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While I focus on Technology, Innovation, and Publishing, because I have a platform, I also flag items that I think are important, which you might have missed, and try to include a bunch of resources & opportunities. I’d love to hear what you think of this newsletter.

Important Items

Request a Ride2Vote

https://rideshare2vote.com/request-a-ride/

There are crucial school board elections across the country

‘Parental Rights’ groups are infiltrating school boards nationwide to create a rightwing agenda. That’s why voting in your local midterm elections is critical. Via @veronikellymars

https://www.parents.com/parental-rights-fight-is-about-destroying-public-education-6824948

Abortion Is on the Ballot in Tuesday’s Elections. Giving a Preview for 2024

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/04/us/politics/abortion-ohio-kentucky-virginia-election.html

Ohio Voters: Make Sure You’re Still on the Voter Rolls

RT @GeorgeTakei Ohio voters: The extremist GOP Secretary of State is canceling votes, purging thousands of names recently from the voter rolls, right before this important referendum on abortion rights. Make sure you were not among them! Check here for your status:

https://voterlookup.ohiosos.gov/voterlookup.aspx

Trump and allies plot revenge, Justice Department control in a second term

Advisers have also discussed deploying the military to quell potential unrest on Inauguration Day. Critics have called the ideas under consideration dangerous and unconstitutional.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/

Disability Rates from COVID are Still Rising

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/LNU01074597

Study: Regardless of variant, half of long-COVID patients fail to improve after 18 months

https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/covid-19/study-regardless-variant-half-long-covid-patients-fail-improve-after-18-months

A recent study found that having COVID-19 may be linked to high blood pressure in people who did not have it before.

If you get COVID, you should discuss your blood pressure with a provider. You may need to monitor it at home after you recover.

https://www.verywellhealth.com/covid-causes-new-high-blood-pressure-7970796

Skin and COVID

Conclusion We believe that the dermatologist could play an important role in the response to the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic through early recognition of skin lesions suggestive of COVID‐19, particularly in paucisymptomatic infections where this recognition could direct toward an early diagnosis of infection that certainly leads to a better prognosis.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9877578/

Wearing a mask and not sharing a bedroom reduces risk by 78% in household transmission.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43856-023-00325-6

Innovation

Stacking Boxes? Treating Cancer? AI Needs to Learn Physics First

Adding what we know about the real world to artificial intelligence can make it more effective at solving some of the hardest and most essential problems

https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/artificial-intelligence-physics-informed-ai-acaa932f

Technology

The open-source AI development market map

https://www.cbinsights.com/research/open-source-ai-development-market-map/

Now add a walrus: Prompt engineering in DALL-E 3

I thought this was interesting – you can see the prompts that ChatGPT is giving DALL-E and refine them using seeds, and you can see some of DALL-E parameters

https://simonwillison.net/2023/Oct/26/add-a-walrus/

Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing Will Beta Test Virtual Voice–Narrated Audiobooks

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/audio-books/article/93625-kindle-direct-publishing-will-beta-test-virtual-voice-narrated-audiobooks.html

Much Ado About AI: Why I Built a Tool to Modernize Shakespeare’s Verse

HT @publishingtrend AI can also accurately paraphrase Elizabethan language into modern English so readers can understand any line of Shakespeare. This strategy isn’t intended as a substitute for reading the original text, but as a “reading copilot” on hand to help.

https://www.slj.com/story/Much-Ado-About-AI-Why-I-Built-a-Tool-to-Modernize-Shakespeare-Verse

AI as a UX Assistant

Generative-AI bots support UX professionals by acting as content editors, research assistants, ideation partners, and design assistants.

https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ai-roles-ux/

What I’m Reading on the Rise of Artificial Intelligence

Articles, podcasts, and books on AI recommended by Barack Obama. #teamPRH

https://barackobama.medium.com/what-im-reading-on-the-rise-of-artificial-intelligence-72e088918de2

