Author: Caitlin Cory | Page 3

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Caitlin Cory
Date
August 25, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Events

Tagged
Artificial Intelligence, COSM 2021, Kai-Fu Lee, speech recognition software}

Kai-Fu Lee, Inventor of Speech Recognition, to Speak at COSM 2021

_{Lee is one of many technological geniuses appearing in Seattle this November} _{Caitlin Cory
August 25, 2021

2

Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Events}

This November in Seattle, some of the most brilliant minds in technology will gather for COSM, an exclusive national summit on how technology is remaking the world as we know it. Among its many speakers will be Kai-Fu Lee, a computer scientist, businessman, and the inventor of speech recognition. Lee’s credentials are many and impressive. After his Ph.D. work at Carnegie Mellon (which produced continuous speech recognition), he has journeyed through the offices of Apple, SGI, Microsoft, and Google. In 2009, he launched Sinovation Ventures in an effort to financially support up-and-coming Chinese high-tech companies. In 2018, Lee gave a TED talk on how human beings can thrive in an era of AI. The video (posted below) is worth the Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
August 24, 2021

Categorized
Law, Social Media

Tagged
antitrust, Facebook, Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Josh Hawley, U.S. Department of Justice}

Federal Trade Commission Takes Facebook to Court… Again

_{The FTC hopes to prove in an 80-page complaint that Facebook holds damaging monopoly power over competitors} _{Caitlin Cory
August 24, 2021

4

Law, Social Media}

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed an amended complaint against Facebook, trying again for an antitrust lawsuit after a federal judge dismissed their original complaint earlier this summer. The updated complaint alleges that Facebook has violated antitrust laws and garnered monopoly power, namely by buying up rival companies and imposing unfair policies that “neutralize perceived competitive threats.” Facebook is the world’s dominant online social network, with a purported three billion-plus regular users. Facebook has maintained its monopoly position in significant part by pursuing Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy, expressed in 2008: “it is better to buy than compete.” True to that maxim, Facebook has systematically tracked potential rivals and acquired companies that it viewed as serious competitive Read More ›

A cuban flag with holes waves over a street in Central Havana. La Habana, as the locals call it, is the capital city of Cuba

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post

Caitlin Cory
Date
August 19, 2021

Categorized
Social Media

Tagged
Communism, Joe Biden, Ron DeSantis}

Social Media Was Instrumental in Recent Cuba Protests

_{Social media broke down barriers and helped galvanize the Cuban people against their Communist government} _{Caitlin Cory
August 19, 2021

5

Social Media}

One month after protests broke out across Cuba, the island’s Communist government has released a new set of internet and social media regulations specifically aimed at cracking down on anti-government activity. The Cuban government released the new regulations on Tuesday, forbidding internet content that is critical of the state’s policies, specifically on “constitutional, social and economic” matters, as well as content that could incite actions “that alter public order.” In addition, Cubans are now encouraged to report any content violating the new regulations, using a government-created form. Penalties for violating the new internet use decrees will be determined by legislation at a later date. Why such a crackdown on internet content? It’s because social media was essential to the widespread Read More ›

Man reading a book on a background with science formulas

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Caitlin Cory
Date
August 17, 2021

Categorized
Philosophy, Science

Tagged
Nikola Danaylov, Scientism, Singularity Weblog}

Science’s Limitations According to a Futurist

_{Danaylov rightly warns against a blind embrace of science} _{Caitlin Cory
August 17, 2021

4

Philosophy, Science}

“[S]cience on its own has not and cannot ensure our progress or future survival,” writes Nikola Danaylov. In our last post, we introduced Nikola Danaylov, futurist author and speaker. Danaylov is currently in the middle of an online series about the story of humanity and how science and technology fit into that story in our past, present, and future. Danaylov begins his series with his main thesis: “[O]ur future is indeed determined. But not by some unbreakable and deterministic law of nature. No. Our future is determined by a story that we have created.” In other words, the way we narrate our own lives matters because it determines how we will act in the future. The Power of Story Danaylov spends the Read More ›

Justice and law concept. Gavel on sounding block in hand's Male judge at a courtroom, working with document law books, report the case on table in modern office.

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Caitlin Cory
Date
August 8, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Big Tech censorship, censorship, First Amendment, Free speech, Josh Hawley, Philip Hamburger, Ron DeSantis, Section 230, The Tyranny of Big Tech (book)}

Section 230: What Is It and Why the Controversy?

