Association for Computing Machinery. Scholar One Manuscripts. Bias, Skew and Search Engines Are Sufficient to Explain Online Toxicity: “U.S. political discourse seems to have fissioned into discrete bubbles, each reflecting its own distorted image of the world. Many blame machine-learning algorithms that purportedly maximize “engagement” — serving up content that keeps YouTube or Facebook users… Continue Reading
Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery Since 2002
Category Archives: Search Engines
Using Google Search to Find Software Can Be Risky
Krebs on Security: “Google continues to struggle with cybercriminals running malicious ads on its search platform to trick people into downloading booby-trapped copies of popular free software applications. The malicious ads, which appear above organic search results and often precede links to legitimate sources of the same software, can make searching for software on Google… Continue Reading
Google’s Location Data Policy Update
EPIC: “In December 2023, Google announced an update to its location data policy to provide users with more control over their sensitive location information. While this seems like a promising step in the right direction, we should be mindful of Google’s long history of failing to uphold its privacy obligations and vigilant in monitoring Google’s… Continue Reading
A Search Engine That Finds You Weird Old Books
Clive Thompson: “(tl;dr — if you want to skip this essay and just try out my search tool, it’s here.) Last fall, I wrote about the concept of “rewilding your attention” — why it’s good to step away from the algorithmic feeds of big social media and find stranger stuff in nooks of the Internet.… Continue Reading
Google Maps is getting ‘supercharged’ with generative AI
The Verge: “Google is bringing generative AI to — where else? — Google Maps, promising to help users find cool places through the use of large language models (LLM). The feature will answer queries for restaurant or shopping recommendations, for example, using its LLM to “analyze Maps’ detailed information about more than 250 million places… Continue Reading
Can This A.I.-Powered Search Engine Replace Google? It Has for Me.
The New York Times [read free] “A start-up called Perplexity shows what’s possible for a search engine built from scratch with artificial intelligence…Perplexity. The year-old search engine, whose founders previously worked in A.I. research at OpenAI and Meta, has quickly become one of the most buzzed-about products in the tech world. Tech insiders rave about… Continue Reading
Find reading times for millions of books
“How Long to Read is a book search engine that helps you find out how long it will take to read books and provide reading time data that is tailored to you. With our simple WPM (words per minute) test you can find out how long it will take you to read almost anything, and… Continue Reading
EM-DAT – The international disaster database
“Inventorying hazards & disasters worldwide since 1988. EM-DAT contains data on the occurrence and impacts of over 26,000 mass disasters worldwide from 1900 to the present day. The database is compiled from various sources, including UN agencies, non-governmental organizations, reinsurance companies, research institutes, and press agencies. The Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters… Continue Reading
Keep Your Abortion Private & Secure
Digital Defense Fund: “This page is organized into different security-related threats. You can jump to the ones that most concern you. Along with each scenario is a list of digital security tips to neutralize the threat! These are possible concerns you might have: Seeing advertisements related to pregnancy/abortion Tech companies like Facebook and Google storing… Continue Reading
Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, or Safari: Which Browser Is Best for 2024?
PC Mag: “Most people browse the web using Google Chrome without really thinking about their options. Gmail or YouTube or some other site once suggested they use Chrome, and perhaps they never questioned it. The truth is you do have options when it comes to your web browser, and you may find another that serves… Continue Reading
Each Facebook User is Monitored by Thousands of Companies
Via LLRX – Each Facebook User is Monitored by Thousands of Companies – By now most internet users know their online activity is constantly tracked. No one should be shocked to see ads for items they previously searched for, or to be asked if their data can be shared with an unknown number of “partners.” But… Continue Reading
AI Browsers Are Here, and These Are the 5 Best Options
MakeUseOf: “Your web browser is your portal to the web. But what if it could be more than that? What if you could bring AI into your web browser to enhance and streamline your browsing process, creating a truly personalized browsing experience? Well, with an AI browser, you can.” Continue Reading
