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Important Items

Texas bill requiring a person’s sex on a birth certificate based on a Y chromosome

RT @Esqueer_ A new bill introduced in Texas would require all people with a Y chromosome to be classified as male in their birth certificate. This law is absurd. What are they going to do, DNA test every Texan? Not only that, there are cis women with Y chromosomes.

https://legiscan.com/TX/text/HB1952/2023

200 students stage walkout at Hillcrest High School in protest over Black History Month program

MT @PENamerica 200 students walkout in protest in #Alabama after school administration told them their student-run #BlackHistoryMonth program could not reference anything that happened before the 1970s, including slavery, the Black Panthers or the civil rights movement.

https://www.cbs42.com/news/local/200-students-stage-walkout-at-hillcrest-high-school-in-protest-over-black-history-month-program/

Missouri Republicans Vote to Affirm Toddlers’ Rights to Carry Firearms in the Streets

In a turn of events that absolutely defies logic, the Republican-controlled Missouri House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to reject an amendment that would have banned minors from being allowed to openly carry guns on public land without adult supervision. Which, thanks to a 2017 law, they are currently free to do. To be clear: The proposal rejected this week was not seeking to ban minors from openly carrying weapons on public land, period, but simply from doing so without an adult supervising them. But apparently even that was too much for the state’s conservatives, who quite literally believe it’s fine for actual kids to walk down the street carrying guns. The proposal was defeated by 104-39, with just a single Republican voting in favor of the ban.

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/02/missouri-republicans-minors-open-carry

New Yorkers: Make sure you can vote in the primary!

RT @nypl 🗳️New Yorkers! To vote in the June 27 primary election, you must be registered with a party.

Got a New York State ID? Register online by Feb 13

📨No ID? New voter registration forms must be received by mail or in person by Feb 14

https://www.nypl.org/voter-information

Innovation

Microsoft announces new Bing and Edge browser powered by upgraded ChatGPT AI

Microsoft says it’s using conversational AI to create a new way to browse the web. Users will be able to chat to Bing like ChatGPT, asking questions and receiving answers in natural language. #AI #ChatGPT

https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/7/23587454/microsoft-bing-edge-chatgpt-ai

Google’s AI-powered ‘multisearch,’ which combines text and images in a single query, goes global

For example, a user could pull up a photo of a shirt they liked in Google Search, then ask Lens where they could find the same pattern, but on a different type of apparel, like a skirt or socks. Or they could point their phone at a broken piece on their bike and type into Google Search a query like “how to fix.” And then you could add the text “near me” to a search query with a photo to find a local bike shop or hardware shop that had the replacement part you needed. The technique is most helpful with shopping searches, where you could find clothing you liked, but in different colors or styles. Or you could take a photo of a piece of furniture, like a dining set, to find items that matched, like a coffee table. In multisearch, users could also narrow and refine their results by brand, color, and visual attributes.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/08/googles-a-i-powered-multisearch-which-combines-text-and-images-in-a-single-query-goes-global/

Binge On! Roku Now Lets You Order Food From Your TV via DoorDash Deal

Roku and DoorDash inked a partnership under which DoorDash will be the exclusive marketplace ad partner for their U.S. restaurants and grocery stores that buy interactive shoppable ads on Roku. Fast-food chain Wendy’s is the first to buy ads on Roku through the DoorDash pact, offering a $5 discount. In addition, Roku and DoorDash are offering Roku account holders six months free access to DashPass.

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/roku-doordash-order-food-wendys-1235511861/

Google Maps launches Immersive View in five cities, will roll out ‘glanceable directions’ soon

The feature fuses billions of Street View and aerial images to create a digital model of the world. It also layers information on top of the digital model, such as details about the weather, traffic and how busy a location may be. For instance, say you’re planning to visit the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and want to get an idea of it before you go. You can use Immersive View to virtually soar over the building to get a better idea of what it looks like and where the entrances are located. You can also see what the area looks like at different times of the day and what the weather will be like. Immersive View can also show you nearby restaurants and allows you look inside them to see if they would be an ideal spot for you. “To create these true-to-life scenes, we use neural radiance fields (NeRF), an advanced AI technique, transforms ordinary pictures into 3D representations,” Google explained in a blog post. “With NeRF, we can accurately recreate the full context of a place including its lighting, the texture of materials and what’s in the background. All of this allows you to see if a bar’s moody lighting is the right vibe for a date night or if the views at a cafe make it the ideal spot for lunch with friends.”

https://techcrunch.com/2023/02/08/google-maps-immersive-view-five-cities-glanceable-directions/

Technology

Google now wants to answer your questions without links and with AI. Where does that leave publishers?

A dozen years ago, Eric Schmidt forecast the AI pivot that’s playing out this week. And the questions it prompts — around the link economy, fair use, and aggregation — are more real than ever.

https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/02/google-now-wants-to-answer-your-questions-without-links-and-with-ai-where-does-that-leave-publishers/

The human brain could explain why AI programs are so good at writing grammatically superb nonsense.

