Antitrust, Competition Law, Consumer Protection
Big Data, Cybersecurity, Privacy Digital Economy
Reports of a baleful Internet are greatly exaggerated. Our digital technologies can in fact be cognitive aids
A Twitter addict realises she needs help
The documentary, AlphaGo premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. It has since gone on to win countless awards and near universal praise for a story that chronicles a journey from the halls of Oxford, through the backstreets of Bordeaux, past the coding terminals of DeepMind in London, and ultimately, to the seven-day tournament in Seoul in 2016. What can artificial intelligence reveal about a 3000-year-old game? What can it teach us about humanity?
Individuals now spend more time on TikTok than YouTube, Facebook, Netflix, at least on android
Google is starting to tell you how it found search results. People googling queries will now be able to click into details such as how their result matched certain search terms
And a new tool shows how Google results vary around the world. Search Atlas displays three sets of links—or images—from different countries for any search
Melanie Mitchell, author of Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans, has worked on digital minds for decades. She says they’ll never truly be like ours until they can make analogies
Map of the Internet 2021 and a history of failed start-ups
Jesse Orral: What I learned surrendering my life to algorithms. I outsourced several of my daily decisions to algorithms for a week, to better understand the lines of code playing a greater and greater role in guiding our lives
Trump plunges GOP’s anti-tech crusade deeper into the courts by suing Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. A “very beautiful development,” he calls it
A state-of-the-art brain-computer interface has allowed a paralysed patient to communicate simply by thinking of words
Robots make pizzas from start to finish at an automated pizzeria
Facebook announces an immersive social network-based world using augmented and virtual reality. We are moving to Matrix, it seems. Nearly 10,000 people (one-fifth of Facebook’s total global workforce) are working in its group developing augmented and virtual reality devices.
Facebook’s next hardware launch will be its Ray-Ban ‘smart glasses.’ A stepping stone ‘towards full augmented reality glasses,’ says Mark Zuckerberg
56% of Americans support more regulation of major technology companies, says the Pew Research Centre
But Google, Facebook and other tech companies have threatened to quit Hong Kong over privacy law
Cracking open the Android/iOS grip on smartphones and the mobile Internet. Challenging Google and Apple's dominance of mobile operating systems can give users more control, and support a broad realignment within tech
Elon Musk calls Apple’s App Store fees a ‘de facto global tax on the Internet’ and says ‘Epic is right.’ And no, he didn’t try to replace Tim Cook
Microsoft’s new Office UI now available for testers. Microsoft is making everything in Office rounded, too
‘Hipster Antitrust’ is coming for big tech. A regulatory push in Congress, along with Big Tech critic Lina Khan's ascension as a chief antitrust official, may signal meaningful reform
The Invisible Tech Behemoth. How has Microsoft escaped the scrutiny of reinvigorated antitrust regulators?
President Joe Biden signs executive order to promote competition in the US via 72 initiatives across federal agencies. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce blasted the executive order in a statement, saying the order is “built on the flawed belief that our economy is over concentrated, stagnant, and fails to generate private investment needed to spur innovation.” Biden’s antitrust policy mustn’t throw out the baby with the bathwater
U.S. FTC’s Lina Khan vows return to Agency’s trustbusting roots
The FTC has reportedly opened an investigation into Amazon’s MGM acquisition. Lina Khan’s FTC is going to scrutinise the huge media deal
Facebook and Amazon agree on Lina Khan. Facebook has joined Amazon in a show of alarm at the sudden rise of antitrust hawk Lina Khan to the position of FTC Chair by asking that she be recused from all decisions relating to the company
Policy Decisions of Antitrust Institutions Series: The Future of the FTC and Its Perils
FTC pledges to fight unlawful right to repair restrictions. It comes days after the White House endorsed similar rules
In what could herald the most significant changes to the UK competition regime in 25 years, the UK Government has announced a series of proposed reforms to UK competition law enforcement
Epic files new complaint in its antitrust suit against Google. It’s now linked to a lawsuit filed by 36 states
GETTR, the new social media platform launched by Trump’s former spokesman Jason Miller, was pitched as an alternative to "cancel culture.". Just days after its launch, hackers found a way to take advantage of GETTR's buggy API to get the username, email address, and location of around 90,000 users
Do you know your digital workplace score? Take a free assessment to see how your digital workplace score stacks up
The inevitable weaponisation of app data is here. Also, the nightmare of our snooping phones. A Catholic official’s resignation shows the real-world consequences of practices by America’s data-harvesting industries.
