‘Armed Militias’ Claims In N.C. Driven By Social Media Misinformation; Forbes, October 14, 2024

Peter Suciu, Forbes; ‘Armed Militias’ Claims In N.C. Driven By Social Media Misinformation

""The amount of misinformation and disinformation we've seen around the recent hurricanes and help efforts is a strong example of how powerful those effects have become," explained Dr. Cliff Lampe, professor of information and associate dean for academic affairs in the School of Information at the University of Michigan.

Misinformation began even before Hurricane Helene made landfall, with the dubious claims that government officials were controlling the weather and directing the storm to hit "red states." The misinformation only intensified after the storm left a path of destruction.

"Over the last weeks we've seen death threats against meteorologists and now first responders in emergency situations," said Lampe. "There are a few things that are challenging about this. One is that belief persistence, which is the effect where people tend to keep believing what they have believed, makes it so that new information often doesn't make a difference in changing people's minds. We tend to think that good information will swamp out bad information, but unfortunately, it's not that simple."

Social media can amplify such misinformation in a way that was previously impossible.

"We saw that a small group of people acting on misinformation can disrupt services of the majority of people with a need," added Lampe.

"False information, especially on social media platforms, spreads incredibly fast. It's crucial to distinguish between misinformation and disinformation," said Rob Lalka, professor at Tulane University's Freeman School of Business and author of The Venture Alchemists: How Big Tech Turned Profits Into Power.

"Misinformation refers to false, incomplete, or inaccurate information shared without harmful intent, while disinformation is deliberately false information designed to deceive," Lalka continued...

"New technologies are making it increasingly hard to tell what's real and what's fake," said Lalka. "We now live in an era where Artificial Intelligence can generate lifelike images and audio, and these powerful tools should prompt us all to pause and consider whether a source is truly trustworthy.""

AI Ethics Council Welcomes LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman and Commentator, Founder and Author Van Jones as Newest Members; Business Wire, October 15, 2024

 Business Wire; AI Ethics Council Welcomes LinkedIn Co-Founder Reid Hoffman and Commentator, Founder and Author Van Jones as Newest Members

"The AI Ethics Council, founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Operation HOPE CEO John Hope Bryant, announced today that Reid Hoffman (Co-Founder of LinkedIn and Inflection AI and Partner at Greylock) and Van Jones (CNN commentator, Dream Machine Founder and New York Times best-selling author) have joined as a members. Formed in December 2023, the Council brings together an interdisciplinary body of diverse experts including civil rights activists, HBCU presidents, technology and business leaders, clergy, government officials and ethicists to collaborate and set guidelines on ways to ensure that traditionally underrepresented communities have a voice in the evolution of artificial intelligence and to help frame the human and ethical considerations around the technology. Ultimately, the Council also seeks to help determine how AI can be harnessed to create vast economic opportunities, especially for the underserved.

Mr. Hoffman and Mr. Jones join an esteemed group on the Council, which will serve as a leading authority in identifying, advising on and addressing ethical issues related to AI. In addition to Mr. Altman and Mr. Bryant, founding AI Ethics Council members include:

• George T. French, Jr, JD, PhD., President, Clark Atlanta University and Chair of Presidents, United Negro College Fund
• Helene D. Gayle, MD, MPH, President, Spelman College
• Bernice A. King, JD, M. Div, CEO, The King Center
• David A. Thomas, PhD., President, Morehouse College
• Angela F. Williams, JD, M. Div, President and CEO, United Way Worldwide
• Ambassador Andrew J. Young, Chairman, The Andrew J. Young Foundation, former U.N. Ambassador, former Mayor of Atlanta and civil rights icon"

The Limitation Effect: A White Paper; October 2024

New York University and University of California - San Diego, The Limitation Effect: A White Paper

Experiences of State Policy-Driven Education Restriction in Florida's Public Schools

"How can a teacher discuss Jim Crow laws without breaking state law? Should a librarian stop ordering books with LGBTQ+ characters? A new white paper by UC San Diego and NYU researchers reveals the experiences of K-12 educators and parents in Florida grappling with state policies and policy effects restricting access to instruction, books, courses, clubs, professional development, and basic student supports."

