NEW RESOURCES

AsAmNews: Denshō and Internet Archive to launch new collection next week. “On Wednesday, July 23, at noon (PST), Denshō and the Internet Archive will launch a new online collection of over 100 films that document the forced removal and incarceration of the Japanese Americans during World War II.”

Detroit Free Press: Decades of Michigan lake data, hidden in filing cabinets, digitized with volunteer help. “The 78 years of data on 1,300 Michigan lakes are now fully digitized and available to researchers and the public at the University of Michigan’s Deep Blue data repository. Resurrected from file cabinet drawers, the data is now being used to drive new research.”

TWEAKS AND UPDATES

Engadget: Never fear, reaction videos are still allowed under YouTube’s new ‘inauthentic content’ policy. “Earlier this month, the platform said it would be changing its rules for monetization in an effort to address AI-generated materials, but didn’t include many specifics, which led many to sound the alarm that reaction videos might get swept up in the new rules. The company has now provided a few tweaks and more clear delineations in its guidelines about channel monetization policies.”

TechCrunch: Following YouTube, Meta announces crackdown on ‘unoriginal’ Facebook content. “This year, Meta has already taken down around 10 million profiles that were impersonating large content creators, it said.”

AROUND THE SEARCH AND SOCIAL MEDIA WORLD

Los Angeles Times: Misinformation is already a problem during natural disasters in Texas. AI chatbots aren’t helping. “Roughly 7% of Americans use AI chatbots and interfaces for news each week. That number is higher — around 15% — for people under 25 years old, according to a June report from the Reuters Institute. Grok is available on a mobile app, but people can also ask the AI chatbot questions on social media site X, formerly Twitter. As the popularity of these AI-powered tools increase, misinformation experts say people should be wary about what chatbots say.”

Gizmodo: How Google Killed OpenAI’s $3 Billion Deal Without an Acquisition. “Google announced on July 11 that it poached key talent from the rapidly rising AI startup Windsurf, which until then had a reported $3 billion acquisition deal with OpenAI that has now collapsed. Instead, Google is paying $2.4 billion to hire away top Windsurf employees, including the company’s CEO, and take a non-exclusive license to its technology, according to Bloomberg.”

Chapman University: 11,000 Wartime Letters Donated to Chapman’s Center for American War Letters. “A major donation is expanding the collection Chapman University’s nationally recognized The Center for American War Letters. More than 11,000 wartime letters were recently entrusted to the Center by Alabama lawyer and historian Max Pope. The collection, spanning from the Civil War to Vietnam, brings the archive to more than 240,000 preserved letters and other forms of war-related communication.”

SECURITY & LEGAL

Nikkei Asia: Myanmar’s proliferating scam centers.. “The number of scam centers in eastern Myanmar is expanding at a rapid pace. Even after a large-scale crackdown in February, construction has continued — underscoring that criminal hubs have not been eradicated. Nikkei analyzed satellite imagery and eyewitness testimony to reveal the scale and persistence of the crisis.”

The Register: Lovestruck US Air Force worker admits leaking secrets on dating app . “A lovestruck US Air Force employee has pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit confidential national defense information after sharing military secrets information about the Russia-Ukraine war with a woman he met on a dating app.”

RESEARCH & OPINION

Mashable: AI chatbots often distort nations’ human rights records, study finds . “The results showed that LLMs consistently suggested that countries have less press freedom than official reports, like the non-governmental ranking like the World Press Freedom Index (WPFI), published by Reporters Without Borders. ChatGPT, for example, ranked 97 percent of the 180 countries used in the test negatively.”

Florida State University: FSU archaeologists find preservation of cultural heritage sites plays key role in coastal community resilience. “In a new study, FSU archaeologists Jayur Madhusudan Mehta and Mark D. McCoy in the Department of Anthropology argue that current coastal management efforts overlook key cultural sites, putting both ecosystems and heritage at risk. Their research shows that historic Indigenous sites, especially shell mounds and middens, are deeply tied to coastal landscapes yet are often left out of planning and funding decisions.”

OTHER THINGS I THINK ARE COOL

BBC: Animals react to secret sounds from plants, say scientists. “In the first ever such evidence, a team at Tel Aviv University found that female moths avoided laying their eggs on tomato plants if they made noises they associated with distress, indicating that they may be unhealthy…. The sounds are outside the range of human hearing, but can be perceived by many insects, bats and some mammals.” Good morning, Internet…

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