NEW RESOURCES

PR Newswire: New Project Will Recover the Names of Up to 10 Million People Enslaved in America Before Emancipation and Locate their Living Descendants  (PRESS RELEASE). “American Ancestors, a national center for family history, is partnering with family historians, leading African American scholars, and cultural institutions to recover the names of the 10 million people of African descent who were enslaved between the 1500s and 1865 in the territory that is now the United States of America. The project—10 Million Names—will centralize genealogical and historical information about enslaved people of African descent and their families on a free website.”

Scientific Reports: GlobalUsefulNativeTrees, a database documenting 14,014 tree species, supports synergies between biodiversity recovery and local livelihoods in landscape restoration. “Developed primarily by combining data from GlobalTreeSearch with the World Checklist of Useful Plant Species (WCUPS), GlobUNT includes 14,014 tree species that can be filtered for ten major use categories, across 242 countries and territories.”

University of Tübingen: Database with 2,400 prehistoric sites. “Scientists from the research center ROCEEH (“The Role of Culture in Early Expansions of Humans”) have compiled information on 2,400 prehistoric sites and 24,000 assemblages from more than 100 ancient cultures. The digital data collection is available for free to scientists and amateurs and was recently published in the journal PLoS ONE.”

USEFUL STUFF

Digital Inspiration: Emojis in Google Sheets. “Learn how to use emojis in Google Sheets and the challenges they pose during conversion of Google Spreadsheets to PDF files.”

AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD

NPR: Movie extras worry they’ll be replaced by AI. Hollywood is already doing body scans. “After four weeks of working as a background actor on the Disney+ series WandaVision during the pandemic, Alexandria Rubalcaba was told by the production crew to report to a tractor trailer. Dozens of other background actors were wrangled to the same site, where, one by one, they were told to step in front of a series of cameras on metal rigs behind glass.”

Hongkiat: Integromat vs. Zapier: Features, Prices, Pros & Cons (2023). “Connecting unrelated applications, making them work together, and automating several manual processes sounds like a lot of work for people, especially for those who have no coding knowledge. But thankfully, tools like Integromat and Zapier exist. These platforms enable users to connect applications easily with minimal coding involved and, in many cases, none at all. This article is for decision makers who want to streamline and optimize their processes. If you’re here, most likely, you’ll benefit from either of these two.”

CBC: National archives to digitize, transfer 6 million pages of Indian day school records, official says. “Canada’s national archives is working to identify, digitize and transfer six million pages of federal Indian day school records to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), the department head says. That kind of paper would fill multiple tractor trailers to the brim, said Leslie Weir, librarian and archivist of Canada, who hopes to finish the work in three years time.”

Tokyo Metropolitan Government: Tokyo 2020 Archives Assets actually used in the Tokyo 2020 Games Opening Ceremonies will be exhibited in Yurakucho!. “In order to convey the historical value and social significance of the Tokyo 2020 Games to future generations, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government （TMG） will open a venue on the first floor of SusHi Tech Square in Yurakucho, Tokyo where everyone can see an exhibit of Tokyo 2020 Games assets and experience competitions. In addition, approximately 1,000 archives assets and other physical assets managed by the TMG will be digitized and posted on the Tokyo 2020 Digital Archives website, and some of them will be available for 360 degree panoramic viewing.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Bloomberg: Google Illegally Cut Contract Staffers Who Worked on AI, Union Alleges. “The Alphabet Workers Union accused the internet giant of violating federal labor law, which prohibits retaliation against employees for organizing. More than 70% of the proposed bargaining unit — which includes 118 writers, graphic designers and launch coordinators who create internal and external Google content — were told in July that they will lose their jobs, according to a Thursday filing with the National Labor Relations Board.”

Reuters: Senegal Blocks TikTok in Widening Clampdown on Dissent. “Senegalese authorities on Wednesday blocked access to social media app TikTok, widening a clampdown on dissent days after they dissolved the main opposition party and detained its leader.”

New York Times: What Can You Do When A.I. Lies About You?. “The harm is often minimal, involving easily disproved hallucinatory hiccups. Sometimes, however, the technology creates and spreads fiction about specific people that threatens their reputations and leaves them with few options for protection or recourse. Many of the companies behind the technology have made changes in recent months to improve the accuracy of artificial intelligence, but some of the problems persist.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Fast Company: Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is a reminder that social media is not real life. “Of course, toxic online behavior exists in all online communities. But it represents the words of a smaller minority of users within the already small minority of people who post content online. Media narratives that emphasize certain groups as toxic based on online behavior—whether they are describing fandom or politics—fall into the trap of confusing the internet with real life.” Good morning, Internet…

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