Lockdowns may have prevented more than 3 million deaths in Europe

Facebook needs 30,000 of its own content moderators, says a new report 

Sponsored by Hewlett Packard Enterprise The Download Your daily dose of what’s up in emerging technology 06.09.20 Good morning! Today: lockdowns have prevented millions of deaths, and a new report argues Facebook should stop outsourcing content moderation. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Lockdowns may have prevented more than 3 million deaths in Europe   The news: Lockdowns in Europe helped to stop 3.1 million deaths up to the start of May, researchers have estimated. Strictly limiting people’s movements and enforcing social distancing cut the average number of people that contagious individuals infected by 81%. The measures pushed the epidemic’s reproduction number, R, down from 3.8 to below 1 in all of the 11 European countries they studied. The calculations by the team from Imperial College London are set out in a paper in Nature this week. How it was worked out: The team combined data on covid-19 deaths from each of the 11 countries and worked backwards to figure out how much transmission had occurred in the weeks running up to May 4. They estimated that between 12 million and 15 million people had become infected up to that point, causing almost 130,000 deaths. They then compared these figures with a model where no interventions had been made at all.  What it means: In short, the lockdowns worked. Measures like social distancing, staying indoors and avoiding seeing family and friends have been effective at reducing transmission of the virus, and thus saving a vast number of lives. However, the fact that relatively small numbers of people in Europe have had the virus—and the fact we still don’t know if it confers immunity to people who have recovered—suggests it won’t be possible to fully lift lockdowns for a while. Facebook needs 30,000 of its own content moderators, says a new report Undervalued: If Facebook stopped moderating its site and let anyone post whatever they want, it seems likely that it would quickly become a horrible place, driving away users and advertisers. But if moderation is so important, it isn’t treated as such. The overwhelming majority of the 15,000 people who spend all day deciding what can and can’t be on Facebook are temp workers on precarious contracts. Errors are rife. The solution: If we want to improve how moderation is carried out, Facebook needs to bring content moderators in-house, make them full employees, and double their numbers, argues a new report from New York University’s Stern Center for Business and Human Rights. Elevating its status in this way would help avoid mistakes, increase accountability, and better protect employees from harm to their mental health, the report’s author Paul M. Barrett claims. Read the full story.  We can still have nice things A place for comfort, fun and distraction in these weird times. (Got any ideas? Drop me a line or tweet 'em at me.)   + This cat and his Dad have some adorable conversations.   + You can pretend to be in the film “Parasite” on your next Zoom call thanks to these backgrounds.   + This poem imagines bumping into Emmett Till at the grocery store.   + This website uses AI to create UK members of parliament who don’t actually exist. Sponsor Message Insights from Industry Icons | John Chambers on leading through uncertainty How will businesses emerge stronger and more resilient from times of uncertainty? Silicon Valley tech legend John Chambers will join Antonio Neri, CEO & President of Hewlett Packard Enterprise, to discuss their experiences on leading through crises while building for the future. Join HPE Discover Virtual Experience starting June 23 at no cost to tune into the special session.  The top ten must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 How do we fix America’s problems? Protest, but also politics, and the long, hard slog of changing minds. (New Yorker $)   + There are a lot of “Karens” on Nextdoor. (The Verge) 2 Asymptomatic spread of covid-19 is rare, according to the WHO It says governments should focus on detecting and isolating people with symptoms. (CNBC)   + Coronavirus poses a particular problem for large families. (WSJ $) 3 Who invented vaccines? 💉 The idea of intentionally exposing someone to a pathogen was initially considered ludicrous. (Wired $) 4 South Asia is emerging as a new covid hotspot Lockdowns are being lifted purely because countries cannot economically sustain them. (Axios) 5 IBM is going to stop selling facial recognition software It’s calling for a “national dialogue” on whether it should be used by police. (The Verge)   + A senator wants to know if police are using Clearview AI software on protesters. (Ars Technica) 6 A Chinese company claims it’s made a “million mile” battery 🚘 To put this into perspective, most carmakers only offer warranties ranging up to 150,000 miles. (Bloomberg) 7 What it’s like to be doxxed for something you didn’t do This is why we need due process and the right to privacy and safety. (New York Magazine) 8 Microsoft’s decision to replace journalists with AI has backfired The software confused two mixed-race women in a story about racism. (The Guardian) 9 Living next to a TikTok house sounds… interesting  This is what happens when you give a bunch of teenage boys a free house and loads of money. (NYT $) 10 Could VR treat anxiety? A game lets you swim through an undersea world by controlling your breathing. (WSJ $) Read smarter, not harder. Join a community curious about the future. Subscribe today for unlimited access to our award-winning journalism. Quote of the day “I did a little dance.” —New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Arden on how she reacted to the news the country had no remaining coronavirus cases. Top image credit: Queven | Pixabay Please send fake parliamentarians to hi@technologyreview.com. Follow me on Twitter at @charlottejee. Thanks for reading! —Charlotte Was this newsletter forwarded to you, and you'd like to see more? Sign up for free Get unlimited access to online stories. Subscribe to MIT Technology Review today. *View this in a browser You received this newsletter because you Webmaster220 Bible Study Blog  subscribed with your email address  *Edit email preferences   |   *Unsubscribe from all emails Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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