DataDownload: Hey Google, tell me something good

7 min readJun 20, 2020

DataDownload: Hey Google, tell me something good A weekly summary of all things Media, Data, Emerging Tech View this email in your browser

Long time readers of this newsletter will remember that some weeks we travel the world sharing fascinating articles about tech, media, and innovation. Today we get to share two different articles about us. Our new member Consumer Reports is launching a Consumer Data prototyping challenge. You know those crazy privacy policies you click on? Well CR wants to make them readable by actual humans. Pretty cool, don’t you think?

And, next week we’ll launch MACHINES+MEDIA, our annual gathering to explore the complexity and wonder of how our media is changing as machines become a larger part of the content creation ecosystem. And this year it’s going to be 100% virtual. So sign up and get a seat before we sell out. It’s fantastic and it’s free.

At the same time, we’re looking at the state of Black CEOs in Silicon Valley, a super-smart look at how blockchain tech could combat misinformation, and a look back at a decade of Minecraft.

So dig in. And continue to ping us with tips and links, we’re always looking for something new to learn about.

Onward.

Steven Rosenbaum
Managing Director
The NYC Media Lab
Steve@NYCMediaLab.org Must-Read NYCML & Consumer Reports Consumer Data & Privacy Prototyping: Fall 2020 Open Challenge

NYC Media Lab has teamed up with Consumer Reports to reimagine the future of consumer and digital privacy. We’re seeking university teams (current grad students and/or faculty members) to explore how we can make privacy policies and terms of service more useful to everyday consumers. Read on for specific info about the challenge (including upcoming info session dates):

AWARD: Teams will be awarded with a grant of up to $5,000 per team.
APPLICATION & MORE INFO: Click here to apply and for more info.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: Sunday, June 28, 2020 at 11:59PM EST.
FREE INFO SESSIONS: Monday, June 22nd, 12PM-12:30PM EST (Register here); Wednesday, June 24th, 12PM-12:30PM EST (Register here).

Learn More For Black CEOs in Silicon Valley, Humiliation Is a Part of Doing Business

Bloomberg’s Priya Anand and Sarah McBride provide accounts of the humiliation and routine racism Black CEOs face — from presumptions that they’re not in charge, to regular quizzing about their credentials, to people jumping to the conclusion that their company caters exclusively to Black people.

SVP of marketing at LaunchDarkly Keith Messick and former CMO at Will Hayes’ Lucidworks says VCs look for patterns: “Whether malicious, whether negligent, it was always awful,” with investors routinely addressing Messick as “Will”. One woman who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that a group of VCs assumed that one of her interns, a young white man, was the head of the company.

In another case, Monsieur founders Barry Givens and Eric Williams and their employees were in a VIP suite to celebrate the first big installation of their bartending machines; guests walked past the pair to greet their white employees and offer their congratulations.

13 min read

Read More Tech+Media Could Blockchain Be a Solution to the Issue of Misinformation Online? The R&D team at the NY Times explored the use of blockchain technology to tackle misinformation, as part of their News Provenance Project. They used a blockchain prototype to uncover a photo’s contextual information on a simulated media feed.

“We wanted to see if it was possible to record everything that happens to a photo, from capture to publication, in the form of photo metadata and display that information on social media platforms.”

7 min read Read More A Council of Citizens Should Regulate Algorithms Program director at Stanford Federica Carugati proposes a citizen council for algorithms, modeled after the Athenian Council of 500 (a decision-making body in ancient Athens that was made up of 50 citizens from 10 tribes). The council would ideally act as an authoritative body/advisory board to a regulatory agency, and could evaluate issues like privacy protection and how systems are tested for safety and ethical concerns.

Unlike “technocratic solutions and traditional auditing structures,” Carugati says that the citizen council would “expand the range of possible solutions to the problems that algorithms create, enhance democratic accountability, and foster citizen participation and learning.”

5 min read Read More “Hey Google, Tell Me Something Good”

While readers tune in to stay informed about the pandemic, they’re also looking for an escape from depression, isolation, and boredom. As testament, Netflix traffic hit an all-time high these past few months, and the platform welcomed 15.8M new subscribers in Q1.

In Poland, media company Outride.rs partnered with Google to alleviate negative news fatigue by offering snippets of solutions journalism: “Google Assistant users now simply need to say ‘Hey Google, tell me something good’ (in Polish) and the smart speaker will play a 60 or 90-second solutions journalism story.”

3 min read

It’s no secret how much of an impact Minecraft has had on gaming and pop culture, bringing millions closer together for some seriously fun and creative gameplay. But how did one of the best-selling games of all time get to this point? Polygon tracks the game’s discovery process from the perspective of the streamers and creators who help popularize it.

12 min watch

Watch Now What We’re Listening To Podcast: How to Cure Viral Misinformation

How do you deal with what WHO calls the “infodemic” — the “flood of information about the coronavirus pandemic” that inevitably gets saturated with a ton of misinformation and conspiracies?

BBC Trending reporters Marianna Spring and Mike Wendling track the story of a specific viral post and list a few tips to consider before taking that next emotionally charged tweet at face value.

28 min listen

Listen Now Virtual Events Virtual Event: NYCMediaLab+Bloomberg — Machine+Media
Dates: June 30 — July 28
In partnership with Bloomberg, NYC Media Lab’s “Machines + Media” summer 2020 virtual series focuses on examining how AI, machine learning, computer vision, and other emerging technologies are changing how media is produced, distributed, and consumed, as well as their inevitable impact on society.

Throughout June and July 2020, five episodes will be released online and available to watch free of charge (see below). Register to receive email reminders as each episode drops so you don’t miss a beat! Register Here.

Episode 1: AI & Emerging Trends in Media Technology
Episode 2: State of the Art in Machine Driven Media
Episode #3: Diversity and Ethics in Technology
Episode 4: Emerging Tech & New Media Platforms
Episode 5: The Disinformation Industrial Complex

Virtual Event: Apple WWDC 2020
Date: June 22–26
The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference kicks off with exciting reveals, inspiration, and new opportunities to continue creating the most innovative apps in the world. Join the worldwide developer community for an in-depth look at the future of Apple platforms, directly from Apple Park. Learn More. A Deeper Look Estimating 3D Poses of Athletes at Live Sporting Events

In preparation for the 2020 Summer Olympics, last year the NY Times began exploring how to use computer vision to better understand athletic performance. They built a solution using their photographers’ cameras and machine learning to capture data without the need for mocap sensors.

The process employs both manual and automated techniques, and relies on burst photography to capture the athlete from multiple angles and estimate 2D poses using ML before triangulating this data into 3D.