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Daily Archives: November 19, 2018

MIT Moral Machine – building human opinions on machine action

Moral Machine – “From self-driving cars on public roads to self-piloting reusable rockets landing on self-sailing ships, machine intelligence is supporting or entirely taking over ever more complex human activities at an ever increasing pace. The greater autonomy given machine intelligence in these roles can result in situations where they have to make autonomous choices involving human life and limb. This calls for not just a clearer understanding of how humans make such choices, but also a clearer understanding of how humans perceive machine intelligence making such choices. Recent scientific studies on machine ethics have raised awareness about the topic in the media and public discourse.

This website aims to take the discussion further, by providing a platform for 1) building a crowd-sourced picture of human opinion on how machines should make decisions when faced with moral dilemmas, and 2) crowd-sourcing assembly and discussion of potential scenarios of moral consequence…”

How to Tell if Your Account Has Been Hacked

Motherboard – How to check if your Gmail, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other accounts have been hacked. “Hackers routinely target high profile victims like politicians or wealthy cryptocurrency investors. But you could become a target too. Maybe an abusive former partner wants to stalk you, or a run-of-the-mill cybercriminal wants to get into your bank… Continue Reading

Public Attitudes Toward Computer Algorithms

“Americans express broad concerns over the fairness and effectiveness of computer programs making important decisions in people’s lives. Algorithms are all around us, utilizing massive stores of data and complex analytics to make decisions with often significant impacts on humans. They recommend books and movies for us to read and watch, surface news stories they… Continue Reading

Critical Issues in Transportation 2018

“The Transportation Research Board [TRB] has released a prepublication version of Critical Issues in Transportation 2018. In this report, which is updated periodically by the TRB Executive Committee, a series of challenging questions are posed to explore issues and opportunities that may arise 10 to 20 years into the future. These questions, 63 in all,… Continue Reading

How China Made Its Own Internet

The New York Times – Today, China has the world’s only internet companies that can match America’s in ambition and reach. It is years ahead of the United States in replacing paper money with smartphone payments, turning tech giants into vital gatekeepers of the consumer economy. And it is host to a supernova of creative… Continue Reading

The Fax Is Not Yet Obsolete

The Atlantic – Law and medicine still rely on the device. Maybe they shouldn’t. An Object Lesson. “…Fax, once at the forefront of communications technologies but now in deep decline, has persisted in many industries. Law-enforcement agencies remain heavily reliant on fax for routine operations, such as bail postings and return of public-records requests. Health… Continue Reading

Rape suspects walk free. Victims don’t get justice. And police get to count it as a success

ProPublica: “…Across [Baltimore] country, dozens of law enforcement agencies are making it appear as though they have solved a significant share of their rape cases when they simply have closed them, according to an investigation by Newsy, Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting and ProPublica based on data from more than 60 police agencies… Continue Reading

A court ruled that judges can be Facebook friends with lawyers because those are not real friendships

Quartz: “Florida’s Supreme Court has ruled on something that most social media users already know: Facebook friendships are not real. Specifically, the court said in a Nov. 15 opinion that a Facebook friendship between a judge and an attorney does not mean the judge is too biased to preside over that attorney’s case. Ruling on an appeal… Continue Reading

Operation Infektion: Russian Disinformation: From The Cold War To Kanye

Opinion Video Series | Operation Infektion By Adam B. Ellick and Adam Westbrook The New York Times, November 12, 2018 WATCH: This is a three-part film series. Scroll down at this link and click to play any episode… “Russia’s meddling in the United States’ elections is not a hoax. It’s the culmination of Moscow’s decades-long campaign to tear… Continue Reading

Google News may shut over EU plans to charge tax for links

The Guardian – Search engine is lobbying hard to stop proposed tax, aimed at compensating news publishers – “Google’s top news executive has refused to rule out shutting down Google News in EU countries, as the search engine faces a battle with Brussels over plans to charge a “link tax” for using news stories. Richard Gingras,… Continue Reading