Thursday, May 18, 2023

Limits of the First Order

Every profession has its sleazy fringe. Lawyers have ambulance-chasing hucksters, cops have racists who beat up people, politicians…don’t get me started.

Journalists, unfortunately, are no exception. Over at the extreme edge are the paparazzi, who hide behind press freedoms to torment Royals and other celebrities.

The photographers that allegedly hid their license plates in Tuesday night’s incident involving Harry and Meghan in New York should be stripped of their press credentials, if the initial reports are accurate, and prosecuted for traffic violations as a bare minimum.

The rest of us are sick of them polluting our work environment with their intrusions on personal privacy. They do not represent us and no honest journalist I know would ever treat anyone the way they do.

For that matter, nor do we want anything to do with the conspiracy propagandists on right-wing networks and social media. Congress has every right to narrow Section 230 of the CDA, and the Big Tech companies have very right to limit the voices of those who circulate the conspiracy theories that undermine democracy.

And yes, Fox had every right (and obligation IMHO) to get rid of Tucker Carlson.

I am a “hawk” on these issues; I believe in strengthened government regulation to limit press freedom where necessary and appropriate. A First Amendment absolutist I am not.

LINKS:

  • Harry, Meghan in 'near catastrophic' New York paparazzi car chase, spokesperson says (Reuters)

  • Prince Harry and Meghan made getaway in NYC taxi after being trailed by paparazzi (AP)

  • Supreme Court denies request to block Illinois ban on semi-automatic rifles (CBS)

  • Biden says he is ‘confident’ on reaching debt ceiling deal with Republicans (NBC)

  • Biden pushes back at tougher work requirements for welfare pushed by Republicans in debt-ceiling talks (USA Today)

  • Missouri ends rule limiting transgender care for minors, some adults (The Hill)

  • Key states are nearing a deal to protect the Colorado River. California, Arizona and Nevada would voluntarily conserve a major portion of their river water in exchange for over $1 billion in federal funds. (WP)

  • As Ukrainian Attack Looms, Putin Faces Setbacks and Disunity in Russian Forces (NYT)

  • A US-made Patriot missile defense system being used by Ukraine likely suffered some damage from a Russian strike, two US officials said, adding that it did not appear to have been destroyed. (Reuters)

  • ChatGPT Scams Are Infiltrating the App Store and Google Play (Wired)

  • AI leaders: Please regulate us (Axios)

  • Texas A&M Prof Flunks All His Students After ChatGPT Falsely Claims It Wrote Their Papers (Rolling Stone)

  • How AI Knows Things No One Told It (Scientific American)

  • How do you solve a problem like out-of-control AI?  (MIT Tech Review)

  • Will ChatGPT Replace Google? Here's What We Know (Motley Fool)

  • Inside the AI culture war (Politico)

  • Before AI Takes Over, Make Plans to Give Everyone Money — The U.S. needs policies now to support workers made redundant by artificial intelligence. (Atlantic)

  • 'Age of Danger' explores potential risks because AI doesn't understand rules of war (NPR)

  • StableStudio is Stability AI’s latest commitment to open-source AI (Verge)

  • An AI glossary: the words and terms to know about the booming industry (NBC)

  • The Story Behind the Stabbing of a San Francisco Tech Exec (WSJ)

  • Man Plagued By Intrusive Thoughts Of Wanting To Help Others (The Onion)

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