Crosscurrent Code

Essays on technology, culture, and change from the Middle East.

Independent writing by Jad Madi on AI, open source, systems, digital sovereignty, and the human consequences of technical change.

Lead Story

SynthID Goes Public: Inside synthid.com and the New Frontier of AI Watermarking

Google just launched synthid.com backed by OpenAI, NVIDIA, and Kakao. Here is what changed since my 2024 analysis, why Article 50 of the EU AI Act forced this coalition, how post-hoc watermarking differs from C2PA, and why the 10-check daily limit is a defe...