Ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Stephen Goforth
“Hackers have recently ramped up the theft of what are called session cookies, according to the FBI. These are files that are stored by your browser and save you the annoyance of logging in every time you need to read a Gmail or check up on Facebook. Think twice before clicking ‘remember me’ on that check box.” - Wall Street Journal
AI is knocking down the career ladder by doing more of the coding work of entry-level engineers, but, at least for now, the increased coding output from AI is also increasing the demand for and value of experienced, creative developers to interpret and put the AI's work to good use. - Business Insider
Excellent performers judge themselves differently than most people do. They're more specific, just as they are when they set goals and strategies. Average performers are content to tell themselves that they did great or poorly or okay.
By contrast, the best performers judge themselves against a standard that's relevant for what they're trying to achieve. Sometimes they compare their performance with their own personal best; sometimes they compare it with the performance of competitors they're facing or expect to face; sometimes they compare it with the best known performance by anyone in the field.
Any of those can make sense; the key, as in all deliberate practice, is to choose a comparison that stretches you just beyond your current limits. Research confirms what common sense tells us, that too high a standard is discouraging and not very instructive, while too low a standard produces no advancement.
Geoff Colvin, Why Talent is Overrated
Building a personal, private AI computer on a budget
How to keep AI hallucinations out of your code
Five AI and Data Science Trends That Matter for 2025
Should Data Scientists Care About Quantum Computing? Short answer: Only a little
The Paradox of Over-Clean Data in AI and Machine Learning
Why AI Agents Need an Operational Database
How to Use Generative AI as a Software Developer
US Military Intelligence Industry Research Report 2024-2026
Building AI agents requires companies to rethink their data strategies
How GenAI Tools Have Changed My Work as a Data Scientist
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency unpublishes its public-facing presence
Humanoid Robots Finally Get Real Jobs – Wall Street Journal
AI humanoid robots inch their way toward the workforce - CIO
Meta plans investments into AI-driven humanoid robots, memo shows – Reuters
AI Comes to the Apple Orchard—From Pollinating to Picking – Wall Street Journal
Figure Plans To Ship 100,000 Humanoid Robots Over Next 4 Years – Forbes
This artist collaborates with AI and robots - MIT Technology Review
How lazy robots could help solve AI’s energy consumption problem - Washington Post
AI Robots Are Entering the Public World—With Mixed Results - Wall Street Journal
In a first, surgical robots learned tasks by watching videos - Washington Post
Proving You Aren’t a Robot Has Never Been Harder. Here’s Why - Wall Street Journal
AI robot helps recover and recycle beverage cans - Axios
MIT researchers develop new approach for training general purpose robots - TechSpot
Robotic pets are bringing some older people real comfort - Washington Post
Painting by A.I.-Powered Robot Sells for $1.1 Million – New York Times
When an international team of researchers asked some 2,300 people in 58 countries to respond to a single question — “How can you tell when people are lying?” — one sign stood out: In two-thirds of responses, people listed gaze aversion. A liar doesn’t look you in the eye. Twenty-eight percent reported that liars seemed nervous, a quarter reported incoherence, and another quarter that liars exhibited certain little giveaway motions.
It just so happens that the common wisdom is false.
Why do we think we know how liars behave? Liars should divert their eyes. They should feel ashamed and guilty and show the signs of discomfort that such feelings engender. And because they should, we think they do.
The desire for the world to be what it ought to be and not what it is permeates experimental psychology as much as writing, though. There’s experimental bias and the problem known in the field as “demand characteristics” — when researchers end up finding what they want to find by cuing participants to act a certain way. It’s also visible when psychologists choose to study one thing rather than another, dismiss evidence that doesn’t mesh with their worldview while embracing that which does.
Maria Konnikova writing in the New York Times
Knowledge distillation (KD) - A machine learning technique transferring the learnings of a large pre-trained model to a smaller model. The “student model” will mimic the predictions of the big one. The smaller one is more agile and efficient, able to make better real-time decisions. It is easier for the smaller model to include explainability in its structure. KD is used in deep learning, particularly for massive deep neural networks.
More AI definitions here.
