New researches

Saturday, April 22, 2023

Health Inequality Data Repository, California Climate Action, Prince Edward Island Plants, More: Saturday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, April 22, 2023

Health Inequality Data Repository, California Climate Action, Prince Edward Island Plants, More: Saturday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, April 22, 2023
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

World Health Organization: Launch of the Health Inequality Data Repository. “The Health Inequality Data Repository is the largest global collection of disaggregated data about health and determinants of health – with nearly 11 million data points across more than 2000 indicators. These data can be explored directly through the Health Equity Assessment Toolkit (HEAT), an interactive software which facilitates the examination of inequalities and the evaluation of relevant interventions to address them.”

State of California: Here’s How Californians Can Save Money and Fight Climate Change. “Launched during Earth Week, the new California Climate Action website connects Californians with programs that support a transition to a greener, more sustainable future – including zero emission vehicle (ZEV) incentives, home energy upgrades and turf replacement rebates.”

CBC: A guide to P.E.I. plants in your pocket — so everyone can be a botanist. “A new online guide is available to help budding scientists find and identify plants on P.E.I. The Illustrated Flora of Prince Edward Island includes information on more than 1,000 species of plants. The guide can be used on a mobile phone, and any new discoveries can be added to the database once they’ve been verified.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Casper Star-Tribune: WYDOT plans to delete 8 Twitter accounts after company creates cap. “The Wyoming Department of Transportation is planning to delete eight of its Twitter accounts after the social media giant announced it would heavily cap automated tweets for non-subscribers. WYDOT will still be using 511 Notify to send out alerts, but with Twitter out of the picture, they’ll only be available over text message or email.” I wonder how difficult it would be to make a tool for these agencies to automatically distribute alerts via RSS? I mean, it’s just text formatted in a certain way.

USEFUL STUFF

WIRED: 11 Smart Prompts to Do More With Google Bard. “The suggestions below should get you off to a great start with Bard. Remember that you can edit your prompt using the pencil icon that appears next to it (and Bard will adjust its output accordingly). You can also see variations on Bard’s answers by clicking on the ‘View other drafts’ drop-down menu.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Mashable: Dril and other Twitter power users begin campaign to ‘Block the Blue’ paid checkmarks. “To stress how important @dril is to Twitter, let’s put it this way: Last month, Platformer reported(opens in a new tab) on a secret ‘VIP’ list of just 35 popular accounts that Musk wanted to promote(opens in a new tab) to users via the algorithm to encourage more use of the platform. That list included NBA star LeBron James, President Joe Biden, YouTube’s most subscribed creator Mr. Beast, and @dril. ‘I am actively rooting for the downfall of twitter,’ @dril tells me. ‘I hope to sabotage their efforts to become profitable, no matter how futile, in the hopes that they will eventually close up shop and release us all from this toilet.'”

Daily Beast: Former Parler Employees Trash Company, Plot New Website. “Former employees at Parler, the alternative social media platform used to help organize the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol building, are privately fuming that their site was sold and are brainstorming ways to re-launch the controversial platform.”

TechCrunch: HUSSLUP, a LinkedIn for the entertainment biz, launches web app in beta. “HUSSLUP, currently an invite-only beta, is a job search and networking app for creative professionals in the media and entertainment industry to connect with studios and production companies looking to hire talent. Today, the company announced a web version of its mobile app. It will roll out widely next week.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Black Enterprise: Cardi B Preparing To Seize Tasha K’s Property To Satisfy $4m Judgment Won In Defamation Suit. “The saga between Bronx-bred recording artist Cardi B and vlogger Tasha K has reached the next stage. According to AllHipHop, the next step for Cardi B to obtain the money won in a defamation lawsuit against Tasha K has been taken. The media outlet obtained legal documents that show that the Bodak Yellow rapper has been given the right to start seizing property owned by the woman who defamed her.” If you haven’t followed the case, this article has a lot of background.

