How TikTok’s hate speech detection tool set off a debate about racial bias on the app
Some Black creators are frustrated with how the app seemingly flagged phrases about Black people as inappropriate, which the company says was an error in its hate speech detection system. TikTok says it’s fixing an error that caused its algorithms to flag BLM content.
Source: How TikTok’s hate speech detection tool set off a debate about racial bias on the app
Remote workers are moving out of big cities — but not to the Midwest
These workers will have major effects on cities and the areas outside them. Remote work is doing a lot of labor.
Source: Remote workers are moving out of big cities — but not to the Midwest
See also: Younger employees fear being left behind by remote work
From K-Pop stan to keyboard warrior: Meet the activists battling Myanmar’s military junta
A group of young Burmese are braving blackouts and crackdowns to make sure the world stays focused on what’s happening in their country.
Source: From K-Pop stan to keyboard warrior: Meet the activists battling Myanmar’s military junta
The Data Economy Is a Barter Economy
What is the best way for businesses to use data in a way that feels ethical to consumers and does not spark a regulatory backlash? This question is sparking endless angst in today’s C-suites. All manner of policy responses have been suggested, but one simple and important place to start is to change the way we talk about it. Borrowing an idea from cultural anthropology and describing this exchange as “barter” will clarify the minds of regulators and investors to focus on the scale and nature of long-concealed exchanges that now lie at the heart of the tech world, and how to create a more acceptable framework that protects consumers
The anatomy of a ransomware attack
Inside the hacks that lock down computer systems and damage businesses.
Hello, Content Creators. Silicon Valley’s Investors Want to Meet You.
The online influencer culture is starting to draw serious interest from big venture capital firms. But the real money could be in digital tools, not the personalities.
Source: Hello, Content Creators. Silicon Valley’s Investors Want to Meet You.
What Is the Metaverse?
Crypto people say they’re building it. Gamers might already be living in it. The art world is cashing in on it. Web veterans are trying to save it. But what is it?
Source: What Is the Metaverse?
Video Games Are a Labor Disaster
Video game workers are not treated poorly because it’s so hard to make a game. The causation might actually run in the other direction: It might be hard to make a video game because the people who make them are treated so poorly.
Source: Video Games Are a Labor Disaster
The Arms Race for Weather Lovers Has Begun
New streaming services from Fox and the Weather Channel are betting big on the idea that an armchair meteorologist lives inside each of us.
TikTok Resumes makes it easy to apply for jobs via the app
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TikTok has launched a new feature aimed at encouraging its community to use its app to apply for jobs. The launch of TikTok Resumes comes a couple of months after rumors about the feature first surfaced. At the moment, the company is running TikTok Resumes as a pilot program for its U.S.-based community until the end of this month, though expect it to be rolled out more widely if it performs successfully.
Source: TikTok Resumes makes it easy to apply for jobs via the app
Biden order: End the monopoly game
President Biden wants to remake the U.S. economy by injecting more competition into highly concentrated industries including airlines, Big Tech and agriculture to improve choices and prices for consumers. Why it matters: The ambitious executive order signed Friday directs the federal government to step up antitrust enforcement and regulation.
“Let me be very clear, capitalism without competition isn’t capitalism. It’s exploitation,” Biden said at a White House signing ceremony for the order.
We’re Watching More True Crime Than Ever. Is That a Problem?
From ‘Tiger King’ to ‘The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel’ to ‘The Vow,’ true-crime documentaries are more popular than ever. But as filmmakers wrestle with the ethical concerns that come with the genre, some are asking whether it needs to adapt to stay afloat.
Source: We’re Watching More True Crime Than Ever. Is That a Problem?
Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg’s Partnership Did Not Survive Trump
The company they built is wildly successful. But her Washington wisdom didn’t hold up, and neither did their close working relationship.
