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Today’s Words Could Shape Tomorrow’s Reality And Who Benefits From It – How We Describe The Metaverse Makes A Difference

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

TECHNOLOGY

Today’s Words Could Shape Tomorrow’s Reality And Who Benefits From It – How We Describe The Metaverse Makes A Difference

Quick, define the word “metaverse.” Coined in 1992 by science fiction author Neal Stephenson, the relatively obscure term exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly after Facebook rebranded as Meta in October 2021. There are now myriad articles on the metaverse, and thousands of companies have invested in its development. Citigroup Inc. has estimated that by 2030 the metaverse could be a US$13 trillion market, with 5 billion users. From climate change to global connection and disability access to pandemic response, the metaverse has incredible potential. Gatherings in virtual worlds have considerably lower carbon footprints than in-person gatherings. People spread all over the globe can gather together in virtual spaces. The metaverse can allow disabled people new f...

Could More Have Been Done To Avert The Tragedy? Accused Buffalo Mass Shooter Had Threatened A Shooting While In High School

22May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS

Could More Have Been Done To Avert The Tragedy? Accused Buffalo Mass Shooter Had Threatened A Shooting While In High School

Nearly a year before he was charged with shooting and killing 10 shoppers, and wounding three more, at a Buffalo, New York, grocery store, a then-17-year-old student reportedly told his classmates at Susquehanna Valley High School that he “wanted to do a shooting, either at a graduation ceremony, or sometime after.” He also reportedly mentioned that he wanted to do a murder-suicide at the school, which is located in Broome County in New York. A teacher reported the comment – made online – to a school resource officer. Since the perpetrator had been at home when he made the comment, it triggered a visit from state police, as opposed to the school resource officer, according to an official account of the episode published in the wake of the shooting in The Buffalo News. “The State Police ...

Roe V. Wade – Online Data Could Be Used Against People Seeking Abortions

18May

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS, POLITICS

Roe V. Wade – Online Data Could Be Used Against People Seeking Abortions

When the draft of a Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked to the press, many of us who have been studying privacy for vulnerable individuals came to a troubling realization: The marginalized and vulnerable populations whose online risks have been the subject of our attention are likely to grow exponentially. These groups are poised to encompass all women of child-bearing age, regardless of how secure and how privileged they may have imagined themselves to be. In overturning Roe, the anticipated decision would not merely deprive women of reproductive control and physical agency as a matter of constitutional law, but it would also change their relationship with the online world. Anyone in a state where abortion becomes illegal who relies on the internet for infor...

Could Elon Musk’s Plans For Twitter Make Its Misinformation Problems Worse

27Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

SOCIAL MEDIA

Could Elon Musk’s Plans For Twitter Make Its Misinformation Problems Worse

Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, acquired Twitter in a US$44 billion deal on April 25, 2022, 11 days after announcing his bid for the company. Twitter announced that the public company will become privately held after the acquisition is complete. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission for his initial bid for the company, Musk stated, “I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.” As a researcher of social media platforms, I find that Musk’s ownership of Twitter and his stated reasons for buying the company raise important issues. Those issues stem from the nature of the social media platform and what sets it apart from others. ...

Celebrity Crypto Scam Ads On Facebook – The ACCC Is Suing Meta Here’s Why The Tech Giant Could Be Found Liable

23Mar

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

BUSINESS

Celebrity Crypto Scam Ads On Facebook – The ACCC Is Suing Meta Here’s Why The Tech Giant Could Be Found Liable

On the last day of his 11 years as chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Rod Sims announced the commission is bringing a “world-first” claim against Meta (owner of Facebook) in the Federal Court for false or misleading conduct. The ACCC alleges Meta failed to take sufficient steps to stop displaying scam cryptocurrency ads on Facebook in 2019, even after receiving complaints. Sims said the ads led to more than A$650,000 in losses for one consumer. “Those visits to landing pages from ads generate substantial revenue for Facebook,” Sims said. Almost a decade ago, the ACCC failed in an arguably similar misleading conduct claim against Google. This time, however, the commission has some new arguments that focus on Facebook’s business of targeting ads at particu...