RESEARCH & OPINION

US Department of Defense: DOD Makes Climate Assessment Tool Available to Partner Nations. “Recently, the department expanded [DOD Climate Assessment Tool] to include over 400 locations outside the United States. But also, the department has been developing a separate capability, the Climate Assessment Tool, or CAT, that will be provided to several partner nations to give those countries access to an assessment tool similar to DCAT to enable their own climate change exposure analyses.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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April 23, 2023 at 12:52AM
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Clitheroe Advertiser, Wisconsin Lead Poisoning, Twitter, More: Saturday ResearchBuzz, April 22, 2023

Clitheroe Advertiser, Wisconsin Lead Poisoning, Twitter, More: Saturday ResearchBuzz, April 22, 2023
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

Burnley Express: Historic Clitheroe Advertiser archive from 1888 to 2015 now online thanks to civic society efforts. “Digitised versions of the Clitheroe Advertiser and Times have been been made free and available to all online thanks to the work of Clitheroe Civic Society and partners.” Clitheroe is a town in England about 35 miles from Manchester.

Channel 3000: DHS launches childhood lead poisoning map. “The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has launched a new tool to find out how many children are getting lead poisoning in various parts of the state. The interactive map, called the Wisconsin Childhood Lead Poisoning Data Explorer, shows childhood lead poisoning data for children under age 6.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

The Verge: LeBron James didn’t pay for his Twitter checkmark, but Elon Musk gave it to him anyway. “Twitter has started getting rid of legacy blue checks for those who don’t pay up. Well, unless you’re LeBron James and a couple of other celebrities. The Verge has confirmed that an employee at Twitter recently emailed James, who has previously said he wouldn’t pay for verification, to ‘extend a complimentary subscription to Twitter Blue for your account, @kingjames, on behalf of Elon Musk.'”

Engadget: Google gives Bard the ability to generate and debug code. “Google’s Bard chatbot now has the capability to help you with programming tasks. The tech giant said that coding has been one of its users’ top requests, and now it has given Bard the ability to generate, debug and explain code. Bard can now write in 20 programming languages, including C++, Java, JavaScript and Python. It now also features integration with Google’s other products and can export code to Colab, the company’s cloud-based notebook environment for Python, as well as help users write functions for Sheets.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

CNBC: Google’s 80-acre San Jose mega-campus is on hold as company reckons with economic slowdown. “In June 2021, Google won approval to build an 80-acre campus, spanning 7.3 million square feet of office space, in San Jose, California, the third-largest city in the country’s most populous state. The estimated economic impact: $19 billion. The timing couldn’t have been worse.”

Lewiston Tribune: Students start database for Indigenous victims. “Students at the University of Idaho are working to create a comprehensive database of missing and murdered Indigenous people to help ensure these tragedies are no longer glanced over.”

IANS: Sundar Pichai took home $226 mn in 2022 amid layoffs at Google. “Amid job cuts at Google’s parent company Alphabet, its CEO Sundar Pichai took home a whopping compensation of nearly $226 million in 2022. According to the tech giant’s filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Pichaia’s compensation included stock awards of about $218 million.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

New York Times: Airman Shared Sensitive Intelligence More Widely and for Longer Than Previously Known. “The Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified documents to a small group of gamers had been posting sensitive information months earlier than previously known and to a much larger chat group, according to online postings reviewed by The New York Times.”

Associated Press: Thefts tied to viral social media challenge prompt 17 states to urge recall of Kia, Hyundai cars. “Attorneys general in 17 states on Thursday urged the federal government to recall millions of Kia and Hyundai cars because they are too easy to steal, a response to a sharp increase in thefts fueled by a viral social media challenge. Some Kia and Hyundai cars sold in the United States over the last decade do not have engine immobilizers, a standard feature on most cars that prevents the engine from starting unless the key is present.”

Japan Times: Hong Kong student arrested over comments made on social media while in Japan. “Amid growing fears of China’s crackdown on free speech, a Hong Kong student studying at a Japanese university was arrested upon returning home last month over comments made on social media during her time in Japan.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

University of Michigan: ‘Alexa, set the alarm for me to take my medication’. “Older adults use voice assistant devices more often with training and flyers with instructions to complement their daily routine, according to a new University of Michigan study that looked at long-term usage.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

Arizona State University: Solar-powered libraries help Syrian communities rebuild from war. “The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, a self-governing community that formed in 2012, is highly diverse, with residents who are from many different ethnic and religious groups. As they work to create a new K–12 school system based on their region’s commitment to democratic principles, tolerance and gender equality, they have turned to SolarSPELL for help.” Good morning, Internet..

