Aarian Marshall
aarianmarshall.bsky.social
Aarian Marshall
@aarianmarshall.bsky.social
Writing about stuff w/wheels (mostly) @wired.com
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
NEW: Records reviewed by WIRED show DHS’s facial recognition app (Mobile Fortify) isn’t designed to actually "verify" identity—despite DHS claims and its agents relying on its matches to support probable cause in the field.
ICE and CBP’s Face-Recognition App Can’t Actually Verify Who People Are
ICE has used Mobile Fortify to identify immigrants and citizens alike over 100,000 times, by one estimate. It wasn't built to work like that—and only got approved after DHS abandoned its own privacy r...
www.wired.com
February 5, 2026 at 8:29 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
Here's our 25-min video news-documentary version of the story of Red Bull, the whistleblower who leaked me the secrets of a crypto scam compound while trapped as a forced laborer inside it. www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOcN...

Hope you'll watch and consider the immense scale of this global crisis.
February 2, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
NEW: Google’s “Auto Browse” AI tool includes a warning that attributes responsibility to users for the bot’s actions.

“Use Gemini carefully and take control if needed,” reads a disclaimer on the demo version. “You are responsible for Gemini’s actions during tasks.”

www.wired.com/story/google...
Google’s New Chrome ‘Auto Browse’ Agent Attempts to Roam the Web Without You
Google’s latest addition to its Chrome browser puts generative AI behind the wheel and you in the passenger seat.
www.wired.com
January 28, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
Last year, a human trafficking victim trapped in a crypto scam compound in the Golden Triangle region of Laos contacted me. He then proceeded to leak to me a huge collection of the compound's internal materials.

Then he had to get out alive. This is his story.

🧵👇 www.wired.com/story/he-lea...
He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive
A source trapped inside an industrial-scale scamming operation contacted me, determined to expose his captors’ crimes—and then escape. This is his story.
www.wired.com
January 27, 2026 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
A hard but important read from @mmolteni.bsky.social about Alex Pretti, the ICU nurse who was shot by federal agents in Minneapolis

www.statnews.com/2026/01/26/a...
Alex Pretti remembered by health care workers at a Minneapolis vigil as a ‘stand-up guy’
Health care workers brought flowers and wreaths, lit candles, and draped stethoscopes over a wooden cross as a makeshift memorial to nurse Alex Pretti.
www.statnews.com
January 26, 2026 at 9:50 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
SCOOP: Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti

WIRED obtained Slack conversations + an updated internal Palantir wiki defending the company's work for ICE to outraged workers.

More here:
www.wired.com/story/palant...
Palantir Defends Work With ICE to Staff Following Killing of Alex Pretti
“In my opinion ICE are the bad guys. I am not proud that the company I enjoy so much working for is part of this,” one worker wrote on Slack.
www.wired.com
January 26, 2026 at 10:11 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
I regret to inform you that Elon Musk has once again said a bunch of stuff that won't happen. from @aarianmarshall.bsky.social
Elon Musk Sure Made Lots of Predictions at Davos
Humanoid robots, space travel, the science of aging—Musk was willing to weigh in on all of it at this week's World Economic Forum. But his predictions rarely work out the way he says they will.
www.wired.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:59 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
January 23, 2026 at 1:33 AM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
Chinese firms are building battery plants from Europe to North America, promising jobs while prompting local concerns about the environment, politics, and who really benefits. www.wired.com/story/chines...
What Happens When a Chinese Battery Factory Comes to Town
Chinese firms are building battery plants from Europe to North America, promising jobs while prompting local concerns about the environment, politics, and who really benefits.
www.wired.com
January 22, 2026 at 8:20 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
Beyond excited to have @wired.com's new magazine entirely dedicated to one of the biggest issues in our lives: how to understand China's rise and rise and rise.

Humanoid robots, EV batteries, cleansing crystals, AI boyfriends, gene-editing... Something made in China is already changing your life.
23 Ways You’re Already Living in the Chinese Century
The robotics explosion. The energy revolution. The cultural takeover. It’s everything you wanted for the United States—but done better in China.
www.wired.com
January 20, 2026 at 4:41 PM
Today in beautiful nightmares published on wired.com

www.wired.com/story/rfk-jr...
January 16, 2026 at 9:03 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
Arizona is now investigating X over the creation and distribution of "potentially illegal and harmful content, including child sexual abuse imagery"

The AG's announcement links to WIRED's reporting about Grok Imagine videos, by me and @regret.bsky.social