_{Does Section 230 provide Big Tech too much power, or is it necessary for the moderation of misinformation and inappropriate content?} _{Caitlin Cory
August 8, 2021

11

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

At the center of the controversy between free speech and the rights of private companies lies Section 230, the controversial U.S. code dating back to 1996. Toward the end of his term in 2020, former President Donald Trump famously tweeted that Section 230 should be “completely terminated.” Sen. Josh Hawley, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard voiced their support, but by and large, the sentiment was met with fierce resistance. Advocates for the reform (or complete repeal) of Section 230 argue that it shields Big Tech companies from accountability when they engage in politically-motivated censorship and content moderation. Supporters of Section 230 argue that it is essential to keep the internet free of misinformation and vile or obscene material. Section 230 Read More ›

Beautiful Young Woman Looking Through Binoculars At The Sea On A Bright Sunny Day

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Caitlin Cory
Date
August 5, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Science

Tagged
Futurism, Marvin Minsky, Nikola Danaylov, Noam Chomsky, Ray Kurzweil, Singularity Weblog}

Peering Into the Future with Nikola Danaylov

_{In a new online series, futurist Danaylov shares both wisdom and folly about future expectations for science and technology} _{Caitlin Cory
August 5, 2021

3

Artificial Intelligence, Science}

Is our future determined? And if so, what is it determined by? These are the questions Nikola Danaylov is discussing at Singularity Weblog, an online format the futurist author and podcaster uses for addressing topics of science, technology, humanity, and the future. In his latest series, Danaylov – who playfully addresses himself as “Socrates” – posits that humanity’s future is, indeed, determined – determined by the stories we tell ourselves. Before we jump into his fascinating analyses, let’s take a look at Danaylov himself to understand the worldview from which he writes. Danaylov is a futurist author and speaker based in Toronto, Canada. As a futurist, Danaylov is optimistic about the future of technology and the possibility of an age Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
July 29, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
ACLU, Amazon, Big Tech, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Facebook, First Amendment, Florida, Florida and Big Tech, Google, Jen Psaki, NetChoice, Ron DeSantis, Twitter}

Federal Judge Strikes Down Florida Big Tech Law

_{The judge ruled that the law violates the First Amendment rights of social media companies} _{Caitlin Cory
July 29, 2021

4

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

A federal judge struck down the recent Florida legislation aimed at reigning in the censorship powers of Big Tech, hours before it was set to go into effect. Within days of Governor DeSantis signing the bill into law in May, NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) filed a lawsuit, representing the biggest names in social media (such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Amazon). They argued that the new law is a violation of their First Amendment rights as private companies. On June 30, Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida ruled in favor of NetChoice and CCIA, issuing a preliminary injunction on the law after determining that it violates the First Amendment Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
July 28, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Media

Tagged
Alexa, apple, Audrey, Cortana, Microsoft, Siri}

You Can Now Hear Our Articles When You Are Driving or Sweeping Up

_{Curious about that "loudspeaker" icon that has recently appeared in our articles?} _{Caitlin Cory
July 28, 2021

3

Artificial Intelligence, Media}

You may have recently noticed a new icon that’s appeared on your screen at the beginning of our articles. If you press the little black button with the loudspeaker icon, you will find our article being read aloud for you. This exciting new application – which will make it easier for our readers to enjoy our content even while driving, doing chores, or running errands – is made possible by WebsiteVoice advances in artificial intelligence technology. WebsiteVoice is a text-to-speech application that converts blog posts and online articles into audible material. It serves over 4,000 clients worldwide in 30 different languages. Founded by Mohamad Awad and Roz Burch, the WebsiteVoice team calls itself “a group of avid readers and podcast Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
July 16, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media

Tagged
Florida, Machine Learning, Poland, Privacy, Transparency, Twitter}

Governments Worldwide Pressured Twitter to Censor in 2020

_{World governments demanded the removal of content from 199 journalist sources} _{Caitlin Cory
July 16, 2021

4

Censorship, Social Media}

Twitter released its latest Transparency Report on Wednesday, revealing that in the latter half of 2020, there was a 26% increase in requests from international governments to remove posts from verified journalists. The report tracks various data from July 1 to December 31, 2020, including global legal requests and Twitter Rules enforcement. Global legal requests are divided between information requests and removal requests. Twitter received over 14,500 global government information requests, and over 38,500 global legal demands to remove content. According to the report, “94% of the total global volume of legal demands originated from only five countries (in decreasing order): Japan, India, Russia, Turkey, and South Korea.” Of the information requests received, Twitter announced that they “produced some or Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
June 28, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy

Tagged
Amazon, apple, Facebook, Google, Josh Hawley, The Tyranny of Big Tech (book), Theodore Roosevelt, Twitter}

A Book Review: The Tyranny of Big Tech

_{A beautiful defense of the common man and woman against a technological elite} _{Caitlin Cory
June 28, 2021