This threat hunter chases U.S. foes exploiting AI to sway the election; The Washington Post, October 13, 2024

Cat Zakrzewski, The Washington Post; This threat hunter chases U.S. foes exploiting AI to sway the election

"Ben Nimmo, the principal threat investigator for the high-profile AI pioneer, had uncovered evidence that Russia, China and other countries were using its signature product, ChatGPT, to generate social media posts in an effort to sway political discourse online. Nimmo, who had only started at OpenAI in February, was taken aback when he saw that government officials had printed out his report, with key findings about the operations highlighted and tabbed.

That attention underscored Nimmo’s place at the vanguard in confronting the dramatic boost that artificial intelligence can provide to foreign adversaries’ disinformation operations. In 2016, Nimmo was one of the first researchers to identify how the Kremlin interfered in U.S. politics online. Now tech companies, government officials and other researchers are looking to him to ferret out foreign adversaries who are using OpenAI’s tools to stoke chaos in the tenuous weeks before Americans vote again on Nov. 5.

So far, the 52-year-old Englishman says Russia and other foreign actors are largely “experimenting” with AI, often in amateurish and bumbling campaigns that have limited reach with U.S. voters. But OpenAI and the U.S. government are bracing for Russia, Iran and other nations to become more effective with AI, and their best hope of parrying that is by exposing and blunting operations before they gain traction."

Kamala Harris’s last mile; The Ink, October 15, 2024

ANAND GIRIDHARADAS, The Ink; Kamala Harris’s last mile

"For all of the vice president’s success thus far, it is important to name the greatest risk to her candidacy, in the hope of avoiding it: In the homestretch, Democrats cannot let themselves be defined as the Whole Foods party — a party that speaks convincingly to upscale and educated and socially conscious and politically engaged and often-voting Americans, but doesn’t similarly rouse working-class voters of various stripes and more disaffected, jaded, demoralized voters.

In the last mile of this election, so many of the remaining pool of undecided voters — or, more importantly, people undecided about voting — have simply lost faith that anyone will change anything for the better in their lifetime.

It is beyond ironic, beyond ridiculous even, that some people who feel this way, millions of them, are attracted to Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, two pillars of the establishment who are running for president on a platform that would only make the richest and most powerful Americans more rich and more powerful.

But it is happening, and it must be stopped...

This outreach must be backed by policy. At her best, Harris has embraced big ideas that would change the landscape of the country, from housing construction to the care economy. Go further. Be sweeping. Propose the kind of simple-to-understand, sweeping, universal policies that make people thirst for the future.

And, finally, be everywhere, all at once. It has been a relief to see Harris saturate the airwaves in recent days, after an earlier reticence.

There is so much reason not to believe in America in 2024. If you want people to believe again, especially the people who are right now still on the fence, you need to tell them a story that not only persuades them but all but rewires their brain. You need to help them make new meaning of what they have seen and heard and felt.

This will require being everywhere all at once, in their heads and hearts, morning, noon, and night. It doesn’t matter if every interview isn’t perfect. Show them your power, your life force, the life force that proposes to smash obstacles and change their lives. Do whatever media most helps you reach them. It doesn’t need to be the old guard. But people are looking for whether you are unafraid, because if you are, it might give you what it takes to help them."

Why there’s so much disinformation out there now, and how you can combat it; WTOP, October 12, 2024

John Domen, WTOP;  Why there’s so much disinformation out there now, and how you can combat it

"Most people, regardless of their political leaning, will acknowledge social media has become especially riddled with things that just aren’t true, especially in the world of politics where allegations follow candidates from all parties. So the supposed eyewitness coming to you from a disaster zone, or the supposed political insider, should probably be treated with some skepticism.

“When you see content that’s particularly disturbing or makes you very angry, a thing to keep in mind there is maybe making you angry was the point,” said Buntain. “This may not necessarily be legitimate content. It might be. It’s certainly plausible that it might be.”

“But when you start to see content that makes you angry, that tends to decrease your ability to do other things or think rationally about some of this content. Then you start to amplify it. Then you start to engage with it,” he added.

Triggering that response is often the real goal of social media algorithms. But if someone you know has been fooled, how do you convince them of that?

