How the Smithsonian Is Helping Black Americans Trace Their Roots

Smithsonian Magazine – Free sessions hosted by the National Museum of African American History and Culture offer visitors advice on researching their genealogy..Genealogy researchers use military records, birth and death certificates, marriage licenses, wills, legal and court documents, and census records to help piece together the past. The resources referenced by NMAAHC’s team don’t currently …

Subjects: Economy, Government Documents, Legal Research, Libraries

OMB stands up first online database of all federal programs

Federal News Network: “It took 13 years — with some stops, starts and stumbles in between — but as of today, the federal government now has a single website designed to deliver detailed, searchable information about all federal programs. The Office of Management and Budget flipped the switch Thursday on the new Federal Program Inventory, …

Subjects: E-Government, E-Records, Economy, Government Documents, Legal Research

Service Jobs Now Require Bizarre Personality Test From AI Company

404 Media: “Applying to some of the most common customer and food service jobs in the country now requires a long and bizarre personality quiz featuring blue humanoid aliens, which tells employers how potential hires rank in terms of “agreeableness” and “emotional stability.” If you’ve applied to a job at FedEx, McDonald’s, or Darden Restaurants …

Subjects: AI, E-Records, Economy, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

Directory of Police Department Social Media Policies

Brennan Center for Justice – “While many departments have policies addressing the use of social media data, most are too permissive or provide little transparency about actual practices. Surveys and anecdotal reports suggest that the use of social media by state and local law enforcement is widespread, with a number of police departments reporting that they …

Subjects: E-Government, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Social Media

The Top 100 Documentaries We Can Use to Change the World

Films for Action: “Documentaries have an incredible power to raise awareness and create transformative changes in consciousness both at the personal and global levels. Over the last [16] years, we’ve watched hundreds of social change documentaries and cataloged the best of them in this library. There are now so many that we realized we needed to …

Subjects: Education, Knowledge Management, Libraries, Search Engines

The impact of generative AI in a global election year

Brookings – Valerie Wirtschafter: “The influence of the online ecosystem in shaping democratic discourse is well-documented, with the expanded reach of generative artificial intelligence (AI) representing a novel challenge in a historic election year. Generative AI enables the creation of realistic images, videos, audio, or text based on user-provided prompts. Given the potential exploitation of …

Subjects: AI, Congress, E-Records, Education, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Digital Policy Alert – CLaiRK BETA

“CLaiRK is the latest initiative of the Digital Policy Alert team. Over the first half of 2024, we aim to build a comprehensive tool that will help you navigate the rapidly changing landscape of artificial intelligence rules. Our mission is to help policymakers, legal professionals, journalists and citizens better understand the nuances of digital regulations …

Subjects: AI, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation