Google Blog: “To celebrate 20 years of Google Scholar, we’re sharing some fun facts about the go-to resource for researchers worldwide. …some features available on Scholar Review a paper efficiently and effectively with AI outlines. We recently added AI outlines to Scholar PDF Reader to help you read papers both quickly and in depth. PDF… Continue Reading
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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici
US Patent and Trademark Office Banned Staff From Using Generative AI
Wired – [unpaywalled] “The US Patent and Trademark Office banned the use of generative artificial intelligence for any purpose last year, citing security concerns with the technology as well as the propensity of some tools to exhibit “bias, unpredictability, and malicious behavior,” according to an April 2023 internal guidance memo obtained by WIRED through a… Continue Reading
The rise of Bluesky, and the splintering of social
MIT Technology Review: “..Last year, we put “Twitter killers” on our list of 10 breakthrough technologies. But the breakthrough technology wasn’t the rise of one service or the decline of another. It was decentralization. At the time, I wrote: “Decentralized, or federated, social media allows for communication across independently hosted servers or platforms, using networking… Continue Reading
America’s News Influencers
The creators and consumers in the world of news and information on social media – In the heat of the 2024 election, news influencers seemed to be everywhere. Both Republicans and Democrats credentialed content creators to cover their conventions – and encouraged influencers to share their political messages. Influencers also interviewed the candidates and held fundraisers… Continue Reading
DOJ Will Push Google to Sell Chrome to Break Search Monopoly
Bloomberg unpaywalled – “Top Justice Department antitrust officials have decided to ask a judge to force Alphabet Inc.’s Google to sell off its Chrome browser in what would be a historic crackdown on one of the biggest tech companies in the world. The department will ask the judge, who ruled in August that Google illegally… Continue Reading
Search the Hollywood AI Database
The Atlantic [unpaywalled] – Use this search tool to see how writing from 139,000 movies and TV shows has trained generative AI. Continue Reading
The Death of Critical Thinking Will Kill Us Long Before AI
Joan Westenberg: “…In the bite-sized content and viral media age, too many of us have lost — or are losing — the focus and patience for lengthy, complex texts. We skim and scan instead of closely reading. Our attention spans have shrunk to mere seconds. While technology has enabled the wide dissemination of information, it has also fragmented our… Continue Reading
Tracking Trump’s picks for his Cabinet and administration
Unpaywalled – Here are the people Trump has named to his incoming administration or the top contenders for unfilled roles based on our reporting. We will continue to update this article. The New York Times – Tracking Trump’s Cabinet and Staff Nominations [unpaywalled] – President-elect Donald J. Trump has quickly begun to assemble the list… Continue Reading
Use These 4 Apps and Tools to Detect Phishing Emails
MakeUseOf: “Phishing emails are no longer exclusively sent by Nigerian princes needing financial assistance. Scammers are now tech-savvy criminals who leverage state-of-the-art tools to con their victims. But it’s not like they’re the only ones with an arsenal of tools to pull from. Most phishing emails will send you attached files and links or try… Continue Reading
Americans Are More Likely to Choose News That Supports Their Beliefs
This New Study Reveals Why. [The Debrief]: “A new study published in Communication Research suggests that people often prefer news that aligns with their existing beliefs, a tendency known as “selective exposure.” According to the new research, this habit is particularly noticeable in the United States, where partisan divides and “echo chambers” are becoming more… Continue Reading
PBS to offer local TV streams through Amazon’s Prime Video
TheDesk.net: “Public television program distributor PBS has inked a distribution deal with Amazon that will allow users of the streaming platform Prime Video to watch their local PBS member station and PBS Kids. The deal involves around 150 PBS member stations that are already making their main broadcast feed available through the PBS website and… Continue Reading
A computational analysis of potential algorithmic bias on platform X during the 2024 US election
A computational analysis of potential algorithmic bias on platform X during the 2024 US election. [Working Paper] (Unpublished) – This technical report presents findings from a two-phase analysis investigating potential algorithmic bias in engagement metrics on X (formerly Twitter) by examining Elon Musk’s account against a group of prominent users and subsequently comparing Republican-leaning versus… Continue Reading