Biden releases AI executive order directing agencies to develop safety guidelines

President Biden signed an executive order providing rules around generative AI, ahead of any legislation coming from lawmakers. The order has eight goals: to create new standards for AI safety and security, protect privacy, advance equity and civil rights, stand up for consumers, patients, and students, support workers, promote innovation and competition, advance US leadership in AI technologies, and ensure the responsible and effective government use of the technology.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/30/23914507/biden-ai-executive-order-regulation-standards

Attenuating Innovation (AI)

HT @jafurtado Stratechery’s Ben Thompson feels OpenAI is overblowing AI’s threat for their own financial gain and thinks the executive order is a bad idea.

https://stratechery.com/2023/attenuating-innovation-ai/

OpenAI forms team to study ‘catastrophic’ AI risks, including nuclear threats

The team’s chief responsibilities will be tracking, forecasting and protecting against the dangers of future AI systems, ranging from their ability to persuade and fool humans (like in phishing attacks) to their malicious code-generating capabilities. Some of the risk categories Preparedness is charged with studying seem more . . . far-fetched than others. For example, in a blog post, OpenAI lists “chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear” threats as areas of top concern where it pertains to AI models.

https://techcrunch.com/2023/10/26/openai-forms-team-to-study-catastrophic-risks-including-nuclear-threats/

UK trade bodies demand ‘protection and compensation’ for AI copyright infringements

The Publishers Association, Society of Authors, the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society, and Association of Authors’ Agents issued a joint statement to the prime minister to call on the government to put in place “tangible solutions” to protect the “human creativity” behind AI. They asked for “acknowledgement of and recompense for the copyright infringement that has already happened.”

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/trade-bodies-demand-protection-and-compensation-for-ai-copyright-infringements

AI companies have all kinds of arguments against paying for copyrighted content

A look at AI companies’ responses, including from Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Apple, to possible US Copyright Office changes around AI and copyrighted content

https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/4/23946353/generative-ai-copyright-training-data-openai-microsoft-google-meta-stabilityai

SAG-AFTRA “Reviewing” Studios’ “Last, Best, And Final Offer” After Expanded CEO Meeting

Source: it includes “full” AI protections and a compensation hike.

https://deadline.com/2023/11/actors-strike-studio-proposal-ceo-meeting-1235593291/

News Group Says A.I. Chatbots Heavily Rely on News Content

Research from the News Media Alliance says that AI chatbots use news articles significantly more than generic content online.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/31/business/media/news-artificial-intelligence-chatbots.html?smid=tw-share

How Microsoft is making a mess of the news after replacing staff with AI

Microsoft’s decision to rely on AI to curate its homepage appears to be behind the site’s recent amplification of false and bizarre stories.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/02/tech/microsoft-ai-news/index.html

The Great Social Media–News Collapse

The truth about Big Tech’s relationship with journalism is much more complicated than it appears

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/11/social-media-news-readership-decline/675890/

Matter 1.2 is a big move for the smart home standard

One year in, and Matter is adding support for fridges, robot vacuums, smoke alarms, + more. It’s a major step toward a complete smart home using the Internet of Things, but success hinges on platform and manufacturer follow-thru.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/10/23/23925489/matter-1-2-smart-home-support-new-devices

Jeff Bezos urged Amazon to flood search results with junk ads, FTC alleges

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/02/jeff-bezos-urged-amazon-to-flood-search-results-with-junk-ads-ftc.html

An Apparent Cyberattack Hushes the British Library

After the British Library was hit with a “cyber incident” on October 28, the library’s website remains offline and scholars cannot access its online catalog

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/03/arts/british-library-cyber-attack.html

Google updates Maps with a flurry of AI features including ‘Immersive View for routes’

https://www.engadget.com/google-maps-update-ai-immersive-view-search-ev-charger-location-130015451.html

Disney Expects to Pay Comcast at Least $8.6 Billion to Buy Out Hulu Stake, Final Price Tag Could Be Higher

Disney’s ultimate payout to Comcast for the 33% stake in Hulu will depend on bankers’ assessments of the streamer’s fair equity value

https://variety.com/2023/digital/news/disney-buys-hulu-stake-comcast-1235776557/

Publishing & Media

Amazon Sues Scammers Targeting Authors

Amazon has filed a lawsuit against some 20 individuals scamming authors by falsely claiming an affiliation with Amazon Publishing and Kindle Direct Publishing.

