TLDR 149

Too Long; Didn't Read Issue 149

Published: 2018-05-11 • 📧 Newsletter

Welcome to Issue 149. Sticking the landing.

This week I posted the following:

What is "critical literacy" in education? - Much of my work and thinking is framed by critical literacy tenets. This impacts the ways in which I teach, research, and publish. I've also started recently hearing a lot of bad/incorrect guidance about what is included in critical literacy. This post should help clear things up.
Breadcrumbs - As I noted last week, I've started to play more with switching up my signals and Indie Web philosophies. This website is where I'm capturing all of the digital breadcrumbs I leave behind as I read, learn, and connect online. It's still a work in process...but please take a look and let me know what you think. I'll have a post coming soon as I continue to explore.

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Say hey with a note at hello@wiobyrne.com or on the social network of your choice.

🔖 Key Takeaways

AI vs. Machine Learning Clarified: Neil deGrasse Tyson, MKBHD, and Chuck Nice briefly discuss differences between artificial intelligence and machine learning—topic that had lot of overlap and incorrect information over past week yet remains very important set of concepts we need to understand as these technologies become increasingly embedded in daily tools and decision-making systems.
Google Duplex Raises Ethical Questions: Google I/O 2018 revealed Google Duplex, AI system allowing Google Assistant to make natural conversation phone calls to schedule appointments or reserve tables—once you ask device to handle task, Duplex calls restaurant or business and talks to person who answers then notifies you and adds to calendar, raising questions about whether this is super cool or super creepy and whether AI should disclose itself when talking to humans.
Technology as Form of Power: Logic Magazine's "The New Octopus" examines gigantic corporations scooping up data and information requiring changing how we think about technology—taming technological power requires moving beyond Panglossian views of technology as neutral, apolitical, or purely virtuous and seeing it as form of power that creates relationships of control and domination, raising profound challenge to modern ethic of technological innovation.
Creativity More Important Than Coding: Tom Hulme of Google Ventures argues teaching kids to code isn't future-proofed ticket to jobs as framed by many—deep machine learning will likely automate writing of code relatively quickly making creativity far more important in future where software can code better than humans, requiring rethinking what we teach children to emphasize human imagination sparking original ideas and creating new meaning as one thing machines won't be able to do.
Creative Commons Celebrates Transformative Year: 2017 annual report shares data, news, and stories from global community that breaks down walls keeping people from sharing knowledge—big year for Creative Commons includes CC Certificate program teaching people about license basics, copyright law, and tools available for sharing work openly, demonstrating continued growth of open knowledge movement empowering creators and learners worldwide.
Echo Chambers Function Like Cults: C Thi Nguyen in Aeon examines why it's as hard to escape echo chamber as flee cult—across filter bubble and echo chamber research there's belief people should just "break free" and seek other perspectives, but intellectual judo makes it difficult for people to accept other ideologies as personal information network entraps just like cult where first you don't hear other views then you can't trust them.

📺 Watch

Artificial intelligence vs. machine learning (7:26)

Neil deGrasse Tyson, MKBHD, and Chuck Nice briefly talking about the differences between artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

This is a topic that had a lot of overlap...and a lot of incorrect information over the last week. Despite all of this, it is a very important set of topics that we need to understand.

📚 Read

Google Duplex is amazing, creepy, and too good to waste

This week we had Google I/O 2018, the developer conference for Google and their varied projects.

Very early in the keynote, they shared some of the latest advancements in artificial intelligence for their Google Assistant. This new tech is currently being called Google Duplex. Google Assistant is their version of a voice automated assistant...like what you find with Apple's Siri.

Duplex will allow you to tell your assistant to schedule an appointment for you, reserve a table, or do some other task that involves calling in to a human and talking. Once you ask your device to handle this, Duplex will call the restaurant/business and talk to the person that answers and schedule this for you. Once they've completed this task, Duplex will notify you, and add it to your calendar.

Super cool or super creepy? I'll have more info soon in an upcoming post. Learn more here. Also check out this reflection from MKBHD.

The New Octopus

Very interesting long read on the challenges of the future as gigantic corporations scoop up all of the data and information about us.

The takeaway that has me thinking this past week:

Taming technological power will require changing how we think about technology. It will require moving beyond Panglossian views of technology as neutral, apolitical, or purely virtuous, and seeing it as a form of power. This focus on power highlights the often subtle ways that technology creates relationships of control and domination. It also raises a profound challenge to our modern ethic of technological innovation.

Teach kids creativity. Ultimately, machines will be better at coding.

Interesting view from Tom Hulme of Google Ventures arguing that teaching kids to code isn't the future proofed ticket to future jobs as framed by many people. Deep machine learning will likely automate the writing of code relatively quickly. Creativity is going to be far more important in a future where software can code better than we can.

