Wikipedia is using artificial intelligence to get more actual humans writing articles The Next Web by Napier Lopez Better artificial intelligence is often associated with the detriment of a human workforce, but judging by some new practices by the team at Wikipedia HQ, it doesn’t have to be that way. Racist algorithms: how Big Data makes bias seem objective Boing … Read more
Signs Point to Unencrypted Communications Between Terror Suspects The Intercept by Dan Froomkin In the wake of the Paris attack, intelligence officials and sympathizers upset by the Edward Snowden leaks and the spread of encrypted communications havetried to blame Snowden for the terrorists’ ability to keep their plans secret from law enforcement. Yet news emerging from … Read more
EU official: all identified Paris attackers were from the EU Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow Despite the rumors that tricked more than half the state governors in the USA into enacting racist anti-Syrian policies, there is no evidence that the Paris attackers came from outside the EU. (more…) VIDEO: Bataclan band: People died saving friends BBC News … Read more
Exploiting Emotions About Paris to Blame Snowden, Distract from Actual Culprits Who Empowered ISIS The Intercept by Glenn Greenwald Whistleblowers are always accused of helping America’s enemies (top Nixon aides accused Daniel Ellsberg of being a Soviet spy and causing the deaths of Americans with his leak); it’s just the tactical playbook that’s automatically used. So … Read more
Narcodata, an In-Depth Data Journalism Project That Contextualizes the Drug War in Mexico Global Voices Online Screenshot from Narcodata’s introduction video. The Economist’s anti-ad-blocking tool was hacked and infected readers’ computers Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow Pagefair is an ad-blocking circumvention tool that publishers can use to track readers who’ve taken technological countermeasures to protect their privacy. … Read more
Gorgeous book of paper airplanes collected by anthropologist Harry Smith Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow Myths and Facts About the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions Savage Minds: Notes and Queries in Anthropology — A Group Blog by Jessica Winegar Anthropologists for the Boycott of Israeli Academic Institutions is pleased to extend its original series on this blog … Read more
How big data and The Sims are helping us to build the cities of the future The Next Web by The Conversation By 2050, the United Nations predicts that around 66 percent of the world’s population will be living in urban areas. It is expected that the greatest expansion will take place in developing regions such … Read more
Ada Lovelace Day: Celebrating the Achievements of Women in Technology EFF.org Updates by Annelyse Gelman Happy Ada Lovelace Day! Please join us in commemorating the life of Ada Lovelace by celebrating the achievements – past and present – of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Snowden for drones: The Intercept’s expose on US drone attacks, … Read more
Nobel Prize in literature goes to journalist from Belarus EurActiv.com Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarussian journalist and dissident writer, won the Nobel Prize in literature on Thursday (8 October) “for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time”, the Swedish Academy announced. How the Crowd and Automation Are Shaping Journalism Social Media Today by … Read more
EU top court: NSA spying means US servers are not a fit home for Europeans’ data Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow Historically, US companies have been able to get around the (relatively stringent) European data-protection rules thanks to a “Safe Harbor” agreement between the US and the EU — but Max Schrems, an Austrian privacy activist, … Read more
The US’s Campaign Against Encryption Is Based on Blind Faith in Silicon Valley Stanford Center for Internet and Society by Center for Internet and Society Date published: September 22, 2015 “”The unanimous conclusion—the scientific consensus—in industry, in academia, and even among government experts is that there is a significant security risk associated with facilitating government access … Read more
Mapping How Tor’s Anonymity Network Spread Around the World Wired Top Stories by Andy Greenberg Germany has overtaken the US in total nodes, with France, the Netherlands, and Russia coming close behind. First Detailed Public Map of U.S. Internet Backbone Could Make It Stronger MIT Technology Review Researchers dug through public records to uncover the true shape … Read more
IFLA Publishes a Statement on Privacy in the Library Environment At its 14 August 2015 meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, the IFLA Governing Board endorsed an IFLA Statement on Privacy in the Library Environment. The FAIFE Committee oversaw preparation of the Statement and benefitted from consultation with IFLA units and various Internet civil liberties advocacy … Read more
EFF Announces 2015 Pioneer Award Winners: Caspar Bowden, Citizen Lab, Anriette Esterhuysen and the Association for Progressive Communications, and Kathy Sierra EFF.org Updates by Rebecca Jeschke Ceremony for Honorees on September 24 in San Francisco San Francisco – The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is pleased to announce the distinguished winners of the 2015 Pioneer Awards: the … Read more
Pirate Music Site Op Pleads Guilty, Faces Five Years in Prison TorrentFreak Over the past five years, Operation in Our Sites, the U.S. initiative tackling copyright-infringing websites, has produced several arrests and the seizure of thousands of domains. Car information security is a complete wreck — here’s why Boing Boing by Cory Doctorow Sean Gallagher’s long, … Read more