INFLUENCE

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277 What President Biden's Executive Order on AI Means for the Internet's Future Nov 20, 2023

Show notes

President Joe Biden recently issued an executive order that attempts to put standards and guardrails on how AI should be used, specifically when it comes to government agencies (law enforcement, housing, etc.). It comes at a time when algorithmic and generative technologies show increasing bias and harm, while congress seems ineffective at regulating ... anything.

So, what even IS an executive order? Will it be effective without legislative power behind it? And how might these new guardrails affect the private sector, especially the tech and Internet companies that determine so much of what we do online?

Alli and Lindsey speak with Jon Keegan, an investigative data journalist at the non-profit technology news site The Markup. Jon breaks down the ramifications of an executive order, why the Biden administration took this kind of action, where it might inform the direction of AI, and why it's still lacking without broader bi-partisan urgency.

Read Jon and his colleagues' breakdown of the order on The Markup: https://themarkup.org/news/2023/11/01/the-problems-bidens-ai-order-must-address

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276 A CAPTCHA for Ignorance Nov 13, 2023

Show notes

Alli proposes a test for social media users to determine if they are qualified to post about politics online, and Lindsey explains an unhinged British reality dating show that's mostly just shots of people's genitals.

Also, a Halloween costume recap and Thanksgiving plans.

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275 The Explosive Growth of Computer Keyboard Mod Culture (with Hipyo Tech) Nov 06, 2023

Show notes

Like many of us, Hipyo was bored and laid off during the pandemic. When he needed to find a better keyboard to play PC games, he uncovered a rabbit hole of key cap enthusiasts, mostly on Discord and Reddit. With a bit of research into what people wanted from "keyboard content," he started a YouTube channel. Three years (and more than 500 videos) later, his reviews, modifications, and DIY challenges have garnered millions of views and a thriving community of keyboard fanatics in search of the perfect "click," "thoc," or no sound at all.

Alli and Lindsey talk with Hipyo about the sudden growth of keyboard mod culture, and how he fell into a gaggle of prolific creators who push the limits of what PC keyboards can look, feel, and sound like.

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274 Regular Dumb or Dangerous Dumb? Oct 30, 2023

Show notes

Alli shares some news about her live show format and Lindsey updates us on her dating life. Also, a big eureka! moment, the disappointment of Ryan Lochte, and gearing up for spoopy season in our Discord! Also, Elon Musk is still a dum dum!

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273 Will AI Supercharge or Destroy Wikipedia As We Know It? Oct 23, 2023

Show notes

Large language models like ChatGPT owe their success to open knowledge platforms like Wikipedia. So, are they as "smart" as human Wikipedia editors? In many ways, they're even smarter, and orders of magnitude faster at writing clear, concise articles about straightforward facts. But as usual, the devil is in the details. Providing context around certain "facts," and arriving at a consensus about sources and notability still falls in the human domain — especially when ChatGPT is prone to "hallucinating" details it can't verify.

Alli and Lindsey welcome Bill Beutler back to 2G1P. Bill is the founder and president of Beutler Ink, a digital agency with a focus on Wikipedia. They're also joined by Danny Adler, a Wikipedia strategy manager at Beutler Ink. They've been steeped in Wiki culture (and how to resolve conflicts of interest) for years, and discuss how to create reliable and accessible knowledge in the age of AI. They share their own eye-opening ChatGPT experiment, how Wikipedia editors are (cautiously) employing AI to co-write articles, and what happens when AI starts learning from itself, rather than from human knowledge bases.

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272 In Which We Try Very Hard to Not Talk About the Middle East Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

Since there's definitely nothing important going on in the world this week, we talk about Halloween costumes, learning sine and cosine in high school, evolutionary psychology, how to end a bad date, and...probably other things?

If you're in NYC this week, you can get tickets to Lindsey's show here: https://www.frigid.nyc/event/6897:544/

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271 Wikipedians Are at War Over the Inclusion of Roads and Highways Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

What makes something notable? What kind of sources are needed for a thing to have a Wikipedia article about it? These philosophical issues are discussed by volunteer Wikipedia editors constantly to ensure that the non-profit encyclopedia is accurate and relevant.

But a community of self-described "Road Geeks" has been at odds with Wikipedia's standards for some time. They're on a mission to catalog every road in North America, but other Wiki editors claim that this content is too granular, or has no secondary (journalistic) sources. But why would these sources exist when roads just...exist? And when should primary research — looking at a map, or even out your own window! — be considered for inclusion in the world's largest knowledge base?

Tired of having their road articles deleted or modified, the Road Geeks have now "seceded" from Wikipedia to create their own Wiki on a sympathetic site called AARoads. While this may seem like a bunch of semantic nerds fighting on the Internet, it actually has fascinating implications for who gets to decide what is important, and what Wikipedia is supposed to be.

Alli and Lindsey talk with Ben, a longtime Wikipedia editor and road enthusiast who is part of the movement to carve out a home for the historical and cultural value of road knowledge online. You can find the new wiki here: https://wiki.aaroads.com/

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270 The Greatest TV Theme Song Ever Written, According to Science* Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

Alli is spending time in the "real world" with her live show, so Lindsey and Matt catch up on her recent thrifting adventures in Portland (Oregon), watching weird birds go down a chimney, spoopy kids' books, unhinged NYC weather, and conclusive evidence of the best TV theme song ever written.

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269 How "Bama Rush" TikTok Became a Bizarre Social Media Reality Show Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

At the University of Alabama, rushing for a sorority has become a cottage industry, thanks to social media. Centering on "blindingly White" college students and their influencer aspirations. "RushTok" is now a cultural phenomenon, complete with management deals, style consultants, and a massive audience of Internet onlookers who are seriously invested in whether these girls get into the house of their choice. In a way, it has become an influencer-led "reality show," distributed across the Internet, where audience perception (rather than a TV producer) decides the heroes and villains. Bama Rush fans even refer to the content as "seasons."

Alli and Lindsey talk with journalist Fortesa Latifi, who covered the phenomenon for Teen Vogue. She discusses why the trend has enraptured millions, and the problematic institutions it unwittingly perpetuates. She also explains why interviewing some of the Internet's favorite rushers lead to an unhinged backlash from the fandom.

Read Fortesa's piece here: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/bama-rush-tiktok-is-getting-more-relatable

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Creating "Positive Peer Pressure" With Study Streamers [ENCORE] Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

We dip into the back catalog this week with another fave from yesteryear.

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-- Original Show Notes, Jan 24, 2022 --

Studying, writing, and remote work can be a lonely time. Add in a dose of global pandemic, and the endless isolation can be overwhelming. It's no surprise to see the growth of streaming communities focused on mundane things: Eating, writing, and today's topic: Studying. Alli and Linsey talk with Giulia Mazza, a study streamer who spends hours a day studying for her Master's degree while hundreds of people watch on Twitch. Her audience is also studying and working, and as Giulia explains, the community has become a place for "positive peer pressure" and accountability in an age of endless distraction and isolation.

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