Because, as the saying goes, it can be harder to convince someone they’ve been fooled than it is to actually fool someone. But in some cases, at least deep down, truth might not be the real reason they’re re-sharing content that’s made up.

“They’re sharing it because it had some emotional resonance with them,” said Buntain. “And by just telling them that they … shared bad content, you’re sort of minimizing or ignoring the sort of emotional aspect that got them there, and then that’s not a good recipe for civil engagement around a particular topic.”"

Trump wages campaign against real-time fact checks; The Washington Post, October 14, 2024

Ashley Parker

 and 

Josh Dawsey

, The Washington Post; Trump wages campaign against real-time fact checks

"Donald Trump and his campaign have waged an aggressive campaign against fact-checking in recent months, pushing TV networks, journalism organizations and others to abandon the practice if they hope to interact with Trump...

The moves are the latest example of Trump’s long-held resistance to being called to account for his falsehoods, which have formed the bedrock of his political message for years. Just in recent weeks, for example, Trump has seized on fabricated tales of migrants eating pets and Venezuelan gangs overtaking cities in pushing his anti-immigration message as he seeks a second term in office.

Lucas Graves, a journalism and mass communications professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, said that publicly chafing at fact-checking has become a form of tribalism among some Republicans.

“Within the political establishment on the right, it is now considered quite legitimate — and quite legitimate to say publicly and openly — that you disapprove of fact-checking,” said Lucas, author of “Deciding What’s True: The Rise of Political Fact-Checking in American Journalism."

Trump Suggests Using National Guard Against ‘Enemy from Within’ on Election Day; Wall Street Journal, October 14, 2024

C. Ryan Barber and Jimmy Vielkind, Wall Street Journal; Trump Suggests Using National Guard Against ‘Enemy from Within’ on Election Day

"Donald Trump suggested deploying the National Guard or military to respond to what he termed the “enemy from within” on Election Day, saying in an interview that aired Sunday that he was concerned about the chaos wrought by "radical left lunatics".

ScienceAdviser: Shifting from harm to resilience Today in Science and science: ScienceAdviser honors Indigenous Peoples’ Day; Science, October 14, 2024

ScienceAdviser: Shifting from harm to resilience

"Today, in honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Science Staff Writer Rodrigo Pérez Ortega speaks with Diné genetic epidemiologist Krystal Tsosie about the holiday and the importance of Indigenous data sovereignty. The rest of this edition of ScienceAdviser is centered on research that is relevant to and/or being conducted by Indigenous scientists and communities...

Your work has focused on Indigenous data sovereignty. Can you tell me more about the current efforts pushing for Native tribes to have control over their own data?

One recent effort is the #DataBack movement, which is about reclaiming control over Indigenous data, specifically genomic and biological data that have been taken and stored without our consent. My colleague, Keolu Fox, and I have been advocating for Indigenous data sovereignty. We’ve even made stickers to raise awareness, and I love seeing them on water bottles and in public spaces. It’s a small, symbolic way to promote the idea that Indigenous data should be returned to the communities it belongs to."

Meteorologists Face Harassment and Death Threats Amid Hurricane Disinformation; The New York Times, October 14, 2024

Kate Selig , The New York Times; Meteorologists Face Harassment and Death Threats Amid Hurricane Disinformation

"Meteorologists’ role of delivering lifesaving weather forecasts and explaining climate science sometimes makes them targets for harassment, and this kind of abuse has been happening for years, weather experts said. But amid the conspiracy theories and falsehoods that have spiraled online after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, they say the attacks and threats directed at them have reached new heights."

Kip Currier: Character-Washing As Complicity?: Media Decision-Making, the Silence of Betsy DeVos, and Ethical Responsibilities. October 13, 2024

Kip Currier: Character-Washing As Complicity?: Media Decision-Making, the Silence of Betsy DeVos, and Ethical Responsibilities. October 13, 2024.

In the sixth paragraph of the October 12, 2024 New York Times article "A Frustrated Trump Lashes Out Behind Closed Doors Over Money", the reporters -- Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman and Shane Goldmacher -- state that Donald Trump "disparaged Vice President Kamala Harris as", citing the epithet he used that is a slur for mentally challenged persons. The article describes a Trump Tower dinner Trump was hosting for billionaire donors on September 29, 2024. Among the attendees was "Betsy DeVos, the billionaire former education secretary under Mr. Trump, and her husband, Dick". The reporters also describe a significant number of corroborators of "the rant": i.e. "seven people with knowledge of the meal who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations".

