DeepSeek’s success challenges the belief that bigger compute means better AI. Facing chip shortages and export restrictions, it built a powerful reasoning model using reinforcement learning over brute-force scale. In our main article today, Betty Li Hou, Computer Science PhD Student and Machine Learning Researcher at NYU, explores how

AI is advancing fast, but its real impact will take longer than you might expect. In our featured article below, Mozilla Fellow and AI researcher Sayash Kapoor explores why adoption lags behind innovation—and what it will take to bridge the gap. But first: Join Mallory for an Inspiring Fireside

The EU’s Digital Markets Act is forcing end-to-end encrypted messaging platforms to play nice, starting with WhatsApp. But will interoperability actually open up the market, as it's intended to do, or make big players even stronger? Mallory Knodel breaks down the tech, the trade-offs, and what’s

Meta's announced changes to its content moderation policies deeply dissappointed us. Mallory has dedicated decades of her career to working in human rights organizations, helping to create the critical policies Meta is now casting aside. I spent the last five years of my career at Mozilla Foundation, advocating

But first: Teaching AI to Respect Boundaries The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) just announced a new working group (AI-Control) to help content publishers control how AI systems use their data. Building on tools like robots.txt—which was designed to manage web crawler access, not AI scraping—the group

But first: Introducing our new Editor-in-Chief! Audrey Hingle brings over a decade of editorial experience to The Internet Exchange. With a passion for ethical technology and expertise in content strategy, she’s eager to spotlight the stories that matter. Share your story ideas with her at editor@exchangepoint.tech. End-of-year

Preview: RightsCon 2025, Taipei and online (February 24-27, 2025). I'll be hosting two sessions: * Roundtable with Privacy Regulators (from the Five Eyes!) * CEOs of the NEW social media. I'm really looking forward to connecting with the human rights community in the new year. If you'

This week the annual UN conference for tech, the Internet Governance Forum, is kicking off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. I'm participating online for the meeting sessions. But first, read about why some organizations and individuals like me aren't attending in person: https://www.techpolicy.press/who-wins-from-the-igf-not-those-locked-up-for-speaking-out

This week I attended the AWID Forum in Bangkok. It was a truly memorable moment to commune with 4000 feminists as 2024 comes to a close. I was there to support APC's Women's Rights Programme, in particular as a digital security expert. Here are some highlights: