Modernization
Google Says Google Translate Can’t Replace Human Translators. Immigration Officials Have Used It to Vet Refugees.
Documents shared with ProPublica show that immigration officials have been told to vet refugees’ social media posts using Google Translate. Language experts caution even students against using the service.
Emerging Tech
Big Tech Bulks Up Its Anti-Extremism Group. But Will It Do More than Talk?
Facebook and others launched GIFCT to stop violent groups from exploiting online platforms.
Artificial Intelligence
Employers Used Facebook to Keep Women and Older Workers From Seeing Job Ads. The Federal Government Thinks That’s Illegal.
Dozens of other complaints have been filed with the EEOC about discrimination in targeted advertising on Facebook.
Artificial Intelligence
Pentagon Looking for AI to Interpret ‘Strategic Activity’ Around the Globe
The commercial tools, requested by the Defense Innovation Unit, would derive insights from global news outlets, social media platforms and other publicly available resources.
Artificial Intelligence
States Try to Stop Political Deepfake Videos
State lawmakers are increasingly focused on deceptively edited videos, a pervasive technology that advocates say has the potential to disrupt elections. But are bans constitutional?
Ideas
I Won’t Buy My Teenagers Smartphones
Denying a teen a smartphone in 2019 is a tough decision, and one that requires an organized and impenetrable defense.
Ideas
In the Deepfake Era, Counterterrorism Is Harder
After failing to detect the 9/11 plot, spy agencies reinvented themselves for an age of terrorism, but a new generation of technological threats requires a new round of reforms.
Cybersecurity
Twitter Bots Are Becoming More Human-Like: Study
In 2016, they were mostly retweeters on timers. Now they’re gathering intelligence.
Policy
DHS is Using Fake Social Media Profiles to Investigate Immigrants
Agency officials had previously banned the practice.
Artificial Intelligence
You Won't Believe How Well This Algorithm Spots Clickbait
With training from humans and machines, an artificial intelligence model can outperform other clickbait detectors, according to new research.
Modernization
Facebook Expands Tool That Lets Local Governments Send Alerts
The system will offer authorities a way to send targeted notifications about emergencies and other issues to residents.
Digital Government
China’s Spies Are on the Offensive
China’s spies are waging an intensifying espionage offensive against the United States. Does America have what it takes to stop them?
Digital Government
The semantics of disinformation
DARPA thinks it can detect automated disinformation campaigns across a range of media by focusing on common machine-generated errors.
Cybersecurity
Twitter, Facebook Turn Off Hundreds of Accounts Linked to Chinese Disinformation about Hong Kong Protests
In simultaneous press releases, the social-media companies say they have shut down large amounts of Beijing-controlled activity.
Policy
Lawmakers Summon 8chan Owner to Testify Before Congress
The congressmen want to know how the platform is working to help stop the spread of extremist content online.
Digital Government
Instagram Wants Memers to Like It Again
After a series of account purges, meme pages are at war with their platform. Now Instagram is trying to smooth things over.
Emerging Tech
FBI Wants Tech to Track Social Media for Criminals and Terrorists Before They Act
Proposals from interested vendors are due later this month.
Digital Government
What Internet Memes Get Wrong About Breezewood, Pennsylvania
A photo of a strip of fast-food outlets and gas stations is used to critique the sameness of the American landscape. But it could only be one place on Earth.
Digital Government
What Restaurant Reviews Reveal About Cities
Where official census data is sparse, MIT researchers find that restaurant review websites can offer similar demographic and economic information.
Ideas
FaceApp Is Everyone’s Problem
It feels good to call out people for being duped by the Russian app, but the individualist framing of privacy is the bigger culprit.
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