I have some questions for Ms. DeVos later, but first, my questions for the New York Times reporters and the newspaper employees who often create the headlines for the stories that the reporters write:

• Why wasn't the epithet mentioned in the headline of the article? This is arguably a shockingly noteworthy event that in the past would have likely disqualified any other presidential candidate. Yet, the slur isn't telegraphed for the reader. The lede is buried in the 6th paragraph. Even the sub-headline -- "Donald J. Trump is feeling aggrieved, unappreciated by donors and fenced in by security concerns in the final stretch of the race." -- fails to mention anything about the disparaging term that will appear later in the article.

• Who made these decisions within the New York Times, and why? Was there any debate about these editorial decisions? 

• Why is the comments function not turned on for this article? I wanted to see what other readers thought about the article and whether anyone else had opinions on the editorial decisions made. But the comments feature is not on as of the morning of October 13, 2024.

• Did the persons responsible for this story engage in character-washing? Did they downplay the disparaging term used, for the sake of "journalistic objectivity" or for other reasons?

• What are the ethical standards upon which you based your editorial decisions for this article? 

Now, my questions for Ms. DeVos:

You were the head of the Education Department for the Trump administration until you resigned the day after the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Your January 7 resignation letter states, in pertinent part:

We should be highlighting and celebrating your Administration's many accomplishments on behalf of the American people. Instead, we are left to clean up the mess caused by violent protests overrunning the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to undermine the people's business. That behavior was unconscionable for our country. There is no mistaking the impact your rhetoric had on the situation, and it is the inflection point for me. 

Impressionable children are watching all of this, and they are learning from us. I believe we each have a moral obligation to exercise good judgment and model the behavior we hope they would emulate. They must know from us that America is greater than what transpired yesterday. Today, I resign from my position, effective, Friday, January 8, in support of the oath I took to our Constitution, our people, and our freedoms.

In light of what you wrote more than three years ago, regarding "impressionable children" and the "moral obligation" we each have "to exercise good judgment and model the behavior we hope they would emulate": 

• Why did you not walk out of the September 29, 2024 dinner when Trump used a term that disparages developmentally challenged individuals? 

•  What are the impacts that Trump's corrosive statements have on not only the communities that he disparages but also on our civil discourse and democracy?

•  Did you not -- and do you not still -- have a "moral obligation" to model words and actions that uplift people rather than demean them, and to speak up when Trump uses offensive language? 

• What do you think Trump's statements say about his character?

• What does it say about your character that you continue to associate with a person who uses slurs and demeaning words?

• What are children learning from the words that Trump uses and the silence of persons like yourself to call out disparaging language? 

• Why should the American people -- and the people of the world -- view you as a person who has the moral backbone and leadership competencies to continue to speak about education and the well-being of children?

Art Collective Behind Viral Image of Kamala Harris Sues for Copyright Infringement; artnet, October 11, 2024

Jo Lawson-Tancred , artnet; Art Collective Behind Viral Image of Kamala Harris Sues for Copyright Infringement

"A lawsuit filed by Good Trubble in a California district on October 10 alleges that Irem Erdem of Round Rock, Texas, deliberately committed copyright infringement because of the image’s “widespread dissemination” online.

The digitally-created artwork designed by Bria Goeller for Good Trubble is titled That Little Girl Was Me. It was released on October 20, 2020, and went viral shortly after the last U.S. presidential election in November 2020, when Harris became the first Black and South Asian woman to be elected vice president. The image can be bought as a print or on t-shirts and other products on Good Trubble’s website, including a new version featuring the White House in celebration of Harris’s current bid for the presidency.

The image pairs the figure of Harris with silhouette of activist Ruby Bridges as a young girl. It quotes from Norman Rockwell‘s iconic 1964 painting The Problem We All Live With, which depicts the historic event of a six-year-old Bridges being escorted by four deputy U.S. marshals into the all-white public school during the New Orleans school desegregation crisis of 1960. This measure was taken to protect her from the threat of violence, which is hinted at by a racial slur and the splatter of thrown tomatoes scrawled on the wall behind her."

