Reminder: I optimized this newsletter for subscription. If you’re reading this on my blog or Medium (via website or email), please subscribe at https://www.sandlertechworks.com/ for the best user experience.
While I focus on Technology, Innovation, and Publishing, because I have a platform, I also flag items that I think are important and try to include a bunch of resources & opportunities. This week, an extra lot of censorship content as it was Banned Books Week. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter.
Important Items
The Next Targets for the Group That Overturned Roe
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/10/09/alliance-defending-freedoms-legal-crusade
Coordinated ‘swatting’ effort may be behind hundreds of school shooting hoaxes
HT @shannonrwatts Over the past year, over 500 schools in the US have been subjected to a coordinated campaign of fear that exploits the all-too-real American danger of school shootings.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/10/04/school-swatting-hoax-active-shooter/
Predictive Policing Software Terrible At Predicting Crimes
Compare Your Life Expectancy with Others Around the World
RT @superwuster So depressing that the US healthcare system costs more than other countries, has yielded shorter lives, and is entirely resistant to meaningful change. Biggest collective policy fail of the last 40 years
Malaria vaccine big advance against major child killer
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66985273
Innovation
‘Einstein ring’ snapped by James Webb Space Telescope is most distant gravitationally lensed object ever seen
It’s 21 billion light-years away.
https://www.space.com/james-webb-space-telescope-einstein-ring-gravitationally-lensed
‘We are just getting started’: the plastic-eating bacteria that could change the world
Generative AI Powered By Electric Fields
Physicists created Poisson Flow Generative Model, physics-inspired generative AI model using an electric field that creates images of same quality as those produced by diffusion-based approaches, 10-20 times faster
https://www.quantamagazine.org/new-physics-inspired-generative-ai-exceeds-expectations-20230919/
Technology
News execs lobby lawmakers on AI protections
https://www.axios.com/2023/10/03/news-execs-lobby-lawmakers-ai-protections
Workers could be the ones to regulate AI
MT @datasociety The debate about who should regulate AI has been very top down — making the WGA’s new contract an especially big deal. “It shows that AI can, in fact, be regulated” — and by rules that are imposed from the bottom up.
https://www.ft.com/content/edd17fbc-b0aa-4d96-b7ec-382394d7c4f3
Voice Actors Are Bracing to Compete With Talking AI
https://www.wired.com/story/ai-voice-actors-jobs-threat/
The BBC is blocking OpenAI data scraping but is open to AI-powered journalism
The BBC says it blocked OpenAI and others from scraping its data, but plans to explore using generative AI, including for journalism research and production
https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/6/23906645/bbc-generative-ai-news-openai
Axel Springer CEO Sees AI As A Friend, Not An Enemy
Mathias Döpfner: “The boring stuff of our business — translation, technical production, fact-checking — we can delegate that to bots.”
Generative AI Is Coming for Sales Execs’ Jobs—and They’re Celebrating
https://www.wired.com/story/generative-ai-chatgpt-is-coming-for-sales-jobs/
Deadspin’s AI Is Suddenly Publishing Dozens of New Articles
G/O Media’s Deadspin Bot is back up and running, cranking out more than 30 new articles since restarting production last month.
https://futurism.com/deadspin-restarts-ai-articles
The Messenger Pens AI Partnership to Verify Its Reporting Quality and Eliminate Bias
https://www.adweek.com/media/the-messenger-ai-partnership-seekr/
Designer Jony Ive and OpenAI’s Sam Altman Discuss AI Hardware Project
MT @benedictevans OpenAI is apparently now working on a device of some kind, supposedly designed by Jony Ive (Designer of the iPhone) and with $1bn of funding from Masayoshi Son (CEO of SoftBank)
Meta Pays Celebrities Millions for AI Chatbots
Meta’s decision to create AI characters based on Snoop Dogg, Tom Brady and MrBeast is paying off — for the stars themselves.
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/meta-is-paying-creators-millions-for-ai-chatbots
Meta starts rolling out generative AI tools for all advertisers
Meta is rolling out generative AI tools that can create content like image backgrounds and variations of written text for all advertisers.
AI-Generated ‘Subliminal Messages’ Are Going Viral. Here’s What’s Really Going On
ICYMI They’re not going make you subconsciously crave McDonald’s, but they are pretty cool as optical illusions.
AI Chatbots Are Learning to Spout Authoritarian Propaganda
Regimes in China and Russia are rushing to repress what chatbots can say. It’s an early warning about a new frontier of online censorship.
https://www.wired.com/story/chatbot-censorship-china-freedom-house/
AI Algorithms Are Biased Against Skin With Yellow Hues
Google, Meta, and others test their algorithms for bias using standardized skin tone scales. Sony says those tools ignore the yellow and red hues at work in human skin color.