Source: Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg’s Partnership Did Not Survive Trump
Bitcoin miners break new ground in Texas, a state hailed as the new cryptocurrency capital
Chad Harris, the CEO of Whinstone Inc., the operator of the largest crypto “mine” in North America, remembers one of the last times Texas’s electric power problem became his electric power problem.
Source: Bitcoin miners break new ground in Texas, a state hailed as the new cryptocurrency capital
QAnon Pivots Its Exiled Online Movement to the Real World
The conspiracists might have been deplatformed, but their movement is shifting into local elections and events.
Source: QAnon Pivots Its Exiled Online Movement to the Real World
TikTok made me buy it
The video app is causing products to blow up — and flame out — faster than ever.
Source: TikTok made me buy it
YouTube’s secret algorithm continues to push misinformation on users, from false election fraud claims to conspiracy theories
YouTube’s suggestion algorithm continues to promote videos with misinformation, according to a new study. YouTube keeps the suggestion algorithm a secret, preventing researchers from studying how it works.
Grubhub is rolling out 6-wheeled autonomous robots developed in Russia to deliver takeout on 250 US college campuses
Grubhub’s autonomous robots will deliver takeout to college campuses across the US Yandex Grubhub and Russian tech firm Yandex are launching food-delivery robots across US college campuses. The six-wheeled robots are autonomous and can navigate in dark, wet, and snowy conditions, Grubhub said.
A Global Smart-City Competition Highlights China’s Rise in AI
Chinese entrants swept all five categories, featuring technologies to improve civic life. But the advances could also be tools for surveillance.
Source: A Global Smart-City Competition Highlights China’s Rise in AI
Netflix Is Losing Its Cool
Even as it dominates globally, the streaming giant no longer shines. HBO Max and Disney+, your move.
Source: Netflix Is Losing Its Cool
TikTok is taking the book industry by storm, and retailers are taking notice
“BookTok” has sent old books back to the top of bestseller lists and helped launch the careers of new authors. Videos with the BookTok hashtag have been viewed a collective 12.6 billion times.
Source: TikTok is taking the book industry by storm, and retailers are taking notice
Apple China is censoring 27 LGBTQ+ apps, report shows
Apple’s App Store in China has removed 27 LGBTQ+-related apps, either to meet the demand of the Chinese government or in a preemptive manner, a new report shows . Research by the U.S.-based Fight for the Future, an advocacy group for digital rights, and China-based GreatFire, a nonprofit organization that tracks censorship in China, shows that only Saudi Arabia has more LGBTQ+ apps unavailable in their App Store.
Source: Apple China is censoring 27 LGBTQ+ apps, report shows
9 devastating takeaways from NYT’s massive report on Amazon workers during the pandemic
Pandemic Amazon ran on automated human resources systems, confusing policies, murky COVID-positive worker numbers, and improbable productivity standards. Those pee-bottle stories were just a whiff of how Amazon workers are treated.
Source: 9 devastating takeaways from NYT’s massive report on Amazon workers during the pandemic
Five new bills aim to break up Big Tech platforms, force them to play nice
Legislators in the US House of Representatives introduced five new bills Friday afternoon that promise the biggest overhaul of antitrust law since the trust-busting era of the early 1900s.
Source: Five new bills aim to break up Big Tech platforms, force them to play nice
It’s not just you—the Apple podcast app is a disaster
Apple’s latest update completely ruined the app’s UX and destroyed my painstakingly curated podcast library. Never before has a phone update felt more like a blatant act of hostility.
Source: It’s not just you—the Apple podcast app is a disaster
Netflix launches online shop to sell clothing, collectibles
Netflix has launched its own online shop to sell clothing, toys, and other merchandise from shows such as Eden and Lupin. The streaming giant announced the launch on 10 June during its Geeked Week event. “We’re always looking at how we can extend the world of our stories for fans, from apparel and toys to immersive events and games,” Netflix VP of Consumer Products, Josh Simon, wrote in a statement.