2024 Tech Ethics Symposium: Coming October 17-18!; Duquesne University, October 17-18, 2024

 Duquesne University; 2024 Tech Ethics Symposium: Coming October 17-18!; How is AI Transforming Our Communities?

"The Grefenstette Center for Ethics in Science, Technology, and Law will host the fifth annual Tech Ethics Symposium: “How is AI Transforming Our Communities?” This two-day symposium, co-sponsored by the Institute for Ethics and Integrity in Journalism and Media, the Center for Teaching Excellence, and the Albert P. Viragh Institute for Ethics in Business, will focus on how generative AI is transforming our daily lives and our communities. It will also explore how AI has already changed our region and will continue to alter our world in the next decade.

How do major stakeholders like journalists, educators, and tech workers use AI to shape our community?  How have professional communities in tech, journalism, and education been impacted already by AI? What is the role of politics in responding to AI’s influence on, and through, these impactful stakeholder communities? What has AI changed for communities of faith, artists, people with disabilities, and historically marginalized communities? What can each of us do to utilize –or avoid– AI to ensure strong, healthy human communities?"

Man learns he’s being dumped via “dystopian” AI summary of texts; Ars Technica, October 10, 2024

BENJ EDWARDS, Ars Technica; Man learns he’s being dumped via “dystopian” AI summary of texts

"On Wednesday, NYC-based software developer Nick Spreen received a surprising alert on his iPhone 15 Pro, delivered through an early test version of Apple's upcoming Apple Intelligence text message summary feature. "No longer in a relationship; wants belongings from the apartment," the AI-penned message reads, summing up the content of several separate breakup texts from his girlfriend.

Spreen shared a screenshot of the AI-generated message in a now-viral tweet on the X social network, writing, "for anyone who’s wondered what an apple intelligence summary of a breakup text looks like."...

Spreen's message is the first time we've seen an AI-mediated relationship breakup, but it likely won't be the last." 

Notre Dame to explore faith-based ethical uses of AI; Crux, October 11, 2024

John Lavenburg, Crux; Notre Dame to explore faith-based ethical uses of AI

"About five months after Pope Francis spoke of the responsibility political leaders have to ensure that artificial intelligence is used ethically, the University of Notre Dame has announced that it will develop faith-based frameworks for ethical uses of the technology.

Notre Dame, one of the preeminent Catholic universities in the United States located in South Bend, Indiana, announced on Oct. 10 that it has been awarded a $539,000 grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to develop the frameworks – a process that will begin with a one year planning project.

The development of the frameworks will be led by the Notre Dame Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. Meghan Sullivan, the institute’s director, said that “this is a pivotal moment for technology ethics.”

“[Artificial General Intelligence] is developing quickly and has the potential to change our economies, our systems of education and the fabric of our social lives,” Sullivan, who is also the university’s Wilsey Family College Professor of Philosophy, said in a statement. “We believe that the wisdom of faith traditions can make a significant contribution to the development of ethical frameworks for AGI.”

According to an announcement from the university, the one-year planning project to begin the process of developing the frameworks will engage and build a network of leaders in higher education and technology, as well as those of different faiths to broach the topic of ethical uses of AI, and eventually create the faith-based ethical frameworks.

“This project will encourage broader dialogue about the role that concepts such as dignity, embodiment, love, transcendence and being created in the image of God should play in how we understand and use this technology,” Sullivan said. “These concepts – as the bedrock of many faith-based traditions – are vital for how we advance the common good in the era of AGI.”

The project will culminate in September 2025 with a conference that will focus on the most pressing faith-based issues relating to the proliferation of AGI and provide training and networking opportunities for leaders who attend, according to the university."

23andMe is on the brink. What happens to all its DNA data?; NPR, October 3, 2024

 Bobby Allyn, NPR; 23andMe is on the brink. What happens to all its DNA data?

"As 23andMe struggles for survival, customers like Wiles have one pressing question: What is the company’s plan for all the data it has collected since it was founded in 2006?