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/93613-amazon-sues-scammers-targeting-authors.html

KKR Closes Deal to Buy Simon & Schuster

KKR completes its $1.62B Simon & Schuster acquisition, marking a major shift in the publishing industry; KKR plans to introduce an employee profit-sharing model

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/30/books/kkr-simon-schuster-sale.html

Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club is Launching Libraries in Hotels Around the World

Reese’s Book Club, a part of Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine company, announced its partnership with worldwide hotel brand Sheraton to launch the first-ever Lobby Library in select Sheraton locations worldwide. The rollout is part of the hotel brand’s larger initiative Gatherings By Sheraton, which aims to help guests and locals maximize their travels through shared cultural experiences and storytelling.

https://www.thezoereport.com/living/reese-book-club-sheraton-hotels-new-partnership

WH Smith launches buy-back scheme for secondhand books

Through the BookCycle scheme, launched on Tuesday, readers register their books online, take them to a branch and receive an e-voucher to spend in store or online. The books will be “passed on for another reader to enjoy or will be responsibly recycled,” according to the WH Smith website. Users will register a book using the ISBN number before being given a price, which is based on “criteria such as its condition, the popularity of the title and its demand in the market.”

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/nov/02/wh-smith-launches-buy-back-scheme-for-secondhand-books

What Are the Book-Owning and Book-Reading Habits of Americans? Two New Reports Shed Insight

85% 0f Americans own at least a single printed book. About 50% of Americans own an ebook. 53% of Americans read “literature and/or books of some kind” in 2022 – this number is down from 57% in 2017.

https://bookriot.com/american-reading-and-book-habits-2023/

Paying more attention to the health and social benefits of libraries is overdue

HT @LauraB7 While COVID-19 exposed many of the holes in our health and social safety net, it also shone a light on how invaluable libraries have become. During the pandemic, libraries were responsive to community needs in a manner few other institutions were.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-paying-more-attention-to-the-health-and-social-benefits-of-libraries/?intcmp=gift_share

Why I Love Paperbacks

You don’t own a paperback; you have it for a little while and then it moves on with its life. The best you can do is help it find a good home.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a45686651/why-i-love-paperback-books/

Inside the Wallingford home of four million second-hand books

Awesome Books in Wallingford is home to more than four million second-hand books. Set up in 2003 by brothers Mubin and Taskeen Ahmed to save books from being pulped, every day they receive 300,000 books which are resold around the world. They also donate 100,000 books every month to literacy programmes in the UK and overseas.https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-oxfordshire-67268069

AL state library service pulls out of ALA under pressure from state government

https://www.alreporter.com/2023/10/30/state-library-service-pulls-out-of-ala-under-pressure-from-state-government/

Florida joins conservative states severing ties with national library group

RT @FLFreedomRead “The agency in charge of FL’s public libraries issued a new rule in October forbidding any grant activities tied to the American Library Association.” Keep professionals from the very org that has set the industry standard for constitutional curation.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/10/31/florida-conservative-national-library-ala-00124516

‘We still have voices and we deserve to be heard’ Students throughout the Mat-Su (AK) walk out in protest of school board

RT @veronikellymars Mat-Su district students in Alaska walked out of class for 56 minutes yesterday–a minute for each book under review in the district. This district has a long history of book banning and regressive policies, but the KIDS are pushing back.

