PsyPost: U.S. senators tend to have greater approval and reach when using “greed communication” in tweets. “An analysis of tweets of U.S. senators holding office between 2013 and 2021 showed that a specific communication factor called ‘greed communication’ predicts their approval and reach on the social media platform. Democratic senators who used more greed communication tended to have greater approval and retweets compared to Republican senators who used the same communication pattern.”
Tag Archives: greed
‘Not for Machines to Harvest’: Data Revolts Break Out Against A.I. (New York Times)
New York Times: ‘Not for Machines to Harvest’: Data Revolts Break Out Against A.I.. “Fed up with A.I. companies consuming online content without consent, fan fiction writers, actors, social media companies and news organizations are among those rebelling.”
Washington Post: How an AI-written Star Wars story created chaos at Gizmodo
Washington Post: How an AI-written Star Wars story created chaos at Gizmodo. “Gizmodo’s error-plagued test speaks to a larger debate about the role of AI in the news. Several reporters and editors said they don’t trust chatbots to create well-reported and thoroughly fact-checked articles. They fear business leaders want to thrust the technology into newsrooms with insufficient caution. When trials go poorly, it ruins employee morale as well as the reputation of the outlet, they argue.”
Mashable: Twitter and Reddit’s high-priced APIs are bad news for the internet’s future
Mashable: Twitter and Reddit’s high-priced APIs are bad news for the internet’s future. “APIs help developers access your data. Yet, the social media platforms like Twitter and Reddit, which already use your data to monetize via advertisers, want to now charge exorbitant fees just for access to your data. Which platform will be next? There’s relatively few major social media platforms to begin with. What happens when they all want to box you in to only use their official apps to access your own data? What happens to the tech industry when only a student developer can no longer afford to create apps and software?” The answer, my friend, is RSSin’ in the wind… or on the Internet in any case.
Bloomberg: Google’s Rush to Win in AI Led to Ethical Lapses, Employees Say
Bloomberg: Google’s Rush to Win in AI Led to Ethical Lapses, Employees Say. “Shortly before Google introduced Bard, its AI chatbot, to the public in March, it asked employees to test the tool. One worker’s conclusion: Bard was ‘a pathological liar,’ according to screenshots of the internal discussion. Another called it ‘cringe-worthy.’… Google launched Bard anyway.”
The Verge: Social media is doomed to die
The Verge: Social media is doomed to die. “Each platform began honorably, with young founders enthusiastically revealing that if you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product. ‘We’re going to do things differently around here!’ they say through a grin. And then the founders discover, one by one, that there’s something not quite right about the business of social media. They made their apps free to scale their community, and then they found there was no turning back. Unfettered growth became the only way forward, no matter how unrecognizable the product had to become to get there.”
University of British Columbia: ‘Greed is good’ for likes and retweets if you’re a U.S. senator
University of British Columbia: ‘Greed is good’ for likes and retweets if you’re a U.S. senator. “The researchers from UBC’s department of psychology analyzed every tweet posted by U.S. senators from early 2013 to late 2021—a total of 861,104 tweets from 140 senators. The researchers were looking specifically for communication about greed, so they could see if it correlates with more likes and retweets. As it turns out, it does.”
‘Biggest fraud in a generation’: The looting of the Covid relief plan known as PPP (NBC News)
NBC News: ‘Biggest fraud in a generation’: The looting of the Covid relief plan known as PPP. “Many who participated in what prosecutors are calling the largest fraud in U.S. history — the theft of hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer money intended to help those harmed by the coronavirus pandemic — couldn’t resist purchasing luxury automobiles. Also mansions, private jet flights and swanky vacations. They came into their riches by participating in what experts say is the theft of as much as $80 billion — or about 10 percent — of the $800 billion handed out in a Covid relief plan known as the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP.”
Techdirt: Nonprofit Forced To Delete Thousands Of Court Documents Obtained With A Fee Waiver Because PACER Is Greedy And Stupid
Techdirt: Nonprofit Forced To Delete Thousands Of Court Documents Obtained With A Fee Waiver Because PACER Is Greedy And Stupid. “In this case, a researcher obtained a waiver and accessed thousands of court records. Great news for the beneficiaries of the Free Law Project’s CourtListener site… or so you would think. But that’s not how this works, as the Free Law Project recently tweeted…. It had to delete thousands of court records this researcher legally obtained with a fee waiver because the federal court system says users with waivers can’t do what they want with the data and documents they’ve obtained.”
New York Times: How Trump Coins Became an Internet Sensation
New York Times: How Trump Coins Became an Internet Sensation. “What became clear was not just the coin’s unusual origins, but an entire disinformation supply chain that relied on falsehoods and misinformation at nearly every step. Fueling the coin’s success were fake social media accounts that pushed false ads and a fleet of misleading news websites that preyed on partisan discontent. Seen in full, the coin illustrates what watchdogs have long understood: Many untruths that Americans encounter online aren’t created by foreign actors trying to sow division. They simply exist to help someone, somewhere, make a quick buck.”
Motherboard: When Famous COVID Skeptics Finally Get Sick, It’s a Marketing Opportunity
Motherboard: When Famous COVID Skeptics Finally Get Sick, It’s a Marketing Opportunity. “As the Omicron wave continues to swamp the world, many, many more people are getting sick, including people who have made COVID skepticism or outright denial a cornerstone of their public-facing personae. And when anti-vaccine, anti-mandate celebrities and influencers get sick, they’re afforded a huge opportunity to show that they were right all along—that their refusal to take the virus seriously, or their faith in alternative treatments, was warranted.”
New York Times: Beneath a Covid Vaccine Debacle, 30 Years of Government Culpability
New York Times: Beneath a Covid Vaccine Debacle, 30 Years of Government Culpability. “Washington has rejected plans to revamp vaccine preparedness for decades and repeatedly paid a price. The Biden administration is at a similar crossroads.”
Bleeping Computer: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink
Bleeping Computer: Canon sued for disabling scanner when printers run out of ink. “Canon USA is being sued for not allowing owners of certain printers to use the scanner or faxing functions if they run out of ink. David Leacraft, a customer of Canon, filed the class action lawsuit on Tuesday alleging deceptive marketing and unjust enrichment by the printer manufacturer.”
ProPublica: The Government Gave Free PPP Money to Public Companies Despite Warning Them Not to Apply
ProPublica: The Government Gave Free PPP Money to Public Companies Despite Warning Them Not to Apply. “…a ProPublica review has found…the government gave out generous loans to companies that may not have needed them. And it has often forgiven the loans, despite having said that publicly traded companies would be unlikely to merit such generous treatment.”
AP: Apple, Google raise new concerns by yanking Russian app
AP: Apple, Google raise new concerns by yanking Russian app. “Big Tech companies that operate around the globe have long promised to obey local laws and to protect civil rights while doing business. But when Apple and Google capitulated to Russian demands and removed a political-opposition app from their local app stores, it raised worries that two of the world’s most successful companies are more comfortable bowing to undemocratic edicts — and maintaining a steady flow of profits — than upholding the rights of their users.”