Category «Civil Liberties»

The long, tortured quest to make Google unbiased

The Verge – Can a search engine ever be meaningfully neutral: “[December 11, 2018], Sundar Pichai will try to reassure Congress that Google’s search engine isn’t rigged. The Google CEO is testifying before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday [The Hearing is titled – Transparency & Accountability: Examining Google and its Data Collection, Use and …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Internet, Knowledge Management, Search Engines

Your smartphone’s AI algorithms could tell if you are depressed

MIT Technology Review: “Your smartphone’s AI algorithms could tell if you are depressed. Smartphones that are used to track our faces and voices could also help lower the barrier to mental-health diagnosis and treatment. Depression is a huge problem for millions of people, and it is often compounded by poor mental-health support and stigma. Early diagnosis …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Health Care, Privacy

Federal Workers Warned Against Talk of ‘Impeachment,’ ‘the Resistance’

Reason.com: “Employees of the federal government were warned this week that both praising and criticizing the Trump administration while on duty may be considered illegal. Federal workers are specifically barred from “advocating” for or against impeachment and from expressing support for the so-called “resistance” to President Donald Trump. Such expressions could be considered violations of …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

PowerPoint and Skype gain live captions and subtitles

VentureBeat: “Real-time captions and subtitles are heading to PowerPoint and Skype, the company today revealed in a pair of announcements timed to coincide with the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities (UN IDPD). “The word ‘empower’ means a lot to every Microsoft employee, it’s a key word in our mission ‘to empower every person …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Internet

New study from NC confirms some long-held folk wisdom about race and juries

The New York Times – Prof. Ronald Wright – “A new study from North Carolina confirms some long-held folk wisdom about race and juries. The good news is there are two doable solutions. Race, as a matter of constitutional principle, cannot factor into the selection of jurors for criminal trials. But in the American justice …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Legal Research

Secret Service tests facial recognition system at the White House

FCW.com: “The Secret Service started testing a facial recognition system in and around the White House last week, according to a privacy assessment released by the Department of Homeland Security on Nov. 28. The pilot uses a facial recognition system, unnamed in the privacy document, to pore over faces collected by the Crown closed circuit …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Total Dips to Lowest Level in a Decade

“The number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. fell to its lowest level in more than a decade, according to new Pew Research Center estimates based on 2016 government data. The decline is due almost entirely to a sharp decrease in the number of Mexicans entering the country without authorization. But the Mexican border remains …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Economy, Legal Research

How to Get Your Lawmakers to Listen

ProPublica – “In our final installment of the User’s Guide to Democracy, we asked a live panel of congressional experts to help you stay engaged in politics after the midterms have ended. Congress Works For You. Here’s How to Be a Better Boss.” [h/t Pete Weiss] “You did it! In this month’s midterm election, you …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

How China Walled Off the Internet

The New York Times – “Today, China has the world’s only internet companies that can match America’s in ambition and reach. It is years ahead of the United States in replacing paper money with smartphone payments, turning tech giants into vital gatekeepers of the consumer economy. And it is host to a supernova of creative …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Economy, Freedom of Information, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media