Watching the Watchers. Chinese artist Ge Yulu has found a devious way to defy the country’s growing network of surveillance cameras: Staring back!
Cybercrime is booming! Saudia Aramco victim of a ransomware attack (though they could easily afford the $50m demanded) and one million systems in 17 countries were affected with a ransom demand of $70m in BitCoin (see also NPC news)
DuckDuckGo launches new Email Protection service to remove trackers. This is your chance to get an ‘@duck.com’ email address
Books from everywhere: Rest of World’s 2021 reading guide
What Makes a Cult a Cult? The line between delusion and what the rest of us believe may be blurrier than we think
Obama-Springsteen book ‘Renegades’ coming in October. The podcast was uninteresting but hoping the book is better
What a new book reveals about Facebook and Russian interference. An Ugly Truth tracks the last five years of Facebook scandals
Major companies are doing well, it seems.
· Microsoft posts big earnings and gives optimistic revenue forecast.
· Google Qtr2 earnings: Ad revenues, cloud computing drive big Alphabet beat.
· Apple demolishes earnings expectations, but stock falls after iPhone chip supply warning.
· Starbucks revenue and same-store sales surge in US, fuelled by cold beverages.
· Visa results boosted by strong spending in person, online and on travel.
· Facebook says decreased ad targeting abilities following an Apple iOS update would negatively impact results going forward but still beat expectations.
· Boeing posts surprise profit as aircraft demand rebounds from pandemic slump.
· Amazon posts third $100 billion quarter in a row, but still misses expectations
Walmart to pay 100% of college tuition and books for associates
Mercedes-Benz says it will go all-electric in 2030, but with a major caveat
The bill Jeff Bezos doesn’t want you to know about. Robert Reich on how Amazon turns economic power into union-busting political power
Visualising China’s energy transition in 5 charts
Dealmakers drown in deals in second-quarter M&A frenzy
130 nations agree to support U.S. proposal for global minimum tax on corporations. A 15 percent minimum tax rate would generate $150 billion in additional tax revenue each year, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testifies before grouchy Senate Banking Committee, answering questions on inflation, the economy, and other things
Pew Research says economic attitudes improve in many nations even as pandemic endures. But majorities say next generation will be worse off financially
From Kubrick to Spielberg: The Story of ‘A.I.’ Twenty years ago, Steven Spielberg released his dystopian sci-fi film about a humanoid robot searching for humanity but it started much earlier in the mind of a different Hollywood legend
30 years on, 30 facts you didn’t know about Terminator 2
25 years on, an oral history of ‘Independence Day’. Director Roland Emmerich, writer Dean Devlin and stars Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Vivica A. Fox, Randy Quaid, and more look back at the battle to cast Will Smith, concerns over that famous Super Bowl ad, and a last-minute reshoot to save the ending
The 25 best movies of 2021 (so far). The year is half over. Here’s how to catch up
And the 25 worst blockbusters of all time
Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney over Black Widow’s streaming release. The lawsuit alleges she was promised an exclusive theatrical debut
Tokyo Olympics are the ultimate Covid-19 experiment. Get ready for doping drama, values clashes and podium protests
And some of the most interesting and obscure events that did not stand the test of time and no longer feature in the Games. Some, from over a hundred years ago, didn’t make it beyond just one Olympics
The centuries-old sport of Karate finally gets its due at the Olympics. The martial art will at last debut at the 2021 Games
One day after setting Canada’s heat record, town burns to ground
How to live in a climate ‘permanent emergency’
Where did the oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill go? The public forgot the 2010 disaster. Scientists, however, are still learning the scale of the devastation
How do scientists define a heat wave? It seems that every summer brings record temperatures. But there’s more to a heat wave than daytime highs
China discovers the limits of its power. Beijing’s confrontation with Australia should have been an unequal contest. That’s not how it worked out in practice
And China’s Communist Party turns 100. Can it rule for another 100?
