Tagfake news
Google: Rank Censorship Behind the Scenes
We live under a state of highly sophisticated and ubiquitous suppression of disfavored voicesOne year ago today (January 1st, 2022) we saw behind the curtain at Google. With vast information scattered across a billion websites, whoever controls the search algorithm largely controls information. And if Google.com were a stage, the spotlight is centered squarely on the first result, with some ambient light spilling onto a few supporting roles. The second page results are essentially extras, unlikely to catch the attention of the audience at all. About 25% of web searchers click that first result. Another 50% follow one of the next half-dozen. A scant 6% will ever make it to the second page.* If your breaking news, breakthrough product, or bold opinion piece isn’t in a starring role on that first page, it will languish Read More ›
Google’s Leading AI Ethics Researcher Fired, Amid Controversy
Her research team targeted Google’s “cash cow”: advertisingTimnit Gebru, a leading AI ethics researcher, was fired from Google early this month under circumstances that have raised suspicions across the industry: On December 2, the AI research community was shocked to learn that Timnit Gebru had been fired from her post at Google. Gebru, one of the leading voices in responsible AI research, is known among other things for coauthoring groundbreaking work that revealed the discriminatory nature of facial recognition, cofounding the Black in AI affinity group, and relentlessly advocating for diversity in the tech industry. But on Wednesday evening, she announced on Twitter that she had been terminated from her position as Google’s ethical AI co-lead. “Apparently my manager’s manager sent an email [to] my direct reports Read More ›
The Social Dilemma: You’re Not the Customer, You’re the Product
A new Netflix documentary explores the techniques used to explore, then shape and sharpen, our attitudes, values, and beliefsWhat is truth? This question has likely been pondered by man for as long as man has been able to ponder. How do you know that what you read or hear is true? How do you know that what you think is true? Why is it that people with different worldviews or belief systems can look at the exact same raw objective data and interpret it in radically different ways? The answers to these questions are important to “know”, insofar as anyone can know anything within a reasonable degree of certainty. However, in our society today, it is becoming more and more difficulty to determine what is true––with any degree of certainty. A recent 90-minute Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, Read More ›
Denise Simon on Cyber Warfare and Misinformation
When one thinks of warfare, thoughts of killing people and breaking things come to mind. But there are also psychological aspects of war. Robert J. Marks and Denise Simon discuss the Gerasimov doctrine, cyber warfare, and misinformation. Show Notes 00:34 | Introducing Denise Simon, Senior Research / Intelligence Analyst for Foreign and Domestic Policy 01:24 | AI as part of Read More ›
Do Bots Spreading False News Really Threaten Democracy?
Researchers found that humans spread more false news than botsThe fact that humans outdo bots in spreading false news creates a huge practical problem for would-be reformers. If they want to rub out false news, banning bots from social media would be less effective than banning people.
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New AI Can Create—and Detect—Fake News
But how good is it at either task? We tested some copyWill the predicted tsunami of fake news and advertising make much difference? Possibly, but in ways that might surprise you.
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Fake News Thrives on Fears of a Robot Takeover
The motion graphics artist tried to explain that he faked the amazing robot videoThe convincing film was great for Tom’s Twitter feed but less great for what it says about our judgment as viewers. We believe too much AI hype.
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AI Dangers That Are Not Just Fake News
Total surveillance should worry us more than an AI news writing machineThose who control a new communications technology typically have a great advantage over those who don’t—whether that technology is an alphabet, an abacus, a printing press, a telegraph, a telephone, or a software communications program.
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Research Showing That Fake News Easily Fools Us Collapses
A recent paper claiming that low-quality news (“fake news”) spreads as quickly on social media as accurate news has been retracted by its authors.