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Monthly Archives: October 2024

How to find helpful content in a sea of made-for-Google BS

HouseFresh: “Uncovering the tactics used by big media content farms, SEO pattern makers, content thieves and AI slop creators to fool Google’s enshittified algorithm (so you don’t fall for them, too). At the beginning of 2024, we said Google was killing independent sites with its bias towards established media outlets, even in cases where these… Continue Reading

FCC Requires All Mobile Phones To Be Hearing Aid Compatible

The Federal Communications Commission today adopted new rules establishing that 100% of all mobile handsets—such as smartphones—must be compatible with hearing aids. With this change, the 48 million Americans with hearing loss will be able to choose among the same mobile phone models that are available to all consumers. Under the new rules, after a… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 19, 2024

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 19, 2024 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the… Continue Reading

We’re about to enter the Digital Dark Ages

Business Insider via MSN: “The long-promised digital apocalypse has finally arrived, and it was heralded by a blog post. Published on July 18, the post’s headline sounded pretty arcane. “Google URL Shortener links will no longer be available,” it declared. I know, I know — not exactly an attack of alien zombies from the death… Continue Reading

LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute Launches New Digital Archive

“Today, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF)’s Thurgood Marshall Institute announced the launch of Recollection: A Civil Rights Legal Archive, a first-of-its kind, searchable archival collection of oral histories, legal briefs, press releases, and correspondence related to more than 6,000 cases the organization has litigated since its founding. This effort is the culmination of five years… Continue Reading

Election Meddling, Censorship, and More Bad News in 2024 Freedom on the Net Report

“Freedom House released its annual Freedom on the Net report. It marks the 14th consecutive year of declines in internet freedom around the world, and chronicles concerning government interventions in elections.” Around the world, voters have been forced to make major decisions about their future while navigating a censored, distorted, and unreliable information space. Continue Reading

AI Detectors Falsely Accuse Students of Cheating With Big Consequences

Bloomberg: “About two-thirds of teachers report regularly using tools for detecting AI-generated content. At that scale, even tiny error rates can add up quickly…Since OpenAI’s ChatGPT brought generative AI to the mainstream almost two years ago, schools have raced to adapt to a changed landscape. Educators now rely on a growing crop of detection tools… Continue Reading

Inside Redbox’s insane bankruptcy unwinding

Sherwood: “Ever wanted to own 46 copies of Orlando Bloom’s latest movie? What about a dozen empty Redbox DVD cases? Or maybe an entire Redbox kiosk, free with local pickup? It’s all up for grabs, thanks to Redbox’s recent demise. The chain of DVD-rental kiosks filed for bankruptcy in June after racking up close to… Continue Reading

Student was punished for using AI then his parents sued teacher, administrators

Ars Technica: “A school district in Massachusetts was sued by a student’s parents after the boy was punished for using an artificial intelligence chatbot to complete an assignment. The lawsuit says the Hingham High School student handbook did not include a restriction on the use of AI. “They told us our son cheated on a… Continue Reading

How the Malleus maleficarum fueled the witch trial craze

Ars Technica: “Between 1400 and 1775, a significant upsurge of witch trials swept across early-modern Europe, resulting in the execution of an estimated 40,000–60,000 accused witches. Historians and social scientists have long studied this period in hopes of learning more about how large-scale social changes occur. Some have pointed to the invention of the printing… Continue Reading

Startup Can Identify Deepfake Video In Real Time

Wired: “Real-time video deepfakes are a growing threat for governments, businesses, and individuals. Recently, the chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations mistakenly took a video call with someone pretending to be a Ukrainian official. An international engineering company lost millions of dollars earlier in 2024 when one employee was tricked by a… Continue Reading