Ammina Kothari

US Weather Agency Websites to Vanish Under Planned Contract Cuts The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency is poised to eliminate most websites tied to its research division under plans for the cancellation of a cloud web services contract, a move that could s...

Almost all NOAA Research websites that rely on cloud services - including Amazon, Google and WordPress - are poised to disappear at midnight ET Saturday after a contract was targeted for "early termination." Labs may also feel the effects.

Story for @bloomberg.com (free link):

Join @abkothari.bsky.social, Dean of Simmons University Gwen Ifill School of Media, Humanities and Social Sciences for a Simmons 125th Anniversary gathering in NYC.

🗓️ Weds, April 16
⌚ 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
📍 The Cornell Club
☕ Refreshments will be served!

📩 RSVP: engage.simmons.edu/register/NYC...

Opinion | Actually, A.I. Is Pretty Mid (Gift Article) A.I. is just what we need in the post-fact era: less research and more predicting what we want to hear.

"A.I. is a parasite. It attaches itself to a robust learning ecosystem...parasite and the host can peacefully coexist as long as the parasite does not starve its host. The political problem with A.I.’s hype is that its most compelling use case is starving the host — fewer teachers, fewer degrees..."

Encrypted Messaging Is Essential—But It Isn’t Magic As recent events have shown, using an encrypted messaging app like WhatsApp or Signal is no privacy panacea.

Signal is a great privacy tool, but it isn’t magic. And even if you’re not discussing war plans in your group chat, it’s a good idea to know the limits of encryption.

Read our piece on what Signal can—and can’t—do for you here: www.wired.com/story/encryp...

Rise of data empires signals the end of academic autonomy When companies like Times Higher Education simultaneously control university ranking systems, provide strategic consulting and convene education minis...

"Universities worldwide are quietly surrendering their autonomy to a handful of private data companies, creating what might be the most significant power shift in higher education’s history." www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?sto...

Stalked: how a relentless campaign of online abuse came to derail one woman’s life A new BBC podcast recounts the ordeal endured by Hannah Mossman Moore, whose phone was bombarded by fake accounts and her personal data weaponised against her

A new #mustread by @carolecadwalla.bsky.social: “The first victims of all new technology are women. But they’re never the last. If you want to understand what’s coming down the line in the future, you need to look at what’s already happening to women now.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

FiveThirtyEight is shutting down as part of broader cuts at ABC and Disney Though Nate Silver left in 2023, FiveThirtyEight still offered election forecasts, a presidential approval tracker, and other tools.

Closing of 538 is a loss for political data journalism. www.niemanlab.org/2025/03/five...

Applications Open for 2025 Energy Journalism Fellows - Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA | CGEP The program will be held on Columbia University’s campus in NYC from June 10-13, 2025.

#journalists working on energy issues, check out the 2025 Energy Journalism Fellows (EJF) program from Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/applications...

Dept of Transportation memo ordering all personnel to "identify and eliminate" every order, policy, funding arrangement, or program that even mentions climate change, diversity, or environmental justice

Department of Transportation orders all personnel to "identify and eliminate" every order, directive, rule, regulation, policy, notice, guidance document, funding arrangement, or program that even mentions climate change, diversity, or environmental justice

www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.go...

Journalism in the AI Era: A TRF Insights survey Our new report shines a spotlight on journalism in the AI era and provides a platform for the voices of journalists in the Global South and emerging economies.

New report with a survey of over 200 #journalists from 70+ countries across the Global South and emerging economies sharing how they are adopting #AI and their concerns about #journalism in the AI era. www.trust.org/resource/ai-...

Inside a network of AI-generated newsletters targeting “small town America” Good Daily, which operates in 47 states and 355 towns and cities across the U.S., is run by one person.

buckle up for this one. wild ride by @andrewdeck.bsky.social www.niemanlab.org/2025/01/insi...

A screenshot from USGS showing a recent earthquake near York Harbor, Maine

OK YES that was an earthquake, says USGS -- right off York Harbor in Maine. More to come: earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/...

Public Engagement with Science Cambridge Core - Life Science Professional Development - Public Engagement with Science

Public Engagement with Science: Defining the Project, by @mjacquart.bsky.social and me, is now out! For an interdisciplinary audience, the book introduces resources and principles for effective public engagement with science. Open access, free PDF at this link. #scicomm #sciengage #philsci #science

Joan M. Warburg Professor of International Relations Simmons University invites applications for its Warburg Chair in International Relations, which will begin July 1, 2025 (the start date is negotiable). This is a two—to three-year appointment as a fac...

We are #hiring for Joan M. Warburg Professor of International Relations. DM for more information. #AcademicSky #BlackAcademicSky simmons.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/Simmon...

LinkedIn accused of using private messages to train AI The lawsuit alleges LinkedIn tried to conceal its actions but the firm says the claims are false.