April 22, 2023 at 05:31PM
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Friday, April 21, 2023

Marine Microplastics, Flipboard, Content Labeling, More: Friday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, April 21, 2023

Marine Microplastics, Flipboard, Content Labeling, More: Friday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, April 21, 2023
By ResearchBuzz

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

NOAA: New Oceaneye Partnership Brings Expansion to Microplastics Database. “NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and non-profit organization Oceaneye have created a partnership to improve and expand the Marine Microplastics database. The objective of this partnership is to not only expand the database, but to also establish a diverse international community of public users.”

TechCrunch: Flipboard brings editorial curation to Mastodon with ‘desks’ for news and discovery. “Magazine app Flipboard is furthering its investment in the Fediverse — the distributed social media ecosystem that includes apps like Mastodon and others — with its newly announced plan to establish its first editorial desks to curate news for the wider federated community.”

Deadline: Public Media Body Demands Twitter Drop “Government-Funded Media” Label From All Accounts. “It may have ceded to the BBC, but Elon Musk’s Twitter is back under pressure from the world’s public service broadcasters. The Global Task Force for Public Media has called on the social media platform to correct the designation of four of its members on the site.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

New York Times: Ukraine’s Social Media Stars Rethink How They Wield Their Influence. “Like [Anna] Tsukur, thousands of influencers creating content about everything from children’s games to beauty tips and from science to comedy switched to Ukrainian from Russian after the full-scale invasion, in many cases overnight, according to Vira Slyvinska, a senior executive at AIR Media-Tech, an international company founded by Ukrainians that supports online content creators. Some have also drastically shifted focus, abandoning their original topics for videos that support the country’s war effort. But by far the bigger change was the switch in language.”

CTech: Ever-evolving Israeli Generative AI landscape – the updated map . “The U.S. and China are in the lead, but Israel has certainly earned itself a place as one of the leading centers of excellence in the global AI ecosystem with companies like AI21 Labs, which is developing a large language model named Jurassic, which can be considered as an alternative to GPT.”

The New Republic: They Did It for the Clicks. “The digital era has staged a corporate contest not for truth but for attention—a malleable asset that can be put to countless uses, whether it be to convince readers the 2020 election was stolen or to show them how their preference for Netflix over Hulu means they’re totally a Gorgonzola. All content now is designed to be shareable, to get us to click—but shareable for what? Once you have caught the public’s attention, what do you do with it? What social, political, or cultural purpose does a page impression, a retweet, a video view serve?”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Globe and Mail: Google denies it engaged in ‘astroturfing’ to lobby Ottawa through third parties . “Google denied accusations in a Commons committee Thursday that it had engaged in ‘astroturfing’ campaigns to lobby against federal bills by paying individuals and other organizations to oppose them.”

BBC: Mark Page: Smart speaker audio matched paedophile ex-Radio 1 DJ’s voice. “A former Radio 1 DJ jailed for child sex offences was caught partly by matching smart speaker audio to his distinctive voice, it has emerged. Mark Page was jailed for arranging sexual abuse of children in the Philippines, both online and in person. Data from Google Takeout was used for the first time during the two-year investigation by Cleveland Police.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

CNBC: Read the internal memo Alphabet sent in merging A.I.-focused groups DeepMind and Google Brain. “Alphabet is merging an internal Google Research team called Brain with DeepMind, a move designed to bring two groups focused on artificial intelligence closer together as the battle for AI heats up.” Good afternoon, Internet…

April 22, 2023 at 02:35AM
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BlueBio Database, Lower Manhattan Architecture, Bluesky, More: Friday ResearchBuzz, April 21, 2023

BlueBio Database, Lower Manhattan Architecture, Bluesky, More: Friday ResearchBuzz, April 21, 2023
By ResearchBuzz

SEARCH GIZMO OF THE DAY: Wikidata Quick Dip
WQD makes accessing Wikidata’s over 10,000 data properties easier. Paste in a Wikipedia category name, and Quick Dip will process the information and generate a dropdown list of Wikidata properties shared by at least 10% of the pages within that category. Chose a property and you’ll get a list of the pages containing that property as well as the property values.

