Episode 286.5. The Deep Dive. Subliminal Learning with the AI, Security, and Privacy Weekly Update for the Week ending April 7th, 2026

Episode 286.5. The Deep Dive. Subliminal Learning with the AI, Security, and Privacy Weekly Update for the Week ending April 7th, 2026

From The AI, Privacy, and Security Weekly Update by R. Prescott Stearns Jr.

April 9, 2026 · 32 min · Season 7 · Episode 286

About this episode

This episode discusses the implications of subliminal learning in AI, privacy concerns with LinkedIn's data practices, and the commercialization of smart appliances.

First up, AI. You’d think if you clean your training data, you control what the model learns. Nope. Researchers just showed that models can pass hidden traits to each other through data that looks completely harmless. Like numbers. No obvious bias, no keywords, nothing. And the new model still picks up the same behavior. Even after you scrub it. Think of it like this. The data looks clean, but the intent is still in there, baked into the structure. So now we have AI systems where you can’t fully prove what they learned. You can test outputs, sure, but you can’t audit the mind. That’s a supply chain problem. Next, LinkedIn. You know how you log in and think you’re just updating your resume? Turns out they may have been scanning your browser for extensions. Thousands of them. And extensions tell a story. Health apps, finance tools, job search plugins, political stuff. That’s basically your personality in JSON form. LinkedIn says it’s for security. Maybe. But the bigger lesson is this: your browser is now part of your identity surface. Not just what you do online, but what you’ve installed. Now let’s talk about your fridge. Yes, your fridge. Samsung pushed ads onto $2,000…

People in this episode

Host: R. Prescott Stearns Jr.

Topics covered

  • AI
  • Privacy
  • Data Security
  • Browser Extensions
  • Smart Appliances
  • Advertising

Keywords

  • subliminal learning
  • AI models
  • LinkedIn privacy
  • smart refrigerators
  • data security
  • browser extensions
  • advertising

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: LinkedIn, Samsung, Walmart, Vizio

More episodes of The AI, Privacy, and Security Weekly Update

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The AI, Privacy, and Security Weekly Update podcast page.