Source: Netflix launches online shop to sell clothing, collectibles
Google Chat is back for real, and Google’s going to need it to win the future of work
Google’s messaging strategy has gone haywire. Now it’s coming back into focus.
Source: Google Chat is back for real, and Google’s going to need it to win the future of work
How beauty filters took over social media
The most widespread use of augmented reality isn’t in gaming: it’s the face filters on social media. The result? A mass experiment on girls and young women.
Dubai is a paradise for “digital nomads”— and hell for low-wage gig workers
The UAE has eased visa requirements for white-collar freelancers, but migrant gig workers struggle.
Source: Dubai is a paradise for “digital nomads”— and hell for low-wage gig workers
TikTok To Charge As Much As $2 Million For ‘TopView’ Ads In The Fourth Quarter
By year’s end, TikTok will be charging a daily rate of $2 million for its prime ad placement — the skippable ‘ TopView ’ format that fires up fullscreen, with sound, when users open the app. In the third quarter of this year, the app is asking for $1.4 million daily for TopView ads — and as much as $1.5 million on national holidays — reports Bloomberg , which obtained a rate card detailing pricing plans.
Source: TikTok To Charge As Much As $2 Million For ‘TopView’ Ads In The Fourth Quarter
Microsoft’s cloud vision might just change gaming forever
Microsoft says it’s working with device manufacturers to build Game Pass directly into smart TVs, so the subscription service can be accessible with just a controller, no extra hardware required. Even more ambitious are the company’s plans to build its own streaming devices, perhaps similar to Google’s Chromecast or the Apple TV, that could also enable access to Game Pass with just a controller.
Source: Microsoft’s cloud vision might just change gaming forever
Google is using AI to design its next generation of AI chips more quickly than humans can
Google is using machine learning to help design its next generation of machine learning chips. The algorithm’s designs are “comparable or superior” to those created by humans, say Google’s engineers, but can be generated much, much faster.
Source: Google is using AI to design its next generation of AI chips more quickly than humans can
Facebook’s content moderators are fighting back
Seven hours a day, Isabella Plunkett and 15,000 other content moderators around the world look at and filter the most repulsive content on the internet for Facebook. But they don’t actually work for Facebook. These workers, outsourced and employed by agencies, claim they are paid unfairly, that they are gagged by non-disclosure agreements and that they are given next to no support for the damage caused by looking at such content.
The Antidote to Snapchat Dysphoria? Getting Weird.
AR-enhanced face filters are here to stay, and Ines Alpha is working to free them from tired beauty standards.
Source: The Antidote to Snapchat Dysphoria? Getting Weird. – NEO.LIFE
South Korean blind activists are pushing Samsung and LG to reform
Touch screens and image-based interfaces can make the visually impaired “feel more disabled”
Source: South Korean blind activists are pushing Samsung and LG to reform
How ‘Roblox’ Became a Playground for Virtual Fascists
Thousands of players flocked to a digital world filled with draconian rules, slavery, and anti-Semitism—and tested how far “just a game” can go.
Source: How ‘Roblox’ Became a Playground for Virtual Fascists
I saw millions compromise their Facebook accounts to fuel fake engagement
Global South users often share their accounts with shady middlemen. The practice is corrupting civil discourse around the world.
Source: Ideas | I saw millions compromise their Facebook accounts to fuel fake engagement
TikTok’s Trump problem is now TikTok’s Biden problem
It’s official: Biden has reversed Trump’s executive order banning TikTok in the United States, bringing to a close a period of uncertainty over the immediate fate of the wildly popular social media app. But TikTok’s problems with the US government are far from over.
Source: TikTok’s Trump problem is now TikTok’s Biden problem
Crypto Isn’t About Money. It’s About Fandom
And that’s why we will fight about it forever.
Twitch Turns 10, and the Creator Economy Is in Its Debt
The livestreaming platform for gamers helped pioneer the patronage systems that prop up so much of the internet today.
Source: Twitch Turns 10, and the Creator Economy Is in Its Debt