NEW RESOURCES

Scientific Data: The BlueBio project’s database: web-mapping cooperation to create value for the Blue Bioeconomy . “Here we present the BlueBio database: a first comprehensive and robust compilation of internationally and nationally funded research projects active in the years 2003–2019 in Fisheries, Aquaculture, Seafood Processing and Marine Biotechnology.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation: New Historic Images Show Remarkable Preservation Progress and Loss in Our Neighborhoods Over the Last 25 Years. “We’re extremely proud to share two new collections added to our historic image archive, taken between 1994 and 2001 as part of an effort by Village Preservation and historian and preservationist Susan DeVries to document vulnerable historic sites in Lower Manhattan with the hopes of securing their preservation.”

9to5Google: Decentralized Twitter competitor ‘Bluesky’ now has an Android app . “In 2019, Jack Dorsey announced a project to ‘create an open and decentralized standard for social media.’ Bluesky has spent the past several years developing the underlying protocol. After an iOS app in February, Bluesky for Android is now available as an invite-only beta.”

The Register: Google Fi still kicking, gets third rebrand in less than a decade. “Beginning life in 2015 as Project Fi, then Google Fi, and now Google Fi Wireless, Google also announced some new services and features for its mobile virtual network (which operates on T-Mobile and US Cellular’s networks), including expanded support for some smartwatches and a seven-day free trial for new customers.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

New York Times: The Future of Social Media Is a Lot Less Social. “Facebook, TikTok and Twitter seem to be increasingly connecting users with brands and influencers. To restore a sense of community, some users are trying smaller social networks.”

Sydney Morning Herald: Snapchat, the quirky little brother of social media, grows up in influencer chase. “At a media conference overnight in California, Snap unveiled a host of new features designed to encourage more influencers to post on the platform in a move away from its origins a decade ago as a tool for friends to message each other. It also said it would make its AI chatbot, which has been a subscriber-only feature, available to all users.”

NPR: An app is the latest tool, and barrier, for migrants at the southern U.S. border. “In January of this year, the Biden administration unveiled a new app specifically for asylum-seekers and other migrants without valid visas. CBP One is supposed to help alleviate the crisis at the southern border, but the app, which users say constantly glitches or produces error messages, is what often stands between migrants and their dream of finding safety in the U.S. NPR’s Eyder Peralta has this report from Matamoros, Mexico.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Inquirer (Philippines): For weeks, PNP staff database was exposed – cyber expert. “An unprotected database containing more than a million identity documents and private records of Philippine National Police personnel and applicants was exposed online for at least six weeks before access to the data was restricted in March, according to a report by a cybersecurity tracker.”

NDTV: Google Told To Remove False Content On Aaradhya Bachchan From YouTube. “The Delhi High Court on Thursday restrained several YouTube channels from publishing misleading content on the health of Aaradhya Bachchan, daughter of actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, saying spreading misinformation about a child reflects ‘morbid perversity’.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Phys .org: Using social media activity to monitor and respond to population displacement in Ukraine. “This new study, published in the Population and Development Review, provides an innovative metric to monitor population displacement in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion. The metric combines daily United Nations data on how many people are crossing the Ukrainian border with the researchers’ daily data on active Facebook users to monitor population displacement across Ukraine provinces.”

The Conversation: As digital activists, teens of color turn to social media to fight for a more just world . “My study adds to a growing body of research that has found young people of color can bring about change when they learn to use digital tools to explore social issues and use those tools to stand up for their beliefs.”