Although ChatGPT can generate fluent & sometimes elegant prose, easily passing the Turing-test that’s been the benchmark in field of AI for 70+ yrs, it can also get general math wrong, fails to give the most basic instructions and displays major biases

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/01/chatgpt-ai-language-human-computer-grammar-logic/672902/

Alphabet shares dive after Google AI chatbot Bard flubs answer in ad

Alphabet Inc lost $100 billion in market value on Wednesday after its new chatbot shared inaccurate information in a promotional video and a company event failed to dazzle, feeding worries that the Google parent is losing ground to rival Microsoft Corp

https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-ai-chatbot-bard-offers-inaccurate-information-company-ad-2023-02-08/

Google invested almost $400 million in AI firm founded by former OpenAI researchers

https://www.theverge.com/2023/2/3/23584540/google-anthropic-investment-300-million-openai-chatgpt-rival-claude

Copyright won’t solve creators’ Generative AI problem

By @doctorow Even though the claims about “AI” are overblown and overhyped, creators are right to be alarmed. The “creative” industries talk a lot about how audiences should be paying for creative works, but the companies that bring creators’ works to market treat their own payments to creators as a cost to be minimized. Creative labor markets are primarily regulated through copyright. In practice, we’ve spent 40 years expanding copyright. We’ve made it last longer; expanded it to cover more works, hiked the statutory damages for infringements and made it easier to prove violations. This has made the entertainment industry larger and more profitable – but the share of those profits going to creators has declined, both in real terms and proportionately. In other words, today creators have more copyright, the companies that buy creators’ copyrights have more profits, but creators are poorer than they were 40 years ago.

https://pluralistic.net/2023/02/09/ai-monkeys-paw/#bullied-schoolkids

Hermès Defeats MetaBirkins in the First NFT Trademark Trial

The artist argued that his NFTs are works of art protected by the 1st Amendment, like Andy Warhol’s silk-screen prints of Campbell’s soup cans. The jury determined that NFTs are akin to consumer products subject to strict trademark laws that protect brands

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/hermes-gets-win-over-metabirkins-in-first-nft-trademark-trial

‘Nothing, Forever’ Is An Endless ‘Seinfeld’ Episode Generated by AI

ICYMI “Nothing, Forever” is a never-ending sitcom where characters speak to each other using GPT-3, based on the characters from Seinfeld. It’s a live-streaming show that’s almost entirely generated by algorithms. And it’s been streaming non-stop on Twitch since December 14.

https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjkyxp/whats-the-deal-with-nothing-forever-a-21st-century-seinfeld-that-is-ai-generated

The New Gatekeepers

The latest presentation from the always interesting @benedictevans.

https://www.ben-evans.com/presentations

Amazon’s Virtual Health Clinic Raises Patient Privacy Issues

ICYMI In Nov., Amazon Clinic launched in 32 states to provide virtual health care for more than 30 common health conditions such as allergies, acne, and hair loss. Providers diagnose and treat patients on their smartphones through texting.

https://www.renalandurologynews.com/home/departments/hipaa-compliance/amazons-virtual-health-clinic-raises-patient-privacy-issues/

Publishing & Media

Striking HarperCollins Workers Reach Tentative Agreement With Publisher

RT @nytimesbooks Workers at HarperCollins ended a three-month strike, having reached a tentative deal with the publisher that would offer some salary increases and a bonus. The industry has traditionally attracted highly educated people, but paid relatively low salaries.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/09/books/harper-collins-strike-tentative-agreement.html

Macmillan Raises Starting Salaries to $47,500

RT @PublishersWkly Macmillan Publishers will increase its entry-level base salary to $47,500, effective April 1, a week after Hachette Book Group did the same.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=4088

Bloomsbury donates entire Audio catalogue to RNIB’s Talking Books Library

Bloomsbury has donated its entire audio collection of around 600 titles to the talking library at the Royal National Institute of Blind People – and all future Bloomsbury audiobooks will be added as well

https://www.bookbrunch.co.uk/page/article-detail/bloomsbury-audio-giveaway/

Magazine Publishes Serious Errors in First AI-Generated Health Article

Arena Group Faces Errors in AI-Written Story: A bot-published article in Men’s Journal about low testosterone is said to have contained “many inaccuracies and falsehoods.” #AI

https://futurism.com/neoscope/magazine-mens-journal-errors-ai-health-article

RTL plans to cut 700 jobs at Gruner + Jahr magazines

Bertelsmann’s RTL plans to cut 700 out of 1900 jobs at Gruner + Jahr magazines, closing or selling 23 magazines #magazines #TeamPRH

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/RTL-GROUP-S-A-438125/news/RTL-plans-to-cut-700-jobs-at-Gruner-Jahr-magazines-42915025/

Substack’s Top Newsletters Draw $1 Million

The 27 highest-earning email newsletters on Substack generate at least $22 million a year in revenue, according to one analysis.

