All articles tagged with #data transparency
Overwatch developer Dylan Snyder ridicules the fixation on Steam concurrent players, arguing it’s a narrow metric that can mislead about a game’s success; Marathon’s numbers appear steady, and the story emphasizes that platform-specific data needs broader context and cross-platform transparency to gauge a game’s health.
China, India, and Russia have detected 3I/ATLAS using their observatories but have not shared their findings publicly, highlighting issues of data fragmentation and the need for global cooperation in tracking interstellar objects.
Former President Trump has called for more transparency and additional data on Covid vaccines to prevent the CDC from being criticized or 'ripped apart,' emphasizing the importance of clear and comprehensive information for public trust and health decisions.
A cross-party group of MPs and peers has accused the UK Health Secretary of withholding data that could link the Covid vaccine to excess deaths, demanding the release of underlying data to support the government's assertion that there is "no evidence" linking excess deaths to the vaccines. The group has written to the Health Secretary and relevant agencies to request the data, expressing concerns about the lack of transparency and its impact on public health messaging. The Office for National Statistics has been accused of overestimating excess deaths in the first year of the Covid pandemic, prompting a review of its methodology.
A group of MPs and peers have accused the Health Secretary of withholding data that could link the Covid vaccine to excess deaths, urging for the release of potentially critical data that maps the date of people’s Covid vaccine doses to the date of their deaths. They argue that the data should be released on an anonymised basis to reassure the public and address concerns and hesitancy about public health messaging. The Office for National Statistics has been accused of overestimating excess deaths in the first year of the Covid pandemic, prompting a call for a public inquiry into excess deaths and alleged Covid vaccine harms.
A significant portion of the world's mining activities, including their environmental and community impacts, remains undocumented due to data gaps and lack of comprehensive inventories. Researchers face challenges in assessing the sector's global impact due to incomplete databases, such as the S&P Capital IQ Pro, and the prevalence of illegal operations. The article advocates for improved data collection and sharing, transparency, and the use of remote sensing and AI to fill information gaps. This is crucial as the demand for minerals, especially for clean technologies, is expected to increase, necessitating better data to assess future impacts and risks.
Netflix has released an extensive list of viewing time for over 18,000 movies and TV shows in the first half of 2023, with "The Night Agent" and season two of "Ginny & Georgia" emerging as the most watched titles. The report provides a deep dive into viewing habits, revealing that original series and movies dominate the top of the chart, while licensed content accounted for 45% of viewing. Netflix plans to continue issuing semiannual reports on viewing time, but it remains uncertain if other streaming platforms will follow suit.
A consortium of companies, including American Express, Humana, IBM, Pfizer, UPS, and Walmart, has developed data provenance standards to address concerns about the lineage and trustworthiness of data used in artificial intelligence (A.I.) applications. The standards serve as a labeling system that describes the origin, history, legal rights, and intended use of data. By providing greater clarity and transparency, the standards aim to bolster corporate confidence in A.I. technology. The initiative is expected to improve efficiency in data handling and increase the reliability of A.I.-generated answers. The standards are set to be made available to the public early next year.
A comprehensive study analyzing data from two million individuals across 168 countries challenges the widely held belief about the negative psychological impact of internet technologies. Researchers found only small and inconsistent changes in global well-being and mental health over the last two decades, despite extensive internet adoption. The study did not find any specific demographic patterns affected differently by internet usage and noted an increase in life satisfaction among females during the period. The research calls for more data transparency from technology companies to further understand the nuanced impacts of internet use on psychological well-being.
The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) has publicly shared their latest proposed package of terms to the Writers Guild of America (WGA) as part of strike negotiations. The package includes the highest wage increase for WGA in 35 years, increased residual pay, and increased data transparency. The AMPTP is committed to ending the strike and hopes for a resolution with the WGA. The current standoff has already surpassed the 2007-08 strike and is the longest writers' strike on record.
China's decision to suspend the publication of monthly youth unemployment figures has sparked public outcry. The National Bureau of Statistics claims that the calculation method needs improvement to reflect the changing society, questioning whether students should be included in the unemployment figures before they graduate. However, critics argue that this move may be an attempt to hide weak job data. The youth unemployment rate in China has reached record highs in recent months, but it fails to account for rural youth unemployment and counts any part-time job as employment. Transparency and the release of more comprehensive indicators, such as NEET, would provide a more accurate picture and aid policymaking.
Artificial intelligence (AI) programmed based on rules alone, with no human nuance, is much harsher than when it's based on human responses, according to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The study found that if a descriptive model is used to decide whether a person may re-offend, it may cast more severe judgments than a person and hand out higher bail amounts or longer criminal sentences. The experts have called for greater data transparency, stating if researchers know how data is gathered then they can figure out how it can be used.
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is set to begin negotiations with studios and streamers over a new contract, with key issues including streaming residuals, data transparency, safety standards, and AI. The DGA is starting negotiations less than two months before its contract expires on June 30, and is preparing for a fight after entertainment companies were “not yet prepared to address our key issues” months ahead of the contract’s due date. The DGA and Writers Guild of America (WGA) share mutual interests in boosting wage floors and refashioning residuals norms to reflect global streaming growth, but the WGA is currently on strike after talks with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers collapsed.