Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002

You Are Here: Home » Archives: May 2021

Daily Archives: May 18, 2021

MIT – Detect Political Fakes

by on

MIT Media Lab: “Did he say that? At Detect Political Fakes, we will show you a variety of media snippets (transcripts, audio, and videos). Half of the media snippets are real statements made by Joseph Biden and Donald Trump. The other half of the media snippets are fabricated. The media snippets that are fabricated are produced using deepfake technology. We are asking you to share how confident you are that a media snippet is real or fabricated.

Instructions –  We will show you a variety of media snippets including transcripts, audio files, and videos. Sometimes, we include subtitles. Sometimes, the video is silent. You can watch the videos as many times as you would like. Please share how confident you are that the individual really said what we show. If you have seen the video before today, please select the checkbox that says “I’ve already seen this video.” And remember, half of the media snippets that we present are statements that the individual actually said…”

Truth, Lies, and Automation – How Language Models Could Change Disinformation

by on

Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, Center for Security and Emerging Technology: Truth, Lies, and Automation How Language Models Could Change Disinformation. Ben Buchanan, Andrew Lohn, Micah Musser, Katerina Sedova. May 2021. “Growing popular and industry interest in high-performing natural language generation models has led to concerns that such models could be used to… Continue Reading

U.S. Media Index database shows news consumers who owns what

by on

Harvard University – Nieman Lab: “If you ever wanted to track down who owns a news outlet, it’s now much easier to do it. The U.S. Media Index database by the Future of Media Project has done the grueling work of compiling that information for us. The databases includes three indices: The U.S. Mainstream Media… Continue Reading

The untold story of how Florence Nightingale used data viz to save lives

by on

Fast Company – “Florence Nightingale is well known as the founder of modern nursing. But after seeing the terrible conditions facing soldiers she treated during the Crimean War, she became a fierce public health advocate. And she harnessed new ways of showing data to do so. Nightingale was a lifelong information designer. As a child,… Continue Reading

FBI Report – America’s Deadly Domestic Extremism Worst In 24 Years

by on

HuffPo: “Killings by American domestic extremists in 2019 were the worst in the nation in 24 years, according to a chilling new report released by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Of the 32 killings by extremists in five separate attacks in 2019 — the most lethal year for domestic extremist assaults since… Continue Reading

More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean

by on

Research Article. Environmental Studies. [Full text is Free] More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean. J. J. Meijer, Tim van Emmerik, Ruud van der Ent, Christian Schmidt and Laurent Lebreton. Science Advances 30 Apr 2021:Vol. 7, no. 18, eaaz5803 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz5803 See also – The Ocean Cleanup:… Continue Reading

What executives are saying about the future of hybrid work

by on

McKinsey: “In the postpandemic future of work, nine out of ten organizations will be combining remote and on-site working, according to a new McKinsey survey of 100 executives across industries and geographies. The survey confirms that productivity and customer satisfaction have increased during the pandemic. Despite the embrace of a hybrid model, though, most organizations… Continue Reading

How to Do Research in International Law? A Basic Guide for Beginners

by on

Lieblich, Eliav, How to Do Research in International Law? A Basic Guide for Beginners (October 4, 2020). 62 Harvard International Law Journal Online (2021), Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3704776 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3704776 “This is a basic guide for students taking their first steps in international legal research. It mainly deals with thinking about and framing research questions,… Continue Reading

Report – Twenty firms produce 55% of world’s plastic waste

by on

The Guardian – Plastic Waste Makers index identifies those driving climate crisis with virgin polymer production. Twenty companies are responsible for producing more than half of all the single-use plastic waste in the world, fuelling the climate crisis and creating an environmental catastrophe, new research reveals. Among the global businesses responsible for 55% of the… Continue Reading

Net Zero by 2050

by on

International Energy Agency press release  – “The number of countries announcing pledges to achieve net-zero emissions over the coming decades continues to grow. But the pledges by governments to date – even if fully achieved – fall well short of what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net zero by 2050… Continue Reading