Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

CategoryCensorship

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Digital learning and global education concept

COSM: Wikipedia Co-Founder To Speak on Today’s Knowledge Risks

Larry Sanger is not a fan of the baked-in bias at Wikipedia today and wants to found an encyclosphere — like the blogosphere — instead

Larry Sanger, one of the founders of Wikipedia, will be speaking at COSM, Friday, November 1, at 10:30 am. His topic?: The increasingly pressing matter of preserving our knowledge. He should know. Originally a co-founder of Wikipedia, he has become increasingly critical of its role as a go-to source. In 2021, he warned, “If only one version of the facts is allowed then that gives a huge incentive to wealthy and powerful people to seize control of things like Wikipedia in order to shore up their power,” But let’s go back a bit Sanger, who has a Phd in philosophy (2000), was approached by entrepreneur Jimmy Wales that year to come to work for him on a project that evolved Read More ›

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People going to a US election rally

California Censorship Law Loses First Round in Legal Battle

Court zeroes in to protect First Amendment rights to vigorous political speech and expression
Unless deepfake technology is outlawed wholesale, the collection of piecemeal laws and regulations aiming to fix this or that problem will grow without limit. Read More ›
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Exploring AI voice deepfake technology with visual representation of voice waves in a digital context

California: The New “Deepfakes” Ban Violates the First Amendment!

Outrage over the AI-generated imitations of Kamala Harris’s voice distracts from the issues around the state’s power grab over media
AB 2839 targets political speech, the most protected form of expression under the First Amendment. There are 7 meritorious challenges Read More ›
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Closeup macro of hedera helix English ivy green leaves, toned with retro vintage filters. Textured natural green background. View from top above.

Ivy League Schools Are the Worst for Censoring Free Expression

The top five for freedom of expression were state universities, says intellectual freedom watchdog FIRE in its fifth annual report; some schools are improving
Schools that are rediscovering a commitment to intellectual freedom may have an edge after a decade of declining enrolment, with worse to come. Read More ›
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Arrested traveler

Why Was the Telegram CEO — 900 Million Users — Arrested?

Governments worldwide want a backdoor into social media, to target users where we spend so much time. But Durov said: nyet
Pavel Durov’s arrest chilled social media bosses but elated those who think it is time for governments, worldwide, to exert more control over what we say. Read More ›
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Online vlogger filming podcast episode with man in studio, using camera and soung production equipment to record. Content creator broadcasting live conversation on social media.

Media war: Journalists vs. content creators—Taylor Lorenz explains

A revealing skirmish erupted around the DNC Convention. Your ability to get real news may depend on who wins
The internet crashed the cost of independent content creation but it also crashed the cost of censorship via compliant big social media platforms. Read More ›
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Concept of propaganda and fake news, TV addiction. A lot of retro TV in dark room with spiral illusion effect on screens. Politicians manipulate the population. Created with Generative AI

The Hot New Word for Propaganda: Prebunking

Misinformation experts don’t address the fact that prebunking would work just as well for “inoculating” people against correct information as incorrect information
As governments increasingly attempt to control news, a question looms: What they will do when prebunking disapproved information doesn't prevent Wrongthink? Read More ›
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A businessman stands with his turned back and looks into a cross-shaped hole in a concrete wall.

X Now Banned in Brazil; Huge Fines Threaten Secret Users

The Supreme Court’s ruling seems to be part of an international trend toward attempted government control of the news stream
One of our readers writes to say, "I resisted the military dictatorship in Brazil in the 1960s, and I will resist the dictatorship of a judge in 2024." Read More ›
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Sorry

Does Mark Zuckerberg Really Regret All the Censorship?

He says he does. But is it too late to roll back government interference in news dissemination?
His letter to the House Committee, strategically or otherwise, doesn’t say whether Meta would have made the same decisions without government pressure. Read More ›
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Y chromosome on dark background. Blue color. 3d illustration.

Biologist Kicked Out of National Institutes of Health Event

Colin Wright and Tomas Bogardus, also ejected, deny being disruptive but both think that humans are sex binary. That may have been enough
In a world of private truth that owes nothing to either faith or science, dissenting opinion is an invasion from an alien universe. Stay safe by not hearing. Read More ›
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Dystopian metropolis. Film noir gothic style industrial architecture landscape image

If Materialism Is Failing, What Replaces It Might Not Be Better

If panpsychism prevails, we may need to get used to the politics of Insect Rights and of Rocks' Lives Matter. Also, panpsychists may have little of consequence to say about freedom of thought
The concern Michael Egnor expresses, that materialism, while barren, may be replaced by something worse, may be prescient, depending on how panpsychism unfolds. Read More ›
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group businesspeople thumbs down together. concept rejection and boycott.