https://pressgazette.co.uk/newsletters/highest-earning-substacks/

National Enquirer, Scandal-Plagued Tabloid, Is Sold

National Enquirer, Scandal-Plagued Tabloid, Is Sold for “a little less than $100m” by A360 Media to VVIP Ventures, a joint venture of digital media co Vinco Ventures + a new company set up for the purchase, Icon Publishing. Icon Publishing, was founded by Ted Farnsworth, the former chairman of the start-up theater subscription company MoviePass. In November, Mr. Farnsworth was indicted by the Department of Justice on charges of defrauding investors.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/06/business/media/national-enquirer-sold.html

Liberty Lake City Council looks to limit authority of library board

HT @veronikellymars Liberty Lake politicians this month could change city law to reduce the authority of the library board, a five-member group of appointed volunteers that sets policy and has the final say over which books belong on the shelves. If the city adopts the amended ordinance, which appears likely based on January’s debate, all policy decisions made by the Liberty Lake Municipal Library’s Board of Trustees would require council approval. The proposal to limit the library board’s authority follows an unsuccessful citizen-led effort last spring to ban “Gender Queer,” a graphic novel that explores gender identity.

https://news.yahoo.com/liberty-lake-city-council-looks-030300924.html

Florida Teachers Are Emptying Out Their Libraries to Avoid Felony Charges

ICYMI RT @victoriastrauss Fallout from Florida’s new censorship laws: parents and teachers are sharing photos & videos of bare or covered-up classroom libraries in Florida’s Manatee and Duval counties #WritingCommunity #BookTwitter #BookBanning

https://jezebel.com/florida-teachers-are-emptying-out-their-libraries-to-av-1850064613

Students and Parents Are Fighting to Save NYC’s Imperiled School Libraries

Despite a Chancellor’s regulation requiring a staffed library in every school in New York City, more than 60 percent of the city’s schools currently lack a certified school librarian, and 40 percent have no library at all.

https://truthout.org/articles/students-and-parents-are-fighting-to-save-nycs-imperiled-school-libraries/

Resources & Opportunities

Book Auction for Turkiye and Syria

#WritingCommunity, check out this awesome auction to help the earthquake victims in Turkey and Syria. Some very cool prizes to be won, including signed books, AMAs, and query and page critiques from top publishing professionals.

https://www.32auctions.com/organizations/105964/auctions/138929/

Tell Congress: Defend Freedom to Read!

MT @LibraryPolicy Everyone deserves the freedom to read, full stop. But nationwide, we’ve seen unprecedented attacks on the fundamental rights of readers & library patrons. Take action and tell Congress that the freedom to read is nonnegotiable. #FreePeopleReadFreely

https://oneclickpolitics.global.ssl.fastly.net/messages/edit?promo_id=19244

Support Black-Owned Bookstores

MT @Bookshop_Org Black-owned bookstores are essential community hubs that foster culture, preserve Black history, and nourish a love of reading. This February, and all year long, show your support by visiting these wonderful Black-owned bookstores.

https://bookshop.org/info/black-history-month-2023

UnionDocs Residency for Podcasters

RT @UnionDocs Want to spend three months fleshing out an audio project? Apply to be a part of the Pod Pod! Our spring #radio residency promises to create a purposeful environment where we listen deeply, share resources and support each other. Apply now

https://uniondocs.org/pod-pod/

Book Packaging for Muslim Authors

RT @crayzayq Free virtual #HFGather for Muslim storytellers & creatives on 02/16 7:30pm EST with @JoSVolpe, @brownbookworm, @haneenoriqat and myself hosted by @HighlightsFound. Registration required to receive webinar link.

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gO8awKkxQ02qsLS_w7kXBA

Jews for Repro NY

RT @TheRaDR NY JEWS WHO CARE ABOUT ABORTION JUSTICE! A new chapter begins. [🎶fade in] Jews for Repro NY is rising up as a grassroots movement for abortion access, launching 2/16 with @SheilaKatz1, Andrea Salwen Kopel and myself. 2/16. 1pm ET. Virtual. @ncjwny

https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E84344&id=223

We Need Diverse Books Grants: Books Save Lives & Educators Making a Difference

MT @diversebooks WNDB is excited to announce two grant opportunities: the #BooksSaveLives Grants and round two of the Educators Making a Difference Grants! Our new #BooksSaveLives Grants will give up to $10k in diverse books to school libraries, prioritizing areas most impacted by book bans & censorship. Our Educators Making a Difference Grants give up to $2k per recipient and can be used for buying diverse titles or any other project that supports diverse books.

https://diversebooks.org/programs/books-save-lives-grant/

The Feminist Press is seeking a full-time Executive & Program Assistant 

RT @FeministPress We’re hiring! We’re looking for a full-time Executive & Program Assistant who is passionate about mission-driven indie publishing. Is that you? Apply today! Deadline is February 28

https://www.feministpress.org/jobs

 

 

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