University of Michigan News: Human rights a thing of the past? Google says: No. “Critics say the ‘human rights-based approach,’ defined by the United Nations as a ‘conceptual framework for the process of human development that is normatively based on international human rights standards,’ is no longer useful for people struggling to bring about change. But that’s not the story Google tells, according to political scientists Chris Fariss of the University of Michigan and Geoff Dancy of the University of Toronto. In response to a dearth of survey data, the researchers wanted to understand who was thinking about human rights, and where those people live.” Good morning, Internet…

April 21, 2023 at 05:31PM
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Thursday, April 20, 2023

Human or Not?, Grambank Grammar Database, Dungeons and Dragons, More: Thursday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, April 20, 2023

Human or Not?, Grambank Grammar Database, Dungeons and Dragons, More: Thursday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, April 20, 2023
By ResearchBuzz

NEW RESOURCES

CTech: AI21 Labs vs. CTech: Human or Not? . “‘Human of Not?’ is currently available via a web browser where users are asked to write prompts where the game – either AI21 Labs’ AI tool or a physical human – will reply. The game lasts two minutes and at the end, players need to guess who they were playing against.”

University of Colorado Boulder: World’s largest grammar database reveals accelerating loss of language diversity. “A study published today in Science Advances debuts a grammatical database that documents the enormous diversity of current languages on the planet, highlighting just how much humanity stands to lose and why it’s worth saving. Known as Grambank, it is now the world’s largest publicly available comparative grammatical database.”

Wargamer: Find your next DnD setting with this fanmade search engine. “An online database allows you to search through nearly 300 third-party DnD settings so you can find the perfect place to start your next D&D 5e campaign.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Search Engine Land: Google Bard adds more variety to drafts. “Google Bard now shows more variety in the draft responses it provides to your questions. Google said these drafts are now ‘more distinct from each other,’ allowing you to ‘expand your creative explorations.'”

TechCrunch: Imgur will ban explicit images on its platform this month. “Image hosting platform Imgur is set to ban explicit images on its platform from May 15. The company updated its terms of service and said that the company will focus on removing ‘nudity, pornography, & sexually explicit content’ from the site later this month.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

The Conversation: Live art exists only while it is being performed, and then it disappears. How do we create an archive of the ephemeral?. “Live performance exists only in the moment it is being performed. Its ephemeral nature means it is transient and impermanent, and cannot be experienced again in precisely the same way. How do artists hold on to the works that they make? What of the invisible labour that is rarely acknowledged or named?”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Sky News: Michael Schumacher’s family plans legal action over AI ‘interview’ which generated fake quotes . “Michael Schumacher’s family are planning to take legal action against a German magazine which published an ‘interview’ with the seven-time F1 champion generated by artificial intelligence. The 54-year-old has not been seen in public since he suffered a serious brain injury in a skiing accident on a family holiday in the French Alps almost a decade ago.”

Global News (Canada): Google ordered to pay $500K to Quebec man over links to false pedophilia accusations. “A Quebec Superior Court judge has ordered Google to pay $500,000 to a Montreal man who sued the company after it restored a link to an online post falsely accusing him of being a pedophile.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Spectrum: Imaging journal editors resign over ‘extreme’ open-access fees. “The entire editorial boards of two leading neuroscience journals, NeuroImage and NeuroImage:Reports, resigned en masse on Monday over what they say are exorbitant article fees from their publisher, Elsevier. The group intends to launch a new nonprofit open-access journal called Imaging Neuroscience, ‘to replace NeuroImage as the top journal in our field,’ according to a statement posted 17 April to Twitter by an account called Imaging Neuroscience EiC.”

Miscellany News: Diving into Misc archives with Optical Character Recognition. “The first major pro of this position is that I was able to set my own hours. The second is that it’s a remote job, and while the novelty of remote work may have worn off for most, I am happy to be able to work anywhere from the Old Bookstore to the sunny Nircle to my own cozy bed. And, finally, the third major pro is that it’s surprisingly interesting.” Good afternoon, Internet…

April 21, 2023 at 12:07AM
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Gloucester A&I, Nevada Job Training, Microsoft, More: ResearchBuzz is 25 Years Old, April 20, 2023

Gloucester A&I, Nevada Job Training, Microsoft, More: ResearchBuzz is 25 Years Old, April 20, 2023
By ResearchBuzz

Today is ResearchBuzz’ 25th anniversary.

