RT @EFF
Thanks, @americandialect, for choosing "enshittification" as the 2023 Word of the Year. @doctorow's apt term describes how online platforms decay by showing users less and less of what they came for, while keeping them trapped and unable to exit for better alternatives.

https://americandialect.org/2023-word-of-the-year-is-enshittification/

#Crypto #Cryptocurrencies #Bitcoin #WaterScarcity: "Every Bitcoin transaction uses, on average, enough water to fill "a back yard swimming pool", a new study suggests.

That's around six million times more than is used in a typical credit card swipe, Alex de Vries of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, calculates.

The figure is due to the water used to power and cool the millions of computers worldwide Bitcoin relies on.

It comes as many regions struggle with fresh water shortages.

Up to three billion people worldwide already experience water shortages, a situation which is expected to worsen in the coming decades, the study notes."

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-67564205

#News: The FCC just passed a historic set of rules that aim to close the digital divide.

Learn more: https://themarkup.org/still-loading/2023/11/15/fcc-approves-rules-to-prevent-digital-discrimination

Automated image generators are often accused of spreading harmful stereotypes. We wanted to find out how biased different tools are and compared the results when using the same prompt across MidJourney, Kandinsky and Adobe Firefly.

Take a look at the results: https://algorithmwatch.org/en/image-generators-stereotypes-diversity/