Scholars Association Changes Policy, Now Backs Academic Boycotts

If AAUP members have run out of challenging new ideas themselves, they can at least suppress them when they are introduced by others
Idea boycotts have been known to suppress new ideas for centuries. It used to be thought of as a negative idea, a sort of dark ages… Read More ›
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K9 Police Squad Performing Explosive Material Security Screening At Airports

Tulsi Gabbard Put on Terror Watch List. Is the Dystopia Already Here?

Tyranny is starting to rear its head in the western world

Last week, the United Kingdom warned its citizens about what they post online, noting they could be criminally prosecuted for sharing content that can “incite” violence. Free speech advocates were quick to condemn the announcement as censorial and undemocratic. But is America immune from the thought police? Former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii was recently put on the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) terror watchlist. According to whistleblower reports, she and her husband were followed by federal agents and a team of dogs last month and checked multiple times at airports as they traveled across the United States and overseas. Local Hawaiian lawmakers sent a statement to the TSA condemning the “harassment”: The people of Hawaii love Tulsi and your actions Read More ›

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Concept idea freedom of speech freedom of expression democracy feminism and censored, surreal painting, portrait illustration, political art, women's rights, conceptual artwork

The U.K. Government Reposts Censorious Tweet

The rising authoritarianism in western societies is becoming more evident

In light of the violent protests and now counter-protests raging across the England and elsewhere in the United Kingdom (UK), the UK government reposted an announcement on X that those posting online content promoting “hatred” or “violence” could be criminally prosecuted. Here’s the post: Not only can citizens face prosecution by posting inciteful content (although the video makes no mention about what that really is), but they can also get nabbed for simply reposting it from someone else. The pushback on X was swift, with critics calling the post a blatant instance of government overreach and comparing the measure to something we would expect in authoritarian countries like China and North Korea. The debate over free speech in western countries Read More ›

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minimalist circuit board with tiny monopoly townhouses the style is flat and minimalistic with simple shapes and limited colors

Google Decision Challenges Trillion-Dollar Internet Gatekeeper

How one company cornered the market for the human mind
The judge ruled that Google operates unlawfully: It effectively excludes competitors while its prices and services are unresponsive to consumer market demands. Read More ›
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TV News studio - recording and broadcasting media in a modern set design with blue background for journalists. Generative AI

As Trust in Media Declines, Media Seek Allies in Government

The internet crashes the cost of almost every factor except time so more and more independent sources are jumping in
Legacy media want something DONE about the new bottom-up news media that are an existential threat to traditional top-down media. Read More ›
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Anonymous crowd of people walking street wearing masks during covid 19 coronavirus pandemic

Let Him Who Would “Represent” Science Beware…

James B. Meigs looks at Anthony Fauci’s new book, On Call, asking what happened? What turned the highly esteemed doctor into a scheming authoritarian?
Fauci’s early career was brilliant; he gained the trust of angry opponents during the AIDS years. But the art of listening seemed to desert him later. Read More ›
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Censored book

View: Universities Should Not Speak Up Against Dissenting Profs!

Jay Bhattacharya and Wesley J. Smith respond to an article in a medical journal arguing that universities SHOULD censure dissenters on the faculty
How much good science would have seen the light in the last 600 years if “Institutional Voices” had been heard from even more often than they were? Read More ›
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Red blue atom model over blurred blue and red

Bill Dembski: Einstein’s Advice to Bright Young University Grads

His advice, bellowed in parting, may seem obvious but it is challenging in a world that often protects sacred cows over evidence
Sacred cows inhibit thinking because they have no straightforward relationship with the discipline in which they find pasture. Read More ›
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3D rendering of a dark cell at night

New Pre-Crime Laws: Real-Life “Minority Report” Coming to Canada?

Americans should NOT assume that “It can’t happen here.” The First Amendment is a constitutional tool, not a magic talisman. It can be undermined
Canadian media that accept Trudeau’s handouts must please the regime more than inform the public. Indies are under heavy fire. Read More ›