Controversial Reads 102222


A Chinese law that went into effect six months ago required online service providers to file details of the algorithms they use with China’s centralized regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).


How is deep learning going to assist rather than replace the average creative worker? If replacement is the goal — valid, by the way, if a net positive for humanity — are we paying the people responsible for work the models have been trained on?


Since the WSJ and a viral TikTok video made quiet quitting a cultural phenomenon, it seems as though every news outlet, Fortune 500 CEO, lifestyle coach, or entry-level employee has something to say about quiet quitting.


After looking into the matter, I’m less confused but more distressed: Smart heating and cooling is even more knotted up than I thought. Ultimately, your smart thermostat isn’t made to help you. It’s there to help others—for reasons that might or might not benefit you directly, or ever.


This month, LinkedIn researchers revealed in Science that the company spent five years quietly researching more than 20 million users. By tweaking the professional networking platform’s algorithm, researchers were trying to determine through A/B testing whether users end up with more job opportunities when they connect with known acquaintances or complete strangers.


Big Tech companies shouldn’t have to pay for Internet service providers’ network-upgrade costs, a Google executive said today amid a push in Europe to have tech companies pay for broadband expansions and improvements.


The lawsuit largely focuses on the way Amazon penalizes sellers for listing products at lower prices on other websites. If Amazon spots a product listed cheaper on a competitor’s website, it often will remove important buttons like “Buy Now” and “Add to Cart” from a product listing page.


During his first year as a senator, Josh Hawley of Missouri started to talk about, and propose policies about, Big Tech, in a way that was different than the way politicians of the Right had previously discussed the issue.


But when you look beyond the splashy headlines, you’ll see that the real danger isn’t how smart A.I.s are. It’s how mindless they are—and how delusional we tend to be about their so-called intelligence.


After all, PayPal only partially reversed its policy. The company will still fine users up to $2,500 for other offenses listed under its user agreement, including activities presumably promoting “hate” and “intolerance.”


In response, Big Tech platforms (platforms), their sympathizers, and some in the media asserted outright falsehoods like the Court could “overturn” Section 230 and these cases could end the internet.


The Metaverse, as the company formerly known as Facebook defines the term in its financial filings, is “an embodied internet where people have immersive experiences beyond two-dimensional screens.”


Cloudflare’s recent headline-making decision to refuse its services to KiwiFarms—a site notorious for allowing its users to wage harassment campaigns against trans people—is likely to lead to more calls for infrastructure companies to police online speech.


Nvidia believes it will not be affected by the latest US controls on technology, if only because it is already under similar restrictions. However, the effects on Chinese companies could be dramatic amid fears of a protracted trade war.


Conventional wisdom suggests the proliferation of dating apps has made us more connected than ever. Now I wonder if most Americans can see through the cliché.


Two new political science studies investigate how all of this time spent on social media affects our politics. The first asks what, if anything, digital denizens learn about politics, while the second develops a model to explain how social media interactions spark culture wars by sorting people into antagonistic political tribes.


The Google Pixel 7, Pixel Watch, and Pixel Tablet all have something in common other than being Google-branded products with generic names. They’re part of an explicit attempt by Google to build a Pixel ecosystem of its own.


Mark Zuckerberg’s ambitious, multi-billion-dollar Metaverse platform is yet to garner the same traction as existing platforms Facebook and Instagram, according to internal documents.