Many people hide behind anonymous accounts thinking that no one can discover them. AI has bad news for them

Accounts without a profile photo or real name plague social networks; perhaps even you, who read these lines, are the owner of one. We do not judge, there are many reasons not to show your face on networks and, in fact, anonymity is the pillar on which the internet has been built. However, if you thought that calling yourself ‘user84721’ and having a landscape photo protected you, researchers have just shown that accounts can be deanonymized in minutes with AI (of course). The study. A team of researchers has published a study called “Large-scale deanonymization online with large language models” which is echoed Guardian. In it, they demonstrate how an LLM-based agent is able to compromise anonymous social media accounts with astonishing efficiency. The process consists of three steps: the LLM extracts identifying data (age, location, interests…), looks for possible matches in other users and finally reasons which are the best candidates, verifying the matches and eliminating false positives. Minutes. This is how long it took to identify users on sites like Reddit, Hacker News, and Anthropic Interviewer Dataset participants with this method. In the image you can see how, based on a few pieces of information such as where the student studies, the approximate age, the city and the name of the dog, they achieve a match with the user’s real profile. This is a fictitious case, but in the experiment they managed to identify real users by cross-referencing information with Linkedin profiles and other platforms. According to the researchers, LLMs allow for large-scale deanonymization of accounts, far exceeding the speed and efficiency of classical methods. They also highlight that there is not always enough information to reach a match, so everything depends on the online footprint of each user. Consequences. Researchers warn that this use of AI could be used for problematic purposes, such as governments that want to identify activists or cybercriminals seeking to launch highly personalized attacks. In addition, it must be taken into account that the system is not infallible and there may be false positives. Speaking to The Guardian, Peter Bentley, professor of computer science at UCL, warns that “People are going to be accused of things they haven’t done.” The end of anonymity. As we said at the beginning, the Internet has been built on the anonymity of its users, but we are experiencing a regulatory shift that pursues precisely put an end to it. We see it with the ban on social networks or the blocking of pornographic websites for minors promoted by countries such as United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark and now also Spain. These initiatives require the identification of users to be able to access certain content through video selfies, electronic ID, verification systems with AI… There are many options, What is not clear is its effectiveness. Image | Own preparation on a background of Google DeepMind In Xataka | There was no need to invent a “pajaport”, Google already includes it in Android. The real challenge is in Europe

They are manufactured by an anonymous company in Valencia

If (like who writes), some cana already most likely remembers names such as Frigopie, Mikobruja, Mikopete or Colleaget, among a long list of ice cream brands that you recognized with the naked eye on the posters of the beach beach bar. Today The kingdom of Spanish ice cream It is quite different. Reigns the white brand, which monopolizes 70% of the market, and with it they gain weight in the freezing freezers almost unknown to the general public. The best test leaves Mercadona. The rematch of the white mark. It is nothing new. Nor exclusive to the ice cream industry. For a long time, Spain’s supermarkets see how the white brand monopolizes more and more space In its lines and is done with a larger hole in the shopping baskets. There are data that demonstrates it clearly. Last year Kantar published A report which reveals that in just five years, between 2018 and 2023, the presence of white brand products has increased by 13% In the big supermarkets. Opposite direction have followed the goods of “brand of the manufacturer”, whose weight in the linear was reduced about 23%. “There are no brands”. In some national chains that loss of land of the “manufacturer brands” would have even been greater. According to Kantar’s calculationsin Dia and Mercadona the assortment was reduced more than 40% during the same period, in Eroski the decrease exceeded 30% and in Carrefour and Alcampo approached 20%. The result? In a good part of the categories of supermarkets, house brands already represent the vast majority (65%) of the assortment. “There are many in which there are no brands. It is not less, it is that there is,” summed up A year ago in the Bear Consumption Director, César Valencoso. Goodbye Frigopie, Hello landowner. In that context surprises less Another recent report of Kantar that focuses the focus on a very concrete niche: that of ice cream. After examining sales, the consultant found that the brands associated with the distributors have imposed on others recognizable and with a long journey in the sector, such as Frigo, La Milk, Maxibon or Häagen-Dazs. And there is a fact that demonstrates it roundingly. According to the consultant’s records, the first, the teachings of the chains themselves (landowner, eroski or auchan, to name three example) they are already monopolized 68.5% of the market value. That growing weight of white brands responds to several reasons. The main one, the price. In many cases, the chains have been able to offer their clients white brand brands similar to those of the competition, but at more tight prices. And that is a fundamental advantage. In 2024 AECOC elaborated a survey that shows that rates remain the decisive factor for 73% of consumers. A name: Estiu. That growing role of white brands in the refrigerator industry has led to a peculiar situation: one of the great ice cream manufacturers in Spain is unknown to most of its customers, who can consume their cakes, Mochis and sandwiches daily without ever heard its name. The reason? When they buy them in the boxes there is another brand that is recognizable for them, landowner, the food firm of Mercadona. Last year Juan Roig’s chain remained the main supermarket operator in Spain, with a 26.6% market share in food distribution. Beyond that figure, if the company stands out for something, it is for its commitment to white brand items, including landowners. A quick search in Your online catalog It shows however that their articles come from other manufacturers, such as Aiadhesa (Alicante), Lacrem (Barcelona) and above all Ice cream Estiua company founded in 1983 based in Ribarroja del Túria, Valencia. Their names do not appear large on the front of the boxes (there is the brand of Mercadona), but it is found on the back. A fact: 8.8 million. The weight of Mercadona and the pull of white brands, among other factors, has allowed ice cream to close 2024 with a balance more than acceptable despite being located in an area punished by the Dana. According to The data That he has just published and that Europa Press revealed a few days ago, last year the firm sold about 45 million liters of ice cream and reached a turnover of 150 million euros. Its benefits account stood at 8.8 million. The Mercadona supplier has also seen how its workforce increased by 8% and mobilized investments worth almost seven million euros, raising the total amount of the last five years above the 43 million. Although your case is especially interesting, it’s not The only Spanish ice cream manufacturer that has supported part of its production in the supply for white brands. Image | Liam Shaw (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | Is it healthy to eat an ice cream each and every day of summer? Science already has an answer

