Don’t believe everything you see and hear about Israel and Palestine

Vox: “After Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on October 7, killing at least 1,000 and taking at least 150 hostages, and Israel declared war against Hamas and retaliated, photographs and videos of violence flooded out of the region and onto social media. Some of the images were posted by victims on the …

Subjects: Internet, Knowledge Management, Social Media

22 awesome open source programs that do everything you need

PC World: Open source software is available free of charge on the internet. There are solutions for almost every field of application with which you can work comfortably. “Good software is the basis of all PC use, but many professional programs are too expensive for private use. This is where the free software-based applications step …

Subjects: Internet, Knowledge Management, Microsoft

IRS says Microsoft owes an additional $29 billion in back taxes

CNBC: “Microsoft received Notices of Proposed Adjustment from the Internal Revenue Service for an additional tax payment of $28.9 billion, the company said in an 8-K filing Wednesday. Microsoft said the dispute concerns the company’s allocated profits between countries and jurisdictions between 2004 and 2013. It said up to $10 billion in taxes that the …

Subjects: Education, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research, Securities Law

Dark patterns: how online companies strive to keep your money and data when you try to leave

The Conversation – “Have you signed up to an online service for a free trial, decided it isn’t for you, but still ended up paying for it months – or even years – later? Or tried cancelling a subscription, and found yourself giving up during the painstaking process? If so, there’s a good chance you …

Subjects: E-Commerce, E-Records, Legal Research, Privacy

Trustworthy Data for Social and Economic Research

Association of Public Data Users – Melissa C. Chiu, Director, Committee on National Statistics, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine: “Trustworthy, reliable, and widely available statistics are essential for making informed decisions in the public and private sectors, including policy makers, government agencies, businesses, and nonprofit organizations. The federal statistical system plays a crucial …

Subjects: Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Generative Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law

CRS Legal Sidebar – Generative Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law, September 29, 2023. “Innovations in artificial intelligence (AI) are raising new questions about how copyright law principles such as authorship, infringement, and fair use will apply to content created or used by AI. So-called “generative AI” computer programs—such as Open AI’s DALL-E and ChatGPT programs, …

Subjects: AI, Copyright, Government Documents, Legal Research

Heather Ford: Is the Web Eating Itself? LLMs versus verifiability

Ethan Zuckerman: “One of my favorite things in academia is that you can go a decade without seeing a friend and remain at least somewhat in touch with what they’re doing and thinking by reading their work. Dr. Heather Ford, Associate Professor of Communication at the University of Technology Sydney, where she leads the cluster …

Subjects: AI, Education, Internet, Knowledge Management

Israel and Hamas: Major Conflict After Surprise Attacks

CRS Insight – Israel and Hamas: Major Conflict After Surprise Attacks: “On October 7, 2023, Gaza Strip-based militants led by the Palestinian Sunni Islamist group Hamas (a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, or FTO) engaged in a series of surprise attacks by land, sea, and air against Israel . The assault targeted Israeli military bases and …

Subjects: Congress, Defense, Government Documents

The growing energy footprint of artificial intelligence

Joule / Full text free to read: “Alex de Vries is a PhD candidate at the VU Amsterdam School of Business and Economics and the founder of Digiconomist, a research company dedicated to exposing the unintended consequences of digital trends. His research focuses on the environmental impact of emerging technologies and has played a major …

Subjects: AI, Climate Change, Energy, Environmental Law, Internet, Knowledge Management, Search Engines