algorithms
google
Not OK, Google
As Google tries to become more discerning about “authoritative” sources, the search giant reinforces its power and influence.
bots
The Humans Hiding Behind the Chatbots
Bloomberg peeks in on the tedious worklife of humans pretending to be robots pretending to be humans.
bots
Facebook’s Perfect, Impossible Chatbot
Facebook is prototyping its omniscient bot by powering it with people, the MIT Technology Review reports.
sentient design
Our Machines Now Have Knowledge We’ll Never Understand
In Backchannel, David Weinberger considers the implications of machines constructing their own models for understanding data, quite divorced from our own (more simplistic) models.
sentient design
Algorithm-Driven Design: How AI is Changing Design
Designer Yury Vetrov collected a wide-ranging set of design projects and tools where bots are the designers.
ai
The Dark Secret at the Heart of AI
MIT Technology Review covers the unknowable logic of our most sophisticated algorithms—and the implications of having no idea how they actually work.
algorithms
Google Launches New Effort To Flag Upsetting or Offensive Content in Search
Search Engine Land reports that its 10,000 human reviewers will start flagging offensive content in an effort to train the algorithm what hate speech looks like.
google
Fact Check Now Available in Google Search and News
Google’s move to highlight fact-checking sites may be a promising step in identifying hostile information zones in search results.
bots
It’s Not Their Pop Idol, but a Bot
A New York Times story about chatbots and the music industry uncovers a few promising signals about bots.
algorithms
AMP: breaking news
Google’s AMP platform recklessly devalues the URL, aggravating the erosion of trust in the fourth estate.
algorithms
Living with the Algorithm
Memories of a night in Siena remind me what we’ve gained—and what we’ve lost—in the era of the algorithm.