“In a world where privacy and security are increasingly under threat, particularly in countries swept up in a global wave of autocratization and erosion of rights, encrypted messaging apps are an increasingly popular—and necessary—way to share information, organize and engage with one another, and do business. But while the promise of secure messaging is private… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: June 2023
There Is Always An Alternative
Remarks presented to York University’s Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies Graduating Class of 2023 The human condition is…not good. We’re in the polycrisis, a widening gyre of climate emergency, inequality, infrastructure neglect, rising authoritarianism and zoonotic plagues. But that’s not the bad part. Stuff breaks. The Second Law of Thermodynamics is not up… Continue Reading
Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Toolkit
Bellingcat’s Online Investigation Toolkit, a spreadsheet that includes “satellite and mapping services, tools for verifying photos and videos, websites to archive web pages, and much more”. Use the navigational icons on the bottom of the spreadsheet to access all the content. Each entry includes: type, name, description, free or fee, guide, country-specific. Continue Reading
Climate Reanalyzer
“Climate Reanalyzer is a platform for visualizing climate and weather datasets. The site is coded and maintained by Dr. Sean Birkel through support from the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine. Support has also been provided by the National Science Foundation, the Russell Grinnell Memorial Trust, and the Comer Family Foundation. On this… Continue Reading
Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Algorithmic Management, and Labor Law
Kim, Pauline, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data, Algorithmic Management, and Labor Law (June 12, 2023). Forthcoming in The Oxford Handbook of the Law of Work, eds Guy Davidov, Brian Langille, and Gillian Lester (2024) , Washington University in St. Louis Legal Studies Research Paper No. 23-06-01, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4476552 – “Employers are increasingly relying on… Continue Reading
Conspiracy theories aren’t on the rise – we need to stop panicking
Via LLRX – Conspiracy theories aren’t on the rise – we need to stop panicking – Several polls in the past couple of years (including from Ipsos, YouGov and most recently Savanta on behalf of Kings College Policy Institute and the BBC) have been examining the kinds of conspiratorial beliefs people have. The findings have led… Continue Reading
The Digital Psychology of Persuasion
Via LLRX – The Digital Psychology of Persuasion – Kevin Novak, digital strategist and CEO with extensive experience digitizing disparate collections at the Library of Congress, discusses the increasing importance of acknowledging and incorporating social proof into your marketing strategies to showcase the power of your brands and services. The recent wave of digital tools that… Continue Reading
Election Worker Safety and Privacy
CRS Insight – Election Worker Safety and Privacy, June 21, 2023: “Concerns about election workers’ safety and privacy have been reported since the 2020 election, in news reports and testimony before House and Senate committees. Some election workers have raised concerns about their physical safety while performing official duties, as well as threats to their… Continue Reading
Download Your Photos and Videos from Google Album Archive Before They’re Gone Forever
CNET – “You might not be aware of Google Album Archive, but if you’ve used some Google app or service tied to a Google account that’s a few years old, you probably have some photos or videos stashed in the Album Archive — it’s a catchall destination for older media you’ve shared on Google services.… Continue Reading
Why Johnny Can’t Prompt: How Non-AI Experts Try (and Fail) to Design LLM Prompts
Why Johnny Can’t Prompt: How Non-AI Experts Try (and Fail) to Design LLM Prompts – J.D. Zamfirescu-Pereira, Richmond Y. Wong, Bjoern Hartmann, Qian Yang Pre-trained large language models (“LLMs”) like GPT-3 can engage in fluent, multi-turn instruction-taking out-of-the-box, making them attractive materials for designing natural language interactions. Using natural language to steer LLM outputs (“prompting”)… Continue Reading
Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2022 Preliminary Data
Download Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2022 Preliminary Data News Release: Drivers Hit and Killed More Than 7,500 Pedestrians Last Year, Most in 41 Years, New Projection Shows GHSA Pedestrian, Bike and Micromobility Safety Issue Toolkit “GHSA’s annual Spotlight report, Pedestrian Traffic Fatalities by State: 2022 Preliminary Data, offers a comprehensive look at state and national… Continue Reading
An Aggressive Supreme Court Reshapes the US as Its Standing Erodes
Bloomberg – free link: “A conservative supermajority is remaking US laws on the environment, health and firearms, even as public confidence declines and ethical questions grow. The Supreme Court, in the midst of a run of decisions that have stress-tested the core principles of US democracy, has rarely been so aggressive in using its powers —… Continue Reading
