Pluralistic: 19 Aug 2021

Today's links

Machine learning's crumbling foundations: Doing 'data science' with bad data.
Hench: The madcap rage of life under vigilante rule.
This day in history: 2001, 2006, 2011, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Machine learning sucks at covid: Every "AI" covid tool was useless.
Podcasting "Are We Having Fun Yet?": The first three parts of my ongoing Medium series on queueing, aggregate demand management and theme parks.
This day in history: 2020, 2016, 2011, 2006, 2001
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

When the Sparrow Falls: Neil Sharpson's dystopian tale of an anti-AI hermit kingdom.
Exxon lobbyist confesses to his crimes: Keith McCoy thought he was talking to an executive recruiter.
This day in history: 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

AT&T will lay off thousands more: After promising that Trump's $20B tax-break would create jobs.
Cuba is a vaccine powerhouse: A vaccine for the Global South.
Sacklers to use Purdue bankruptcy to escape justice: Crime pays.
AI has a GIGO problem: Bias-laundering at mass scale.
This day in history: 2006, 2011, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Monopoly so fragile: Sharpening the contradictions in the Suez Canal.
Noble Lies: "Experts" aren't experts on when to lie.
Big Salmon's aquaturf: Cheaper for fish farms to smear scientists than to clean up their act.
Past Performance is Not Indicative of Future Results: Podcasting my Locus column on why machine learning won't lead to artificial intelligence.
This day in history: 2006, 2010, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Dreaming and overfitting: The Overfitted Brain Hypothesis has a lot of explanatory power.
Dirty NYPD cops can't lose: The secret legal defense fund for the indefensible.
This day in history: 2006, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Criti-Hype: Tech bros will settle for "evil genius."
Right to Repair is back for 2021: Will Apple sabotage this one too?
The free market and rent-seeking: Unauthorized bread and poor doors.
This day in history: 2011, 2016
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

A machine learning wrecking ball: Even if you fix training data, you still have to reckon with underspecification.
Nintendo vs Nintendees: Super Smash Bros Melee is a case study in spiteful corporate fuckery.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Deep Reckonings: Using deepfakes to conjure a contrafactual reality in which monsters confront their legacies.
Past Performance is Not Indicative of Future Results: The limits of theory-free statistical inference.
How Audible robs indie audiobook creators: I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alter it any further.
Get an extra vote: Reminders from friends and family to vote have a bigger effect on turnout than anything campaigns do.
A hopeful future: Optimism and pessimism are both fatalism.
This day in history: 2005, 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

IDing anonymized cops with facial recognition: Privacy for the powerless, transparency for the powerful.
ENDSARS: Global protests over Nigeria's murdering special police.
Companies target robots in disclosures: Sentiment analysis is finally useful for something.
US border cruelty, powered by Google cloud: IBM at Auschwitz.
Free the law of Wisconsin: Carl Malamud wants you to read Wisconsin's jury instructions.
This day in history: 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading