German Chancellor Angela Merkel launched a broadside at internet media giants, accusing them of “narrowing perspective,” and demanding they disclose their privately-developed algorithms. Merkel previously blamed social media for anti-immigrant sentiment and the rise of the far right. Source: RT News Date: November 1st, 2016 Link: https://www.rt.com/news/364235-merkel-facebook-google-algorithms/ Discussion 1) Is it possible that Facebook and Google algorithms could… Read more »
Posts Categorized: Politics
Amazon Invades India
It is a fight that Amazon is far from certain of winning, yet one it cannot afford to sit out. The company predicts that India will be its biggest market after the U.S. within a decade and that the Indian e-commerce market as a whole will ultimately be gigantic. “The size of opportunity is so… Read more »
Consumer 3D printer used to create human tissue
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in the US, have adapted a low cost MakerBot 3D printer to print with biological materials. The team hope their work could one day lead to a world in which transplants are no longer necessary to repair damaged organs. Source: BBC News Date: October 27, 2015 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-34505242 Discussion 1) The video talks… Read more »
Smartphones can be “taken over”
Smartphone users can do “very little” to stop security services getting “total control” over their devices, US whistleblower Edward Snowden has said. The former intelligence contractor has said that UK intelligence agency GCHQ had the power to hack into phones without their owners’ knowledge. Mr Snowden said GCHQ could gain access to a handset by sending… Read more »
President Obama gets first-ever 3D printed portrait
The Smithsonian creates the first ever 3D printed portrait of a head of state. Source: CNN Date: December 11th, 2014 Link (to paste into browser): http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/politics/2014/12/03/obama-3d-head-wh-gov.cnn.html Discussion 1) Why is creating and printing a 3D portrait of the President of the United States a useful thing to do? 2) Consider ways in which you could… Read more »
The truth about technology’s greatest myth
Many optimists believe that technology can transform society, whether it’s the internet or the latest phone. But as Tom Chatfield argues, the truth about our relationship with technology is far more interesting. Source: BBC Date: November 13th, 2014 Link to copy into browser: http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140110-technologys-greatest-myth Discussion 1) The author suggests that “technology is not to be… Read more »
The science of political data-mining
The act of getting voters to the polls is much more than a shopworn cliche. There’s an entire industry in American politics built around finding and mobilizing voters, largely constructed by Democrats who have been innovating in the field for more than a decade. The science of political data-mining — sifting through data, analyzing behavior,… Read more »
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