Washington Post -“With remote proctors watching them take tests, some worry that even leaving for the bathroom will brand them as cheats…“Online proctoring” companies saw in coronavirus shutdowns a chance to capitalize on a major reshaping of education, selling schools a high-tech blend of webcam-watching workers and eye-tracking software designed to catch students cheating on… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: November 2020
LC – New Web Resource: Indigenous Law Web Archive
In Custodia Legis: “The Law Library collects and preserves legal materials for American law, foreign law, and sovereign Indigenous nations. Many governments, including Indigenous national, tribal and community governments, are transitioning from print to solely digital formats for publishing their laws. The Law Library is working to collect and preserve these materials. To further these… Continue Reading
White House issues guidance for federal agencies on AI applications
ZDNet – “US federal agencies have now been issued a guidance by the White House on how to regulate artificial intelligence (AI) applications that are produced in the US. “This memorandum sets out policy considerations that should guide, to the extent permitted by law, regulatory and non-regulatory approaches to AI applications developed and deployed outside… Continue Reading
Wonder Tools – Google’s New Journalist Studio
Jeremy Kaplan: “Google recently launched Journalist Studio, a toolkit with free reporting and data visualization resources. The tools are easy to use, well-designed and immediately applicable to big reporting projects and small research inquiries. Some of these tools have been around for a while, so part of this launch is just glossy repackaging. Pinpoint is the… Continue Reading
Timelapse Videos Show How Much Our Houseplants Move in a Day
Moss and Fog: “Houseplants maybe don’t get the love they deserve. From filtering our air to lowering our blood pressure, there are a host of reasons why houseplants are a great part of a beautiful home. But maybe you think they just sit still all day? Not so, it seems. Thanks to some handy time-lapse… Continue Reading
#Protect2020 Rumor vs. Reality
Chris Krebs, the DHS Director of Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, was fired by President Trump on November 17, 2020. His agency’s website, “RumorControl – Mis- and Disinformation can undermine public confidence in the electoral process, as well as in our democracy,” is still online but may not continue. “This webpage is for people with… Continue Reading
Turn Off Gmail’s ‘Smart’ Features to Avoid Tracking
Lifehacker: “Google collects data on everything you do while using its products and services. Sometimes this data is sold to advertisers; sometimes it’s used to make it easier to use Google’s products. For example, Google uses data from Gmail, Chat, and Meet to make the entire Google user experience more convenient, like how it’ll learn… Continue Reading
How to Block Spam Calls on Android and iPhone
Lifehacker: “In the time it takes you to watch the video above, you will probably receive 3-5 spam calls. Or at least it feels like that. Robocalls are hard to block because they 1) always come from a different number and 2) often come from your own area code, to make you think it’s someone… Continue Reading
The Climate Transparency Report 2020 – Climate Change Has Hit the U.S. Harder Than Any Other G20 Country
“The Climate Transparency Report (previously known as “Brown to Green Report”) is the world’s most comprehensive annual review of G20 countries’ climate action and their transition to a net-zero emissions economy. The review is based on 100 indicators for adaptation, mitigation and finance and aims to make good practices and gaps transparent. The summary report… Continue Reading
The Substackerati
Did a newsletter company create a more equitable media system—or replicate the flaws of the old one? – “Substack, established in 2017 by three tech-and-media guys—Chris Best, Hamish McKenzie, and Jairaj Sethi—is a newsletter platform that allows writers and other creative types to distribute their work at tiered subscription rates. Newsletters go back at least… Continue Reading
The platypus is a remarkable mammal found only in Australia
Via Going to Maine – “In addition to being a “duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed, egg-laying aquatic [venomous mammal]”, platypii are also bioluminescent! Vice, National Geographic, The New York Times, Phys.org, The Cut, and Science News have reportage on the forthcoming paper in Mammalia“ Continue Reading
Why Two Decades of Pandemic Planning Failed
Medium – The Cicero Institute: “At the commencement of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, the United States government flailed and then failed in its attempt to respond to the crisis. Americans couldn’t help but ask why the government didn’t have a plan for this situation, a situation that was not only predictable, but which many scientists… Continue Reading
