for the job after accepting (Ars Technica). Meanwhile, a new investigation reveals that the company has dozens of unauthorised “flirty” bots pretending to be celebrities known to be quite litigious about their likeness (Reuters)!

The Sizzle: Zuckerberg has shown an incredible ability to brute force his companies into new eras. When mobile happened, he bought Instagram. When ephemeral social media was taking off, Meta copied Snapchat Stories. When TikTok and short video got big, Zuckerberg changed Facebook’s purpose from “connect people” to serving up slop like everyone else. Meta’s AI ambitions haven’t gone great so far — but would you really bet against him making it happen?

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Alleged Porepunkah shooter’s social media account is active while he’s on the run

A Telegram account used by alleged police killer and fugitive Dezi Freeman has been active while he’s been on the run (Sizzle exclusive). According to Telegram’s “last seen” indicator, it seems like someone used Freeman’s account on Friday, several days after he was accused of shooting police. The account had previously been used to send violent messages about police on a well-known far-right, freedom movement Telegram user’s channel.

The Sizzle: My guess is that police have access to a device used by Freeman, and not that he has been using it while evading police. I asked Vic Pol, who essentially gave me a no comment. Still, you never know…

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Leftovers

Discuss these links in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Oh, Also

A Really Great Vibecoded Age Verification Option!

Maybe we need to redo the age check tech trial because there’s an exciting new provider. Software company Accufind founder Hamish Cameron shared on LinkedIn how he vibe-coded a new solution: “It made a 12-step process where you have to click slowly to prove you have "age-appropriate reflexes" and demonstrate you don't understand what "skibidi toilet" means.“ (I’ve embedded a YouTube mirror below).

Discuss in the Sizzle Slack or forum.

Bargains

Electrical & electronics

Computing

Mobile

The End

😎 The Sizzle is written by Cam Wilson and emailed every weekday. It was created by Anthony “decryption” Agius.

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The Sizzle is created on Gadigal land and acknowledges the traditional owners of country throughout Australia, recognising their continuing connection to land, water and community. I pay my respect to them and their cultures and to elders both past and present.