Boing Boing: Countries with longer copyright terms have access to fewer books (pay attention, Canada!). “Rebecca Giblin (previously) writes, “We’ve just dropped a new study we’ve been working on for a year. You know how it keeps being claimed that we need longer copyrights because nobody will invest in making works available if they’re in the public domain? Heald and some others have done some great work debunking that in the US context, but now we’ve finally tested this hypothesis in other countries by looking at the relative availability of ebooks to libraries.”
world
Poynter: Number of fact-checking outlets surges to 188 in more than 60 countries
Poynter: Number of fact-checking outlets surges to 188 in more than 60 countries. “The number of fact-checking outlets around the world has grown to 188 in more than 60 countries amid global concerns about the spread of misinformation, according to the latest tally by the Duke Reporters’ Lab.”
The Verge: AI is worse at identifying household items from lower-income countries
The Verge: AI is worse at identifying household items from lower-income countries. “Object recognition algorithms sold by tech companies, including Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, perform worse when asked to identify items from lower-income countries. These are the findings of a new study conducted by Facebook’s AI lab, which shows that AI bias can not only reproduce inequalities within countries, but also between them.”
CNET: The UN wants to connect every adult in the world by 2030
CNET: The UN wants to connect every adult in the world by 2030. “At a time when countries are feuding over tariffs and trade agreements, Melinda Gates and Alibaba CEO Jack Ma feel optimistic that international cooperation will bridge the digital divide. The hope is that global collaboration will help connect every adult to a ‘digital network’ by 2030.”
Quartz: The world’s biggest economies are moving closer to a global tax for big tech
Quartz: The world’s biggest economies are moving closer to a global tax for big tech. “The world’s largest economies took a step toward effectively taxing tech giants like Facebook and Google, by compiling rules that would close loopholes used to avoid corporate taxes. Such a crackdown could make it harder for multinational tech firms to reduce their tax burden by booking profits in countries that have low tax rates, according to Reuters, citing a draft communique by G20 finance ministers, who are meeting in Japan.”
University of Texas at San Antonio: UTSA political scientist is analyzing the UN’s Twitter feed to improve diplomatic relations
University of Texas at San Antonio: UTSA political scientist is analyzing the UN’s Twitter feed to improve diplomatic relations. “Through research by a political scientist at UTSA, there is potential to see diplomacy between nations improve through the use of Twitter. UTSA researcher, Matthias Hofferberth, is exploring how the United Nations (UN) uses Twitter as a diplomacy tool, an approach that has been discussed as Twiplomacy.”
Radio New Zealand: World leaders, social media heads to gather for summit on terrorism
Radio New Zealand: World leaders, social media heads to gather for summit on terrorism. “On Wednesday, the heads of state from Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Jordan, Senegal, Indonesia and the European Union will descend on Paris for the Christchurch Call summit chaired by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and French President Emmanuel Macron. There the world leaders will sign up to an agreement on how to try to end the use of social media to organise and promote terrorism.”
