The Verge: “Google has partnered with 3D laser scanning nonprofit CyArk to help preserve historical sites around the world that are at risk of irreversible damage or total erasure due to human conflict and natural disasters. The joint effort, called the Open Heritage project, will use CyArk’s laser-scanning technology to capture all the relevant data… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: April 2018
NY AG Launches Inquiry Into Cryptocurrency “Exchanges”
“Today, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman launched the Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative, a fact-finding inquiry into the policies and practices of platforms used by consumers to trade virtual or “crypto” currencies like bitcoin and ether. As part of a broader effort to protect cryptocurrency investors and consumers, the Attorney General’s office sent letters… Continue Reading
Officials Highlight Pay for Performance, Streamlined Firing in New Management Document
Government Executive: “Just weeks after the announcement of President Trump’s management agenda, three agency leaders have put together the first roadmap for implementation of the White House’s workforce goals. In a quarterly report released last week, the Office of Personnel Management, the Defense Department and the Office of Management and Budget described some aspects of… Continue Reading
IRS website unavailable for efiling most of tax day!
IRS electronic filing systems working again after agency’s Tax Day technology meltdown – “The Internal Revenue Service’s system for accepting online tax returns is working again after being inoperational for much of the day Tuesday [April 17, 2018]. IRS officials promised that people hampered by the technology failures would not be penalized for late returns, but… Continue Reading
Algorithmic Impact Assessments: A Practical Framework for Public Agency Accountability
GCN: Algorithmic Impact Assessments: A Practical Framework for Public Agency Accountability, a report by the AI Now Institute, a partnership between New York University, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Partnership on AI. [h/t Pete Weiss] Why: As public agencies increasingly turn to automated processes and algorithms to make decisions, they need frameworks for… Continue Reading
A dozen tech experts opine on what went wrong with Facebook and the answer is?
The Internet Apologizes…Even those who designed our digital world are aghast at what they created. A breakdown of what went wrong — from the architects who built it. By Noah Kulwin, New York Magazine. “Something has gone wrong with the internet. Even Mark Zuckerberg knows it. Testifying before Congress, the Facebook CEO ticked off a… Continue Reading
Verge reports Gmail’s new design will include a ‘Confidential Mode’
“Gmail on the web is getting a big update in the coming weeks with a new design and features, but Google is also introducing a new Confidential Mode. The Verge revealed the new design earlier this week, alongside features like quick reply to emails, the ability to snooze emails until later, and a new sidebar… Continue Reading
Protecting Email Privacy—A Battle We Need to Keep Fighting
EFF: “We filed an amicus brief in a federal appellate case called United States v. Ackerman Friday, arguing something most of us already thought was a given—that the Fourth Amendment protects the contents of your emails from warrantless government searches. Email and other electronic communications can contain highly personal, intimate details of our lives. As… Continue Reading
NBER – The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Innovation
The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Innovation, Iain M. Cockburn, Rebecca Henderson, Scott Stern, NBER Working Paper No. 24449. Issued in March 2018. “Artificial intelligence may greatly increase the efficiency of the existing economy. But it may have an even larger impact by serving as a new general-purpose “method of invention” that can reshape the… Continue Reading
CityLab – Since December 16, 1940 New York has not opened another new subway line
Why New York City Stopped Building Subways – Nearly 80 years ago, a construction standstill derailed the subway’s progress, leading to its present crisis. This is the story, decade by decade. “In the first decades of the 20th century, New York City experienced an unprecedented infrastructure boom. Iconic bridges, opulent railway terminals, and much of… Continue Reading
Guardian – Scientists accidentally create mutant enzyme that eats plastic bottles
The breakthrough, spurred by the discovery of plastic-eating bugs at a Japanese dump, could help solve the global plastic pollution crisis. “Scientists have created a mutant enzyme that breaks down plastic drinks bottles – by accident. The breakthrough could help solve the global plastic pollution crisis by enabling for the first time the full recycling… Continue Reading
Report: Boosting Energy Efficiency Would Bring Vast Health Benefits
Environmental Working Group: “A new report estimated the sweeping public health benefits that a 15 percent reduction in energy demand would yield in one year. The February report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, or ACEEE, and Physicians for Social Responsibility, or PSR, found that the savings from modestly cutting energy demand in… Continue Reading
