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Daily Archives: May 19, 2024

Does One Line Fix Google?

Tedium: “Forget AI. Google just created a version of its search engine free of all the extra junk it has added over the past decade-plus. All you have to do is add “udm=14” to the search URL. [This past week], Google announced some big changes to its search engine that are, in a word, infuriating. Simply put, Google has started adding “AI overviews” to many of its search results, which essentially throw pre-processed answers that often do not match the original intent of the search. If you’re using Google to actually find websites rather than get answers, it $!@(&!@ sucks. Admittedly though, it’s not the first time Google has adulterated its results like a food manufacturer in the 19th century—knowledge panels have been around for years. But in the midst of all this, Google quietly added something else to its results—a “Web” filter that presents what Google used to look like a decade ago, no extra junk. While Google made its AI-focused changes known on its biggest stage—during its Google I/O event—the Web filter was curiously announced on Twitter by Search Liaison Danny Sullivan…”

When Online Content Disappears

“38% of webpages that existed in 2013 are no longer accessible a decade later The internet is an unimaginably vast repository of modern life, with hundreds of billions of indexed webpages. But even as users across the world rely on the web to access books, images, news articles and other resources, this content sometimes disappears… Continue Reading

The secret life of bridges

StoryMaps – A look at the state of America’s unsung infrastructure heroes: “Investing in infrastructure has, generally speaking, been a popular and productive decision by the United States government. It creates well-paying jobs, makes the country safer, and boosts the economy in a number of direct and indirect ways. That explains how, even in today’s… Continue Reading

OECD – Defining AI incidents and related terms

New AI report: OECD (2024), OECD Artificial Intelligence Papers, No. 16, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/d1a8d965-en.”Defining AI incidents and related terms,” it’s a must-read for everyone in AI. Important information: An AI incident is defined as: “an event, circumstance or series of events where the development, use or malfunction of one or more AI systems directly… Continue Reading

It is dangerously easy to hack the world’s phones

The Economist – A system at the heart of global telecommunications is woefully insecure [no paywall] “For year security experts have warned that a technology at the heart of global communications is dangerously insecure. Now there is proof that it has been used to snoop on people in America. Kevin Briggs, an official at America’s… Continue Reading

Slack has been using data from your chats to train its machine learning models

Engadget – “The only way to opt out is by asking your company’s workspace owner to send Slack an email. Slack trains machine-learning models on user messages, files and other content without explicit permission. The training is opt-out, meaning your private data will be leeched by default. Making matters worse, you’ll have to ask your… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, May 18, 2024

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, May 18, 2024 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on… Continue Reading