How can I thank you enough? Those of you who read, those of you who support via Patreon and kind words. These last three years have been hellish to put it lightly (I know I am not alone in this) and I hope the work I do to provide you resources has not suffered too much in quality.

SearchGizmos.com has grown to 58 tools. If you have not visited, please consider it. I try to refrain from puffery and hyperbole, but I truly believe you will find search tools there that are nowhere else online — tools for Wikipedia, Google, RSS, Mastodon, and more. Everything is free and there are no ads except for a Patreon banner.

Thank you. I love you.

NEW RESOURCES

Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal: Digital archive tells story of Gloucester A&I. “The documents shed light on the founding and early days of the Gloucester Agricultural and Industrial School, also known as the Cappahosic Academy. That school, which operated from 1888 until its closing in 1933, provided the Black youth of Gloucester and surrounding communities with much more than the basic skills and training needed to be a laborer.”

2 News: DETR’s Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation Launches New Website. “The Department of Employment Training and Rehabilitation’s Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation has announced that their new website vrnevada.org is live. The Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation connects Nevadans with disabilities to services they need. It also offers a full-service, no-cost program for employers.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Mashable: Microsoft drops Twitter from its advertising platform. “Twitter is being removed from yet another big B2B platform. And this time it’s one of the biggest companies in the tech industry. Microsoft is going to drop Twitter from its Microsoft Advertising plan next week, according to the company.”

TikTok Blog: Earth Day 2023: Driving sustainability awareness with our TikTok community . “From creators such as @james_stew championing sustainable living to @mikaelaloach advocating for environmental protection, TikTok brings together communities in the UK and around the world, empowering them to raise sustainability awareness and inspire action.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Bloomberg: Google’s Rush to Win in AI Led to Ethical Lapses, Employees Say. “Shortly before Google introduced Bard, its AI chatbot, to the public in March, it asked employees to test the tool. One worker’s conclusion: Bard was ‘a pathological liar,’ according to screenshots of the internal discussion. Another called it ‘cringe-worthy.’… Google launched Bard anyway.”

CNBC: Google to launch its first foldable phone, the ‘Pixel Fold,’ in June. “Google is planning to launch its first foldable smartphone at upward of $1,700, making it the highest price-point product in Google’s smartphone series, according to internal documents and images viewed by CNBC.”

Far Out: Peter Gabriel unveils AI music video challenge. “Amid the recent AI discussion, some artists have voiced their concerns about the robotic tool. On the flip side, other artists, like the former Genesis member Peter Gabriel, have publicly embraced the technology with open arms…. Last month, Gabriel labelled AI a ‘powerful new tool’ that we should embrace rather than ‘just grumble or pretend it doesn’t exist’. Now, the rock legend has announced a partnership with Stability AI, from which he has launched the DiffuseTogether Challenge. ”

SECURITY & LEGAL

City A.M.: Google to change app store rules after UK competition agency flags concerns. “Google said it will allow app developers in the UK to use alternative payment options following an investigation by the UK’s competition regulator. The tech giant said it would present other payment options to Google Play’s billing system for in-app purchases ‘in a neutral manner’ if its commitments are accepted by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).”

The Verge: AI Drake just set an impossible legal trap for Google. “The AI Drake track that mysteriously went viral over the weekend is the start of a problem that will upend Google in one way or another — and it’s really not clear which way it will go.”

The Guardian: Google calls for relaxing of Australia’s copyright laws so AI can mine websites for information. “Google and other tech giants have called on the Australian government to relax copyright laws to allow artificial intelligence to mine websites for information across the internet.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Racket: A U of M Reporter Explores BORG, the Latest Binge-Drinking Craze. “BORG stands for Black Out Rage Gallon, and yes, it’s all the rage. The recipe is simple and adaptable: Take an empty plastic gallon jug, fill it halfway with water, add a fifth of vodka, and mix in some flavoring like MiO (often the caffeinated kind) or electrolyte powder like Liquid I.V. The BORG’s rise in popularity is tied to TikTok, where its hashtag, #borg, has amassed over 295 million views.”

