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Author Archives: Sabrina I. Pacifici

Florida braces for lawsuits over law banning kids from social media

Ars Technica: “On Monday, Florida became the first state to ban kids under 14 from social media without parental permission. It appears likely that the law—considered one of the most restrictive in the US—will face significant legal challenges, however, before taking effect on January 1. Under HB 3, apps like Instagram, Snapchat, or TikTok would… Continue Reading

8 charts on technology use around the world

“While internet use is nearly ubiquitous in many countries, not everyone is online. Divides still exist on technology usage between people in some advanced economies and those in some emerging economies, according to Pew Research Center data from 27 countries in 2022 and 2023. Smartphone ownership and social media use also vary around the world.… Continue Reading

Israeli Hostage Says She Was Sexually Assaulted and Tortured in Gaza

The New York Times [upaywalled]: “…Ms. Soussana, 40, is the first Israeli to speak publicly about being sexually assaulted during captivity after the Hamas-led raid on southern Israel. In her interviews with The Times, conducted mostly in English, she provided extensive details of sexual and other violence she suffered during a 55-day ordeal. Ms. Soussana’s… Continue Reading

Airlines are not making flights more expensive by tracking your search habits

Gizmodo: “Why So Many People Think They Can Get Cheaper Flights Using Incognito Mode…Economists from Berkeley, Yale, and the University of Chicago recently studied the pricing algorithms of an unnamed large US airline. The study found that the overall bookings for any given flight will affect the price, but your personal interest has no impact… Continue Reading

America splintering into more than a dozen news bubbles

Axios: “Shards of glass: Inside media’s 12 splintering realities – You can’t understand November’s election — or America itself — without reckoning with how our media attention has shattered into a bunch of misshapen pieces. Think of it as the shards of glass phenomenon. Not long ago, we all saw news and information through a… Continue Reading

New evidence suggests dogs may ‘picture’ objects in their minds, similarly to people

PopSci: “When a dog follows a command or fetches a ball, it’s hard to know what’s really going on inside its canine cranium. Do dogs understand and respond to tone of voice, the syllables of words, accompanying hand motions and body language, or just the situational context? Behavioral studies have offered some clues, but new… Continue Reading

Supreme Court Ideology and the Press

Andersen Jones, RonNell and West, Sonja, Supreme Court Ideology and the Press (March 15, 2024). University of Georgia School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 2024-3, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4760952 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4760952 “Among the elected branches and the broader public, positivity toward the press skews deeply ideological. The data make clear that most liberals… Continue Reading

Asking GPT for the Ordinary Meaning of Statutory Terms

Engel, Christoph and McAdams, Richard H., Asking GPT for the Ordinary Meaning of Statutory Terms (February 6, 2024). MPI Collective Goods Discussion Paper, No. 2024/5, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4718347 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4718347 “We report on our test of the Large Language Model (LLM) ChatGPT (GPT) as a tool for generating evidence of the ordinary meaning of… Continue Reading

WHO The state of the climate in 2023

WHO Climate Report – Climate change indicators reached record levels in 2023. The state of the climate in 2023 gave ominous new significance to the phrase “off the charts.” Key messages: State of Global Climate report confirms 2023 as hottest year on record by clear margin Records broken for ocean heat, sea level rise, Antarctic… Continue Reading