“I absolutely think this needs to be clarified,” Wiles said. “The company has undergone so many changes and so much turmoil that they need to figure out what they’re doing as a company. But when it comes to my genetic data, I really want to know what they plan on doing.”

Violent threats against FEMA swirl on social media; The Verge, October 10, 2024

 Justine Calma, The Verge; Violent threats against FEMA swirl on social media

"FEMA employees scrambling to respond to the devastation caused by hurricanes Milton and Helene are facing a new, unexpected challenge: violent threats on social media."

Louisiana librarian, anti-book banning author to speak on censorship at Iowa City Book Festival; The Gazette, October 11, 2024

 Elijah Decious, The Gazette; Louisiana librarian, anti-book banning author to speak on censorship at Iowa City Book Festival

"The librarian, who has for decades worked in the same school she attended as a child, filed three police reports — each of which went nowhere.

So the 2020 Louisiana School Librarian of the Year and 2021 School Library Journal Co-Librarian of the Year decided to do something more — sue her harassers for defamation. Requesting damages of just $1, she wanted to set an example for the students who look to her to combat bullies, and for the librarians across the country facing similar challenges.

“I was raised to speak out, love thy neighbor,” she said. “I’m just doing what I was raised to do.”

“That Librarian,” her new book released in August, is part memoir and part manifesto on the front lines of America’s latest culture war. As she maps the book banning crises occurring across the country, she calls on book lovers to fight for intellectual freedom — a right fundamental to everyone’s freedom of speech.

As she studies book bans and court cases, she notices a few trends. Since book bans started in states like Texas, Florida and Louisiana, she said book censorship has spread to all 50 states in some way or another.

But now, in some of the states that were first to initiate the discussion, the pendulum is swinging back as others realize the mistruths they were fed — like the idea that librarians were putting pornography on children’s book shelves."

American Library Association president Cindy Hohl on why book bans are hard to stop; NPR, WAMU, October 11, 2024

 NPR, WAMU; American Library Association president Cindy Hohl on why book bans are hard to stop

"Cindy Hohl, the current president of the American Library Association, says the political temperature surrounding book bans has remained at a boiling point. Over the last year of her tenure, Hohl has witnessed librarians exit the profession due to increased stress, ridicule and public pressure to remove certain titles from their libraries–particularly those related to race and LGBTQ+ identity. Although these battles are particularly pronounced in hot spots like Florida and Texas, they're being fought in communities all over the country. In today's episode, NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with Hohl about what librarians can and can't do to push back against this cycle of censorship and what it's like to lead through times of crisis."

They wrote a book while locked in solitary confinement. Texas won’t let them read it; The Guardian, October 11, 2024

Damascus James , The Guardian; They wrote a book while locked in solitary confinement. Texas won’t let them read it

"Our correspondences inspired me to put together Texas Letters, an ongoing anthology by nearly 50 writers who have spent more than 550 combined years in the bowels of Texas’s solitary confinement. In their contributions, they describe the loss of humanity, sanity and family connections in solitary. They say they have experienced copious violence, including assault and sexual abuse, at the hands of prison staff – one writer said a woman in a nearby cell had died after being beaten by a guard – and rampant neglect. Many describe poor mental and physical health that often leads to a desire to self-harm. Rates of suicide in Texas solitary confinement are disproportionally high, as these writers can attest.

One of the letter-writers was Lupe.

“It is hard to accept being locked in a 9x5 cage, for 24 hours a day, for years on end, with at most one hour a day out of your cell to shower, or to recreate alone in a slightly larger cage,” Lupe wrote to me in November 2023. “For the last few years,” he added, “the one hour a day out-of-cell time was cut down to one hour a week on a good week.”...

Texas is one of the most suppressive places for books in the country, alongside states such as Florida, Missouri and South Carolina. These states also have high incarceration rates; tough-on-crime states tend to be tough on the written word. And while book bans are a hot-button issue, particularly when it comes to public schools and libraries, prisons are actually some of the most restrictive reading environments in the US.

In Texas prisons, Texas Letters rests among banned titlesincluding The Color Purple; Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave; Texas Tough: The Rise of America’s Prison Empire; and A Charlie Brown Christmas, in addition to New York Times bestsellers and books by Nobel peace prize nominees, civil rights leaders and even the Bard himself.

