NEW RESOURCES

Mashed: A New Website Is Hacking The Baby Formula Shortage. “[The site], which launched on June 16, compiles inventory data from major retailers and allows parents to search for the closest supply of baby formula by state, zip code, preferred formula brand, and other specifiers, a rep told Mashed.” I tried it briefly. It’s running very, very slowly.

Microsoft News: This museum is using AI to remind us of all the threads we have in common. “On the INTERWOVEN website, a single click on the image of a mid-19th-early 20th century Kashmiri shawl fragment with the paisley motif leads one on a cultural odyssey that takes you to dozens of places where the motif appears. This includes a church in Britain, a chasuble from Italy, and a cloth panel from ancient Persia among others.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Business Insider: The transcript used as evidence that a Google AI was sentient was edited and rearranged to make it ‘enjoyable to read’. “A Google engineer released a conversation with a Google AI chatbot after he said he was convinced the bot had become sentient — but the transcript leaked to the Washington Post noted that parts of the conversation were edited ‘for readability and flow.'”

Engadget: Twitch opens up ads program to more streamers and increases payout. “More Twitch streamers will find invites to join the platform’s Ads Incentive Program now that the company is opening up the opportunity to welcome ‘more… Partners than ever.’ In addition, Twitch will stop paying streamers in the program using a fixed CPM structure — instead, it will use a percentage-based revenue share model to increase ad payouts.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

The Register: Telegram criticizes Apple for ‘intentionally crippling’ web app features on iOS. “A week after confirming plans for Telegram Premium, the messaging platform’s CEO, Pavel Durov, is again criticizing Apple’s approach to its Safari browser for stifling the efforts of web developers.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

AFP: Google Fined $245 Million By Mexican Court Over Defamatory Blog. “A court in Mexico City on Friday ordered Google to pay $245 million to a Mexican lawyer who said the US tech giant allowed the dissemination of a blog that accused him of money laundering.”

TechRadar: Over a billion Google Play Store app downloads could be infected by malware. “Banking apps for the Android ecosystem have more than a billion downloads between them, and according to a new report from the mobile security platform Zimperium, all of these at risk from dangerous trojans.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

The Guardian: Researchers use whale photo archive to help protect important WA calving site. “Researchers are combing through thousands of whale photos to help protect a calving site off Western Australia’s coast that was severely impacted by the whaling industry. The researchers believe that Geographe Bay off south-west WA is an important calving ground in need of environmental protection, and are using a 30-year archive of images to determine how many southern right whales have visited the area over time.”

WWF: WWF kickstarts ShellBank – a global genetic database to trace and protect sea turtles from poaching and the illegal trade. “Building off the success of a ground-breaking pilot in Australia called ‘Surrender Your Shell’, where over 300 tortoiseshell products were donated to help trace the illegal trade, WWF’s ShellBank is gearing up for uptake across Asia Pacific and globally.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

The Spaces: A London art installation is preserving Beirut’s at-risk buildings. “Architect Annabel Karim Kassar has brought a life-size recreation of one of old Beirut’s Ottoman-Venetian homes to the V&A Museum in London. Part of an exhibition entitled The Lebanese House: saving a home, saving a city, the installation pays homage to the many historic homes destroyed or damaged in the 2020 explosion – caused by badly stored ammonium nitrate chemicals in the Lebanese capital’s port.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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