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Monthly Archives: February 2020

These 26 words ‘created the internet’

CNN – The US government is coming for them – ” For decades, many of the biggest names in tech have leaned on a little-known law to avoid being held responsible for some of the most controversial content on their platforms. The companies have invoked this federal law, known as  Section 230 of the Communications… Continue Reading

AI Comes to the Tax Code

WSJ.com: “Governments are increasingly relying on machine learning and data analytics to analyze troves of data as they seek to detect tax evasion, respond to taxpayers’ questions and make themselves more efficient…The Internal Revenue Service is designing machine-built graphs to plot the relationships among participants in business deals, giving auditors a new tool to analyze… Continue Reading

How Lifesaving Organs For Transplant Go Missing In Transit

Kaiser Health News: “Scores of organs — mostly kidneys — are trashed each year and many more become critically delayed while being shipped on commercial airliners, a new investigation finds….In a nation where nearly 113,000 people are waiting for transplants, scores of organs — mostly kidneys — are discarded after they don’t reach their destination… Continue Reading

Chief FOIA Officers Council’s Technology Committee Releases Best Practices and Recommendations

National Archives FOIA Ombudsman: “Looking for ways to bolster the use of technology within the FOIA process? Check out a report from the Technology Committee (Committee) of the Chief FOIA Officers Council (Council) to the Council Co-Chairs that discusses FOIA Information Technology (IT) best practices and recommendations. In response to a recommendation by  the 2016-2018… Continue Reading

How Google Is Stopping Malicious Office Docs From Targeting Gmail Users

PC Magazine: “At the RSA security conference today, Google offered a rare look into the kinds of malicious attachments hackers will send to Gmail users. It turns out Microsoft Office documents secretly rigged to download malware are in vogue. In recent weeks, about 56 percent of the malicious attachments detected and blocked by Gmail’s filters… Continue Reading

Smithsonian Releases 2.8 Million Images Into Public Domain

Smithsonian Magazine – “Culture connoisseurs, rejoice: The Smithsonian Institution is inviting the world to engage with its vast repository of resources like never before. For the first time in its 174-year history, the Smithsonian has released 2.8 million high-resolution two- and three-dimensional images from across its collections onto an open access online platform for patrons… Continue Reading

Coronavirus Live Updates: Disruptions, Rising Cases, Market Tremors,Warnings

The New York Times Coronavirus Live Updates: “For the U.S., it’s not if but when, federal officials say. Americans should brace for the likelihood that the coronavirus will spread to communities in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Tuesday. “It’s not so much of a question of if this will… Continue Reading

Artificial intelligence What Think Tanks are thinking

European Parliamentary Research Service Blog: “Artificial intelligence (AI) is usually understood as the ability for a machine to display human-like capabilities such as reasoning, learning, planning and creativity. The ‘Holy Grail’ for many governments and companies seeking to benefit from the digital revolution, the first to invent and apply true AI could achieve an enormous… Continue Reading