An Electrical Engineer Explains How A Large Solar Storm Could Knock Out The Power Grid And The Internet

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

IN OTHER NEWS, TECHNOLOGY, VIDEO REELS

An Electrical Engineer Explains How A Large Solar Storm Could Knock Out The Power Grid And The Internet

On Sept. 1 and 2, 1859, telegraph systems around the world failed catastrophically. The operators of the telegraphs reported receiving electrical shocks, telegraph paper catching fire, and being able to operate equipment with batteries disconnected. During the evenings, the aurora borealis, more commonly known as the northern lights, could be seen as far south as Colombia. Typically, these lights are only visible at higher latitudes, in northern Canada, Scandinavia and Siberia. What the world experienced that day, now known as the Carrington Event, was a massive geomagnetic storm. These storms occur when a large bubble of superheated gas called plasma is ejected from the surface of the sun and hits the Earth. This bubble is known as a coronal mass ejection. The plasma of a coronal mass e...

Could Surveillance Of Students In Schools Via Laptops Do More Harm Than Good

3Apr

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

EDUCATION, TECHNOLOGY

Could Surveillance Of Students In Schools Via Laptops Do More Harm Than Good

Nir Kshetri, University of North Carolina – Greensboro Ever since the start of the pandemic, more and more public school students are using laptops, tablets or similar devices issued by their schools. The percentage of teachers who reported their schools had provided their students with such devices doubled from 43% before the pandemic to 86% during the pandemic, a September 2021 report shows. In one sense, it might be tempting to celebrate how schools are doing more to keep their students digitally connected during the pandemic. The problem is, schools are not just providing kids with computers to keep up with their schoolwork. Instead – in a trend that could easily be described as Orwellian – the vast majority of schools are also using those devices to keep tabs on what students are d...

In The US How Much Damage Could Be Done By A Russian Cyberattack

28Feb

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IN OTHER NEWS

In The US How Much Damage Could Be Done By A Russian Cyberattack

U.S. intelligence analysts have determined that Moscow would consider a cyberattack against the U.S. as the Ukraine crisis grows. As a scholar of Russian cyber operations, I know the Kremlin has the capacity to damage critical U.S. infrastructure systems. Federal officials have been bracing for this. In January 2022 the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued an alert that outlined the Russian cyberattack threat, with technical details of sophisticated Russian-led hacking from recent years. That included a complicated digital break-in that targeted the U.S. energy industry and gained access to the control rooms of U.S. electric utilities. According to Homeland Security officials, the hackers “could have thrown switches” and knocked out power to the public – but did n...

4 Essential Reads On Past Pandemics And What The Future Could Bring – When Will The COVID-19 Pandemic End?

26Jan

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COVID-19

4 Essential Reads On Past Pandemics And What The Future Could Bring – When Will The COVID-19 Pandemic End?

More than two years after the first cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed, people are exhausted by the coronavirus pandemic, ready for all this to end. When – if ever – is it realistic to expect SARS-CoV-2 will recede from the headlines and daily life? That’s the unspoken question beneath the surface of many of The Conversation’s articles about COVID-19. None of our authors can see the future, but many do have expertise that offers insights about what’s reasonable to expect. Here are four such stories from our archive. Written by historians and scientists, they each suggest a way to think about what’s at the end of the pandemic tunnel – and paths to get there. 1. Past pandemics are not a perfect prediction Almost as soon as it hit, people were trying to figure out how the COVID-19 pandemic wou...

Without The Child Tax Credit Expansion Many Families Could Be Left Without Enough Food On The Table

21Jan

By THEIRL1ADMIN01No Comments

COVID-19

Without The Child Tax Credit Expansion Many Families Could Be Left Without Enough Food On The Table

The discontinuation of the Biden administration’s monthly payments of the child tax credit could leave millions of American families without enough food on the table, according to our new study in JAMA Network Open. The first missed payment on Jan. 15, 2022, left families that had come to rely on them wondering how they would make ends meet, according to many news reports. The American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed in March 2021, made significant changes to the existing child tax credit. It increased the size of the credit by 50% or more, depending on a child’s age, to either $3,000 or $3,600 per year. It also made more low-income families eligible and paid half of this money out as a monthly “advance” payment. Biden’s Build Back Better plan calls for a ...