Future You is a new interactive artificial-intelligence platform that allows users to create a virtual older self—a chatbot that looks like an aged version of the person, then personalized with information that the user puts in. The idea is that if people can see and talk to their older selves, they will be able to think about them more concretely, and make changes now that will help them achieve the future they hope for. -Wall Street Journal
I need to allow myself to be messy on the page. -Lysley Tenorio
Musicians including Kate Bush and Billy Ocean released a “silent record” in outrage at a proposed change to British copyright law - New York Times
Google's AI previews erode the internet, US edtech company says in lawsuit - Reuters
Judge Throws Out Facial Recognition Evidence In Murder Case – Forbes
AI 'hallucinations' in court papers spell trouble for lawyers - Reuters
Minnesota Grad Student Expelled for Allegedly Using AI Is Suing School – Gizmodo
Copyright Office Releases Second AI Report – JD Supra
News publishers sue Cohere for copyright and trademark infringement - Axios
Thomson Reuters scores early win in AI copyright battles in the US – Associated Press
Fake cases, judges’ headaches and new limits: Australian courts grapple with lawyers using AI – The Guardian
No. 42 law firm by head count could face sanctions over fake case citations generated by AI – ABA Journal
AI Bias Through the Lens of Antidiscrimination Law – Vanderbilt Law
Bias in Large Language Models—and Who Should Be Held Accountable – Stanford Law
AI’s Racial Bias Claims Tested in Court as US Regulations Lag – Bloomberg
Copyright Office Offers Assurances on AI Filmmaking Tools – Variety
AI making up cases can get lawyers fired, scandalized law firm warns - ArsTechnica
Alexi Says Its New AI Tool for Litigators Is Capable of Advanced Legal Reasoning – LawNext
Nonprofit group joins Elon Musk’s effort to block OpenAI’s for-profit transition – Tech Crunch
The Growth of AI Law: Exploring Legal Challenges in Artificial Intelligence - National Law Review
AI’s Legal Storm: The Three Battles That Will Shape Its Future - Forbes
Guardian signs licensing deal with ChatGPT owner OpenAI – Press Gazette
I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it’s not the answer. -Jim Carrey
Retractions are rising in medical research literature, even as more eyes examine peer-reviewed papers for accuracy. AI is powering an arms race in the world of research misconduct, making it easier for scientific fraud to occur, and for editors to identify and root out. In 2002, 1 in 5,000 papers were retracted, Oransky said. In 2023 retractions increased to 1 in 500 papers. -AAPS news magazine
Arthur Chickering writes that helping “students deepen their understanding about reaching for authenticity and spiritual growth ... starts and ends with self-reflection and employs that throughout.”
To say the journey is all about self-reflection is too restrictive. The learning adventure may dip into navel-gazing occasionally, but discovering the insights of other people who have gone before will not happen quickly. A fruitful journey requires a shift away from the self toward a focus on something greater. A student must sort through the dirt to discover valuable nuggets of truth. This often happens through reading the great thinkers and then wrestling with the questions and ideas we discover. We stand on the shoulders of others to peer down the road a bit further than we could on our own. We can waste time and energy by insisting on clearing a path by ourselves.
The Chickering quote comes from his book "Encouraging Authenticity and Spirituality in Higher Education." Chickering understands the value of encouraging students to read great works. But his goal, he writes, is to help them evolve their “own" answers. However, good teaching goes beyond applauding young people just for coming to their own conclusions. Will the answers stand up to criticism? Can they effectively defend their positions? More importantly, can they live those answers?
Stephen Goforth
Judge Throws Out Facial Recognition Evidence In Murder Case – Forbes
Arrested by AI: Police ignore standards after facial recognition matches – Washington Post
What Your ‘Face Age’ Can Tell Doctors About Your Health – Wall Street Journal
A booming industry of AI age scanners, aimed at children’s faces - Washington Post
Convolutional neural networks show promise for enhancing facial recognition technology – Techexplore
Facial Recognition Led to Wrongful Arrests. So Detroit Is Making Changes. – New York Times
Facial Recognition Technology Current Capabilities, Future Prospects, and Governance - National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine
Facial Recognition Used to Evict Single Mother for Taking Night Classes – Futurism
How Taylor Swift showed us the scary future of facial recognition – The Guardian
Vending machine error reveals secret face image database of college students - Ars Technica
Facial recognition startup Clearview AI settles privacy suit – Boston Herald
AI facial recognition could sink this murder probe – The Register
AI researcher Joy Buolamwini discusses bias in facial recognition technologies at Duke event – Duke Chronicle
Jailed over police AI program, then freed 17 months after victim raised doubts – FOX2
Indian authorities use AI, drones and facial recognition for security at Maha Kumbh festival – Associated Press
Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it; they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things. And the reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people.
