Four Takeaways From a Times Investigation Into China’s Expanding Surveillance State
By: The New York Times Date: June 21, 2022 China’s ambition to collect a staggering amount of personal data from everyday citizens is more expansive than previously known, a Times investigation has found. Phone-tracking devices are now everywhere. The police are creating some of the largest DNA databases in the world. And the authorities […]
Can we Create a Moral Metaverse?
By: The Guardian Date: May 14, 2022 Psychotherapist Nina Jane Patel had been on Facebook’s Horizon Venues for less than a minute when her avatar was mobbed by a group of males. The attackers proceeded to “virtually gang-rape” her character, snapping in-game pictures as mementos. Patel froze in shock before desperately trying to free […]
ICE spends $7.2 Million to Increase Facial Recognition and Location Tracking of Migrants
By: Business Insider Date: May 2, 2022 US Immigration and Customs Enforcement will be paying surveillance software company Trust Stamp $7.2 million annually to develop tech to track migrants processed at the southern border, new federal documents show. Trust Stamp’s contract, which was renewed in April, has it providing ICE with 10,000 smartphones that include […]
Ukraine Uses Facial Recognition Software to Identify Russian Soldiers Killed in Combat
By: The Guardian Date: March 24, 2022 Ukraine is using facial recognition software to help identify the bodies of Russian soldiers killed in combat and track down their families to inform them of their deaths, Ukraine’s vice-prime minister told the Reuters news service. Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine’s vice-prime minister who also runs the ministry […]
China, Not SpaceX, May Be Source of Rocket Part Crashing Into Moon
By: The New York Times Date: February 14, 2022 On March 4, a human-made piece of rocket detritus will slam into the moon. But it turns out that it is not, as was previously stated in a number of reports, including by The New York Times, Elon Musk’s SpaceX that will be responsible for making […]
Facebook Promised Poor Countries Free Internet. People Got Charged Anyway.
By: Wall Street Journal Date: January 24, 2022 Facebook says it’s helping millions of the world’s poorest people get online through apps and services that allow them to use internet data free. Internal company documents show that many of these people end up being charged in amounts that collectively add up to an estimated […]
Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft Weave a Fiber-Optic Web of Power
By: Wall Street Journal Date: January 15, 2022 To say that Big Tech controls the internet might seem like an exaggeration. Increasingly, in at least one sense, it’s literally true. The internet can seem intangible, a post-physical environment where things like viral posts, virtual goods and metaverse concerts just sort of happen. But creating that […]
The Metaverse’s Effects on Mental Health: Trivial or Troubling?
By: Wall Street Journal Date: January 09, 2022 Is the metaverse good or bad news for our mental health? Silicon Valley’s focus on creating an immersive virtual world where our avatars shop, socialize and work has psychologists and other experts considering what effects it will have on our well-being. Technology companies including Nvidia Corp. , Epic Games Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc., formerly Facebook, are […]
Employees Are Not Showing Up To Work — Employers Are Replacing Them With Robots
By: The Hill October 26, 2021 It’s the “Great Resignation,” and many workers seem to prefer not coming in to work. Employers are increasingly obliging them. How? By eliminating their jobs altogether. A recent survey from Verizon of more than 600 U.S. small businesses found that 30 percent have already adopted digital tools to help […]