The New York Times: Book bans, chatbots, pedagogical warfare: What it means to read has become a minefield. “Everyone loves reading. In principle, anyway. Nobody is against it, right? Surely, in the midst of our many quarrels, we can agree that people should learn to read, should learn to enjoy it and should do a… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: June 2023
Chamber of Secrets
Washington Monthly: “…The Supreme Court’s habit of deciding hugely important cases without briefings, arguments, or even a word of explanation threatens democracy. Some progressive legal scholars have coined the term demosprudence to underline that the opinion announcements are the only time that the Court’s members directly address the public. Clearly, however, the justices do not… Continue Reading
The Presidential Records Act, Clinton’s Socks, and Trump’s Boxes
Lawfare: “…In 1950, Congress passed the Federal Records Act, which requires federal agencies—but not the president—to preserve their records. Five years later, Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act, which encouraged (but did not require) former presidents to donate their records to private, federally maintained libraries. Then came Richard Nixon. Four months after Nixon resigned in… Continue Reading
Suicide Hotlines Promise Anonymity. Dozens of Their Websites Send Sensitive Data to Facebook
Via LLRX – Suicide Hotlines Promise Anonymity. Dozens of Their Websites Send Sensitive Data to Facebook – Reporter Colin Lecher and Data Journalist Jon Kreeger discuss how websites for mental health crisis resources across the country—which promise anonymity for visitors, many of whom are at a desperate moment in their lives—have been quietly sending sensitive visitor… Continue Reading
How AI could take over elections and undermine democracy
Via LLRX – How AI could take over elections and undermine democracy – Archon Fung, Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government, Harvard Kennedy School, and Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law and Leadership, Harvard University, pose the question: “Could organizations use artificial intelligence language models such as ChatGPT to induce voters to behave in specific ways? Sen. Josh… Continue Reading
What Makes News Sharable on Social Media?
What Makes News Sharable on Social Media?Chen, X., Pennycook, G., & Rand, D. (2023). Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media, 3. https://doi.org/10.51685/jqd.2023.007 – “With the rise of social media, everyone has the potential to be both a consumer and producer of online content. Although one might assume that people share news because they believe it… Continue Reading
The Modernized ClinicalTrials.gov Website is Here
“Today, ClinicalTrials.gov Beta, the modernized version of ClinicalTrials.gov, becomes the primary ClinicalTrials.gov. The modernized website has an updated design that is visually appealing and easy to read. This new design includes simple web components, such as left-side menus and expandable accordions, that improve navigation and make information readily findable. In addition, the modernized website is… Continue Reading
The data on 40 years of California wildfires is alarmingly clear
Quartz: “Wildfires in northern and central California increased fivefold between 1971 and 2021, according to a new study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The scientists behind the study found that those fires were mostly caused by anthropogenic climate change, the kind accelerated by human actions like burning fossil fuels… Continue Reading
Purdue Plant Doctor
Purdue Plant Doctor – Enter the name of the plant, plant problem, pest, or disease, or click your way to identify and manage your pest or disease. “The Purdue Plant Doctor was a collaboration between Dr. Janna Beckerman (Department of Botany and Plant Pathology) and Dr. Cliff Sadof (Department of Entomology), who contributed equally to… Continue Reading
PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2023
“Business leaders everywhere are prioritising transformation, but what if your most skilled people are more reinvention ready than your company culture is? And what if your employees say they are even more likely to quit now than they were last year—back when everyone thought the “great resignation” was at its peak. This is the complicated—and… Continue Reading
Suicide Hotlines Promise Anonymity. Dozens of Their Websites Send Sensitive Data to Facebook
The Markup – This article was copublished with STAT, a national publication that delivers trusted and authoritative journalism about health, medicine, and the life sciences. “Websites for mental health crisis resources across the country—which promise anonymity for visitors, many of whom are at a desperate moment in their lives—have been quietly sending sensitive visitor data… Continue Reading
How Your New Car Tracks You
Wired (free link) -” Vehicles from Toyota, Honda, Ford, and more can collect huge volumes of data. Here’s what the companies can access…In May, US-based automotive firm Privacy4Cars released a new tool, dubbed the Vehicle Privacy Report, that reveals how much information on your car can be hoovered up. Much like Apple and Google’s privacy… Continue Reading
