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Internet ‘gardeners’ resist the communication blackout of Gaza
Since October, Gaza has been an internet black hole. But the Italian NGO ACS has helped build a network of e-SIM internet hotspots known as the Gazaweb.
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ACLU slams House for latest plan to ban TikTok and stifle free speech
This bill, which was introduced by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), would violate the First Amendment rights of hundreds of millions of Americans who use the app to communicate and express themselves daily.
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“Emergent” AI behavior and human destiny
What happens when killer robots start communicating with each other?
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Canada imposes catch-all definition of “espionage” as part of bellicose anti-China furor
In a decision with far-reaching implications for democratic rights, a Federal Court has endorsed the Canadian government’s imposition of a sweeping new definition of espionage.
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Chip Wars: Breaking the siege
While the sanctions regime has hit Chinese companies, especially Huawei, hard and exposed weak links in China’s chip supply chain, the last year has seen significant progress by Chinese companies.
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“The Eye of the Master: A Social History of Artificial Intelligence” – book review
Pasquinelli’s “Eye of the Master” provides a materialist analysis of AI and technology, which Kevin Crane finds to be an excellent antidote to all the nonsense and hype spouted about AI.
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‘Push’ notifications: A secret spying frontier
In this piece, Kit Klarenberg provides valuable insight into how push notifications are being used by governments to spy on users.
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‘Free Speech’ fans call for censoring TikTok as Chinese plot to make Israel look bad
Axios (10/31/23) reported that in a two-week period, TikTok saw “nearly four times the number of views to TikTok posts using the hashtag #StandwithPalestine globally compared to posts using the hashtag #StandwithIsrael.” As a result, the conservative outrage machine kicked into high gear.
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Foolish exclusions: China and the Bletchley Declaration on AI
At the conclusion of the Second World War, debates raged on how best to regulate the destructive power of the atom.
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Pan-Africanism and digital technology
Digital technology in its current form is here to stay–or at least until we break the supply chains draining the Congo and her kind–and we know how much of a role it plays in communication.
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50 detained, over 100 homes raided in sweeping crackdown on press freedom in India
Indian authorities carried out mass raids and detentions under the guise of the draconian UAPA on the morning of October 3, 2023.
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How U.S. Department of Homeland Security became global ‘thought police’
CISA’s “disinformation” busting activities served to systematically malign independent journalists and alternative media platforms, while reinforcing established news outlets as monopolies of truth.
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Climate breakdown, extinction and ‘the most stupid boast’
Hyde—or Marina Elizabeth Catherine Dudley-Williams, as she prefers not to be known—was, in fact, making ‘the most stupid boast’ that could be made by a journalist, to quote George Seldes (1890-1995), the U.S. press critic.
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Geoffrey Hinton, AI, and Google’s ethics problem
Talk about the dangers of artificial intelligence, actual or imagined, has become feverish, much of it induced by the growing world of generative chat bots. When scrutinising the critics, attention should be paid to their motivations.
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Sanctions drive Chinese firms to advance AI research minus U.S. chips
U.S. sanctions aimed against China tech drive Chinese firms to increase research aimed at developing alternatives to leading U.S. cutting-edge technology necessary for AI.
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You are reading this thanks to semiconductors: The Seventeenth Newsletter (2023)
On 7 October 2022, the United States government implemented export controls in an effort to hinder the development of China’s semiconductor industry.
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ChatGPT and human intelligence: Noam Chomsky responds to critics
‘The threat to privacy and data security posed by language models like ChatGPT is real enough. I frankly doubt that there’s any practical way to contain them. The most effective means that I can think of…to counter the spread of malicious doctrines and ideology are education in critical thinking, organization to encourage deliberation, and modes of intellectual self-defense.’ —Noam Chomsky
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The sudden arrival of a cold war with China
Within a few short years we have gone from celebrating links with China to ripping up essential relationships and paving the ground for military conflict — we must now oppose Aukus and a new nuclear arms race, writes KEN LIVINGSTONE.
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Israeli spyware NSO still hides among the walls of the White House
The Biden administration’s efforts to completely eliminate the NSO Israeli spyware are faced with what remains behind closed doors.
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TikTok on trial: The latest front in the U.S. tech war on China
On March 23, CEO of TikTok Shou Zi Chew testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee addressing concerns over the popular social media app’s data collection practices and parent company ByteDance’s alleged links to the Chinese government.