News
How a University’s Censorship Conference Got Censored
Presenters say that Weber State University’s legal team adopted a narrow construction of a state law designed to withhold funding from public institutions suspected of practicing DEI.
Podcast
Podcast: Flock Used Cameras at a Children’s Gymnastics Center for a Sales Pitch
A Flock sales pitch; a retracted paper on ChatGPT; and Chinese interference in RightsCon.
trading cards
Man Finds $1 Million Worth of Yu-Gi-Oh Cards in a Dumpster
It was already a sordid tale of online drama, blurry photographs, and erratic TikToks. Then his mom started posting.
age verification
UK iPhone and iPad Users Can Watch Porn Again
Following the latest iOS update which requires UK mobile Apple device users to verify their ages, Pornhub’s parent company Aylo is lifting its ban—but only for people using iPads and iPhones.
AI
The AI Hard Drive Shortage Is Making It More Expensive and Harder to Archive the Internet
The Internet Archive, Wikimedia, academics, and hobby archivists are having trouble finding hard drives or are having to pay extremely high prices for them.
News
'Nature' Retracts Paper on the Benefits of ChatGPT in Education
“What educators, parents and policy officials really needed was high quality data and evidence to help guide them. What they have had to deal with instead is some substandard research.”
AI
OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft Back Bill to Fund ‘AI Literacy’ in Schools
A new bill introduced by Senators Adam Schiff and Mike Rounds would award grants to the National Science Foundation—which has endured massive funding cuts under the Trump Administration for science research—to put “AI literacy” in schools.
News
How a University’s Censorship Conference Got Censored
Presenters say that Weber State University’s legal team adopted a narrow construction of a state law designed to withhold funding from public institutions suspected of practicing DEI.
The Abstract
This Personality Trait Makes Dreams More Bizarre, Scientists Discover
Scientists analyzed thousands of self-reported dreams and discovered that our sleeping visions are influenced by personality traits and external events, such as the pandemic.
News
China Pressure Canceled World’s Largest Digital Human Rights Conference
RightCon's organizers said Beijing was upset over the inclusion of speakers from Taiwain.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Big Questions of Consciousness
This week, we discuss a wild message, a new anthology, and a visit to a museum.
cheating
People Are Selling Kills of Marathon’s Hardest Boss on eBay
The Compiler takes a serious amount of time, skill, and luck to get to. Someone on eBay is selling an easy fix.
Flock
City Learns Flock Accessed Cameras in Children's Gymnastics Room as a Sales Pitch Demo, Renews Contract Anyway
Residents of Dunwoody, Georgia are furious about the city's surveillance contract with Flock. Do their elected officials care?