Society

Ten years ago, Techdirt was one of the few sites to be following closely some obscure but important machinations at the UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) to create a top-down regulat…

Today on TAP: Beware the disabling potential of facile comparisons.

And one Google-funded academic’s role in it

The Israeli kibbutz have long been moving away from utopian socialism towards “renewing kibbutz”; a kind of cooperative in which member wages differ, consumption is unequal, many resources are privately owned but there is some mutual aid–a “safety net”–and some common ownership typically of land. Abramitzky et al. look at how kibbutz members vote and […]

Emergent movements, including a resurgence of the KKK, led to more anti-immigration policy, eugenics laws, religious fundamentalism and conservative leadership.

In addition to the obliteration of privacy and criminalization of women’s health, it’s a waste of money.

By studying how flat Earthers talk about their beliefs, we can learn how they make their arguments engaging to their audience.

Wasted and unaccounted work is a low level of visibility among employees and leaders that costs millions of dollars in wasted time.

An artificially intelligent first author presents many ethical questions—and could upend the publishing process

What we think will happen is more important then ever. But pictures of the future are just fiction, that don’t exist. Yet, never before in the history of our species have we devoted so much of our time, energy and … Continue reading →

In 1997, Wired magazine predicted 25 years of prosperity and peace driven by new technology. How have its prophesies fared?

Say you forget to wish your friend a happy birthday. When you see them and apologize, they give a tight smile and say, “No, I’m not mad!” but continue to act cold and distant. Despite your attempts to talk through the issue, they refuse to acknowledge their feelings. This friend, whether or not they realize […]

Men are free to pray everywhere. Women do not even retain autonomy over their own bodies.

I’m continuing my coverage of dangerous Internet bills in the California legislature. This job is especially challenging during an election year, when legislators rally behind the “protect the kids” mantra to pursue bills  that are likely to hurt, or at...

Websites may be forced to verify ages of visitors unless changes made

What kind of things might be scarce in a future world filled with advance AIs and advance science that could probably reverse engineer most things? It is hard to think of something we could not synthesize. In the sci-fi story Dune, … Continue reading →

The pro-life movement needs to know that such culture wars result not in outright victory for one side but in reaction and compromise.

In several passages, the justice adopts the most radical rhetoric of the anti-abortion movement.

The author of ‘Dred Scott’ and the author of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization stripped fundamental rights from Blacks and women, respectively. And sundered their nation in the process.