Number of Posts: 53
Posts 1 - 10
Das neue iMessage strapaziert die Nerven
(The new iMessage gets on my nerves)
Newspaper | Welt
Date | 15.9.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | emojis, language threat, texting, word/writing
Summary | The updated iMessage has tons of new functions. It suggests appropriate emojis to replace words of a message, it now has sticker packages like the Facebook Messenger and allows for text messages to be animated. Users can also send short handwritten Messages - that it if they can still write by hand. All of the updates combined make for a much more obnoxious iMessage service.
Image Description | Images of iPhones using iMessage.
Image Tags | smartphone
Mark Zuckerbergs
(Mark Zuckerberg's)
Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 13.1.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, Facebook
Summary | Mark Zuckerberg has expressed the goal to design a digital assistant. It should be able to help users simplify some daily tasks. It should, for instance, be able to recognize the face of anyone ringing the doorbell and unlocking it if that person is allowed to enter. This could be particularly useful for the elders. It is however questionable whether Facebook's digital AI assitant can replace human companions or pets.
Image Description | N/A
Auf Facebook und Co. haben die Rassisten Hochkonjunktur
(Racists boom on Facebook and co. )
Newspaper | Sonntagszeitung
Date | 7.2.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, law, politeness, politics, threat
Summary | Racists are much more vocal on social media. But social media are no lawless space - actions on Facebook or Twitter can also lead to legal persecution under the Swiss anti-racism law. Ever since the advent of social media, more cases of racism lead to conviction (usually just entailing a fee).
Image Description | N/A
Handliche Hitliste für klares Formulieren
(Handy hit list for clear articulation)
Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 19.5.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, language threat, social media, word/writing
Summary | Our ability to write clearly and poignantly is very important if we want to succeed in life. It is a complex skill that needs to be practiced and Facebook and co. do not help our sharpening of a writing style at all. Social media nurtures a much too simple genre of writing.
Image Description | N/A
Googles sprechender Assistent
(Google's speaking assistant)
Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 20.5.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, Google
Summary | Google is launching a voice command assistant called "Google Home". Much like Amazon's Echo, it is a little speaker which picks up verbal commands from casual conversation and delivers answers to various questions or plays the music users request. Google's two decades of experience with online searches has given them enough data to be able to teach and AI robot what words mean in context.
Image Description | N/A
Kinder im Visier
(Children in sight)
Newspaper | Die Wochenzeitung
Date | 9.6.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | Facebook, gender, politics
Summary | Gender mainstreaming is entering all aspects of public life: from universities and schools, to government departments, and even on Facebook. Facebook users can choose from 70 options of gender identities. This relatively harmless but when public tax funds are used for the interests of a minority (i.e. non-heterosexual and non-gender-conforming people) it should be called what it is: a dictatorship.
Image Description | Image of three toilet pictograms: male, female, and intersex.
Googles künstlich intelligenter Chat-Freund
(Google's artificially intelligent chat friend)
Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 8.9.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, Google, marketing, social media
Summary | Google is launching a new messaging app called Allo. Messaging apps are hailed to be the new thing after social media. Especially messaging apps lie the Chinese WeChat or Allo which have an AI assistant with which users can easily get simple information from within the app, transmit payments, or open a small shop that operates through the app.
Image Description | Reuters image of a man presenting Allo at a conference and a few screenshots of conversations with Allo's chatbot.
Image Tags | Google, male(s), text
Ausländer raus
(Foreigners out)
Newspaper | Tages-Anzeiger
Date | 1.10.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | cyberbullying, social media, threat, word/writing
Summary | Online comment sections on social media and news sites are full of hateful, wrong language. The problem with this is that the discourse about, say, foreigners and asylum seekers is dominated by negative words like "flood" and "chaos". Even the word "foreigner" is misleading becuase the world is not fundamentally divided into locals and foreigners but all of them are equal humans who happen to be born in one place or another. If we want that discourse to change, we must use the platforms which we are able to influence by responding to every hate comment in order to neutralize the discourse.
Image Description | N/A
«Sprache verfällt nicht»
(«Language does not deteriorate»)
Newspaper | Appenzeller Zeitung
Date | 15.11.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | code-switching, language threat, research/study, social media, youth
Summary | German linguist Eva Gredel claims that language does not deteriorate because of its informal use online. Internet language is more differentiated and divided in subcultures the language itself is not at risk. Many people fear this when they visit social media and see how people disregard conventions. This is because many people want to be innovative with their language online. Parents do not need to be worried about their children's language online - it is good if they learn various codes/registers of speaking.
Image Description | N/A
Die Maschine erziehen und trainieren
(Raising and training the machine)
Newspaper | Sonntagszeitung
Date | 20.11.2016
Language | German
Country | Switzerland
Topic Tags | artificial intelligence, computer programming, research/study, threat
Summary | Some researchers say that artificial intelligence may eliminate the need for human programmers. Modern programs are becoming more similar to human brains in that it is no longer just the programmer who creates every step of the program but the program itself is capable of learning from experience (technically: exposure to large amounts of data). Some find this idea that computers will become intellectual equals of humans frightening.
Image Description | N/A
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