NEW RESOURCES
University of Chicago: New tool created by UChicago Data Science Institute sheds light on palm oil production . "The DSI and the IDI, with support from the 11th Hour Project, launched a new tool called PalmWatch on Feb. 22. Using rigorous data science and advanced, low-cost data visualization methods, PalmWatch traces palm oil supplies from the ground level, where the environmental and social impacts of palm oil cultivation occur, to the consumer brands that use the oil in their products."
FIFA: FIFA publishes Professional Football Report 2023. "FIFA has published its Professional Football Report 2023 that provides a comprehensive overview of men's professional football across all 211 FIFA Member Associations (MAs) and launched an encyclopaedic online database to encourage clubs to seek out best practice from around the world."
TechCrunch: MyHeritage debuts OldNews.com, offering access to millions of historical newspaper pages . "MyHeritage announced today that it's launching OldNews.com, a new website that offers access to thousands of historical newspapers, mainly from the 1800s and 1900s. The website includes articles from major international newspapers to small-town journals and gazettes." Not free, of course...
TWEAKS AND UPDATES
Eurogamer: There's a Final Fantasy 7 Chocobo treat waiting for you on Google. "To honour today's release of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Google has hidden a little Chocobo treat for us all. All you have to do is type the words 'Chocobo' or 'Final Fantasy' into the search bar, and you will be met with a little Chocobo icon in the lower right corner." This was a few days ago but it still works.
CNBC: Google Gemini product lead retreats from social media after troubled AI product launch led to harassment. "Jack Krawczyk, a Google artificial intelligence product lead, has pulled away from social media sites, including X and LinkedIn, after the troubled launch of the company's AI image generator made him the target of online harassment."
StateScoop: Fulton County, Georgia, refuses to pay ransom, again. "Another ransom deadline has passed in Fulton County, Georgia. Robb Pitts, who chairs the Board of Commissions for Fulton County, which contains Atlanta, told reporters Thursday that neither Fulton County, nor any entity on the county's behalf, has paid the ransom demand set by the hackers."
AROUND THE INTERNET WORLD
Business Insider: There are growing calls for Google CEO Sundar Pichai to step down. "Google just hit pause on its Gemini image generator, which was creating historically inaccurate pictures. The slip-up was so bad it sent the company's stock tumbling, and had CEO Sundar Pichai address the troops, calling the situation 'completely unacceptable.' The debacle has strengthened the narrative that Google is suddenly behind in the AI race, and now there's a growing chorus of voices calling for CEO Sundar Pichai to be replaced."
Bloomberg: Google Trims Jobs in Trust and Safety While Others Work 'Around the Clock'. "Alphabet Inc.'s Google is laying off a handful of employees on its trust and safety team as part of broader staff cuts, even as it's asking members of that group to be on standby over the weekend in order to troubleshoot problematic outputs related to its flagship generative AI tool, Gemini."
Search Engine Land: Google pilots new PPC ad format. "Google confirmed it is testing a new PPC ad format. However, key details such as the official name, functionality, influence on auction dynamics, and effect on metrics are yet to be released. The lack of information surrounding the new ad format has drawn criticism from advertisers."
SECURITY & LEGAL
Reuters: US judge says Google must face some advertisers' antitrust claims, dismisses others. "Alphabet's Google must face advertisers' proposed class action lawsuit claiming that it monopolizes the ad exchange market, a U.S. judge ruled on Friday. But U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel dismissed some other antitrust claims, including those focused on ad-buying tools used by large advertisers."
RESEARCH & OPINION
The Wrap: Inside the Crisis at Google. "Using a generative tool like Gemini is a tradeoff. You get the benefit of a seemingly magical product. But you give up control. While you may get answers quickly, or a cool looking graphic, you lose touch with the source material. To use it means putting more trust in giant companies like Google, and to maintain that trust Google needs to be extremely transparent. Yet what do we really know about how its models operate? Continuing on as it if were business as usual, Google contributed to the magnitude of the crisis."
Gustavian Weekly: The reality of moms and social media. "Moms on social media are objectively funny—whether that's in a cringe way or a humorous way—but they are probably the most real people on these apps. They're not editing their face in selfies because they are too busy deciding which music fits with the vibe of the photo they are posting. Middle-aged social media moms are objectively funny but also objectively the coolest. Don't get me wrong, though—I will still be dodging people's Facebook friend requests." Since I am older than both this young lady AND her mother, this editorial had me both laughing in sympathy and lunging for the Geritol. Good morning, Internet...
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