The Boiling Planet. The Pandemic. The Dying Planet. The Collapse. The Fascism. None of this is remotely normal
The argument for switching off lights at night
Leaving Afghanistan. Analysts warn the Taliban is in a position to overrun the Afghan government
The Taliban explained. The armed group is all set to retake power 20 years after it was removed from power in a US-led military invasion
5% of Earth's power plants create 73% of the energy sector's emissions. A handful of "super emitters" are responsible for the vast majority of all emissions in the energy sector
The World’s Greatest Places of 2021. 100 extraordinary destinations to explore
North America experiences its hottest June on record, with average temperatures 2 degrees above the 1991-2020 baseline
India’s pandemic death toll could be in the millions
Why ‘Punk Health’ foods are popular with China’s youth. Sometimes, rebellion means goji berries in your beer
What we know about the dangerous Delta variant. How the coronavirus infects cells — and why Delta is so dangerous. Scientists are unpicking the life cycle of SARS-CoV-2 and how the virus uses tricks to evade detection
COVID Delta variant as transmissible as chickenpox. Internal CDC report, quoted by NYT, says Delta variant likely to break through protections afforded by the vaccines. “The viral load was similar in people who were fully vaccinated and those who were unvaccinated, the CDC said.”
The 3 simple rules that underscore the danger of Delta. Vaccines are still beating the variants, but the unvaccinated world is being pummelled.
Trials of new HIV vaccine begin at Oxford University
Efficacy of Pfizer/BioNTech Covid vaccine slips to 84% after six months, data show
The invisible addiction: is it time to give up caffeine? On the other hand, coffee doesn't raise your risk for heart rhythm problems. Michael Pollan, the renowned food science writer, weighs in on whether it's time to reset our relationship with caffeine
Science debunks the biggest myth about coffee stunting one’s growth
And related, coffee prices soar after poor harvest and insatiable demand
Majority of Covid misinformation came from 12 people. The ‘disinformation dozen’ have combined following of 59 million people across multiple social media platforms
The mysterious case of declining nutrition in food
Researchers demonstrate the first precision breeding of sugarcane using CRISPR gene-editing, potentially allowing the growth of crops tailored to specific local environments
The Method of Loci: Build your memory palace
Do you work too hard? It might be time to try being imperfect
How to cope when life seems unreal. If you feel detached from the world, you might be going through depersonalisation
35 principles for 35 years
And 100 Simple Truths
‘I don’t know’ is the best phrase for your career. Admitting you don't know things is powerful
How to use Google Tasks in Gmail on your desktop. Make your to-do list while you go through your inbox. Also, how to back up your Gmail and how to get rid of that irritating Meet tab in Gmail for Android and iOS. You can also hide Google meet on the desktop version
Evernote works to keep current users and tries for new ones. A redesign and new price plans are the latest in the app’s fight to stay relevant
The future of work has arrived, and it’s messy. Covid-19 accelerated the transformation of work on Wall Street and across America. Employees are happier, their bosses, not so much
Employees in Iceland are working 4 days a week. It didn't hurt productivity, researchers say.
