NEW RESOURCES

Nature: An expert-curated global database of online newspaper articles on spiders and spider bites. “Mass media plays an important role in the construction and circulation of risk perception associated with animals. Widely feared groups such as spiders frequently end up in the spotlight of traditional and social media. We compiled an expert-curated global database on the online newspaper coverage of human-spider encounters over the past ten years (2010–2020).”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Bleeping Computer: Emergency Google Chrome update fixes zero-day used in attacks. “Google has released Chrome 99.0.4844.84 for Windows, Mac, and Linux users to address a high-severity zero-day bug exploited in the wild. ‘Google is aware that an exploit for CVE-2022-1096 exists in the wild,’ the browser vendor said in a security advisory published on Friday.”

Ars Technica: New Google Calendar feature takes the back-and-forth out of scheduling. “Google Calendar’s latest update promises to take a lot of the back-and-forth out of booking appointments. Google announced Friday that users will soon be able to create a ‘booking page’ UI they can send to anyone they want. You present the periods you’re willing to have a meeting, and the other user will be able to pick a time.”

Biometric Update: Clearview facial recognition app up to 20B images. “Clearview 2.0 is described as having a database of more than 20 billion publicly available facial images matches photos of suspects, persons of interest and potential victims through AI-powered facial recognition. Notable customers include the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and hundreds of local agencies, totaling 3,100 clients in law enforcements across the U.S.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

WIRED: Why Is the Internet So Exhausting? Blame Your Crowdsourced Bosses. “Although the global economy still depends on real, tactile resources and products, the evolution of capitalism has demanded that more solids be invented for the sole purpose of being melted into air. It’s not just that you’re the product. You’re also the laborer, the factory, and the logistician. You’re also the resource. And your boss is crowdsourced.”

Lewiston Tribune (Montana): Great Falls Tribune archives find a new home. “Elevator doors open up to the top floor of the History Museum in Great Falls, where overflow and large items not on display are stored, and an entire corner of the room was filled with recently acquired filing cabinets…. The History Museum recently acquired more than 20 filing cabinets filled with newspaper files and several boxes with photographs and photo negatives from the Great Falls Tribune in a massive effort to preserve the records after the Tribune building sale was finalized and everything needed to go.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Reuters: U.S. FTC accuses Intuit of deceptively advertising free tax filing. “The U.S. Federal Trade Commission asked a court on Monday to issue an order stopping Intuit, the owner of TurboTax tax preparation software, from deceptively advertising free tax filing when it requires many people to pay. In the complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the FTC, which enforces antitrust law and laws against deceptive advertising, said it had already started an internal administrative proceeding on the matter.”

NPR: That smiling LinkedIn profile face might be a computer-generated fake. “Social media accounts using computer-generated faces have pushed Chinese disinformation; harassed activists; and masqueraded as Americans supporting former President Donald Trump and independent news outlets spreading pro-Kremlin propaganda. NPR found that many of the LinkedIn profiles seem to have a far more mundane purpose: drumming up sales for companies big and small.” Until recently I used the ResearchBuzz logo for my LinkedIn profile, but then LinkedIn told me that was unacceptable and I had to use an image of myself (they didn’t say how old it had to be, which is why those of you connected to me have been seeing a baby head in your feeds lately.) I wonder if that requirement has driven the fake faces, or if the fake faces drove the policy change.

Daily Beast: Congress Eyeing ‘Dumpster Fire’ of Hate Talk in Spy Agency Chat Rooms. “The House and Senate intelligence oversight committees are looking into hate speech that has flourished in spy agency chat rooms over the past five years, spokespersons there tell SpyTalk. The House Armed Services Committee is also ‘aware of these allegations and we are working with the relevant agencies to assess the claim,’ said Caleb H. Randall-Bodman, the panel’s spokesman.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

CNET: The Puzzling Reason AI May Never Compete With Human Consciousness. “In a sense, physical knowledge and the code-ability of human traits are prerequisites for robotic programming… which introduces an important question for the future of lifelike AI. Are there aspects of human consciousness that will never meet these criteria? Well, per some philosophers, there may be. And after reading through two absolutely mind-melting thought experiments, you might agree. Or, you might not.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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