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Daily Archives: May 24, 2021

‘Belonging Is Stronger Than Facts’: The Age of Misinformation

The New York Times – “We are in an era of endemic misinformation — and outright disinformation. Plenty of bad actors are helping the trend along. But the real drivers, some experts believe, are social and psychological forces that make people prone to sharing and believing misinformation in the first place. And those forces are on the rise. “Why are misperceptions about contentious issues in politics and science seemingly so persistent and difficult to correct?” Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth College political scientist, posed in a new paper in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It’s not for want of good information, which is ubiquitous. Exposure to good information does not reliably instill accurate beliefs anyway. Rather, Dr. Nyhan writes, a growing body of evidence suggests that the ultimate culprits are “cognitive and memory limitations, directional motivations to defend or support some group identity or existing belief, and messages from other people and political elites.” Put more simply, people become more prone to misinformation when three things happen. First, and perhaps most important, is when conditions in society make people feel a greater need for what social scientists call ingrouping — a belief that their social identity is a source of strength and superiority, and that other groups can be blamed for their problems…”

Biden executive order bets big on zero trust for the future of US cybersecurity

TechRepublic: “This post focuses on the Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity and its impact on cybersecurity and the zero trust approach. The Biden administration also published a fact sheet: “President Signs Executive Order Charting New Course to Improve the Nation’s Cybersecurity and Protect Federal Government Networks” giving a solid summary of the executive order that… Continue Reading

Survey reveals the extent of surveillance on the remote workforce

“With many companies extending their remote-work policies indefinitely, employers are increasingly exploring new ways to oversee their staff’s productivity. But this challenge is giving rise to solutions that may have disastrous consequences for individual privacy. In a study commissioned by ExpressVPN, in collaboration with Pollfish, 2,000 employers and 2,000 employees who work in a remote… Continue Reading

The Evolving Network of Legal Scholars

Hayashi, Andrew T., The Evolving Network of Legal Scholars (April 25, 2021). Virginia Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper No. 2021-25, Virginia Law and Economics Research Paper No. 2021-12, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3833993 “The law professoriate is a network connected by scholarly interactions of various types, including co-authorship. I study the evolution of the… Continue Reading

Corporate offices need to change in one major way says ServiceNow CEO

ZDNet – “In the age of hybrid work that’s upon us, companies need to dramatically rethink how they approach their office space. As ServiceNow CEO Bill McDermott told a group of analysts and reporters during the company’s Knowledge 2021 event, “Nobody wants to play office anymore.” For as long as they’ve existed, corporate office buildings have… Continue Reading

EPA – Climate Change Indicators in the United States

“The Earth’s climate is changing. Temperatures are rising, snow and rainfall patterns are shifting, and more extreme climate events – like heavy rainstorms and record high temperatures – are already happening. Many of these observed changes are linked to the rising levels of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, caused by human… Continue Reading