TikTok Ban, Woke AI, Blue City Backtrack, Falling Standards
Ep. 205 w/ Shownotes
Will Congress ban TikTok? Ravi and guest co-host Stephen Kent explore the platform’s data practices, censorship, and why its China-based parent company, ByteDance, could pose national security risks.
They then examine Google AI’s “Gemini,” and how recent critiques of the tool’s biased portrayals of historical figures exemplify the challenges tech companies face in curbing AI-driven bias and misinformation.
A comprehensive new report from The Economist shows American high school standards are on the decline. They discuss its effects on kids across the country and what sensible schooling solutions could look like.
Finally, have blue cities backtracked? Ravi and Stephen take a look at Super Tuesday’s outcomes and why they may signal a change in political trends.
TikTok Ban
A bill that could lead to a nation-wide TikTok ban is gaining momentum. Here’s what to know (AP News, 3/8/24)
Trump just rug-pulled the China hawks on TikTok (Noahpinion, 3/11/24)
TikTok Crackdown Shifts Into Overdrive, With Sale or Shutdown on Table (Wall Street Journal, 3/10/24)
Republican billionaire with $33B TikTok stake ‘bullies’ lawmakers to stop bill forcing Chinese ByteDance sale (New York Post, 3/7/24)
Trump Gives Rambling Answer on Why He Backtracked on a TikTok Ban (New York Times, 3/11/24)
Trump says TikTok is a national security threat, but slams Facebook again (Axios, 3/11/24)
Why Countries Are Trying to Ban TikTok (New York Times, 3/6/24)
Highlights From TikTok CEO's Testimony Before Congress (Insider News,
3/24/23)
'I’m Singaporean': TikTok CEO grilled by US Senator repeatedly about ties with China (Guardian News, 1/31/24)
Woke AI
What Google’s ‘woke’ AI image controversy says about AI—and about Google (Yahoo News, 2/27/24)
Gemini image generation got it wrong. We'll do better. (Google, 2/23/24)
Google Left in ‘Terrible Bind’ by Pulling AI Feature After Right-Wing Backlash (Time, 2/28/24)
The Miseducation of Google's AI (The Daily, 3/7/24)
Google 'definitely messed up' with Gemini's historically inaccurate AI images, founder says (Quartz, 3/4/24)
Google's Gemini firestorm shows the risks of the company's race to catch up with its AI rivals (Business Insider, 3/6/24)
Why We Must Resist AI’s Soft Mind Control (The Atlantic, 3/8/24)
Google's Culture of Fear (Pirate Wires, 3/4/24)
Blue City Backtrack
City of peace and love votes for drug screening and more police surveillance (Politico, 3/6/24)
Big blue cities are embracing conservative anti-crime measures. Here’s why. (Politico, 3/7/24)
Across America’s cities, voters are driving out progressives (Unherd, 12/14/24)
‘American Cities Need Republicans’: Democratic Mayor of Dallas Switches Parties (National Review, 9/22/23)
Crime on the Decline (New York Times, 1/11/24)
Crime in 2023: Murder Plummeted, Violent and Property Crime Likely Fell Nationally (Jeff-Alytics, 12/11/24)
Falling Standards
New numbers show falling standards in American high schools (The Economist, 3/10/24)
It’s Not Just Math and Reading: U.S. History Scores for 8th Graders Plunge (New York Times, 5/3/23)
14 Charts that Changed the Way We Looked at America’s Schools in 2023 (The 74, 12/12/23)
U. of Texas at Austin Will Return to Standardized Test Requirement (New York Times, 3/11/24)
UT Austin Reinstates Standardized Test Scores in Admissions (UT News, 3/11/24)
UT Demand and Student Performance Hit All-Time Highs (UT News, 10/20/23)