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Daily Archives: March 15, 2023

Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce

Environmental Working Group – EWG’s 2023 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™: Nearly 75 percent of non-organic fresh produce sold in the U.S. contains residues of potentially harmful pesticides, EWG’s 2023 Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™ finds. In this year’s guide, blueberries and green beans join our Dirty Dozen™ list of the 12 fruits and vegetables sampled that have the highest traces of pesticides. Any exposure to pesticides is a problem, given what we know about several ways they can harm humans. But the findings are particularly concerning for children, who are particularly vulnerable to many of the health harms associated with pesticide exposure. The Shopper’s Guide represents EWG’s analysis of the latest fruit and vegetable testing data from the Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration. The 2023 guide includes data from 46,569 samples of 46 fruits and vegetables. The USDA peels or scrubs and washes produce samples before testing, whereas the FDA only removes dirt before testing its samples. Even after these steps, the tests still find traces 251 different pesticides. The guide includes our Dirty Dozen as well as our Clean Fifteen™, which shows which fruits and vegetables tested have very low or no traces of pesticides. Some of the USDA’s tests show traces of pesticides long since banned by the Environmental Protection Agency. Much stricter federal regulation and oversight of these chemicals is needed. Consumption of fruit and vegetables, organic or not, is critical to a healthy diet and good health. But for shoppers concerned about dietary pesticide exposure, EWG’s Shopper’s Guide, released every year since 2004, provides information about the fruits and vegetables with the highest and lowest pesticide residues, so consumers can make the best decisions for their families.”

This Is Why You Feel Existential Dread When You Open Instagram and TikTok

Gizmodo: “In Meganets: How Digital Forces Beyond Our Control Commandeer Our Daily Lives and Inner Realities, David Auerbach argues the the distinctly modern feeling of a loss of control over our lives is the result of these new online forces. The vast influence of Facebook, Google, TikTok, and other tech giants is neither in the… Continue Reading

LinkedIn is adding AI tools for generating profile copy and job descriptions

The Verge: “LinkedIn is expanding its suite of artificial intelligence features, this time adding tools that will generate content for user profiles and job descriptions. One tool announced today will scan user profiles for skills and experiences and spit out suggested copy or summaries to add to other profile sections. The company says it still… Continue Reading

Cambridge Law Eminent Scholars Archive

“Lesley Dingle & Daniel Bates – The Eminent Scholars Archive is an expanding archive developed by Lesley Dingle and Daniel Bates in which we document the careers and achievements of eminent scholars associated with the Faculty of Law at the University of Cambridge. The archive includes biographies, bibliographies, photographs, recorded interviews and many other resources.… Continue Reading

Don’t get hacked on Facebook. Do these 6 things now.

Washington Post: “Everyone is a potential target for hackers on Facebook. Even you. Grandparents who only post the occasional photos, people checking in on their neighborhood groups, and Gen Zers who think they can spot a scam a mile away are all vulnerable. We know because it is overwhelmingly the biggest problem we hear about… Continue Reading

The stupidity of AI

The Guardian: “Artificial intelligence in its current form is based on the wholesale appropriation of existing culture, and the notion that it is actually intelligent could be actively dangerous.. The entirety of this kind of publicly available AI, whether it works with images or words, as well as the many data-driven applications like it, is… Continue Reading

PwC Introduces AI Chatbot for 4,000 Lawyers to Speed Up Work

Bloomberg News $: “PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP has introduced a chatbot service for its lawyers, joining the ranks of professional services firms using artificial intelligence to boost productivity. The project will be delivered through a 12-month partnership with AI startup Harvey, PwC said in a statement Wednesday. Around 4,000 PwC lawyers in over 100 countries will gain… Continue Reading

Thomson Reuters Adds UK Supreme Court Dockets to Westlaw

“Thomson Reuters is providing legal professionals with more comprehensive coverage of UK courts and access to real-time updates, expert editorial case analysis, and content sets unique to Westlaw UK. With the addition of UK Supreme Court Dockets on Westlaw available March 22, legal researchers will have easier access to High Court and Supreme Court proceedings,… Continue Reading