Steve Jobs (born Feb, 24, 1955)
A so-called “true crime” YouTube channel has millions of views with AI-generated murder stories — none of which actually happened. There was no language on the channel’s homepage or in video descriptions to tell a viewer otherwise. If you looked at the comments on his videos, there were a lot of people who couldn’t tell they weren’t real. -404 Media
What: The evolving role and power of social media platforms, challenges to social media legitimacy, responsible use of social media.
Who: Salla-Maaria Laaksonen, Senior Research in the Centre for Consumer Society Research at the University of Helsinki; Taru Nikulainen, Managing Director, Brunnen Communications; Kia Haring, Director, Ethics & Standards, Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management.
When: 8 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: ProCom, the Finnish Association of Communications Professionals
What: How three public library workers have used data for decision-making, strategic planning, and advocacy.
Who: Sarah Rankin, New York Public Library; Brenda Marshall, Pine River Library, Colorado; Jennifer Gibson; St. Louis County Library.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Research Institute for Public Libraries
What: This webinar will focus on the rise of so-called “ag-gag” laws, designed to criminalize unauthorized investigations of agricultural facilities to expose inhumane or illegal practices.
Who: Alan Chen, co-author of “Truth and Transparency: Undercover Investigations in the Twenty-First Century” and “Free Speech Beyond Words: The Surprising Reach of the First Amendment.” He actively litigates cases in federal courts across the country challenging these statutes, many of which have been struck down as unconstitutional.
When: 6 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom and in-person
Cost: Free
Sponsors: Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law, the Minnesota Journalism Center, and the Minnesota Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists
What: How can communication professionals navigate ethical dilemmas with confidence? Explore the development of an Ethical Compass—a framework designed by K1 Kommunikationsforening to support ethical decision-making and enhance trust in professional communication.
Who: Sara Krüger Falk, Executive Director, Global Compact Network Denmark; Pelle Nilsson, Chairperson, K1 Kommunikationsforening; Anders Schroll – Board Member, K1 Kommunikationsforening.
When: 7 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Global Alliance
What: Learn about the types of infrastructure that support collaboration between public health and health care delivery systems. Collaborative tools including MOUs among organizations, data-sharing agreements, Community Health Needs Assessments, and creative financing.
Who: Dr. Rishi Manchanda, CEO of HealthBegins
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsors: National Press Club, Common Health Coalition
What: In this session, you’ll learn the 4 C’s of crafting the perfect prompts and walk away with practical examples of how you can use AI to build your brand.
Who: Jen Blair, Founder, Systemaddicts
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Penn State Small Business Development Center
What: How to land your first nonfiction video job, build a strong portfolio, and stand out in a competitive industry. Learn how to secure paid gigs, navigate freelance vs. staff roles, and pitch your work with confidence. Firsthand insights on breaking into the field and creating impactful documentaries that get noticed.
Who: Award-winning filmmaker Léo Hamelin, a journalist and documentary filmmaker based in New York. Most recently, she was the Head of Documentaries at Brut.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Video Consortium
What: The panel will discuss key insights from PR Journal Vol. 18, Issue 1: latest strategies, best practices, and ethical guidelines for leveraging AI in PR measurement.
Who: Julie O’Neil, Professor & Associate Dean Graduate Studies & Administration at Texas Christian University; Angela Dwyer, Director of the IPR Measurement Commission and Head of Insights at Fullintel; Lightning Czabovsky, Associate Professor at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
When: 4 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Institute for Public Relations
What: What happened when a school’s new AI-powered monitoring tool could put student reporting materials — including confidential sources and stories in progress — in the hands of administrators.
Who: Natasha Torkzaban, Morgan Salisbury and Jack Tell who successfully stood up for their press freedom rights as high school seniors.
When: 7 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Student Press Law Center
What: A demo PalmWatch and mBio, online platforms that track deforestation and genetically modified crops, and how to interpret the data.
Who: Data experts David Uminsky, Dylan Halpern, and Susan Paykin from the Data Science Institute
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: University of Chicago
What: The fast-evolving skilling landscape driven by AI; The skills that are emerging and those expected to arise; Creating an organization-wide skill-adoption model; Leveraging technology to drive AI-literacy at scale.
Who: Justin Seeley, Learning Evangelist, Adobe; Dominik Rus, Global Head of Learning and Development Innovation and Technology, TTEC.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Adobe Learning Manager, Training Magazine Network
What: Anon-technical introduction to generative AI technology, tips for implementing AI effectively in your business, some great advice about managing the risks and ethical concerns involved, and will lead you a hands-on exercise using a generative AI tool.
