26th July 2019
Less than 14 per cent of AI research is authored by women. This recent NESTA analysis looks at the number of women who have been authors of AI research – with the proportion of co-authored papers that include one woman, not having improved since the 1990s.
Following the demise of Google+, the company is testing a new social networking app – Shoelace. The whole premise of Shoelace is to tie people together based on their interests — ‘like two laces on a shoe.’ ‘People are tied together through activities called Loops. Users can create their own profiles where they share basic information about themselves, and loops to connect with others.’
From Wired. YouTube’s new managing director for the UK has emphatically denied to BBC News that the video platform exhibits any kind of algorithmic rabbit hole effect. Ben McOwen Wilson was responding to a BBC feature exploring the role of YouTube in indoctrinating Flat Earth conspiracy theorists.
This machine ‘affected’ by Parkinson’s Disease creates unique art pieces.
I wasn’t sure whether to include this piece. I’m a passionate advocate of meditation and mindfulness but this, really well written, piece provides an interesting counterpoint. Whichever side of the fence you sit on, this is worth a read – The Problem Of Mindfulness: ‘Mindfulness promotes itself as value-neutral but it is loaded with (troubling) assumptions about the self and the cosmos.’ Meanwhile…with a, unsurprisingly, more positive perspective Mindful.org asks if mindfulness can save democracy. (I think it could, but it’s unlikely to be given the chance).
Some Facebook secret research warned of a ‘tipping point’ threat to the core app. But no impact showing yet as, according to Statista,Facebook keeps on growing – 2.4bn users vs 4.4bn web users and 7.7 bn world pop. Separately, from Statista, how the Fortnite World Cup beats major sporting events in prize money.
Gucci, Louboutin and Fendi are hiring graffiti artists in a bid to fit in with street culture—and score points on social media.This is how luxury brands are taking over the street art scene.
Macy’s said it would stop selling dinner plates that became a target of social media scorn, with critics saying they encouraged body-shaming and eating disorders.The design of the plates was supposed to be a joke about portion control; they allotted a large portion for “mom jeans,” a medium-sized one for “favourite jeans” and a tiny one for “skinny jeans.”Macy’s says it “missed the mark“.
No need to wait to see how the Earth gets old, with Greenpeace Russia’s EarthApp.
Woah. Watch this massive paper airplane achieve takeoff, and this is how to be a mermaid. (short video)
“I’ve seen things you people wouldn’t believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.” RIP the wonderful Rutger Hauer.