Fixing the Internet: Is the Internet broken? Politico’s EU site looks at the work of the Internet & Jurisdiction Policy Network, which met in Ottawa, Canada, last week to discuss how to fix problems like poor cybersecurity, inaccurate information spread on social media, and other bad behavior. The Internet Society covered the first day of the Ottawa event.
The hills are alive with the sound of broadband: Motherboard has a story about the Los Angeles Community Broadband Project, which plans to deliver wireless broadband to parts of the city using inexpensive equipment and dish-shaped antennas on hilltops and rooftops.
AI joins the force: The Verge has a long story about a secretive AI-assisted policing effort that started in 2012 as a partnership between the New Orleans Police and Palantir Technologies, a data-mining company founded with seed money from the CIA’s venture capital firm. The program apparently used AI technologies for predictive policing, a controversial practice used to trace suspects’ ties to other gang members, analyze social media, and predict the likelihood targeted people would commit violence or become a victim. Science Magazine also has a story examining predictive policing.
Women wary of Blockchain bros: The New York Times looks at a frat boy culture that permeates parts of the cryptocurrency industry. Women investors make up only 4 to 6 percent of Blockchain investors, and the after party at the recent North American Bitcoin Conference was in a Miami strip club.
All aboard the AI: Newcastle, Australia, is experimenting with using AI on trains, with the goal of eventually creating autonomous transit systems that aren’t pre-programmed, ABC.net.au reports. AI could also help drivers instead of replacing them, in some cases. AI could make train traffic safer and more efficient, supporters say.
Where to find the Blockchain jobs: Blockchain is a hot technology right now, and Forbes has a list of the top U.S. cities to find a related job. Unsurprisingly, New York, San Francisco, and Boston lead the list, with two other Silicon Valley cities in the top seven.
AI killed the radio star: AI researchers are working on ways for the technology to create new videos “out of thin air,” according to Popular Mechanics. Well, maybe thin pixels. If an AI user types out a phrase like “jet skiing,” the idea is that AI could create a video of someone doing just that.
What if … algorithms dictate your ability to walk through the city? This hypothetical predictive-policing scenario was explored in the Internet Society’s 2017 Global Internet Report: Paths to Our Digital Future. The report includes recommendations to ensure that the Internet of the future betters society, creates opportunity, and empowers people.