NJ.com: We’re losing the battle against disinformation because social media is immune from liability. “Based on the justices’ recent comments in a pending lawsuit against Google, the U.S. Supreme Court seems unlikely to limit the liability protections afforded social media platforms for publishing and sharing false or harmful user content. As disinformation on social media and across the internet escalates, the failure to hold the purveyors of such content accountable comes at a significant cost to society. Without a change in the status quo, we will lose the ongoing war against online disinformation.” Good morning, Internet…

April 20, 2023 at 05:32PM
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Wednesday, April 19, 2023

Natural Disaster Alerts, Google Meet, Performing Arts Livestreaming, More: Wednesday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, April 19, 2023

Natural Disaster Alerts, Google Meet, Performing Arts Livestreaming, More: Wednesday Afternoon ResearchBuzz, April 19, 2023
By ResearchBuzz

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Mashable: National Weather Service accounts were not granted API exemptions by Twitter. “The NWS tells Mashable that Twitter’s API policy changes will limit its accounts to 50 automated tweets per 24-hour period. It expects that Twitter will officially switch its accounts to the new API limits on April 29, based on what the company has previously communicated(opens in a new tab) to developers.” If you’ve ever followed weather alerts on Twitter, you know that 50 tweets in 24 hours is nothing. A drop in the bucket depending on what’s happening.

9to5 Google: Google Meet letting you turn off individual video feeds. “In a nice quality of life improvement, Google Meet will let you ‘turn off the video feed from other participants’ on the web, Android, and iOS.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

New York Times: As Presenters Cut Back on Streams, Some Disabled Arts Lovers Feel Left Out. “With live performance now back, and some theaters and concert halls still struggling to bring back audiences, presenters have cut back on their streamed offerings — leaving many people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, who have been calling for better virtual access for decades, excluded again.”

ABC News (Australia): Young gamblers losing more as social media presence of sports betting agencies grows. “Watching and betting on sport has become a costly pastime for many young Australians and new research shows that problem gambling is increasing among people aged 18 to 34.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

WUFT: University of Florida removes years of campus crime data online. “The University of Florida removed nearly eight years’ worth of crime data online without public notification, leaving only limited details about crimes that occurred on or near campus during the past 60 days.”

The Guardian: WhatsApp and Signal unite against online safety bill amid privacy concerns . “The rival chat apps WhatsApp and Signal have joined forces in a rare show of unity to protest against the online safety bill, which they say could undermine the UK’s privacy and safety.”

Reuters: Google wins appeal of $20 million US patent verdict over Chrome technology. “Alphabet’s Google LLC on Tuesday convinced a U.S. appeals court to cancel three anti-malware patents at the heart of a Texas jury’s $20 million infringement verdict against the company.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Washington Post: Inside the secret list of websites that make AI chatbots sound smart. “AI chatbots have exploded in popularity over the past four months, stunning the public with their awesome abilities, from writing sophisticated term papers to holding unnervingly lucid conversations…. Tech companies have grown secretive about what they feed the AI. So The Washington Post set out to analyze one of these data sets to fully reveal the types of proprietary, personal, and often offensive websites that go into an AI’s training data.” The link is to a gift article, which you should be able to read even if you normally encounter a paywall.

PetaPixel: Artist Refuses Prize After His AI Image Wins at Top Photo Contest. “A photographer has stirred up fresh controversy and debate after his artificial intelligence (AI) image won first prize at one of the world’s most prestigious photography competitions. He has since declined to accept the prize while the contest has remained silent on the matter.”

Daily Beast: ‘60 Minutes’ Made a Shockingly Wrong Claim About a Google AI. “Emergent behavior is definitely a worthwhile topic for a news show to discuss. Where the 60 Minutes clip takes a turn, though, is when we’re introduced to claims that Google’s chatbot was actually able to teach itself a language it previously didn’t know after it was prompted in that language. ‘For example, one Google AI program adapted on its own after it was prompted in the language of Bangladesh, which it was not trained to know,’ CBS News correspondent Scott Pelley said in the clip. Turns out it was complete BS. ” Good afternoon, Internet…

April 20, 2023 at 12:07AM
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