Fast Company – technology

Why Big Tech’s swift reaction to the Capitol riot is a threat to democracy

By Jerry Davis

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After the Capitol riot, Big Tech companies suspended their political contributions just as traditional businesses did, but their bans and actions against Parler went much further, and the impact was more potent and profound.
Tech companies, particularly the big five— Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft —control the information infrastructure used in business and politics.

By Ruth Reader

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Social media platforms like Facebook, Google, and Twitter have raced to pull down content, groups, and individual accounts associated with the violence in the capital.
But while inauguration day may be quiet, the groups and individuals that coordinated the attack on the Capitol aren’t going away.

By Steven Melendez

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The researchers, who are part of a project called Civic Signals that is devoted to building healthier online spaces, asked 20,000 internet users across 20 countries about their use and perception of platforms including messaging apps Telegram, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger; social networking tools including LinkedIn, Reddit, Facebook, and Pinterest; and search engines Google, Yahoo, and Bing.
Major internet platforms could do a lot more to create healthy social media by adopting measures to keep people safe and encourage users to see one another as human, according to new research that surveys their most dedicated users.

By Bärí a. Williams

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The same people who feel comfortable being casual in their workplace dress and conversations feel free to speak their minds without worry of repercussions online, and it has a direct correlation to the level of privilege.
While there have been times that employees are fired for a social media post, it’s unclear what you can do and if it’s an extension of your professional self or not (and the baked in privilege to tweeting whatever you think and not worrying about if there will be any blow back).

By Doug Aamoth

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Jackbox outlines how to play remotely via several different platforms and streaming video services.
If you’ve been around long enough to remember what Crystal Pepsi tasted like, then you may have had the pleasure of playing an innovative and amusing trivia game show-esque series called You Don’t Know Jack .

By Forest Agostinelli

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In my work as an AI researcher, I use reinforcement learning to create AI algorithms that learn how to solve puzzles such as the Rubik’s Cube .
In doing so, it gives feedback that leads to a step-by-step plan for solving the Rubik’s Cube that a person can understand.