Widder, D.G., Whittaker, M. & West, S.M. Why ‘open’ AI systems are actually closed, and why this matters. Nature 635, 827–833 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08141-1. “This paper examines ‘open’ artificial intelligence (AI). Claims about ‘open’ AI often lack precision, frequently eliding scrutiny of substantial industry concentration in large-scale AI development and deployment, and often incorrectly applying understandings… Continue Reading
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Category Archives: Internet
How to Mass Delete Emails on Gmail: Best Way to Declutter
TechRepublic: “Having an email inbox full of read, unneeded messages can cause problems, especially in the Gmail mobile app. When you have thousands of emails, the Gmail app search function can get bogged down. In addition, all those obsolete emails require storage space, and soon, Gmail will force you to delete emails to free up… Continue Reading
52 things I learned in 2024
Tim Whitwell: Just a preview: When writing a sentence, don’t keep your reader waiting. [David Crystal via The Browser] Millions of free bikes have been given to children in rural India, doubling the number of girls cycling to school, increasing attendance and reducing dropouts. [Rachita Vora] On 30 September 2024, the UK became the first… Continue Reading
Bookmark ‘Calculator Soup’
Lifehacker – For the Next Time You Need to Convert Just About Anything – “We all have a few go-to calculations that we find ourselves doing often, like converting ounces to cups or miles to kilometers—that sort of thing. When I need to do a quick conversion, I use Calculator Soup, a simple website offering… Continue Reading
This Website Shows How Much Google’s AI Can Glean From Your Photos
Wired [unpaywalled] – “Software engineer Vishnu Mohandas decided he would quit Google in more ways than one when he learned the tech giant had briefly helped the US military develop AI to study drone footage. In 2020, he left his job working on Google Assistant and also stopped backing up all of his images to… Continue Reading
Yes, That Viral LinkedIn Post You Read Was Probably AI-Generated
Wired: “AI-generated writing is now all over the internet. The introduction of automated prose can sometimes change a website’s character, like when once beloved publications get purchased and overhauled into AI content mills. Other times, however, it’s harder to argue that AI really changed anything. For example, look at LinkedIn. The Microsoft-owned social media site… Continue Reading
Two Hundred Million Bluesky posts scrapped by 2 different groups
Failla A, Rossetti G (2024) “I’m in the Bluesky Tonight”: Insights from a year worth of social data. PLoS ONE 19(11): e0310330. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0310330 “Pollution of online social spaces caused by rampaging d/misinformation is a growing societal concern. However, recent decisions to reduce access to social media APIs are causing a shortage of publicly available, recent,… Continue Reading
Surveillance Self-Defense Tips, Tools and How-tos for Safer Online Communications
We’re the Electronic Frontier Foundation, an independent non-profit working to protect online privacy for over thirty years. This is Surveillance Self-Defense: our expert guide to protecting you and your friends from online spying. Surveillance Self-Defense (SSD) is a guide to protecting yourself from electronic surveillance for people all over the world. Some aspects of this… Continue Reading
Remember Nuzzel? A similar news-aggregating tool now exists for Bluesky
Nieman Lab: “The creator of Sill says “the death of the link” has had disastrous consequences for journalism, art, and the web. His free social media tool entered public beta on Friday. The link collection tool Sill is now available to all Bluesky and Mastodon users, the app’s creator Tyler Fisher announced on Friday. If… Continue Reading
Wired – We Tracked Every Visitor to Epstein Island
This report includes video and transcript [unpaywalled] Even in death, the secrets of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and his infamous private island remain tightly guarded. But in 2024 WIRED conducted an investigation uncovering the data of mobile devices belonging to almost 200 of his visitors. How strong was the data? So precise that we followed… Continue Reading
The Law of Digital Resurrection
Haneman, Victoria J., The Law of Digital Resurrection (July 17, 2024). __ B.C. L. Rev. __ (forthcoming 2025)., Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4899324 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4899324 The digital right to be dead has yet to be recognized as an important legal right. Artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and nanotechnology have progressed to the point that personal data can… Continue Reading
America’s News Influencers – A Study
The creators and consumers in the world of news and information on social media. In the heat of the 2024 election, news influencers seemed to be everywhere. Both Republicans and Democrats credentialed content creators to cover their conventions – and encouraged influencers to share their political messages. Influencers also interviewed the candidates and held fundraisers… Continue Reading