Hulme indicates:

We need to rethink the way we teach our children and the things we teach them. Creativity will be increasingly be the defining human talent. Our education system should emphasize the use of human imagination to spark original ideas and create new meaning. It's the one thing machines won't be able to do.

A Transformative Year: State of the Commons Annual Report 2017

I'm a big supporter and proponent of Creative Commons and all of the work they oversee. This past year was a big year for the global community that breaks down the walls that keep people from sharing their knowledge.

The 2017 annual report shares data, news, and stories from the community from the past year.

One of my favorite initiatives is their CC Certificate program in which they teach people about the basics of the licenses, copyright law, and the tools you can utilize.

Escape the echo chamber

Over the past year I've been writing and researching a lot about filter bubbles, echo chambers, and critical media literacy. Across many of these stories, there is this belief that people should just "break free" from your echo chamber and seek other perspectives.

This long read by C Thi Nguyen reminded me that it can be difficult for people to break free from these bubbles and accept other ideologies.

He notes:

First you don't hear other views. Then you can't trust them. Your personal information network entraps you just like a cult.

I definitely recommend reading through to make sense of the "intellectual judo" that happens in groups.

🔨 Do

Some tips on how to be an award-winning storyteller from the group at The Moth website.

Know things by heart
Have a strong opener
Tighten it up
Do some break outs
Stick the landing
Go live your life

🤔 Consider

"Reason has always existed, but not always in a reasonable form." — Karl Marx

This week we focus on sticking the landing. Marx's observation about reason captures a tension central to education and technology—the capacity for rational thought has always been present in humanity, but its expression can be distorted, corrupted, or weaponized. In educational spaces, this reminds us that critical thinking isn't just about having reasoning skills, but about creating conditions where reason can take reasonable forms. Echo chambers, algorithmic bias, and technological systems that concentrate power all represent reason existing in unreasonable forms—the tools are rational, but their deployment serves domination rather than liberation.

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🌱 Connected Concepts:

AI Machine Learning Distinction — Neil deGrasse Tyson, MKBHD, and Chuck Nice briefly discuss differences between artificial intelligence and machine learning as topic had lot of overlap and incorrect information over past week—remains very important set of concepts we need to understand as these technologies become increasingly embedded in daily tools and decision-making systems, with distinction between general AI capabilities and specific machine learning algorithms mattering for understanding what systems can actually do versus what we imagine they can do.
Google Duplex Conversational AI — Google I/O 2018 revealed Google Duplex, AI system allowing Google Assistant to make natural conversation phone calls to schedule appointments or reserve tables—once you ask device to handle task, Duplex calls restaurant or business and talks to person who answers completing task then notifying you and adding to calendar, raising super cool or super creepy questions about whether AI should disclose itself when talking to humans and implications for consent in human-AI interactions.
Technological Power Corporate Control — Logic Magazine's "The New Octopus" examines gigantic corporations scooping up data and information requiring changing how we think about technology—taming technological power requires moving beyond Panglossian views of technology as neutral, apolitical, or purely virtuous and seeing it as form of power that creates relationships of control and domination, raising profound challenge to modern ethic of technological innovation that assumes progress equals good.
Creativity Over Coding Education — Tom Hulme of Google Ventures argues teaching kids to code isn't future-proofed ticket to jobs as many frame it since deep machine learning will likely automate writing of code relatively quickly—creativity will be far more important in future where software can code better than humans, requiring rethinking what we teach children to emphasize use of human imagination to spark original ideas and create new meaning as one thing machines won't be able to do.
Creative Commons Open Knowledge — Creative Commons 2017 annual report shares data, news, and stories from global community that breaks down walls keeping people from sharing knowledge—transformative year includes CC Certificate program teaching people about license basics, copyright law, and tools available for sharing work openly, demonstrating continued growth of open knowledge movement empowering creators and learners worldwide to participate in shared intellectual commons.
Echo Chamber Escape — C Thi Nguyen in Aeon examines why it's as hard to escape echo chamber as flee cult—across filter bubble and echo chamber research there's belief people should just "break free" and seek other perspectives, but intellectual judo makes it difficult to accept other ideologies as personal information network entraps just like cult where first you don't hear other views then you can't trust them, requiring understanding of epistemic entrenchment beyond simple exposure to diverse viewpoints.
Storytelling Craft Moth — The Moth provides tips for award-winning storytelling including know things by heart, have strong opener, tighten it up, do some break outs, stick the landing, and go live your life—practical guidance for narrative craft emphasizes preparation, structure, economy of language, dynamic pacing, strong conclusions, and living authentically as source material, demonstrating storytelling as both art form requiring practice and human activity requiring genuine experience.

Part of the 📧 Newsletter archive documenting digital literacy and technology.