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It’s your source for curated news affecting democracy in the cyber space arena with a focus on protecting democracy. That necessitates an opinionated Butlerian jihad against big tech as well as evangelizing for open-source and the Fediverse. We also cover the cybersecurity world. You can’t be free without safety and privacy.<\/p>\n
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It comes out on Thursday and is updated through the end of day on Friday. Then we start over. So take your time in perusing it and check back in over the weekend.<\/p>\n
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FYI, my opinions will be in bold. And will often involve cursing. Because humans. Especially tech bros. And fascists.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n MIT Technology Review writes:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Artificial intelligence could put us on the path to a booming economic future, but getting there will take some serious course corrections.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And it won\u2019t be easy for AI companies to rethink their huge foundation models for … real-world problems. They will need to engage with industry experts from a wide variety of sectors and respond to their needs. But the reality is that the big AI companies are the only organizations with the vast computational power to run today\u2019s foundation models and the talent to invent the next generations of the technology.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n So like it or not, in dominating the field, they have taken on the responsibility for its broad applicability. Whether they will shoulder that responsibility for all our benefit or (once again) ignore it for the siren song of wealth accumulation will eventually reveal itself.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Short-term profits or productivity? Which will those pushing “AI” choose? I think we know which way this will go.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Kyiv Independent shares a story from The Counteroffensive:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Counteroffensive: Online weddings and missile tracking \u2013 how Ukraine’s digital innovations thrive amid war<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Guardian reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Authors sue Anthropic for copyright infringement over AI training<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Open Society Foundations reports on:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n AI in Journalism Futures 2024<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Reuters reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n At DNC, influencers battle journalists for space and access<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Oliver Willis Explains reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Time For A Break: Democrats Don’t Need The Media<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The.Ink reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The rise of the “Brat Pack” \u2014 and a new Democratic political style<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Verge reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n With the DNC, Democrats finally understand that content is king<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Speaking of, MindWar reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Love Bomb: In psychological warfare terms, we\u2019re witnessing a brutal, devastating counterstrike<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n BBC reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n ‘Keyboard warrior’ jailed for part in UK disorder<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cory Doctorow says:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDisenshittify or Die\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Register reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amazon antitrust case in Washington DC is resurrected<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Record reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Biden administration pledges $11 million to open source security initiative<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TechDirt reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n New FCC Rule Would Make Robocallers Disclose They\u2019re Using AI<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Justice Department announces:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Justice Department Sues RealPage for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Millions of American Renters<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n MIT Technology Review reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The race to save our online lives from a digital dark age<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Electronic Frontier Foundation reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Court to California: Try a Privacy Law, Not Online Censorship<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n NGI has an:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Interview with Esther Payne and Brett Sheffield (Librecast) \u2013 NGI Assure beneficiaries<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Kyiv Post reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Russian Search Engine Sets Trap for Pro-Kyiv Sympathizers<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Radio Free Europe reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n U.S. Sanctions Hundreds Of Targets In Effort To Cripple Kremlin’s Military Production<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bleeping Computer reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Russian laundering millions for Lazarus hackers arrested in Argentina<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n US warns of Iranian hackers escalating influence operations<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Guardian reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Israel feared legal trouble over US advocacy efforts, leaked files suggest<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Inciting rioters in Britain was a test run for Elon Musk. Just see what he plans for America<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Neo-Nazi terrorist group using Steve Bannon account to radicalize people<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Revealed: JD Vance promoted far-right views in speech about extremists\u2019 book<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Georgia approves election rule that could delay vote certification<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ars Technica reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Windows 0-day was exploited by North Korea to install advanced rootkit<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Tech Dirt reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n DHS: We May Start Tracking Minors With Facial Recognition Tech; Also DHS: No, We Won\u2019t<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Vice Media Collapse Was Entirely The Fault Of Incompetent, Fail-Upward Brunchlords<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Republicans Pump Brakes on KOSA After Realizing It Could Censor Them Too<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n There is no bottom to this kind of dumbfuckery.