Improving Machine Learning to Detect and Understand Online Conspiracy Theories Read more (RAND)
by William Marcellino, Todd C. Helmus, Joshua Kerrigan, Hilary Reininger, Rouslan I. Karimov, Rebecca Ann Lawrence
Category Archives: surveillance
Wireless brain implant to make friends?
Using the tiny, battery-free brain implant device, the team were able to program and deprogram mice to socially interact with each other in real-time. When two or more mice had their devices switched on, they interacted much more than usual, and when the device was switched off, the opposite effect was nearly immediate. Read more
This Motorcycle Airbag Vest Will Stop Working If You Miss a Payment (the potential dystopia the sharing economy has given us)
NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INITIATIVE
Welcome to AI.gov, home of the National AI Initiative and connection point to ongoing activities to advance U.S. leadership in AI. The National AI Initiative Act of 2020 became law on January 1, 2021, providing for a coordinated program across the entire Federal government to accelerate AI research and application for the Nation’s economic prosperity and national security. The mission of the National AI Initiative is to ensure continued U.S. leadership in AI research and development, lead the world in the development and use of trustworthy AI in the public and private sectors, and prepare the present and future U.S. workforce for the integration of AI systems across all sectors of the economy and society. https://www.ai.gov/
The Promise and the Peril of Virtual Health Care
During the coronavirus pandemic, telemedicine looks like the future of health care. Is it a future that we want? Read more (New Yorker)
The Age of Surveillance Capitalism
We rushed to the internet expecting empowerment, the democratization of knowledge, and help with real problems, but surveillance capitalism really was just too lucrative to resist. This economic logic has now spread beyond the tech companies to new surveillance–based ecosystems in virtually every economic sector, from insurance to automobiles to health, education, finance, to every product described as “smart” and every service described as “personalized.” Read more (Harvard Gazette)
Biometric Checkout Comes to Hotel Convenience Store
Koyo Group teamed with checkout-free tech provider Zippin and Fujitsu in the development of the Green Leaves + store, which is located within the Yokohama Techno Tower Hotel. Shoppers can enter the store, which sells prepackaged food and beverages and fresh bento box meals, via a QR code in a smartphone app once they’ve entered their credit card information. The app also uses multi-biometric authentication technology and facial recognition to links their palm vein; once this has been registered, they can simply swipe their palm to enter the store and no longer need the phone. Read more (RIS)
The Rise of the Private City-State: In Nevada desert, a technology firm aims to be a government
He wants Nevada to change its laws to allow “innovation zones,” where companies would have powers like those of a county government, including creating court systems, imposing taxes and building infrastructure while making land and water management decisions. The prospect has been met with intrigue and skepticism from Nevada lawmakers, though the legislation has yet to be formally filed or discussed in public hearings. Most in the Democratic-controlled Legislature are eager to diversify Nevada’s tourism-dependent economy, but many fear backlash against business incentives as they struggle to fund health care and education. Read more (Las Vegas Sun)
Chinese-speaking Clubhouse users are creating “silent rooms”
Clubhouse is blowing up in China, but many Chinese-speaking users aren’t talking. Instead, they’re using it to network. One chatroom is named “Silent Room 2: No talking on the microphone, just checking bios and following each other” in traditional Chinese script. It’s attracted over 1,700 participants, including the famous Taiwanese singer and actor Aaron Yan. Even with over 80 people set as speakers or moderators, the room is dead quiet. Read more (Protocol)
The Coup We Are Not Talking About (Op Ed by Shoshana Zuboff author of “The Age of Surveillance Capitalism”)
We can have democracy, or we can have a surveillance society, but we cannot have both. Read more (NY Times Op Ed)
