NEW RESOURCES

WMTW: Maine launches new hurricane evacuation dashboard. “The state of Maine has launched a new tool in the event a serious hurricane were to ever hit Maine. It is an online evacuation dashboard. Anyone can use the dashboard to get up-to-date information about the track of storms and directions if there is a need to evacuate.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Becker’s Health IT: Google dismantling health division as chief departs for Cerner. “Google is dissolving its health division as its chief, David Feinberg, MD, departs for Cerner, according to an Aug. 20 Insider report.”

Mashable: Netflix just put hit documentary ‘The Social Dilemma’ on YouTube for free. “If you love a good Netflix documentary exposing the truth about the dangers of AI and social media, you might have already seen The Social Dilemma. If you haven’t, you can now watch it for free.”

USEFUL STUFF

KnowTechie: This Google Chrome extension can walk back Twitter’s design changes. “Earlier this month, Twitter released a new design update that changed a few things. As usual, people had mixed feelings about the change, and many despised it entirely. If you were one of those that hate the changes, there is a Google Chrome extension that will revert the changes back to normal.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

The Verge: Roblox is struggling to moderate re-creations of mass shootings. “For over a year, Anti-Defamation League researcher Daniel Kelley has been finding re-creations of a horrific mass shooting on Roblox — and every time he looks, he says he finds more. Kelley told The Verge it’s happened three times: first in January 2020, then again in May 2021. The most recent incident came on August 13th, as he was preparing a presentation on how to report offending content.”

Federal News Network: NIH team creating new data tool that tracks federal employee perceptions and demographics. “Several agencies have said they’re craving more data that will paint a better intersectional picture of the federal workforce — how women of color or Hispanic supervisors and leaders, for example, are feeling about their agencies and jobs. Current federal survey data doesn’t tell those stories, and some agencies can only collect certain demographic data about their employees on a voluntary basis, a point that Office of Personnel Management and Office of Management and Budget leaders have acknowledged is a challenge.”

Ars Technica: iPhone keyboard for blind to shut down as maker cites Apple “abuse” of developers . “An iPhone keyboard for blind users will be discontinued, according to the app’s developer, who alleges that ‘Apple has thrown us obstacle after obstacle for years while we try to provide an app to improve people’s lives.'”

SECURITY & LEGAL

CNET: Taliban reportedly seize biometrics devices used by US military. “The Taliban have reportedly seized biometrics devices used by the US military that could help identify Afghan nationals who worked for the US government and aided coalition forces, raising concerns the Taliban could use the information to retaliate in the wake of the collapse of the US-backed government.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Wired: Now That Machines Can Learn, Can They Unlearn?. “A nascent area of computer science dubbed machine unlearning seeks ways to induce selective amnesia in artificial intelligence software. The goal is to remove all trace of a particular person or data point from a machine learning system, without affecting its performance. If made practical, the concept could give people more control over their data and the value derived from it.”

Pew (PEW PEW PEW PEW PEW!): More Americans now say government should take steps to restrict false information online than in 2018. “Amid rising concerns over misinformation online – including surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, especially vaccines – Americans are now a bit more open to the idea of the U.S. government taking steps to restrict false information online. And a majority of the public continues to favor technology companies taking such action, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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