There are people so hooked to the AI ​​who are creating groups to alcoholics anonymous to overcome their addiction

We pass Many hours looking at the mobilelWe blame our lack of concentration And there are even studies that claim that They affect our memory. Until recently, the fault was almost exclusive to apps such as Instagram or Tiktok and his damn ‘Infinite Scroll’but now there is a new culprit: the AI. There are people so hooked to talk to chatbots that have even created help groups to leave it. What’s happening. There are more and more cases of people hooked to AI. There are those who admit to be Friends of a chatbot and even who They are paired with an AI. Although it is not the only one, one of the platforms that He is hooking his users is Character.AI. Here we can create a character to our liking and chat with him as if it were real. In 404 average They tell Nathan’s case, an 18 -year -old student who spent hours wake up with the characters he had created, to the point of preferring them before his real friends. And there are many more like him. Help groups. There are many people in a situation similar to Nathan’s. In Reddit there are several aid communities for people who want to stop using chatbots, how are you which has almost 900 members and is specifically focused on Character.AI users. There are also others such as Chatbotaddiction where members talk about their addictions to other IAS. In these groups, users share their progress by leaving their addiction counting the days that have sober either They look for support when they have a relapseas if they were alcoholics anonymous. But it goes beyond Reddit, the Internet and Technology Addicts Anonymous It also includes AI addiction and offer online meetings for those affected. Chatbots want you to use them. Apps like Instagram or Tiktok are designed to spend as long as possible in them And the Chatbots IA also have their techniques so that we do not forget them. Recently, several consumer defense groups in the United States presented a Formal complaint against companies such as Character.AI for allowing the use of Therapy chatbots. In the text they detail the tactics of these platforms to make users use them again. In the case of Character.AIonce you have talked to a character, you start receiving emails to open a new conversation. The bombardment and the ease of falling again has made some users who want to leave it reach the point of Ask the company to block your IP address. A mirage. In This study by the MIT and OpenAI They explored how it affects us to interact with a chatbot in our mental health. Many people who come to Chatgpt to seek emotional support seek to placate the feeling of loneliness and, although it works in the short term, intensive use is associated with higher levels of isolation and emotional dependence. In This other study They deepen the false empathy. Often users who connect with a chatbot talk about how they feel more understood than talking to other people. The fact that these apps are always available and offer reconforting responses creates a false sensation of empathy and safety in users that can lead to dependence or addiction. Image | Gemini In Xataka | I have asked the AI ​​any bullshit and now I am writing a news about her

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.