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Monthly Archives: January 2023

2022 Close-Up Photographer of the Year Competition

Colossal – Nature’s Diversity is Captured in Minuscule Detail: “Among the winning images of the Close-Up Photographer of the Year contest, frilly slime mold stems from leaves, elegant insects splay colorful wings, and microscopic patterns create vivid abstractions. Now in its fourth year, the competition attracted more than 9,000 entries from 54 countries. The overall… Continue Reading

The Right to Equal Protection and Fourth Amendment Rights Are Distinct Rights

Courts Must Protect Both: “On behalf of MACDL, Attorney Wood and a team of attorneys from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr recently filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Judicial Court to fully enforce people’s rights not to be targeted for stops based on their race, regardless of whether the police have reasonable suspicion.… Continue Reading

Emergency measures needed to rescue Great Salt Lake from ongoing collapse

BYU Report – Great Salt Lake is facing unprecedented danger. “Without a dramatic increase in water flow to the lake in 2023 and 2024, its disappearance could cause immense damage to Utah’s public health, environment, and economy. This briefing provides background and recommends emergency measures. The choices we make over the next few months will… Continue Reading

The Opt Out: When it comes to privacy, smart devices are not the smarter choice

Popular Science: “The technology in modern home appliances has breathed new life (and plausibility) into the old saying “If these walls could talk.” Your fridge and smart speaker may not have mouths, but they have an internet connection, and that can be more dangerous than the sharpest of tongues. …Tech companies and manufacturers have made… Continue Reading

The Supply and Demand of Legal Help on the Internet

Hagan, Margaret, The Supply and Demand of Legal Help on the Internet (October 17, 2022). Margaret D. Hagan “The Supply and Demand of Legal Help on the Internet,” Legal Tech and the Future of Civil Justice, edited by David Freeman Engstrom. Cambridge University Press, Forthcoming., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4250390 “Faith in technology as a way… Continue Reading

Top AI conference bans use of ChatGPT and AI language tools to write academic papers

Follow up to previous post – NYC education department blocks ChatGPT on school devices, networks – via The Verge: “One of the world’s most prestigious machine learning conferences has banned authors from using AI tools like ChatGPT to write scientific papers, triggering a debate about the role of AI-generated text in academia. The International Conference… Continue Reading

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, in talks for tender offer

MarketWatch: “Artificial-intelligence research company OpenAI is in discussions over potentially selling at least $300 million in shares in a tender offer that would give it a roughly $29 billion valuation, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The offering of shares of OpenAI — known for AI programs like the chatbot ChatGPT and the image-generator Dall-E… Continue Reading

A Guide To Getting Data Visualization Right

Smashing Magazine: “Data visualizations are everywhere; from the news to the nutritional info on cereal boxes, we’re constantly being presented with graphical representations of data. Why? Data visualization is a method of communication. Using the right type can help you quickly convey nuanced information to your audience in a visually appealing way. However, the diversity… Continue Reading

How Twitter misleads us about how many people have left and what to do about it

Dr. J. Nathan Matias – Medium: “Why are so many people staying on Twitter, even after the company gutted its child safety team, struggled with information security problems, violated user privacy for political ends, and brought nazis back to the platform? To outside observers, it can seem like Twitter users are continuing as before, seemingly… Continue Reading