WIRED story: www.wired.com/story/grok-i...
Attorney General Mayes Announces Investigation into X’s AI Chatbot | Attorney General's Office
PHOENIX — Attorney General Kris Mayes today announced that the Arizona Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into reports that X’s artificial int
www.azag.gov
January 15, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
Journalism job alert: @wired.com is hiring a US-based science editor. Come work with me and the wonderful @mollytaft.com: condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/CondeCareers...
Senior Editor, Science
WIRED is where a better future is imagined. For three decades, we have been the indispensable guide to a world in constant transformation. We cover humanity’s biggest challenges, from climate change t...
condenast.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:21 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
BREAKING: Hundreds of sensitive U.S. records obtained by WIRED undercut the Trump administration’s claims portraying Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua as a unified terrorist force invading the country. Intelligence agencies spent much of 2025 unsure TdA even functioned as an organization on U.S. soil.
Trump Warned of a Tren de Aragua ‘Invasion.’ US Intel Told a Different Story
Hundreds of records obtained by WIRED show thin intelligence on the Venezuelan gang in the United States, describing fragmented, low-level crime rather than a coordinated terrorist threat.
www.wired.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:02 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
WIRED Security has always had the very earnest, kind of dopey unofficial tagline “stay safe out there” and it’s more apt than ever right now www.wired.com/story/what-t...
What to Do If ICE Invades Your Neighborhood
With federal agents storming the streets of American communities, there's no single right way to approach this dangerous moment. But there are steps you can take to stay safe—and have an impact.
www.wired.com
January 13, 2026 at 4:47 PM
NEW: Gov Hochul's office confirms to @wired.com that she will propose tomorrow new legislation allowing limited autonomous vehicle pilots in New York State in cities that *aren't* NYC

If the bill passes, it would be a W for AV companies in one of the biggest states

www.wired.com/story/propos...
New Proposed Legislation Would Let Self-Driving Cars Operate in New York State
New York Governor Kathy Hochul says she will propose a new law allowing limited autonomous vehicle pilots in smaller cities. Full-blown services could be next.
www.wired.com
January 13, 2026 at 12:10 AM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
Merry Christmas, may all those cool gifts you got be fixable far into the future
www.wired.com/story/expire...
The Gloves Are Off in the Fight for Your Right to Repair
This year, the right-to-repair movement got a boost from—surprisingly—big tech, tariffs, and economic downturn. But the companies controlling who fixes their stuff aren’t giving up that power willingl...
www.wired.com
December 26, 2025 at 2:03 AM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
ALL YOUR FAULT?: Ford is killing the all-electric F-150 due to weak demand and says its now "following the consumer" with yet another shift in its EV manufacturing plans. @aarianmarshall.bsky.social has the full story on @wired.com www.wired.com/story/ford-k...
Ford Kills the All-Electric F-150 as It Rethinks Its EV Ambitions
The move comes as a response to the Trump administration’s waning support for electrification and a weakening consumer market.
www.wired.com
December 15, 2025 at 10:03 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
NEW: Four sources tell @mzeff.bsky.social that OpenAI has become reluctant to publish research on the negative economic impacts of AI, including job displacement.

At least two members of OpenAI's economic research team have recently quit over that perceived pullback.
OpenAI Staffer Quits, Alleging Company’s Economic Research Is Drifting Into AI Advocacy
Four sources close to the situation claim OpenAI has become hesitant to publish research on the negative impact of AI. The company says it has only expanded the economic research team’s scope.
www.wired.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
Scoop: Provisions of the NDAA that would ensure military members’ right to repair their own equipment are set to be removed from the funding act, replaced by language that will require the military to pay subscription fees to defense contractors via “data-as-a-service.”
www.wired.com/story/subscr...
The US Military Wants to Fix Its Own Equipment. Defense Contractors Are Trying to Shoot That Down
A push by military contractors could alter pending legislation that would have empowered servicemembers to repair equipment. Lobbyists are pitching a subscription service instead.
www.wired.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:24 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
I wrote this piece because I only learned about pelvic floors a few years ago, despite having had one all my life. And then it turned out to be where I store all my issues. And then that turned out to be true for a lot of people www.wired.com/story/the-pe...
The Pelvic Floor Is a Problem
Everyone’s suddenly obsessed with the pelvic floor—physical therapists, MAHA influencers, me. Could this deeply misunderstood body part really be the seat of so much modern dysfunction?
www.wired.com
November 20, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
In China, parents are buying smartwatches for children as young as five, connecting them to a digital world that blends socializing with fierce competition. www.wired.com/story/kids-i...
Kids in China Are Using Bots and Engagement Hacks to Look More Popular on Their Smartwatches
In China, parents are buying smartwatches for children as young as five, connecting them to a digital world that blends socializing with fierce competition.
www.wired.com
November 21, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
A statement from Wired's Conde Union Members
November 6, 2025 at 8:19 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
Breaking News: Late last night Conde Nast illegally fired 4 union organizers who asked company execs to explain the downsizing of Teen Vogue and continued layoffs. We’ve filed a grievance.
November 6, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Reposted by Aarian Marshall
This is a really hard day and I want to just add as WIRED's politics editor -- WIRED's politics reporting isn't going anywhere. We are very much here and won't stop.

Please continue to read and support us - canceling your subscription to WIRED is not standing in solidarity with our journalists.
The key thing to watch here: they fired a Wired political reporter. That’s the title doing the most effective, pointed work. Teen Vogue’s stuff was culturally impactful, but less focused on investigating the administration. Within the Condé portfolio, Wired and the New Yorker are the canaries.
New: Conde Nast fired four employees who were among a group that confronted the company's head of human resources on Wednesday over the decision to fold Teen Vogue into Vogue/recent cuts. Employees who were fired included journalists from the New Yorker, Wired, and Bon Appétit.
November 6, 2025 at 6:26 PM