The Atlantic: “Internet retail was supposed to supercharge the informed consumer. What happened? Amazon is getting worse, but you probably already knew that, because you probably shop at Amazon. The online retail behemoth’s search results are full of ads and sponsored results that can push actually relevant, well-reviewed options far down the page. The proportion… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: February 2023
New York Moves Against Stalkerware, A Tool for Domestic Abuse
Bloomberg: Apps disguised as child safety software are used to monitor spouses, officials say. “Stalkers and domestic abusers in the US for years have been able to access the kind of surveillance tools typically associated with foreign spies. That’s all because of a pervasive industry that promises to help people who want to secretly monitor… Continue Reading
Where is ChatGPT taking us?
JHU Hub: “And do we want to follow? Johns Hopkins computer scientist Daniel Khashabi discusses the pros and cons of the revolutionary natural-language processing tool—and predicts where it may head in the future..To those working in artificial intelligence, ChatGPT is not merely an overnight sensation, but a mark of achievement after years of experimentation, says… Continue Reading
History maps
Nono Umasy – Founder of HistoryMaps: “Learning History involves remembering dates, places, people, and events (the who, what, where and when of something). And remembering things for the sake of remembering is not very fun, atleast not for me. I thought there must be an easier and better way to learn and retain what I’ve… Continue Reading
Billions in Federal Farm Subsidies Flow to a Select Group of Producers
“EWG’s newly updated Farm Subsidy Database shows that federal farm subsidies between 1995 and 2021 totaled $478 billion. This huge amount of taxpayer money does almost nothing to help farmers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions or adapt to adverse weather conditions caused by the climate crisis. Our database update also shows that farm subsidy funding… Continue Reading
5 New Web Search Apps to Make Google Better or Replace Google
Make Use Of: “Google is the biggest web search engine in the world. But the web keeps changing, and you need tools to find the right content quickly, when Google can’t. These new search apps offer different ways to make Google better. Some augment search results with ChatGPT or social media searches, while others offer… Continue Reading
Librarians Are Finding Thousands Of Books No Longer Protected By Copyright Law
Motherboard: “Up to 75 percent of books published before 1964 may now be in the public domain, according to researchers at the New York Public Library. On January 1, 2023, a swath of books, films, and songs entered the public domain. The public domain is not a place—it refers to all the creative works not… Continue Reading
Mastodon for writers/readers
Robert Kingett – BlindJournalist: “I finally did it. I deleted Twitter completely. I requested my data] (https://help.twitter.com/en/managing-your-account/accessing-your-twitter-data), move completely to the Fediverse, and checked to see who I follow is on the Fediverse at large. Shockingly, more than half my followers and almost all of my friends have made the switch. I started using social… Continue Reading
Reviewers Are Stunned at How Good Bing Is
Newser – “Kevin Roose is a tech columnist for the New York Times, and he’s as surprised as you are that he concludes his latest column like so: “I’m switching my desktop computer’s default search engine to Bing. And Google, my default source of information for my entire adult life, is going to have to… Continue Reading
Supreme Court justices discussed, but did not agree on, code of conduct
Washington Post: “…It remains an active topic at the court, these people said, and the court’s legal counsel Ethan Torrey prepared a working document of issues for them to consider. There is no timeline for the justices to act, however. Those familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the situation.… Continue Reading
Audible reckoning: How top political podcasters spread unsubstantiated and false claims
Brookings: “Using a combination of analytical methods – including natural language processing, machine learning, and manual classifying – this research provided the first overarching assessment of the role that popular political podcasting plays in spreading unsubstantiated and false claims. These podcasters, who span the political spectrum, make up the mainstream of the medium and regularly… Continue Reading
Far-right judges are crafting a theory that would empower courts to strike down trillions of dollars in federal spending
Slate: “…During his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Joe Biden criticized Republicans for proposing to “sunset” Medicare and Social Security every five years. In response, many Republican lawmakers booed the president, prompting him to quip, “So, folks, as we all apparently agree: Social Security and Medicare is off the books now.” Perhaps… Continue Reading
