Good morning! Here are today's most important stories in emerging technology. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day.
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How covid-19 conspiracy theorists are exploiting YouTube culture
A dangerous lesson: When the notorious conspiracy theorist Alex Jones was kicked off YouTube and Facebook in 2018, the lesson was supposed to be that deplatforming works. But some people online took a second lesson from the change: conspiracy theories, and the people who promote them, can get a lot of views—and money.
The upshot: Anti-vaccination leaders have been racking up millions of views on YouTube during the pandemic. The platform is trying to crack down on health misinformation, which can lead people to ignore life-saving public health measures or inspire them to try dangerous " cures." Just like anyone trying to get YouTube famous, anti-vaccine agitators and other conspiracy theorists are strongly motivated to seek out bigger and bigger audiences. YouTube and influencer culture has long been vulnerable to their efforts—but covid-19 has raised the stakes. Read the full story.
—Abby Ohlheiser
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A flood of coronavirus apps are tracking us. Now it's time to keep track of them
A flood of coronavirus apps are tracking us. Now it's time to keep track of them. Technologists everywhere have been rushing to build apps, services, and systems for contact tracing: identifying and notifying all those who come in contact with someone carrying the coronavirus. Some are lightweight and temporary, while others are pervasive and invasive. Some services are being produced locally by small groups of coders, while others are vast, global operations. What's clear is that contact tracing services are already rolling out, and many more are likely to come in the next few months.
But as we started looking into these efforts, we had questions. How many people will download and use them, and how widely used do they have to be in order to succeed? What data will they collect, and who is it shared with? How will that information be used in the future? Are there policies in place to prevent abuse?
We didn't find a lot of clear answers.
When we began comparing apps around the world, we realized there was no central repository of information; just incomplete, constantly changing data spread across a wide range of sources. Nor was there a single, standard approach being taken by developers and policymakers: citizens of different countries were seeing radically different levels of surveillance and transparency.
To help monitor this fast-evolving situation, we're gathering the information into a single place for the first time with our Covid Tracing Tracker—a database to capture details of every significant automated contact tracing effort around the world. We've been working with a range of experts to understand what we need to look at, pulling government documents, announcements, and media reports, as well as talking directly to those who are making these apps to understand the technologies and policies involved. Go ahead and take a look.
—Patrick Howell O'Neill, Tate Ryan-Mosley and Bobbie Johnson
Contact tracing is just one area where cybersecurity is a critical part of infrastructure. Learn about the future of cyber-resilient systems and organizations at EmTech Next in June. Register today.
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We can still have nice things
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The top ten must-reads
I've combed the internet to find you today's most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology.
1. India is forcing people to use its covid app, unlike any other democracy Millions of Indians must download the app or risk penalties, including losing their jobs. ( TR)
2. There is still no plan for how we exit this pandemic Lockdowns were supposed to buy us time. We've squandered it. ( New York Magazine) + We're not going back to normal. ( TR)
3. Our brains are living through an age of information overload What happens when you turn it off? Is it really possible to escape? ( 1843 Magazine)
4. France is using AI to check if people are wearing face masks It won't be used to identify or punish individuals. ( The Verge)
5. Is it sensible to reopen schools? We just don't know yet. Until we know the extent to which kids get infected with, and spread, coronavirus, it seems risky. ( Nature)
6. Covid-19 patients might get ankle monitors Some US states want to treat the sick like they're under house arrest. ( Reuters) 7. Google has abandoned its plans for a smart city in Toronto The pandemic has given it a handy excuse to drop the long-controversial project. ( BBC)
8. Deepfakes might not be the monsters of disinformation we once feared A host of simpler and more devious tactics have proven more effective at misleading people. ( NPR) 9. Your guide to the pandemic's biggest, trendiest memes The last few months have birthed a whole new world of internet humor. Here's where to start. ( Vox)
10. Why does coronavirus seem to attack us in so many different ways?
It may just be due to the fact we're studying it so closely. ( The Economist $)
+ How does the coronavirus work? ( TR)
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"You don't want to just get back to normal."
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