AP: “Tech behemoth OpenAI has touted its artificial intelligence-powered transcription tool Whisper as having near “human level robustness and accuracy.” But Whisper has a major flaw: It is prone to making up chunks of text or even entire sentences, according to interviews with more than a dozen software engineers, developers and academic researchers. Those experts… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: October 2024
A gigantic chart that explains absolutely everything
This chart is an overview of Meaningness and Time: the past, present, and future of culture, society, and our selves. It shows how the modes of meaningness manifest in many aspects of life. Some people find this sort of systematic presentation helpful; others do not. Skip it if you are one of those who don’t.… Continue Reading
The State of Local News 2024
Expanding Deserts, Shifts in Ownership, and Expanded Digital Coverage. Medill’s 2024 Report: A More Holistic Snapshot of a Rapidly Changing Local News Industry – “An introduction to the 2024 State of Local News Report by Tim Franklin, Senior Associate Dean and John M. Mutz Chair in Local News and Director of the Medill Local News… Continue Reading
“Not Medically Necessary”
ProPublica: Inside the Company Helping America’s Biggest Health Insurers Deny Coverage for Care: “Every day, patients across America crack open envelopes with bad news. Yet another health insurer has decided not to pay for a treatment that their doctor has recommended. Sometimes it’s a no for an MRI for a high school wrestler with a… Continue Reading
Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP)
The GHGRP requires reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) data and other relevant information from large GHG emission sources, fuel and industrial gas suppliers, and CO2 injection sites in the United States. Approximately 8,000 facilities are required to report their emissions annually, and the reported data are made available to the public in October of each… Continue Reading
Why millions of Americans avoid the news and what it means for the election
Nieman Lab: “We are seeing a huge divide between people who are interested in news and those who are not, and I suspect that this divide is intensifying…Benjamin Toff is one of the leading experts on the rise of news avoidance and one of the authors of this recent book on this issue, based on survey data… Continue Reading
USGS Releases New Products that Map Four Decades of Land Cover Change
The U.S. Geological Survey today released a newly updated and improved National Land Cover Database, known as Annual NLCD, which offers insights into the changing characteristics of landscapes across the conterminous United States from 1985 to 2023. The latest dataset incorporates assessments and projections into six new products, which will now be released on an… Continue Reading
15 Best Amazon Alternatives For Ethical Online Shopping
goodgoodgood [June 2022] Amazon, the company that catapulted founder Jeff Bezos to billionaire status (and to the edge of space), has long been touted as environmentally unfriendly; the company emits the same level of carbon emissions as the country of Norway, according to a report released by Amazon in 2019. Its impact on the environment,… Continue Reading
World’s largest gravesite collection
Find A Grave: Find the graves of ancestors, create virtual memorials or add photos, virtual flowers and a note to a loved one’s memorial. Search or browse cemeteries and grave records for every-day and famous people from around the world. Slate – My Weekends With the Dead – “In 2017, I decided to solve a… Continue Reading
Invasive and Exotic Species of North America
Invasive.org is a joint project of University of Georgia – Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA Forest Service, USDA Identification Technology Program, and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Invasive and Exotic Species of North America – any species, including its seeds, eggs, spores, or… Continue Reading
Gun Companies Gave Customers’ Sensitive Personal Information to Political Operatives
ProPublica: “For years, America’s most iconic gun-makers turned over sensitive personal information on hundreds of thousands of customers to political operatives. Those operatives, in turn, secretly employed the details to rally firearm owners to elect pro-gun politicians running for Congress and the White House, a ProPublica investigation has found. The clandestine sharing of gun buyers’… Continue Reading
Harris, Trump Voters Differ Over Election Security, Vote Counts and Hacking Concerns
Pew: More than seven-in-ten registered voters in the U.S. (73%) think the election this November will be run and administered at least somewhat well. Nine-in-ten Harris supporters say this, compared with 57% of Trump supporters. Just 20% of voters are highly confident the Supreme Court would be politically neutral if it rules on legal issues… Continue Reading
