In most of the media companies that employed me in the early years of the web, one of my main responsibilities was supervising the metrics department.
In case that sounds like a big deal, this was well before the days of data scientists and multi-variable analysis; in most cases the metrics department in media companies consisted of a lone individual.
And that person often felt like no one was listening to them.
After all, much more significant than the actual numbers he or she gathered was figuring out how to interpret that data. In and of themselves, of course, the numbers were neutral. But the people we worked with had a wide variety of opinions over what those numbers actually meant.
Was our audience growing? Which types of content were most successful? What was success in this type of media environment anyway? Which metric mattered most?
Occasionally, especially in the early years, we would publish a story that “broke the servers,” i.e., generated more traffic that our system could handle. There was little debate on those occasions over whether we had a winner, particularly because additional things tended to happen to support the data.
Things like attention from other media outlets, tons of email from subscribers and a boost to whatever financial metric we were tracking.
But these experiences caused me to eventually draw a few conclusions about people in general:
Most of us are not very good at math.
Most of us see what we want to see in the numbers and don’t see what we don’t want to see.
Most of us don’t change our behavior or opinions even when the numbers say we should.
In the end, I wondered, what did the data itself think about all of this human frailty? That is one reason I have long been curious about the coming of generative artificial intelligence — we may be about to find out the answer to that question.
(This is originally from last July.)
HEADLINES:
Supreme Court maintains access to abortion pill in unanimous decision (CNN)
Hunter Biden's options for appeal after gun conviction (CBS)
Hunter Biden conviction shatters Trump’s persecution narrative (CNN)
Hunter Biden guilty verdict could take personal toll on the president (WP)
About half of US adults approve of Trump's conviction, but views of him remain stable (AP)
House Republicans prepare to hold Attorney General Garland in contempt (NPR)
Jack Smith Handed Boost in Bid To Prosecute Trump (Newsweek)
Trump on Trial: truth or consequences (Guardian)
Why scientists fear a second Trump term, and what they are doing about it (WP)
Steve Bannon asks appeals court to allow him to remain out of prison while he fights contempt of Congress conviction (NBC)
Hundreds of police have sexually abused kids. How do they avoid prison time? (WP)
As a Gaza truce plan hangs in the balance, the UN says both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes. (Reuters)
Gaza ceasefire plan in balance as US says Hamas proposed 'changes' (BBC)
What is behind the rise of the far right in Europe? (Al Jazeera)
Temperatures are hitting record highs in parts of north and central China this week while a severe drought in the east is also threatening crops, as countries across Asia brace themselves for another summer of extreme weather. (Reuters)
Canada’s Big Worry: A US Civil War (Politico Mag)
Russian warships conduct drills en route to Cuba with new hypersonic missiles on board (AP)
Judge Strikes Down Florida’s Ban on Transgender Care for Minors (NYT)
Reported birth of rare white buffalo calf in Yellowstone park fulfills Lakota prophecy (AP)
X is about to start hiding all likes (Verge)
Elon Musk drops lawsuit against ChatGPT-maker OpenAI without explanation (AP)
Researchers use large language models to help robots navigate (MIT)
The war for AI talent is heating up (Economist)
Wall Street expects Apple's AI updates to power a strong upgrade cycle (CNBC)
The next evolution in humanoid robots (IntEng)
All the ways Apple’s AI could change how you use your iPhone (WP)
15-Year-Old Finds Summer Job As BetterHelp Therapist (The Onion)
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