The New York Times: Kenyans Did College Students’ Homework for Years. Then A.I. Arrived.
Thousands of Kenyans once made a living writing college essays for cheating overseas students, but the industry has all but collapsed since ChatGPT launched in 2022. Teresios Bundi wrote more than 2,500 essays over 12 years and built a business employing dozens of writers, before the collapse in demand forced him to close it. Kenyans who did transcription or content moderation for big tech platforms have been squeezed the same way, and most of what essay-writing work remains now is editing AI-written papers so they don’t look AI-written.
RFE/RL: Five Years After Fleeing Taliban Rule, At-Risk Afghans Live In Hiding In Pakistan
Five years after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, thousands of Afghans, including journalists, activists and former officials from the ousted US-backed government, are still hiding in Pakistan while they wait for resettlement abroad. Many live on expired visas and avoid restaurants, doctors and even strangers, trying not to draw police attention that could lead to deportation back to the Taliban. Pakistan says 16,000 people have been exempted from deportation on humanitarian grounds, but the UN estimates more than 74,000 Afghans face serious risk if returned, many of them never even identified.
TechCrunch: Hikers rescued after using Google Gemini for planning
Three hikers were rescued from California’s Mount Shasta after using Google’s Gemini chatbot to plan their trip, starting the climb at 3am but not reaching the summit until 7pm. Their descent in the dark was made worse because Gemini had advised bringing far less food and water than the trip, which turned into a multi-day ordeal, actually required, so they spent the night in a canyon until rangers and volunteers found them the next morning. The sheriff’s office says never rely solely on AI for trip planning, and to call the local ranger station before setting out.
BBC: Keir Starmer, Boris Johnson: Why are they on the Chiltern Hundreds list?
When a British MP wants to resign early, they technically can’t, because a 1624 law only lets MPs leave through death, expulsion or disqualification. The workaround is a 250-year-old legal loophole: an MP requests appointment as Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds, a nominal, unpaid office in Buckinghamshire that automatically disqualifies its holder from sitting in the Commons, and that’s the route Sir Keir Starmer and Boris Johnson, both former prime ministers who stepped down before their term ended, just took. The rarer alternative title, Steward of the Manor of Northstead, was last used by Nigel Farage.
Le Monde: Where to find Paris’s best veggie burgers
Le Monde’s English edition rounds up five of the best veggie burgers in Paris: Bomaye’s plantain-based “Allocovor,” inspired by West African cooking and served with homemade hibiscus ketchup; Baby Love Burger’s quinoa-and-carrot patty that doesn’t try to imitate meat; Mannie’s broccoli burger with honey-mustard mayo; Le Ruisseau’s chickpea patty with lemon and cucumber; and Pin-Pan’s Argentine-inspired eggplant burger with a spicy onion-and-pepper sauce.