Via The Warzone – Per new GAO report – https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-25-106728 – Navy’s amphibious fleet is in such a sorry state that half of the ships are declared to be in “poor condition” and not on track to serve for the entirety of their service lives. In addition, the sea service will struggle to maintain a… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
How to prep your iPhone for unexpected medical emergencies
PopSci – “While we hope you all live long and healthy lives without experiencing a medical emergency, they do happen—and if one happens to you or someone close to you, then you want to be as prepared as possible. The iPhone has a few features that can help. You can log key health details on… Continue Reading
Most Americans continue to say media scrutiny keeps politicians from doing things they shouldn’t
“As they have for the past four decades, most Americans say criticism from news organizations keeps political leaders from doing things they shouldn’t, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in September 2024. But Republicans’ and Democrats’ views on this question often shift depending on which party controls the White House. And Republicans became… Continue Reading
AI, huge hacks leave consumers facing a perfect storm of privacy perils
Washington Post gift article – “Hackers are using artificial intelligence to mine unprecedented troves of personal information dumped online in the past year, along with unregulated commercial databases, to trick American consumers and even sophisticated professionals into giving up control of bank and corporate accounts. Armed with sensitive health information, calling records and hundreds of… Continue Reading
FBI releases PSA warning about all the ways that cybercriminials are using AI to commit fraud
Criminals Use Generative Artificial Intelligence to Facilitate Financial Fraud – The FBI is warning the public that criminals exploit generative artificial intelligence (AI) to commit fraud on a larger scale which increases the believability of their schemes. Generative AI reduces the time and effort criminals must expend to deceive their targets. Generative AI takes what… Continue Reading
Librarian Amanda Jones Files New Defamation Lawsuits
School Library Journal – Amanda Jones has had enough. Again. The 2021 School Librarian of the Year, who has sued online harassers in the past, filed two new federal lawsuits on Tuesday. Jones is suing Dan Kleinman for defamation and “false light”—an invasion of privacy that arises from publicity that unreasonably places the plaintiff in… Continue Reading
Associated Press 100 Photos of 2024: An epic catalog of humanity.
AP – In nearly 100 countries and all 50 U.S. states, visual journalists with The Associated Press are eyewitnesses to the world’s news, and have won 36 of AP’s since the award was established in 1917. They assembled a visual catalog of our civilization as life in 2024 hurtled directly at us at every speed… Continue Reading
The Great Scrape: The Clash Between Scraping and Privacy
Solove, Daniel J. and Hartzog, Woodrow, The Great Scrape: The Clash Between Scraping and Privacy (July 03, 2024). 113 California Law Review (forthcoming 2025), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4884485 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4884485 Artificial intelligence (AI) systems depend on massive quantities of data, often gathered by “scraping” – the automated extraction of large amounts of data from… Continue Reading
CFPB Proposes Rule to Stop Data Brokers from Selling Sensitive Personal Data to Scammers, Stalkers, and Spies
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today proposed a rule to rein in data brokers that sell Americans’ sensitive personal and financial information. The proposed rule would limit the sale of personal identifiers like Social Security Numbers and phone numbers collected by certain companies and make sure that people’s financial data such as income is… Continue Reading
Why ‘open’ AI systems are actually closed, and why this matters
Widder, D.G., Whittaker, M. & West, S.M. Why ‘open’ AI systems are actually closed, and why this matters. Nature 635, 827–833 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08141-1. “This paper examines ‘open’ artificial intelligence (AI). Claims about ‘open’ AI often lack precision, frequently eliding scrutiny of substantial industry concentration in large-scale AI development and deployment, and often incorrectly applying understandings… Continue Reading
How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail: Best Way to Declutter
TechRepublic: “Having an email inbox full of read, unneeded messages can cause problems, especially in the Gmail mobile app. When you have thousands of emails, the Gmail app search function can get bogged down. In addition, all those obsolete emails require storage space, and soon, Gmail will force you to delete emails to free up… Continue Reading
52 things I learned in 2024
Tim Whitwell: Just a preview: When writing a sentence, don’t keep your reader waiting. [David Crystal via The Browser] Millions of free bikes have been given to children in rural India, doubling the number of girls cycling to school, increasing attendance and reducing dropouts. [Rachita Vora] On 30 September 2024, the UK became the first… Continue Reading