A US lawsuit filed on behalf of LinkedIn Premium users accuses the social media platform of sharing their private messages with other companies to train artificial intelligence (AI) models. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Analysis of Spanish-Language Disinformation in the 2024 US Election Suggests Dismissing Fact-Checkers Threatens Democracy | TechPolicy.Press Laura Zommer, Carlos Hernández-Echevarría and Justin Hendrix detail findings of a report by Factchequeado, Fundación Maldita.es, and Tech Policy Press.

A new analysis of disinformation targeting Latino communities during the 2024 US election presents more data points suggesting Meta’s decision to abandon independent fact-checking could not come at a more precarious moment.

Disinformation Summer Institute (DSI) - Disinformation Summer Institute Disinformation Disinformation is false or misleading information created and spread to advance policy, political, economic or ideological goals. It is sometimes used by industries, governments, and ot...

New summer institute for up-and-coming scholars across disciplines whose work investigates or intersects with disinformation: disinfoinstitute.org

The first iteration will be this June in San Diego. Applications are due January 31.

Wildfire climate connection Climate change, including increased heat, extended drought, and a thirsty atmosphere, has been a key driver in increasing the risk and extent of wildfires in the western United States during the last ...

ABC, NBC & CBS dedicated about 16 minutes of airtime last night to the California wildfires without once mentioning climate change.

Since the news failed do it's job, here's a short summary of the role of climate change and wildfire risk:

www.noaa.gov/noaa-wildfir...

More Speech and Fewer Mistakes | Meta We're ending our third party fact checking program and moving to a Community Notes model.

While the press has focused on the ending of Meta's fact-checking program, not enough has focused on the removal of restrictions on certain types of speech previously deemed harmful on FB & IG, incl. criticism of vulnerable groups—immigrants, women and LGBTQ+ people. about.fb.com/news/2025/01...

While we’re banning books…

Finland is teaching children in school how to recognize fake news and propaganda as part of critical thinking and civic responsibility. Some of this will seem very familiar.

Be. Like. Finland.

Carter Names Record Number of Minorities to Federal Bench

Please remember that President Carter appointed more minorities and women to the bench than all previous presidents combined. He was the first President to embrace the concept of bringing racial diversity to the federal bench. A key aspect of his legacy.
www.washingtonpost.com/archive/poli...

On RFK Jr., vaccines and my son with autism and Down syndrome Knowledge is the vaccine for ignorance and fear. But RFK Jr. just wants to let the fever burn.

This pleases me (gift):

"I had only one advantage: I’m a historian. One of the true gifts of studying the humanities is not the content we learn in school, but that we develop the skills to learn what we need to know when life takes unexpected turns. So like a proper nerd, I made a reading list."

V excited to announce two new permanent, tenure-track jobs at my workplace @cfi-cambridge.bsky.social :Assistant professorships in Design and A.I. and Social Science of A.I. Pls share and repost

#ethics #law #tech #gov #AI

Trump Chooses Kari Lake to Lead Voice of America Ms. Lake, a former TV news anchor turned right-wing firebrand who has called journalists “monsters,” would be in charge of a federally funded news outlet with a huge global audience.

President-elect Trump chose Kari Lake to lead Voice of America, aiming to put a fierce loyalist who has called journalists "monsters" in charge of a federally funded news outlet that reaches hundreds of millions of people around the globe.

Harvard and Google to release 1 million public-domain books as AI training dataset AI training data has a big price tag, one best-suited for deep-pocketed tech firms. This is why Harvard University plans to release a dataset that includes in the region of 1 million public-domain books, spanning genres, languages, and authors including…

Harvard and Google to release 1 million public-domain books as AI training dataset

Copyright policy may lead to AI-run classes, UW professors fear Move by 25-campus Universities of Wisconsin System to retain ownership of syllabi and course materials could see content repurposed, according to faculty members

Copyright policy may lead to AI-run classes, UW professors fear
Move by 25-campus Universities of Wisconsin System to retain ownership of syllabuses and course materials could see content repurposed, according to faculty members

#EduSky #AcademicSky #Highered

Most Americans object to Cabinet nominees with sexual assault allegations, poll finds The findings from research data and analytics group YouGov come as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office for a second term and is announcing how he plans to fill out his Cabinet.

A majority of Americans view allegations of sexual assault and past criminal convictions as disqualifying to serve in a presidential Cabinet position, according to new polling from YouGov, a research data and analytics technology group. 19thnews.org/2024/12/trum... #USA #sexualassault

Dow Jones negotiates AI usage agreements with nearly 4,000 news publishers Earlier this year, the WSJ owner sued Perplexity for failing to properly license its content. Now its research tool Factiva has negotiated its own AI licensing deals.

Dow Jones sets a precedent for limits of news publishers' rights by negotiating AI usage agreements with nearly 4,000 news publishers. www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/dow-...

AI inspires innovation in journalism education "It will be the educators' job to direct students in the most effective ways to use AI to extend their capabilities, not replace them."

Love the predictions for AI integration in journalism education. www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/ai-i... #AcademicSky