writer at @wired magazine. data journalist, technologist, quilter. prev @ftc @themarkup @propublica
maddyvarner at gmail dot com
Joined August 2012
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Wrote about Character.AI's bankruptcy, which appears to actually be key component of a "reverse acquihire" deal between it and Disney. Most of CAI's staff has already been hired + Disney now hopes to get its code repos sans the legal liabilities that dogged the startup
If the second stage of the deal gets approved by bankruptcy courts, I think it'll probably embolden other companies to try to execute similar deals. wired.com/story/disney-asked…
they should make you read this post immediately after watching the film because i think it makes holmes' dynamic with her husband make more sense
maddy varner retweeted
i hate gay halloween what do you mean you’re kelly clarkson and molly, a one-of-a-kind singing and dancing bird automaton who plays an important role in the magic shows at art of play that’s permanently attached to the wall and isn't for sale?
maddy varner retweeted
Footage from Thursdays shooting shows an ICE agent in a construction vest brandishing a rifle. His name is Brenden Cuni
Judges have found multiple of his arrests unlawful. He has been accused of Tasing a cuffed man and tackling a pregnant woman in MN
wired.com/story/ice-agent-at…
Photos from the aftermath of the New York City ICE shooting that were obtained by The Intercept show a federal agent in a high-viz vest weilding an assault rifle.
An eyewitness told @NoahHurowitz that an agent at the scene appeared to be posing at a construction worker, until they stashed their high-viz vest. theintercept.com/2026/10/08/…
ALT Photos from the aftermath of the New York City ICE shooting that were obtained by The Intercept show a federal agent in a high-viz vest weilding an assault rifle. An eyewitness told @NoahHurowitz that an agent at the scene appeared to be posing at a construction worker, until they stashed their high-viz vest.
maddy varner retweeted
My colleagues @RosalindZAdams @haideechu at @THECITYNY spent the past several months tracking hundreds of ICE street arrests across the region through federal court records...🧵🧵
maddy varner retweeted
We found more than 2 dozen cases where immigrants described use of force of the course of arrests, including 2 cases that named the same ICE agent, Brenden Cuni, who was accused being involved in two violent arrests where immigrants said they were beaten up and tased.
maddy varner retweeted
One of the agents on scene is Brenden Cuni. ICE ERO, supervisor with the National Fugitive Operations Team. Cuni, an Iona Prep graduate from New Rochelle, has been all over thr NYC region & was in Minneapolis during Operation Metro Surge
maddy varner retweeted
Brenden Cuni, an ICE supervisor, has been accused of excessive force and tackling a pregnant woman to the ground. Several of his arrests were later found to be unlawful in federal court. buff.ly/PzKSA8b
maddy varner retweeted
The ICE agent seen brandishing an AR-15 at the scene of yesterday’s shooting in NYC’s Marble Hill has an auspicious record of lying, excessive force & getting caught by judges. He also goes by “Shooter Cuni” on social media, & posts the exact same gun he had on him today
Brenden Cuni, an ICE supervisor, has been accused of excessive force and tackling a pregnant woman to the ground. Several of his arrests were later found to be unlawful in federal court. buff.ly/PzKSA8b
maddy varner retweeted
Footage from Thursdays shooting shows an ICE agent in a construction vest brandishing a rifle. His name is Brenden Cuni
Judges have found multiple of his arrests unlawful. He has been accused of Tasing a cuffed man and tackling a pregnant woman in MN
wired.com/story/ice-agent-at…
Still unclear what the benefits of preemptively disclosing are—the whole "concepts of a probe" situation puts career staff in a super weird position and gives companies time to adjust practices/paper trails and prep responses to potential questions before any CIDs go out.
Could the FTC, whose chair is on Trump's AI task force — and has also taken big tech companies to court — be *seriously* pursuing its probe of frontier labs?
@ashleyrgold has some answers and a look at the challenges ahead.
semafor.com/article/10/08/20…
maddy varner retweeted
Our new investigation into 500+ U.S. citizens held by immigration agents also features a searchable database for incidents involving minors, tear gas & Americans held 24 hours +
My main takeaway? This is only the tip of the iceberg projects.propublica.org/amer…
I read the article and interpreted this line as, "Yeah, *you* might find it boring but *I* still think it's worth covering." Am I missing something?
“I was asked the other day if local journalism was boring, and I was like, ‘It may be boring, but it’s necessary.’”
cjr.org/business_of_news/im-…
DOJ has been expanding its use of the False Claims Act to sue contractors w/ cybersecurity failures for the past couple of years. Wonder if this will be applied in this situation klgates.com/thought-leadersh…
EXCLUSIVE: Accenture contractor removed from FBI following damaging data breach for failing to implement security patch, sources say. From me and @razhael
reuters.com/technology/accen…
NEW w/ @dmehro: A recently unsealed court filing that heavily cites government-produced documents + DHS agent depositions alleges that yes, there *is* a DHS database that's filled with protesters, called ICM. It's built by Palantir. wired.com/story/ice-has-been…
maddy varner retweeted
NEW: DHS agents tracked people observing ICE arrests, photographed them, ran their plates, pulled personal information, and added them to a Palantir database, according to newly unsealed court filings.
wired.com/story/ice-has-been…
Almost immediately after, the FTC confirmed it was doing some? sort of investigation? into several AI companies? but hasn't actually taken the initial steps needed for that yet? (whatever happened to the OpenAI one that was reportedly opened in 2023?) youtu.be/Zj0wrGz6ygI?si=rWTW…
More to come, I'm sure, but you can read my explanation of what happens if you illegally lie to consumers here (spoiler: the government just tells you not to lie again?): wired.com/story/trumps-ai-sa…
More updates from the AI regulations trenches: a bunch of AI companies signed some voluntary agreements that are maybe similar to some other voluntary agreements they all previously signed. wired.com/story/trumps-ai-sa…