Daniel Nemenyi: Submarine state – On secrets and leaks

First posted May 27, 2016 RP 193 (Sept/Oct 2015) / Commentary Schneier, who was privy to Snowden’s troves before publication, lists four modes by which the peoples’ victory was secretly undermined by the NSA and GCHQ. First, their weakening of cryptographic algorithms. Second, their piggybacking of domestic surveillance applications through enforced secret back doors – for example,… Read More Daniel Nemenyi: Submarine state – On secrets and leaks

The culture of mistrust is bleeding into our personal lives. No wonder there’s a sex recession

Van Badham The western drift away from seeking moral instruction from the church is understandable; the morality plays staged every day on Reddit’s infamous “Am I the Asshole?” threads are far more entertaining. A few weeks ago, a post went viral in which the author seeks a public verdict on the question “AITA for asking… Read More The culture of mistrust is bleeding into our personal lives. No wonder there’s a sex recession

A moment’s silence, please, for the death of Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse

John Naughton Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to remember the metaverse, which was quietly laid to rest a few weeks ago by its grieving adoptive parent, one Mark Zuckerberg. Those of you with long memories will remember how, in October 2021, Zuck (as he is known to his friends) excitedly announced the arrival of his… Read More A moment’s silence, please, for the death of Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse

The Language of Democracy

Rather than confront the inherent role of the university as a class-sorting mechanism (as well as an engine of the military-industrial complex),.. educators settled on a pedagogical model that valued the individual and immediate experiences of students over general civic and literary instruction. In lieu of learning a shared curriculum, students earned course credits through… Read More The Language of Democracy

Twitter Faces a fine in Germany more than its net worth

Twitter’s journey through stormy seas continues, as the microblogging service may be subject to tens of billions of euros in fines in Germany for failing to remove tweets that contained hate speech. According to a Techcrunch report, German courts are currently hearing more than 600 cases involving hate speech on Twitter. Germany earlier this week… Read More Twitter Faces a fine in Germany more than its net worth

Indian journalists warn of new government assault on press freedom

Anna Cooban, CNN India’s government is planning to create a state fact-checking unit with the power to order social media platforms to take down content about its activities that it deems “fake or misleading.” In an amendment to rules covering digital and social media published Thursday, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said that the fact-checking… Read More Indian journalists warn of new government assault on press freedom

The web is a Blade Runner nightmare, but there is a way to stem the tide of lies

Guardian revelations about the scale and reach of deliberate misinformation prove the need to reset our internet Peter Pomerantsev In 1996, John Perry Barlow, former lyricist for the Grateful Dead and guru of Silicon Valley’s hippy-tech idealists, wrote a stirring utopian manifesto about the future of the internet. Addressing the leaders of the world order gathered… Read More The web is a Blade Runner nightmare, but there is a way to stem the tide of lies

In the Depths of the Digital Age: Edward Mendelson reviews five books on psychological life in the age of the internet / We Are Hopelessly Hooked: Jacob Weisberg

First posted June 19, 2016 Pressed for Time: The Acceleration of Life in Digital Capitalism by Judy Wajcman Exposed: Desire and Disobedience in the Digital Age by Bernard E. Harcourt Magic and Loss: The Internet as Art by Virginia Heffernan Updating to Remain the Same: Habitual New Media by Wendy Hui Kyong Chun Mood and… Read More In the Depths of the Digital Age: Edward Mendelson reviews five books on psychological life in the age of the internet / We Are Hopelessly Hooked: Jacob Weisberg

Jacinda Ardern: political figures believe abuse and threats contributed to PM’s resignation

Tess McClure in Auckland On Thursday, the prime minister said abuse or threats to her and her family had not been a decisive factor in her decision to resign, and that she simply “no longer [had] enough in the tank to do it justice”. Prominent New Zealand political leaders and public figures, however, say that “constant vilification,” abuse… Read More Jacinda Ardern: political figures believe abuse and threats contributed to PM’s resignation