NEW RESOURCES

Smithsonian: Smithsonian Magazine Announces “There’s More to That,” a New Podcast in Partnership With PRX. “Smithsonian magazine covers history, science and culture in the way only it can—through a lens on the world that is insightful and grounded in richly reported stories. On There’s More to That, listeners will meet the magazine’s journalists as they discover the forces behind some of the biggest issues of our time and give curious listeners a fresh understanding of the world we all inhabit.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

The Verge: Reddit is testing ‘official’ labels for profiles and making parts of its app compatible with screen readers. “Reddit is starting to test a new ‘Official’ label that will make it easier to spot if an account is authentic. The new label will appear sitewide, meaning that it won’t be up to the moderators of individual subreddits to have to verify specific accounts.”

TechCrunch: Photoshop’s new generative AI feature lets you ‘uncrop’ images. “Adobe is building on Firefly, its family of generative AI models, with a feature in Photoshop that ‘expands images beyond their original bounds,’ as the company describes it.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

Rest of World: Indian politicians embrace influencers ahead of 2024 elections. “As the campaign for the 2024 elections in India goes digital, social media influencers have become a powerful tool to try and shape voter behavior.”

Associated Press: Saudi Arabia is spending billions to become a global gaming hub. Some fans don’t want to play. “Saudi Arabia, the new home of some of soccer’s biggest stars and a co-owner of professional golf, is proving to be no less ambitious when it comes to another global pastime – the $180 billion-a-year video game industry.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

WIRED: Code Kept Secret for Years Reveals Its Flaw—a Backdoor . “FOR MORE THAN 25 years, a technology used for critical data and voice radio communications around the world has been shrouded in secrecy to prevent anyone from closely scrutinizing its security properties for vulnerabilities. But now it’s finally getting a public airing thanks to a small group of researchers in the Netherlands who got their hands on its viscera and found serious flaws, including a deliberate backdoor.”

TorrentFreak: Turner Classic Movies Airs a Film With ‘Pirated’ Subtitles. “Turner Classic Movies is an invaluable institution for many film aficionados. The same is true for the private BitTorrent tracker Karagarga, which archives tens of thousands of films, many of which are not available through legal channels. While the latter operates without permission from rightsholders, it made a surprise appearance on Turner’s service recently in the form of ‘pirated’ subtitles.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Washington Post: The war in Ukraine is spurring a revolution in drone warfare using AI. “The design and software innovations, as well as mass dissemination of piloting know-how, are also likely to influence the way drones are used far beyond the war in Ukraine, with serious implications for governments confronting separatist militias, drug cartels and extremist groups seeking to gain a technological edge.”

NBC News: That sports broadcaster you hear could be AI. “Artificial intelligence commentators are edging into roles in sports broadcasting, with major competitions such as the Masters golf and Wimbledon tennis championships using the tech to automatically narrate certain highlight videos posted on the tournaments’ websites and apps.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

Ars Technica: The IBM mainframe: How it runs and why it survives. “Mainframe computers are often seen as ancient machines—practically dinosaurs. But mainframes, which are purpose-built to process enormous amounts of data, are still extremely relevant today. If they’re dinosaurs, they’re T-Rexes, and desktops and server computers are puny mammals to be trodden underfoot.” Good afternoon, Internet…

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