https://www.wired.com/story/ai-algorithms-are-biased-against-skin-with-yellow-hues/
Researchers Tested AI Watermarks—and Broke All of Them
https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-watermarking-issues/
Copyright Law and Generative AI: What a mess
ICYMI
https://www.abajournal.com/web/article/copyright-generative-ai-what-a-mess
Chatbot Hallucinations Are Poisoning Web Search
https://www.wired.com/story/fast-forward-chatbot-hallucinations-are-poisoning-web-search/
Critics Furious Microsoft Is Training AI by Sucking Up Water During Drought
https://futurism.com/critics-microsoft-water-train-ai-drought
How to Stop Google Bard From Storing Your Data and Location
https://www.wired.com/story/google-bard-location-data-tracking-ai/
Generative AI Has Ushered In the Next Phase of Digital Spirituality
From the astrology software of the 1970s to the Co-Star app, spirituality has proliferated online. Now, large language models can find overlooked ways to connect with a higher plane.
https://www.wired.com/story/artificial-intelligence-spirituality-tarot/
Dentsu annual media trends reports
https://insight.dentsu.com/2024-media-trends/
The Team Helping Women Fight Digital Domestic Abuse
Location-enabled tech designed to make our lives easier is often exploited by domestic abusers. Refuge, a UK nonprofit, helps women to leave abusive relationships, secure their devices, and stay safe.
https://www.wired.com/story/the-experts-helping-women-fight-digital-domestic-abuse/
X rolls out new ad format that can’t be reported, blocked
https://mashable.com/article/twitter-x-new-clickbait-ad-format
Publishing & Media
70% of Publishing Deals Go to White Authors
RT @JVA_writes All right, fuck it. I wasn’t going to do this on main but this just kicked me over the edge. I’ve spent the last year recording every english language fiction deal in Publisher’s Marketplace, googling over 4000 authors, and this is what the current book deal landscape looks like
- RT @query_queen339 Barnes and Noble dropped their “Best YA Books of 2023” list and every. single. author is white. Y’all. I feel like a broken record at this point because this happens every day
https://twitter.com/JVA_writes/status/1710395678478729600
Spotify Hopes to Rival Amazon in Audiobooks
https://www.ft.com/content/89c889af-3772-4b34-b172-146d6b7068ab
List of Horror Books Coming out in 2023/2024
RT @emilyhughes reminder: if you have a horror or horror-ish book coming out in 2023-2024, please let me know about it here and I’ll add it to my big public masterlist of new horror! shares very appreciated.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe4I_fAILCaIAscIH0oTk4J_kb7fw8KQTpFte-5TAmz_5kPZg/viewform
Big disruption hit book publishing before AI showed up
Via @MikeShatzkin
https://www.idealog.com/blog/big-disruption-hit-book-publishing-before-ai-showed-up/
140 Book Marketing Ideas to Help Authors Increase Sales
HT @samatlounge ICYMI
https://insights.bookbub.com/book-marketing-ideas/
How to build professional relationships as a children’s author
HT @samatlounge Award winning children’s author Maisie Chan shares her tips for building professional relationships.
What’s in a cover?
HT @samatlounge Cover design trends and rip-offs
https://katiemorwenna.substack.com/p/whats-in-a-cover
The Athletic has canceled many local podcasts or left them dormant, telling writers they are free to relaunch them elsewhere and monetize them as they see fit
https://www.niemanlab.org/2023/10/the-athletic-cuts-back-on-local-podcasts/
Hearst Plots Membership Plans for Magazines
Elle UK is launching its first reader membership program, part of a broader initiative at Hearst to monetize its magazine titles.
https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/media/are-memberships-the-future-of-glossy-magazines/
Microsoft Doubles Down on News at LinkedIn
Unlike Facebook and Google, LinkedIn is highly enthusiastic about the news business. “News is essential to us,” says editor Daniel Roth.
https://pressgazette.co.uk/platforms/linkedins-newsroom/
USA Today Network Readers Can Order Lottery Tickets By Phone Via Jackpocket
Gannett is entering a multi-year deal with Jackpocket, which will allow audience members to order lottery tickets from their phones.
The most dangerous idea in a library? Empathy
https://www.newsfromthestates.com/article/most-dangerous-idea-library-empathy
The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) Succumbs to Dubai’s Soft Power Strategy
https://journal.radicallibrarianship.org/index.php/journal/article/view/96/72
Graphic Novels, Manga Explode in Popularity Among Students
https://www.slj.com/story/Graphic-Novels-Manga-Explode-in-Popularity-Among-Students-SLJ-Survey
Nearly a Quarter of School Librarians Have Experienced Harassment Over Books
A visual dive into an alarming increase in attempts to restrict books
HT @BookRiot While Texas and Florida lead the charge in banning books, it’s not isolated to any one area: book bans have increased from coast to coast. Most of the books challenged are by BIPOC and/or LGBTQ authors.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/graphics/2023/10/02/banned-books-week-data-visualization/70963214007/
What’s behind the national surge in book bans? A low-tech website tied to Moms for Liberty
As reported by Kelly Jensen over the past year: BookLooks is a content rating website with ties to Moms for Liberty and a tool used by the the right in a movement to ban books in public libraries.
Book bans are surging — and taking an emotional toll on many authors
MT @ALALibrary Some believe book bans lead to more book sales. Authors say the effect of those bans is devastating for their careers.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/04/style/book-bans-sales-authors-impact-cec/index.html
DeSantis is wrong. Book bans in Florida schools and in other states aren’t a ‘hoax.’
