Facebook is now officially too powerful, says the US government

How our data encodes systematic racism 

Sponsored by VMware The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology Facebook's antitrust fight 12.10.20 Good morning! Today: a new US lawsuit could eventually force Facebook to sell off WhatsApp and Instagram, how racism gets encoded into the technology we use every day, an explanation of Pfizer's covid-19 vaccine ingredients (no microchips!) and a record-breaking flight for SpaceX's Starship. Get your friends to sign up here to get The Download every day. Facebook is now officially too powerful, says the US government   What happened: The US Federal Trade Commission has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook for its “anticompetitive conduct and unfair methods of competition.” That includes its 2012 acquisition of Instagram and 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp. Facebook, the FTC alleges, has a monopoly on social networking.   How we got here: Facebook has been under increased regulatory scrutiny in the US in recent months and years. It’s not just Facebook, too. In October, the Department of Justice filed an antitrust suit against Google, arguing that the company used unlawful methods to expand its search and advertising business.  Why it matters: Today’s action, which joined a separate lawsuit from 47 US states as well as Guam and the District of Columbia, has big repercussions for Facebook and could force it to sell off Instagram and WhatsApp. But it also portends a broader environment that is increasingly critical of the dominance of a handful of technology giants. It could take years for these cases to make their way through the courts, but more lawsuits are coming. Read the full story. —Eileen Guo How our data encodes systematic racism  I’ve often been told, “The data does not lie.” However, that has never been my experience. For me, the data nearly always lies. Google Image search results for “healthy skin” show only light-skinned women, and a query on “Black girls” still returns pornography. The CelebA face data set has labels of “big nose” and “big lips” that are disproportionately assigned to darker-skinned female faces like mine. ImageNet-trained models label me a “bad person,” a “drug addict,” or a “failure.” Data sets for detecting skin cancer are missing samples of darker skin types.  White supremacy often appears violently—in gunshots at a crowded Walmart or church service, in the sharp remark of a hate-fueled accusation or a rough shove on the street—but sometimes it takes a more subtle form, like these lies. When those of us building AI systems continue to allow the blatant lie of white supremacy to be embedded in everything from how we collect data to how we define data sets and how we choose to use them, it signifies a disturbing tolerance. Non-white people are not outliers. Globally, we are the norm, and this doesn’t seem to be changing anytime soon. Data sets so specifically built in and for white spaces represent the constructed reality, not the natural one. To have accuracy calculated in the absence of my lived experience not only offends me, but also puts me in real danger. Look at the algorithms used in ever-increasing spheres of our lives from policing to housing to schools. It’s past time to act. Read the full story. Deborah Raji is a Mozilla fellow interested in algorithmic auditing and evaluation. She has worked on several award-winning projects to highlight cases of bias in computer vision and improve documentation practices in machine learning.  What are the ingredients of Pfizer’s covid-19 vaccine? The context: In the face of rumors suggesting that Bill Gates has installed tracking microchips in its vaccine, Pfizer has suggested it would be policing such claims by making reference to the “official vaccine ingredient list.” So, what’s actually on the list? Reading it is like looking at the side of a cereal box, except that you need a degree in organic chemistry to understand it. We got help from various scientists and biotech entrepreneurs to understand what each of the ingredients does and make some educated guesses about others. Read the full story. —Antonio Regalado SpaceX’s Starship has flown a record 12.5 km into the air What happened: Yesterday SpaceX pulled off the first ever high-altitude flight of Starship, the rocket the company hopes will one day take humans to the moon and Mars. Although the spacecraft failed to make a safe landing—in fact, it exploded on impact—12.5 kilometers is the highest any Starship prototype has flown. Still well short of orbit, though, which is at least 160 kilometers (100 miles) up. What’s next: Musk has hinted on Twitter that the next two Starship prototypes will also fly rather than be used for ground testing, but there have been no clues as to when. Musk said in early December that he was “highly confident” SpaceX would send people to Mars in 2026, or even in 2024 “if we get lucky.” Read the full story. —Neel V. Patel 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 artist does life size pencil drawings.   + AP has picked this year’s best movies.  + A 94-year-old woman called Madeleine Forman rediscovered some music she recorded in the 1940s.   + This INCREDIBLY good dog in Australia has rescued more than 100 koalas.   + The year in pictures (should you wish to remember it.) (NYT $)   + It’s a new one on me, this Shakespeare quote, but I like it.    + A list of 49 recipes for slightly-less-unhealthy baked goods. Or, throw any pretensions about health out of the window and make these cheesy, spicy pastry rolls. Sponsor Message Majority lean into digital transformation 75% of CXOs and IT Executives have accelerated their digital transformation as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Follow the lead of these digital pioneers by reading the latest guidance based on discussions with VMware's closest customers and partners. Learn key insights from our latest custom research studies on the state of global business and recommended critical actions for CXOs. Read the report. The top ten must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 Why we’ll probably rely on paper for vaccine verification Not everything needs to be an app. (NBC)   + Hackers accessed documents on covid-19 vaccines. (TR)   + Canada has become the third country to authorize the Pfizer/BioNTech covid-19 vaccine. (WSJ $)   + US regulators seem likely to approve the vaccine today. (AP)   + UK health authorities are warning that people with severe allergic reactions should not be given the Pfizer vaccine. (CNN)  2 “Just say no” isn’t a good enough pandemic policy Shame and judgement have never succeeded as public health tools before, and they aren’t working this year either. (The Atlantic)   + How will we tell the story of the coronavirus? (New Yorker $)  4 Google’s CEO says he’ll investigate the firing of Timnit Gebru But it may be too late to repair some of the damage. (Axios)   + We read the paper that forced Timnit Gebru out of Google. Here’s what it says. (TR)  5 France has got the go-ahead to “augment” its soldiers Glad to report it’s mostly pretty tame stuff. No Terminators. (CNN)   6 An idea to improve social media: tone indicators  The written word is a wholly unsatisfactory way to work out someone else’s intention. (NYT $)   7 This is what NASA wants to do when it gets to the moon Study moonquakes and water, collect samples, and even learn about how our own planet’s climate is changing. (TR)   + NASA has picked 18 astronauts to travel to the moon. (BBC)  9 How ice became big business 🧊 Just think of all those cubes out there now, with no parties to go to. 😢 (The Guardian)   10 AirPods fans are finding ways to keep on listening in the shower 🚿 The return of shower radio. (WSJ $) What happens when the internet of things converges at the speed of 5G with the reasoning of artificial intelligence? Find out at Future Compute, our virtual conference on intelligent computing. Register now. Quote of the day “It is better to buy than compete.” —A line in an email sent by Mark Zuckerberg in 2008, used by the US Federal Trade Commission at the start of its antitrust case against Facebook. Top image credit: AP PHOTO | ANDREW HARNIK Please send Shakespeare quotes 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 Don't settle for half the story. 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