Technology
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All Late: Google Has Finally Decided to Spend a Little Money to Combat Fake News
Remember how five years ago we were all like “Man, tech companies should really do something about misinformation,” and tech companies were like “Nahhhh, what’s the worst that could happen?” Well, the worst has happened and now Google is contributing more than $29 million to an organization intended to combat misinformation online. According to ABC…
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Black Man Files Lawsuit After Being Jailed Due to Error in Facial Recognition Technology
A Black man in New Jersey has filed a lawsuit against police and county prosecutors after a misidentification by facial recognition technology resulted in him being jailed for 10 days. According to NBC News, 33-year-old Nijer Parks went to Woodbridge police headquarters on Feb. 5 after finding out from his grandmother that a warrant was…
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New Technology Could Provide Police Access to Real-Time Footage From Home Security Cameras
I don’t know why anyone thought this was a good idea, but apparently Jackson, Miss. is experimenting with a pilot program that would give police the ability to access real-time video surveillance from your home security camera. So did none of these people play Watch Dogs? Watch Psycho-Pass? Consume literally any media about the dangers…
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Massachusetts Legislators Vote to Ban Police From Using Facial Recognition Technology
Lawmakers in Massachusetts have taken the rare step back from our inevitable, Minority Report-lite future by voting to ban police departments from using facial recognition technology. According to TechCrunch, the ban was part of an overall police reform bill that also bans police from using chokeholds, rubber bullets, limits the use of chemical agents such…
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Announcing Blacktag, a Platform for Black Creation, Curation and Consumption; Issa Rae and Common Among Partners
In the midst of tragedy, hardships and frustrations that came with the 2020 global pandemic, creators have been pushed to well…be creative in order to survive in this economy. Virtual content is key this year (as all of us who telework and spend a lot of time on Zoom can attest), so naturally, that applies…
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Twitter to Investigate Why Its Picture Cropping Algorithm Is Apparently Racist
Considering how little diversity is present in Silicon Valley, I’m never terribly surprised when some arbitrary feature on a tech platform turns out to have a racial bias. I mean, if white people aren’t thinking about how their racial bias affects people in the real world, I doubt they’re thinking about how it affects cropping…
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Seeing Myself: Learning to Celebrate Blackness With Photography
Editor’s Note: This story was produced by Consumer Reports, an independent, nonprofit member organization that works to create a fair and just marketplace. Sign up for CR’s free newsletters. In a recent conversation on Facebook, a friend of mine, who is white, noted that he did not see his racial identity as part of himself…