Who: Isabel Krome, a Start-Up Consultant at Temple SBDC.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Penn State Small Business Development Center
What: Practical insights into identifying and mitigating these biases to ensure content is inclusive and represents a spectrum of perspectives.
Who: Tristin Sylvester is the Founder & Chief Learning Architect at Inventio Learning Designs
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
What: The session introduces modern, evidence-based approaches to news management that enhance both team resilience and journalistic excellence. We will be discussing how trauma-awareness, a modern, science-informed approach to news management can help sustain morale and productivity in a newsroom.
Who: Bruce Shapiro is Executive Director of the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma; Gavin Rees is the Dart Center's Senior Advisor for Training and Innovation.
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma at the Columbia Journalism School and the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine
What: Practical exercises and strategies to welcome dissent in your newsroom. Come ready to discuss challenges and ask questions.
Who: Trusting News Executive Editor Joy Mayer
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Trusting News
What: Nellie made headlines by completing a record-breaking 72-day trip around the world in 1890. Discover how she also achieved much as a war correspondent and benevolent businesswoman.
Who: Actress Debra Ann Miller will portray this pioneer in investigative journalism.
When: 7 pm, Central
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free; This is a hybrid event. Choose to attend in-person or virtually.
Sponsor: League of Women Voters and the Wheaton Public Library, Wheaton, IL
What: Sessions on pitching, harnessing artificial intelligence, funding your journalism, podcasting, boosting your income, and more.
Who: Celeste Headlee (NPR, PBS, WNYC) is keynotes and the sessions include editors from Bloomberg, the New York Times, Washington Post, Economic Hardship Reporting Project and more.
When: 10 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $79 for 12 live sessions & access to recordings
Sponsor: Institute for Independent Journalists
What: This training session equips participants with essential tools and skills for handling sensitive stories with care and respect. The training will delve into immersive storytelling, syilx protocols for supporting the grieving, and the sacredness of sharing someone's story.
Who: Your syilx Sisters
When: 10 am - 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The Indigenous Journalists Association
What: Explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping search marketing by altering consumer behavior, reducing website visits through direct AI answers, and transforming search strategies. Learn actionable insights and access free resources to help your organization adapt to these groundbreaking shifts in search and marketing dynamics.
Who: Korena Keys, Founder of Key Media Solutions
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: $35
Sponsor: Online Media Campus
What: This high-energy session takes you on a fast-track journey from crafting high-impact prompts to deploying AI agents that automate, personalize, and elevate your training programs.
Who: Josh Cavalier Founder, JoshCavalier.ai.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
What: Recent neuroscience research on how human and AI-designed presentations uniquely impact audience engagement, attention, and memory.
Who: Carmen Simon, Cognitive Neuroscientist, Founder of Enhancive.
When: 11 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
Acceptance is the key to peace. It says, "I won't waste my time and energies fighting. I will accept this situation knowing that God, in his goodness and love, will make something good out of it." Such an attitude of trust and hope opens the door for God’s creative plan to begin functioning.
Ella May Miller
Google’s ‘Career Dreamer’ uses AI to help you explore job possibilities – Tech Crunch
LinkedIn Is Testing an AI Tool That Could Transform How People Search for Jobs – Wired
How do people feel about AI replacing human jobs? – Phys.org
How to learn to work with your new AI coworker – Fast Company
AI Killed The Tech Interview. Now What? – Kane Narraway
The most important skills you need to work with GenAI – Silicon Republic
These Are the Jobs AI Will Replace – INC
5 AI jobs that are expected to dominate 2025 – AZ Big Media
AI agents coming soon to a workplace near you - Axios
How AI Could Change the Odds of Landing a Job – Wall Street Journal
What Is Agentic AI, and How Will It Change Work? – Harvard Business Review
Should You Still Learn to Code in an A.I. World? – New York Times
LinkedIn’s Hostile Takeover of the Tech Job Market - INC
Pretty much all Gen Z knowledge workers are using AI, survey finds - Axios
LinkedIn launches its first AI agent to take on the role of job recruiters – Tech Crunch
Meet the ‘super users’ who tap AI to get ahead at work – Washington Post
Chipotle turns to AI hiring platform to screen job applicants – CBS News
AI revolution creates demand for hot new job: AI librarian – Digiday
Studies Show AI Triggers Delirium in Leading Experts - ITIF
Replacing my Right Hand with A (a pitch for the “AI engineer“) - Erik Schluntz
If you're going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!
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