https://www.frontiersman.com/news/we-still-have-voices-and-we-deserve-to-be-heard-students-throughout-the-mat-su/article_00e1e166-7845-11ee-833e-2f5035180a13.html

The Author Fighting Back Against Book Bans

When Indiana conservatives came after the books she loved, Leah Johnson opened a hometown bookstore. Here, she tells Esquire how Loudmouth Books is uplifting banned books and highlighting marginalized writers.

https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/a45685997/leah-johnson-loudmouth-books-interview/

Resources & Opportunities

Disability in Publishing: A WMG Power Hour Pay-what-you-wish Virtual Event 11/14 noon ET

Did you know that *one out of every four* adults in the U.S. live with a disability? Join us for a virtual pay-what-you-wish program on Disability in Publishing and Media: A Women’s Media Group Power Hour w authors, screenwriters, journalists, bookstore owners, marketers, and activists with disabilities. Learn from some of the most influential voices in the disability community & celebrate their contributions to the world of publishing and media. 11/14 12-1pm ET via Zoom, pay-what-you-wish.

Please sign up today and help us spread the word!

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-5466833

Transforming DEI: Moving from Numbers to Narratives 11/30 5:30pm ET at PrideGlobal NYC

We are pleased to invite you to a very special in-person get-together. Taking place on November 30th at the gorgeous midtown Manhattan offices of our co-sponsor, Pride Global, this event will include time for catching up before the holidays as well as an important Power Hour talk about how to move diversity, inclusion, and equity initiatives forward.

This special evening features:

A motivational and thought-provoking panel featuring internationally known author, speaker, TED presenter, and DEI expert Janet Stovall; WMG co-President Jodi Brockington; and Pride Global Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Kamela Forbes
A signed copy of Janet’s book, The Conscious Communicator: The Fine Art of Not Saying Stupid Sh*t
Delicious light bites, wine, and beverages
Time for networking with fellow WMG members and guests

https://www.womensmediagroup.org/event-5476947

The PB Rising Stars Mentorship Program

HT @ebonylynnmudd The mission of The PB Rising Stars Mentorship is to give experienced picture book creators the platform to pull up-and-coming picture book creators up the turbulent publishing ladder. We believe that our Mentors and Mentees should reflect what publishing SHOULD look like.

https://www.pbrisingstars.com

LibraryCon Live! 2023

MT @sljournal Join Library Journal and School Library Journal on 11/9 for LibraryCon Live: a day-long celebration of fandom, spotlighting genre fiction with panels devoted to comics, horror, sf/fantasy, and more!

https://www.libraryjournal.com/event/librarycon-2023

Free course: An Introduction to Accessibility and Inclusive Design

RT @A11yAwareness “An Introduction to Accessibility and Inclusive Design” is offered by The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign through Coursera. The course explains fundamental principles such as assistive technology and adaptive strategies.

https://www.coursera.org/learn/accessibility

Free – Get in the Game: Opportunities in Sports Media

11/6 6:30-8pm, SVA Theater, free

https://www.centerforcommunication.org/calendar/get-in-the-game-opportunities-in-sports-media

Women + Media Career Summit

https://www.centerforcommunication.org/women-media-career-summit

Earth Journalism Network Reporting Fellowships 2024 (6,000 Euro stipend)

MT @soljourno Fellowship opportunity: Earth Journalism Network will choose four fellows for a one-year fellowship, with each covering a different aspect of the environment. Solutions journalism is part of the call, so check it out here

https://opportunitydesk.org/2023/10/24/ejn-reporting-fellowships-2024/

Elevating Innovation Virtual Conference

MT @nycmedialab Join us 11/7 at the Elevating Innovation ’23 Virtual Conference presented by Digital Promise & Verizon Innovative Learning. Hear from museum partners Belle Isle Conservancy, Children’s Creativity Museum, Liberty Science Center & Providence Children’s Museum on how to engage K-12 students w AR & VR.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/elevating-innovation-virtual-conference-tickets-695455495107