Children and parents begin uphill fightback against book bans in Florida
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2023/10/06/us/florida-banned-books/index.html
School culture wars push students to form banned book clubs, anti-censorship groups
https://abcnews.go.com/US/school-culture-wars-push-students-form-banned-book/story?id=103377259
NC school district bans a book about crayons. Are you happy, Republicans?
ICYMI MT @FReadomFighters When children can’t read a book about a crayon, there is something wrong. Shame on Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
https://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/article279922679.html
Schedule Set, but Order Blocking Texas Book Rating Law Still in Limbo
In an October 2 filing, the plaintiffs argued that staying a federal judge’s decision to enjoin HB 900 would “radically upend the status quo” and leave booksellers in a precarious position. But that is exactly where things stand.
Fear that New Texas Policy Will Limit Books Allowed in Prisons
https://pen.org/press-release/fear-that-new-texas-policy-will-limit-books-allowed-in-prisons/
The Financial Cost of Book Challenges
One Utah school district spent $100,000 to deal with more than 200 challenges, almost all from one couple. And in Texas, documents show that more than 16 employees spent over 225 hours at a cost of $30,000 on a single book challenge at the Spring Branch ISD.
Indiana: Educators, Librarians Could Face Criminal Prosecution And a Level 6 Felony Over Controversial Books
Public libraries, readers, writers react to new Missouri rule targeting young library patrons
Efforts to ban books from Cullman (AL) library on the rise
First They Came For Our Library. Next They’re Coming For Yours.
https://buckscountybeacon.com/2023/10/first-they-came-for-our-library-next-theyre-coming-for-yours/
Families concerned about temporary library closures at Escondido Union School District (CA) over ‘inappropriate’ content
NY Librarian describes aggression, stress
Two California Library Systems Join in Granting Free Access to Banned Books for Young Readers
https://bookriot.com/two-california-library-systems-join-books-unbanned-initiative/
Judy Blume, James Patterson and other authors are helping PEN America open Florida office
Banned Book Buses Roll Out for October
Three book buses—from MoveOn, PRH, and the ‘New Republic’—are on the move this October, spreading awareness about the freedom to read and giving away copies of frequently challenged books. #teamPRH
American Historical Association Speaks in Support of Honest History
Students and Activists Are Organizing to Keep Libraries Safe and Funded
What to Say About Book Bans at School Board and Library Meetings
MT @voiceofwitness If you want to speak out but aren’t sure how to talk about book bans at school board meetings or public library meetings, here are some simple suggestions from PEN America.
https://pen.org/what-to-say-about-book-bans/
What You Can Do About Book Bans
Download a one-sheet to print and share
https://bannedbooksweek.org/let-freedom-read-day/
Resources & Opportunities
Media Training 101
Do you need media training? Come join WMG to learn how to be media-ready from pro Paula Rizzo! 10/10 12-1pm ET, virtual. Free for WMG members, $15 non-members. All proceeds from this event support the Women’s Media Group Educational Foundation.
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-5426084
Literary Authors Tea
Come join us for a Literary Tea to Benefit WMG’s Educational Foundation! Sun., 10/22, 2 pm ET at The Madison Theatre at Molloy University, Rockville Centre, NY (a 45-minute train ride from Penn Station) $60 per person, includes a 3-course tea by boutique bakery and one of the authors’ books of your choice. Featuring a highly esteemed group of women authors with vastly diverse careers as writers, this is a not-to-be-missed event, so register today! A portion of the event’s proceeds will be donated to WMG’s Educational Foundation, which directly supports our annual scholarships, fellowships, and members-only professional development opportunities.
https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-5408853
A Month of Banned Book Activities
https://pen.org/campaign/banned-books-week-2023/
Run for School Board
Amanda Litman’s Run for Something Civics helps people run for school board to stop book banning – this looks like an amazing resource! In many states, the only requirements to run for school board are that you are a resident of the state, and over the age of 18. Right now, the median age of school board members is 59. Meanwhile, more than half of all Americans are millennials or younger. The extremists might be loud, but they are not representative of the American people. You can get involved with your local school board to stop book bans and protect kids’ freedom to read. We’ll help you.
https://www.theybannedwhat.net
#DVpit: An Annual Pitching Event. for un-agented, self-identifying historically marginalized authors & illustrators
2023 Scholastic Giveaway: Power of Story
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScJoHZ2eIjllFYHr1GxLC7Ff2snDcda7EZbtbL6hTdMh9rEfg/viewform
Free Prompt Engineering Conference
MT @PromptEngConf Oct 12th: All Generative AI enthusiasts meet online at Prompt Engineering Conference. 2 tracks (10 hours in total!) of the Prompt Engineering content: tech talks, Q&A sessions, and more! Program, schedule, how to join – on the website. And it’s all FREE! See you there!
https://promptengineering.rocks
New Beach in Manhattan!
https://www.curbed.com/2023/10/gansevoort-peninsula-manhattan-beach-review.html
Want to read my old newsletters or subscribe? Go to my blog here.