2009 Arnold Google: The Digital Gutenberg

Robert Steele, the #1 Amazon reviewer for non-fiction, considers Stephen E. Arnold to be the single most professional analyst of emerging information technologies and their social meaning.  His “Google Triology” may well be the most significant body of work of practical significance not just to the information industry, but to civil liberties, capitalism, civil society, …

Stephen Arnold: Search Atlas Demonstrates Google Search Bias by Location

Search Atlas Demonstrates Google Search Bias by Location An article at Wired reminds us that Google Search is not the objective source of information it appears to many users. We learn that “A New Tool Shows How Google Results Vary Around the World.” Researchers and PhD students Rodrigo Ochigame of MIT and Katherine Ye of …

Stephen Arnold: How Do You Spell Control? Maybe Google?

How Do You Spell Control? Maybe Google? The lack of a standardized format has made it difficult to manage vulnerabilities in open source software. Now, SiliconAngle reports, “Google Announces Unified Schema to Make Sharing Vulnerabilities Easier.” Writer Duncan Riley explains: “Google LLC today announced a unified schema for describing vulnerabilities precisely to make it easier …

Stephen Arnold: Google and Unreliable Results: Like the Jack Benny One Liner, I Am Thinking, I Am Thinking

Google and Unreliable Results: Like the Jack Benny One Liner, I Am Thinking, I Am Thinking read a “real” news story called “Google Is Starting to Warn Users When It Doesn’t Have a Reliable Answer.”  (No, I will not ask, What’s reliable mean.) Here’s the statement which snagged my attention in the write up: “When …

Stephen E. Arnold: Google and Ethics: Shaken and Stirred Up

Google and Ethics: Shaken and Stirred Up Despite recent controversies, Vox Recode reports, “Google Says it’s Committed to Ethical AI Research. Its Ethical AI Team Isn’t So Sure.” In fact, it sounds like there is a lot of uncertainty for the department whose immediate leaders have not been replaced since they were ousted and who …