6

Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy}

“Our republic has never been more hierarchical, more riven by class, more managed by an elite than it is today,” writes Josh Hawley in The Tyranny of Big Tech. Who might that elite be? According to Hawley, it’s not our politicians, our lawyers, our Ivy League graduates, or our Hollywood celebrities. It’s Big Tech – those big names like Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple, and Google that have embedded themselves in our lives to an almost irreversible degree. Hawley has spent his career as a U.S. Senator, and formerly as Missouri’s Attorney General, holding Big Tech accountable where others don’t dare tread. In investigations, in legislation, and now in this book, Hawley has confronted the antitrust and privacy violations committed by Read More ›

Books and crumpled paper in the bin. Books that do not read, low-grade literature, copy space

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post

Caitlin Cory
Date
June 22, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy

Tagged
Amazon, Cancel culture, censorship, Josh Hawley, The Tyranny of Big Tech (book)}

The Tyranny of Big Tech: The Book That Almost Wasn’t

_{How cancel culture came for a book taking on Big Tech monopolies} _{Caitlin Cory
June 22, 2021

8

Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy}

On May 4, Regnery Publishing released The Tyranny of Big Tech, a book written by Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) uncovering the deceptive and antitrust practices of companies like Facebook and Google, and laying out a policy plan to break up the monopolies and protect the interests of America’s common men and women. The book has done well. In its first week, it became the number one bestseller in three separate categories on Amazon lists, and it made the Publisher’s Weekly list of hardcover nonfiction at No. 6. “Big Tech represents today’s robber barons,” Hawley writes in the first chapter, “who are draining prosperity and power away from the great middle of our society and creating, as they do, a new Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
June 8, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Big Tech, Big Tech censorship, Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), Facebook, First Amendment, Florida, Florida and Big Tech, Free speech, Google, John Snyder, NetChoice, Ron DeSantis, Section 230, Senate Bill 7072, Twitter}

Big Tech Sues Florida Over New Censorship Law

_{Facebook, Twitter, and Google are fighting back against a Florida law that seeks to reign them in} _{Caitlin Cory
June 8, 2021

4

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

Technology trade companies representing Facebook, Twitter, and Google are suing Florida over its new law regulating the editorial and censorship powers of large social media platforms. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7072 into law on May 24, the first of its kind in the nation to curb the powers of online companies to remove and censor content and users. NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) – technology trade groups that have been vocal about their opposition to the law – filed the lawsuit against Florida the following Thursday in Tallahassee federal court. DeSantis and other supporters of the new law argue that its purpose is to safeguard the First Amendment rights of ordinary Florida citizens Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
June 5, 2021

Categorized
Arts & Culture, Science

Tagged
Albert Einstein, Dimensions, Science fiction}

A Wrinkle In Time: Reading Science Fiction At An Early Age

_{An early introduction to science fiction will be a boon to any child's imagination} _{Caitlin Cory
June 5, 2021

4

Arts & Culture, Science}

When I was young, my father was constantly pressing new books into my hands. The first in remembrance was C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The second to stand out was Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle In Time. It was a funny choice, really. My father’s theology does not match L’Engle’s universalism, nor are his preferred subjects math and science. At the time, I was unable to wrap my mind around concepts of dimension and time introduced by L’Engle, but the novel became a fast favorite that I have returned to in my adulthood. A Wrinkle In Time was most recently brought back into popular view when an adaptation imagined by director Ava DuVernay was released in theaters Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
June 3, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy

Tagged
censorship, Eric Metaxas, Florida, Free speech, Scott Atlas, social media, Texas, YouTube}

Big Tech Scrubs Religious Radio Show From YouTube

_{This isn't the first time YouTube has infringed on free speech} _{Caitlin Cory
June 3, 2021

4

Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy}

YouTube removed an entire radio show from its platform this week, hosted by popular Christian author and social commentator Eric Metaxas, citing violations of their community standards. Metaxas – author of biographies on the lives of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Martin Luther, and William Wilberforce, among many other books – announced the news to his social media pages on Tuesday. “It’s happened,” he wrote on his Facebook page. “Despite our going FAR out of our way to comply with their arbitrary ‘community standards’, YouTube decided to remove every single video we’ve ever done on the Eric Metaxas Show off their platform.” The Eric Metaxas Radio Show, humorously called “The Show About Everything”, has featured a host of big name guests, including former Read More ›

This is the State Capitol building. It has a large concrete stairway leading up to it with large columns holding up the facade.

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Caitlin Cory
Date
May 26, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Facebook, Florida, John Snyder, Ron DeSantis, Senate Bill 7072, social media, Twitter}

Florida Governor Signs Bill Reining in Big Tech

_{The bill Governor DeSantis signed is the first in the nation to ban social media companies from deplatforming political candidates} _{Caitlin Cory
May 26, 2021

6

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

In the current national battle between Big Tech and Big Government, a new Florida law will punish social media companies for discriminating against political viewpoints and deplatforming political candidates. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7072 into law on Monday. The legislation protects Florida citizens and political candidates from inequitable viewpoint censorship. “Now more than ever, social media has really become the twenty-first century public square,” John Snyder, a Representative in the Florida House, told Mind Matters News. “It’s evolved from what used to be just a platform where people could post thoughts and pictures to now this is a tool that people rely on to communicate with their family, to talk with their friends, to air their grievances, and really to Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
April 30, 2021

Categorized
Social Media, Surveillance

Tagged
Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Surveillance}

U.S. Postal Service Secretly Monitoring Social Media Posts

_{Legal experts don't understand why the Post Office is involved in online government surveillance} _{Caitlin Cory
April 30, 2021

4

Social Media, Surveillance}

According to a government document obtained by Yahoo News, the U.S. Postal Service has been secretly monitoring the social media posts of American citizens. The covert operation, conspicuously known as the Internet Covert Operations Program (or iCOP), has been conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the law enforcement arm of the U.S. Postal Service. Normally, USPIS is responsible for protecting the functions of USPS as well as its employees. Branching out into online surveillance is both unexpected and surprising to many experts. “It’s a mystery,” University of Chicago law professor Geoffrey Stone told Yahoo. “I don’t understand why the government would go to the Postal Service for examining the internet for security issues.” Likewise, Rachel Levinson-Waldman, deputy Read More ›

Face recognition and personal identification technologies in street surveillance cameras, law enforcement control.

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Caitlin Cory
Date
April 28, 2021

Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Law, Surveillance

Tagged
ACLU, Canada, China, Facebook, Facial Recognition, facial recognition technology, Google, Instagram, Law enforcement, New York Times, Rudy Giuliani, Surveillance, Twitter, YouTube}

Canada Orders Facial Recognition App to Cease and Desist

_{Your face is likely already stored in this app's database} _{Caitlin Cory
April 28, 2021

10

Artificial Intelligence, Law, Surveillance}

In February, Canada released the findings of a year-long investigation into the US-based facial recognition app, Clearview AI. The investigation declared Clearview’s actions illegal within Canada and ordered the company to cease operations within the country and to remove all Canadian citizens from its database. “What Clearview does is mass surveillance, and it is illegal,” said Canadian Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien. So what is Clearview AI? And why has it raised the ire of our neighbors to the North? Clearview AI, Inc. Clearview AI is a facial recognition company marketed primarily to law enforcement agencies. It boasts a database of over 3 billion facial images “scraped” from public sources online such as news articles and social media sites. In other Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
April 8, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Bryan Hughes, censorship, Clarence Thomas, Facebook, Greg Abbott, Section 230, Texas, Twitter}

Texas Senate Passes Bill Prohibiting Big Tech Censorship

_{The bill seeks to reign in Big Tech power and protect the principle of free speech for Texas citizens} _{Caitlin Cory
April 8, 2021

5

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

Last week, the Texas Senate passed a measure that would prohibit large social media companies like Facebook and Twitter from censoring political and religious viewpoints of Texas citizens. The bill now awaits a vote in the Texas House. Senate Bill 12 was introduced in March by State Senator Bryan Hughes. Titled “Relating to the censorship of users’ expressions by an interactive computer service,” the bill would not only prohibit censorship, but would require social media companies to disclose their moderation policies, publish reports about any blocked content, and create a legal route for people to appeal any censoring or deplatforming decisions. Social media companies currently enjoy legal protections against lawsuit under Section 230 of the U.S. Code, which on the Read More ›

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Caitlin Cory
Date
April 6, 2021

Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Tagged
Amazon, apple, censorship, Facebook, Google, John West, Ken Buck, Parler, Twitter}

Parler vs. Amazon: Amazon Strikes Back!

_{Amazon is trying to avoid a state lawsuit through a hardball legal maneuver} _{Caitlin Cory
April 6, 2021

6

Censorship, Law, Social Media}

Parler, an alternative social networking site, has been in a fierce legal battle with AWS/Amazon since it was removed from Amazon’s platforms on January 10.

Influential Think Tank Declines Big Tech Donations

_{The Heritage Foundation declined six-figure donations from Big Tech companies Facebook and Google in 2020, citing repeated censorship of conservative views} _{Caitlin Cory
March 31, 2021

3

Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy}

News website Axios obtained letters signed by Heritage Foundation‘s departing President Kay Coles James (pictured), addressed to the CEOs of both Facebook and Google in October 2020, explaining why Heritage felt compelled to decline the six-figure contributions from the companies. “We cannot in good conscience take money from a company that repeatedly, and blatantly, suppresses conservative speech on your platforms,” reads the letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai. A similar statement is made in the letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Heritage declined $225,000 from Google, and returned $150,000 that came from Facebook. The Heritage Foundation made several accusations against the companies in its letters, including: that Facebook suppressed their reach by blocking referral traffic; that Facebook targeted Heritage with third-party fact-checkers; and that Google Read More ›