Tag: Facebook

Facebook Adds A.I. Labs in Seattle and Pittsburgh, Pressuring Local Universities

I know what the tech companies are doing is legal, but it’s still very concerning to me. It seems like the model of Stanford and the early days of Silicon Valley companies is gone for good.

Facebook is opening new A.I. labs in Seattle and Pittsburgh, after hiring three A.I. and robotics professors from the University of Washington and Carnegie Mellon University. The company hopes these seasoned researchers will help recruit and train other A.I. experts in the two cities, Mike Schroepfer, Facebook’s chief technology officer, said in an interview.

As it builds these labs, Facebook is adding to pressure on universities and nonprofit A.I. research operations, which are already struggling to retain professors and other employees.

Read the full article at www.nytimes.com.

Facebook To Offer Users Opt-Outs That Comply With New European Privacy Rules

It will be interesting to watch how Facebook’s compliance with GDPR works and if it passes muster with the EU. Significant violations could result in a fine as large as 4% of gross revenue. That’s going to hurt.

Facebook on Wednesday announced it is introducing “new privacy experiences” aimed at complying with European Union regulations that will give users worldwide a chance to opt out of some features that could expose their personal data.

Read the full article at www.npr.org.

How Russian Facebook Ads Divided and Targeted US Voters Before the 2016 Election

While this is truly depressing, it’s even worse knowing that so many people believe things based on unsubstantiated claims in an ad or an article headline. (Note: this behavior is not unique to either the right or the left – or the center, for that matter.)

When Young Mie Kim began studying political ads on Facebook in August of 2016—while Hillary Clinton was still leading the polls— few people had ever heard of the Russian propaganda group, Internet Research Agency.

Read the full article at www.wired.com.

Has Your Facebook Account Really Been Hacked?

Imitation is the Insincerest Form of Fakery.

Chances are pretty good that you’ve either seen Facebook friend requests from someone you’re already friends with or you’ve received questions from your Facebook friends asking why you’re requesting to be their friend again. Confusing and scary, huh? Has Facebook been hacked? Does someone have your password? Is your memory going? Most likely, none of these apply (well, okay, I can’t confirm that you aren’t losing your memory…). So, what’s really going on? Continue reading “Has Your Facebook Account Really Been Hacked?”