China’s Tiananmen anniversary crackdowns reach far beyond the firewall

AI still sucks at moderating hate speech

Sponsored by Palo Alto Networks The Download Your daily dose of what's up in emerging technology China's extending censorship 06.04.21 Good morning! Today: China's periodic crackdowns are increasingly extending far beyond the Great Firewall, and why AI still struggles with hate speech. Our "two months free when you buy a 12 month subscription to MIT Technology Review" deal ends today, so get it while you still can! I hope you have a great weekend. See you on the other side. China’s Tiananmen anniversary crackdowns reach far beyond the firewall   Raising the stakes: Every year, a few days ahead of sensitive dates like the anniversary of the 1989 crackdown on June 4, the Chinese internet becomes even more closed than normal. Certain words are censored on various platforms. Commonly used emojis, like the candle, start disappearing from emoji keyboards.  Extending its reach: Increasingly, such suppression is stretching beyond China’s borders. Last year, Zoom shut down three Tiananmen-related events after a request from the Chinese government. Critics outside of the country have faced organized harassment campaigns, with protestors showing up in front of their homes. Sometimes people encounter these restrictions without even realizing: in early June, players of the online roleplaying game Genshin Impact, which is popular worldwide, began wondering on Twitter why they could no longer change their usernames. Read the full story. —Eileen Guo AI still sucks at moderating hate speech New findings: For all the recent advances in language AI technology, it still struggles with one of the most basic applications. In a new study, scientists tested four of the best AI systems for detecting hate speech and found that all of them struggled in different ways to distinguish toxic and innocuous sentences. Why it matters: The way the researchers diagnosed the problem is important. They developed 29 different tests targeting different aspects of hate speech to pinpoint more precisely where each system fails. This makes it easier to understand how to overcome a system’s weaknesses and is already helping one commercial service improve its AI. Read the full story. —Karen Hao Next week, I’ll be joining other members of the editorial team to talk to experts about what we should expect the future of work to look like after a year of going remote, as part of our virtual three-day EmTech Next conference. As we cautiously push our noses outside, can office life be anything like it was before? I've managed to wrangle a small discount for Download readers. So come and join us, and join in the conversation! 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.)   + We can surely all relate to these parrots, which seem to have moved to the mountains to get away from human beings.   + A drone crashed into a volcano, but it got some great footage beforehand.    + The only meatloaf recipe you'll ever need.   + The best dumb internet videos of all time.   + Yes, Roman aqueducts were amazing, but let's hear it for their cisterns too.    + The games that have been getting us through the pandemic. (WP $) Sponsor Message As cybersecurity evolves, so should your board Executives need to clearly communicate risks but also bring context to data. Tech talk is out: speaking the same language will win the day. Listen to the podcast. The must-reads I’ve combed the internet to find you today’s most fun/important/scary/fascinating stories about technology. 1 The danger of not vaccinating everyone If we delay, the virus will continue to evolve, and we may be consigned to a never-ending pandemic. (New Yorker $)   + Covid-19 cases in the US have hit their lowest point since the start of the pandemic. (Axios)   + Meanwhile, many parts of Africa are recording a sharp, sudden spike in cases. (NYT $)   + The WHO has approved a second Chinese vaccine, and researchers say it will be key to curbing the pandemic. (Nature)   + Inside the fight to uncover covid-19’s origins. (Vanity Fair)  2 United Airlines is planning to bring back supersonic air travel 🛫 It's ordered 15 jets and plans to start test flights in 2026. But... (NYT $)   + … the startup it's ordered from hasn't even built one of these things yet. (Vice)   + It sounds too good to be true. (Recode)  3 The US says it sees ransomware attacks as high priority as terrorism  If only that would just fix the problem. (Reuters)   + Why the ransomware epidemic suddenly seems so relentless. (TR)   4 How virtual reality can help to treat trauma We should really adopt anything that works. (NYT $)   + Do meditation apps work? (The Atlantic $)   + And what about mindfulness? (New Scientist $)  5 LGBT+ conversion therapy is banned on Facebook but thriving in Arabic Time and time again, it's one rule for the US but another for the rest of the world. (Reuters)   + Its employees have noticed the disparity, and they're getting increasingly vocal about it. (NYT $)  6 Twitter has finally launched its subscription service In Canada and Australia, at least. (CNBC)   + What Trump's failed blog tells us about the power of Twitter. (Platformer)  7 Inside the hyperfeminization of corners of gamer culture  Is this liberation? I genuinely don't know. (Wired $)   8 How Khaby Lame became TikTok's everyman He is a master of the universal language of facial expressions. (NYT $)   9 The man who tried to blow up time 💥⏱️ A deep look at what we lost—and gained—when we let clocks take over our lives. (Noema)   10 What it's like to be a flavor inventor 🍪 There are only about 350 of them in the US. But imagine how amazing their palates must be. (BBC Future) Act now! Offer ends today.   Get 2 months FREE when you purchase a 12-month subscription. It's time to make MIT Technology Review your go-to resource for thought-provoking insights, analysis and news about the world of technology. Don't wait–this offer ends at midnight. Subscribe now. Quote of the Day “The president is very determined on this, but the first thing Putin will do is say, ‘prove it.’ And he doesn’t mean ‘prove we did it.’ He means ‘prove you’ll do something back.’” —Jim Lewis, a cybersecurity expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, tells the Washington Post how hard it will be for Biden to take a hard line on ransomware attacks with President Putin. Top image credit: ANTHONY KWAN | GETTY IMAGES Please send dumb internet videos 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 today Re-envision the future of work Join us virtually | June 8-10, 2021 Register now   Follow us: MIT Technology Review One Main Street Cambridge, MA 02142

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