The Texas department of criminal justice (TDCJ) denies books for myriad reasons, as the Dallas Morning News reported in 2017. Where’s Waldo? Santa Spectacular was banned because it had stickers. Freakonomics was banned because it “communicat[es] information designed to achieve the breakdown of prisons through … strikes, riots, or security threat group activity” – books that talk about social justice movements or race often fall into this category. Shakespeare’s Love Sonnets was banned because it used “sexually explicit” imagery, as were reading materials about filing taxes, which could be used to commit fraud.

In reality, this censorship is a ploy to limit knowledge – about connections between slavery and mass incarceration, about literacy’s role in inspiring the desire for freedom, and, in the case of Texas Letters, about what takes place in solitary confinement under the guise of “justice”. It pits the ensemble behind these letters against the large-scale ignorance prisons try to cultivate and the enforced silence they apply."

Why The New York Times' lawyers are inspecting OpenAI's code in a secretive room; Business Insider, October 10, 2024

 Jacob Shamsian  , Business Insider; Why The New York Times' lawyers are inspecting OpenAI's code in a secretive room

"OpenAI is worth $157 billion largely because of the success of ChatGPT. But to build the chatbot, the company trained its models on vast quantities of text it didn't pay a penny for.

That text includes stories from The New York Times, articles from other publications, and an untold number of copyrighted books.

The examination of the code for ChatGPT, as well as for Microsoft's artificial intelligence models built using OpenAI's technology, is crucial for the copyright infringement lawsuits against the two companies.

Publishers and artists have filed about two dozen major copyright lawsuits against generative AI companies. They are out for blood, demanding a slice of the economic pie that made OpenAI the dominant player in the industry and which pushed Microsoft's valuation beyond $3 trillion. Judges deciding those cases may carve out the legal parameters for how large language models are trained in the US."

The bill finally comes due for Elon Musk; Vox, October 9, 2024

 Andrew J. Hawkins, Vox; The bill finally comes due for Elon Musk

"What is an autonomous car? It sounds like a simple question, but the answer is trickier than it seems. To help clear things up, SAE International, a US organization that represents automotive engineers, created a six-step guide to automation. Intended for engineers rather than the general public, it ranged from Level 0, meaning no automation whatsoever, to Level 5, meaning the vehicle can drive itself anywhere at any time without any human intervention.

And there’s plenty of room for error and misunderstanding. A problem we’ve seen is what researcher Liza Dixon calls “autonowashing,” or any effort to overhype something as autonomous when it’s not. 

Most experts dismiss Level 5 as pure science fiction. Waymo and others operate Level 4 vehicles, but very few people really believe that Level 5 is attainable. Level 5 would require “an astronomical amount of technological development, maintenance, and testing,” Torc Robotics, a company developing self-driving trucks, says. Others call it a pipe dream. 

Except Musk. At a conference in Shanghai, Musk said with supreme confidence that the company “will have the basic functionality for Level 5 autonomy complete this year.” That was in July 2020."

Bizarre Falsehoods About Hurricanes Helene and Milton Disrupt Recovery Efforts; The New York Times, October 10, 2024

 Tiffany Hsu and Stuart A. Thompson, The New York Times; Bizarre Falsehoods About Hurricanes Helene and Milton Disrupt Recovery Efforts

"Wildly improbable conspiracy theories about Hurricanes Helene and Milton have spread largely unchecked on social media. The storms were engineered to clear the way for lithium mining. They were sent to help the Democrats in next month’s election. They were formed by weather-controlling lasers.

The claims persist despite attempts by scientists and government officials to debunk them with evidence. They survive all calls to reason.

The falsehoods, which have been circulating on X, TikTok, YouTube and other platforms, can resemble the conspiracy theories that plague modern American politics. Prominent figures are pushing them, citing unrelated, misleading or outdated evidence.

But the risks are often more immediate. Online climate-related conspiracy theories can quickly cause damage offline, disrupting emergency communications and recovery efforts. Officials have said this week that the disinformation about Hurricanes Helene and Milton was making relief workers a target, and the American Red Cross warned that the outlandish claims could prevent survivors from seeking help."