We’re more of ourselves when we’re in tune with others. Music reminds us why going solo goes against our better nature
Vinyl is more popular than ever. Surprisingly, that's a problem. Pressing plants can't keep up with unprecedented demand, and big box chains are selling LPs now, resulting in devastating delays
The 100 greatest music videos
Originally released in 1987, thanks to the Rickroll, ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ hits 1 billion YouTube plays
Good question! What will happen to my music library when Spotify dies? If your entire collection is on a streaming service, good luck accessing it in 10 or 20 years
Dusty Hill, bassist for iconic rock group ZZ Top, dies at 72
Loneliness is shrinking your brain. Here’s how to stop it and why going to your next work happy hour could fix it
Why vacations feel like they’re over before they even start
Everything I know about hope I learned from my dog
Two bears in Tennessee took advantage of a family’s recent trip to the grocery store by opening a car door to steal their food…and a police car chase ends at a McDonald’s because somebody really wanted that burger, fries, and shake!
And on cars, James Bond’s new car is a plug-in hybrid—the Aston Martin Valhalla
The 15 most popular psychology websites (July 2021)
The Standard Model (of Physics) at 50. It has successfully predicted many particles, including the Higgs Boson, and has led to 55 Nobels so far, but there’s plenty it still can’t account for
Why disagreement is vital to advancing human understanding
The Time Tax. Why is so much American bureaucracy left to average citizens?
Why slowing down is the key to creativity
Every year in the 21st Century ranked by Wikipedia article length
South Korea's COVID rules demand slower workout music in gyms
The biggest Ponzi Schemes in modern history
6 key takeaways about the state of the news media in 2020. Every two years, Pew Research Center updates its series of fact sheets on the U.S. news media industry, tracking key audience and economic indicators for a variety of sectors
What are Jared and Ivanka up to these days?
Mark Zuckerberg’s 4th of July surfing video gets special treatment (HuffPost, Daily Mail)
Jefferson and Adams died hours apart on 4 July 1826
Randy Santel and Katina DeJarnett were competitive eaters. Then they fell in love. are in love with each other, and with eating 10lbs of pizza in under an hour
Belgian-Dutch child prodigy gets bachelor’s degree in physics at age 11: “Immortality is my goal”
George Packer on how Rumsfeld deserves to be remembered. America’s worst secretary of defence never expressed a quiver of regret. More on CNN and The Dawn.
Jeff Bezos officially stepped down as Amazon CEO on 5 July 2021 to become executive chairman. One week after he leaves Amazon, Jeff Bezos’ wealth climbs to $211 bn after Department of Defence cancels JEDI and assigns it to multiple vendors
Richard Branson makes it to the edge of space on Virgin Galactic, nine days before Jeff Bezos
Eighteen-year-old Oliver Daemen to join Amazon founder Jeff Bezos aboard his space company, Blue Origin's, inaugural crewed flight. Daemen, flying in place of an anonymous $28M auction winner, will become the youngest person to fly in space. The oldest will be 82-year-old Wally Funk. Details of the flight are here
RIP, Richard Donner, a pioneer in the action-adventure genre. Hollywood pays tribute
And RIP, Robert Downey Sr
Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Danish Siddiqui killed while covering clash between Afghan forces and Taliban militants
The dangers of Twitter. Sometimes death threats do come true
Snapchat is growing faster than it has in years
Biden says platforms like Facebook are ‘killing people’ with COVID-19 misinformation. Facebook pushes back against Biden remarks on COVID-19 misinformation. Biden administration should take the First Amendment as seriously as Facebook misinformation. ‘Reviewing’ Section 230 isn’t the answer to anti-vax posts
Do children today have useful childhoods?
Four-day week 'an overwhelming success' in Iceland
From cradle to grave, we are soothed and rocked by attachments – our source of joy and pain, and the essence of who we are
Why I abandoned my pursuit of ‘happiness’
The complicated future of the handshake. The pandemic killed this 2,500-year-old greeting as we know it
Becoming the best at the worst job in the world: the man who cleans up after plane crashes, terrorist attacks, and natural disasters
The real source of America’s rising rage and 50 astonishing facts you never knew about the 50 States
US life expectancy in 2020 saw biggest drop since WWII, because of (obviously) COVID-19 and drug overdoses
American men suffer a friendship recession
The wedding industry seems to be rebounding in America
Comments
Post a Comment