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bloomberg reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n How Tech Companies Are Obscuring AI\u2019s Real Carbon Footprint<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The San Francisco Standard reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n How billionaires Ben and Felicia Horowitz made a MAGA U-turn<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This is what living in Las Vegas will do to you.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n VoteBeat reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Election officials like Tina Peters are a more pressing threat to elections than theoretical voting machine hacks<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The New Republic reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Beware the Pundit-Brained Version of the Democratic Convention<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Weekly Sift reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Harris, Trump, and Our Broken News Media<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Again, fuck corporate Big Journalism.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Jeff Jarvis has:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n California\u2019s Deal for News<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Public Citizen reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Big Crypto, Big Spending: Crypto Corporations Spend an Unprecedented $119 Million Influencing Elections<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Is small crypto a thing? Anyway fuck Big Crypto too.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 404 Media reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ticketmaster Used Revolving Barcodes to Control Ticket Resale Market and Surveil Customers, DOJ Alleges<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 404 are celebrating their one-year anniversary<\/a>. And it’s been a great year of reporting. Subscribe today!<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n DarkReading reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Human Nature Is Causing Our Cybersecurity Problem<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Microsoft Copilot Studio Exploit Leaks Sensitive Cloud Data<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n W3 has:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Web Security: shaping the secure Web<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Verge reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Feds charge alleged negotiator for Russian ransomware group<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 9 to 5 Mac reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Vulnerability in Microsoft apps allowed hackers to spy on Mac users<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Fediverse Report has:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Last Week in Fediverse \u2013 ep 80<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Fediversalist Papers researched:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n What happens behind the curtain of Fediverse server operation<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here is the full report:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Findings Report: Governance on Fediverse Microblogging Servers<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Neatnik has some notes on:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fedicache<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n IFTAS shares:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fediverse Trust and Safety: The Founding and Future of IFTAS<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Elena Rossini shares:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Future of Social is Here: a Show and Tell (part 4: Lemmy, PieFed & Mbin)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n PieFed has:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n PieFed development update August 2024 – prepping for 1.0 release<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ghost also has an update:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The slow march of progress<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Netzgemeinde Hubzilla has this interesting thread:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We need to get to identities that aren’t tethered to particular instances<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We Distribute reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Flohmarkt is a Fediverse Marketplace<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Andy Piper has thoughts:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n On Symbols & Symbolism<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Browser Pub is:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A browser for debugging ActivityPub and the \u2042fediverse<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For Better asks:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Future of Social Media: Are Ethics Enough?<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Guardian reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u2018Threads is just deathly dull\u2019: have Twitter quitters found what they are looking for on other networks?<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n TechCrunch reports:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Threads explores ads, but says ‘no immediate timeline’ toward monetization<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And if you are on Threads, you deserve to be stuck watching them.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A group of researchers report:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Dawn of Decentralized Social Media: An Exploration of Bluesky\u2019s Public Opening<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p><\/ul>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome to this week’s \u201cDefending Democracy\u201d. It’s your source for curated news affecting democracy in the cyber space arena with a focus on protecting democracy. That necessitates an opinionated Butlerian jihad against big tech as well as evangelizing for open-source and the Fediverse. We also cover the cybersecurity world. You can’t be free without safety […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[69],"tags":[57,66,67,92,74,73,65,78,75,58,77,95,59,94,93,64,86,63,61],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=694"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":731,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/694\/revisions\/731"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/battalion.mobileatom.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\nFeatured Item<\/h2>\n
How to fine-tune AI for prosperity<\/a><\/h3>\n
\n\nThe response to Russia\u2019s War Crimes and other douchebaggery<\/h2>\n
\n\nThe Evil Empire Strikes Back<\/h2>\n
\n\nCybersecurity\/Privacy<\/h2>\n
\n\nFediverse<\/h2>\n
Other Federated Social Media<\/h3>\n
\n\nCTAs (aka show us some free love)<\/h2>\n
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