Techmeme: Google researchers showcase AI tech that can isolate individual voices within a noisy environment in videos with a single audio track by watching mouth movement (Jeff Dunn/Ars Technica)

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A breakdown of all the data tech companies can collect during a low-key pizza and movie night with a friend, according to their privacy policies — The smartphones, Facebook accounts and other technology products deeply embedded in modern life help people get more things done every day.

More: Wired and TechCrunch

Tweets: @annalist, @profcarroll, @riptari, @errorinn, @dseetharaman, and @itsnicolenguyen

Noah Kulwin / New York Magazine:

Former Facebook, Google, Reddit execs, and other prominent technologists describe how Silicon Valley's business model undermined its dream of a networked utopia — Even those who designed our digital world are aghast at what they created. A breakdown of what went wrong — from the architects who built it.

More: Slashdot. Tweets: @kadewe

New York Times:

As Mark Zuckerberg takes heat for the way Facebook handles personal information of its users, the leaders of other tech companies have kept a low profile

More: New York Magazine. Tweets: @nymag, @profgalloway, @vmosco, and @nytimestech

John Herrman / New York Times:

People quickly trusted tech companies with personal info amid a data boom, despite risks, spawning resentment and distrust after the Cambridge Analytica scandal

Tweets: @bloomfieldsj, @profcarroll, @undersequoias, @jwherrman, and @nytmag

Jeff Dunn / Ars Technica:

Google researchers showcase AI tech that can isolate individual voices within a noisy environment in videos with a single audio track by watching mouth movement — Google researchers try to replicate the “cocktail party effect” for computers. — Google researchers have developed …

More: Google Research Blog, ExtremeTech, Android Police, SiliconANGLE, Engadget, Digital Trends, Firstpost, Tech Times, Inquirer, Boing Boing, SlashGear, and Tom's Guide

Tom McKay / Gizmodo:

Pentagon spokesperson says there has been a “2,000% increase in Russian trolls in the last 24 hours”, following Syria air strikes on Friday night — As Donald Trump's administration, backed by France and the UK, launched a series of missile attacks on Syrian installations allegedly used …

More: Axios, The Hill, Daily Express, Newsweek, The Wrap, NBC News, New York Times, and Washington Post

Tweets: @martinsfp, @oneunderscore__, and @fabiochiusi

Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:

Sensor Tower: US iPhone users spent an average of $58 each on in-app purchases in 2017, up 23% YoY; entertainment apps spending up 57%, lifestyle apps up 110% — Games, dating apps and streaming services contributed to a rise in consumer spending in iPhone apps last year …

More: Sensor Tower Blog and 9to5Mac. Tweets: @sensortower

Russ Juskalian / MIT Technology Review:

How UN's Building Blocks program is using permissioned blockchain based on open source Ethereum code to distribute UN-facilitated food aid to recipients — A few times a month, Bassam pushes a shopping cart through the aisles of a grocery store stocked with bags of rice, a small selection of fresh vegetables, and other staples.

Benjamin Herold / Education Week:

Study finds ~3,337 free apps in Google Play's Designed for Families program that may violate COPPA, a federal law aimed to protect children from online tracking — Thousands of free apps available in the Google Play store are potentially violating a major federal data-privacy law intended …

More: PoPETs/PETS, Digital Education, and Schneier on Security

Tweets: @benjaminbherold and @zubair_shafiq

Chloe Aiello / CNBC:

After testing home flipping marketplace for a year, Zillow itself will start buying and selling homes for cash; Zillow shares down 7.3% after announcement — - Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff said the company's existing audience of sellers and buyers uniquely positions it for success as a real estate investor.

Nicholas Thompson / Wired:

Sources: most Facebook employees liked what Zuckerberg told Congress, but his vagueness on ads made some wonder if he cares how that side of Facebook biz works — ABOUT TWO HOURS, or 20 percent, into Mark Zuckerberg's marathon testimony before Congress this week, the Facebook CEO …

More: Om Malik and CNET

Tweets: @zimbalist, @nxthompson, and @wired

Megan Farokhmanesh / The Verge:

Amid FOSTA crackdown, sex workers turn to Switter.at, an instance of the open source social platform Mastodon, to maintain their online presence — Safe options are dwindling for sex workers under the controversial sex trafficking bill. Switter is helping—for now — Sex workers are running out of safe online spaces.

Tess Owen / VICE News:

Facebook removes pages linked to white nationalist Richard Spencer and The Nationalist Initiative's page; all pages are linked to “hate groups” by the SPLC — Two Facebook pages associated with white nationalist Richard Spencer have been kicked off the platform.

More: The Hill, BuzzFeed, Mashable, New York Magazine, and Engadget. Tweets: @iamgmjohnson

See also Mediagazer

Matt Day / The Seattle Times:

Interviews and docs show why Microsoft has failed to hire/retain more women: a culture of casual sexism, male-dominated hierarchy, and poor grievance resolution — Court filings, internal documents and interviews with employees illustrate why Microsoft has failed to hire or retain more women …

More: The Seattle Times. Tweets: @katrina_hrm, @byrosenberg, @tashasev, @mattmday, @kyweise, @jakebullinger, @mattmday, @mattdrange, and @rachelerman

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