The Obtain: Half Three of our investigation into Minnesota police

That is as we speak’s version of The Obtain, our weekday e-newsletter that gives a each day dose of what’s occurring on the earth of expertise.

Contained in the app Minnesota police used to gather knowledge on journalists at protests

Photojournalist J.D. Duggan was protecting a protest in Minnesota in April 2021 when law enforcement officials surrounded him and others, and advised them to get on the bottom. 

Officers sorted the press from the protesters, walked them to a parking zone, and commenced photographing them, one after the other, with cellphones, which they advised Duggan could be saved in an app. 

A private knowledge request to the Minnesota State Patrol revealed a number of pictures of Duggan, geolocation knowledge about the place the pictures have been taken, and details about the officer who took them. 

MIT Know-how Assessment’s investigation has discovered the info was collected utilizing a software referred to as Intrepid Response, a straightforward option to virtually immediately de-anonymize protest attendees and hold tabs on their actions. The pictures are saved in knowledge repositories which embody pictures and private details about people at protests and seem like accessible to a number of companies, together with federal teams.

I’ve combed the web to search out you as we speak’s most enjoyable/necessary/scary/fascinating tales about expertise.

1 Amid heavy losses in Ukraine, a blame recreation has began inside Russia
Even Putin’s supporters are having to concede how wildly he has miscalculated. (NYT $)
  + A whole bunch of 1000’s of persons are nonetheless caught in dire situations in Mariupol, say Ukrainian officers. (The Guardian)
  + A Kremlin spokesman refused to rule out using nuclear weapons. (CNN)
  + How possible is it that Russia will use them? (New Scientist $)
  + There are wildfires round Chernobyl. (NYT $)
  + It’s a golden age for armchair generals. (Vice)
  + The specter of Russian cyberattacks looms giant. (New Yorker $) 

2 Are we on the cusp of curing sickle cell illness? 
Gene remedy is likely to be about to ship a remedy. The large query is whether or not we make sure the individuals affected can afford it. (New Yorker $)
  + The primary permitted gene-edited infants might be for sickle cell illness. (TR) 

Three Europe lifted covid restrictions too rapidly, says a high WHO official 
Circumstances are rising quickly in lots of nations throughout the continent. (The Guardian)
  + One other covid surge within the US appears possible. Is it prepared for it? (NYT $)
  + This app gauges your degree of covid danger. (IEEE Spectrum)
  + What can we study from covid’s knowledge wizards? (Nature)
  + The CDC remains to be scrambling to get a greater deal with on public well being knowledge. (Politico)
  + Should you’re doing a speedy take a look at, do greater than only one. (Ars Technica) 

four Is Yandex too large to fail?
It took Arkady Volozh 20 years to construct it into Russia’s largest tech behemoth. It’s taken simply 20 days for it to begin to unravel. (Wired $)

5 Dopamine appears to assist get you shifting 
A captivating discovery about one of many mind’s most misunderstood chemical compounds. (Quanta)

6 There’s thriller swirling round an alleged hack of Okta
The identification administration firm’s response to claims of a breach by a hacking group has been complicated at finest. (Wired $)
  + It says it’s not a brand new cyberattack. (WSJ $)
  + However Microsoft confirmed it. (The Verge)
  + And Okta has needed to admit that tons of of its shoppers could also be affected. (CNN) 

7 San Francisco has gone off ride-hailing apps
Regardless of being the place the place probably the most well-known ones have been based. (FT $)
  + Uber is ditching its ‘cut up fare’ function. (Mashable)
  + California’s plan to impress Uber and Lyft doesn’t add up. (Wired $)
  + Elon Musk has opened Tesla’s first manufacturing unit in Europe. (WSJ $) 

eight We’re spending much less time on Fb
It’ll be no time earlier than it’s solely the boomers left. (CNBC)

9 What transhumanists get mistaken of their quest for human perfection
Quite a bit, truly. (Slate $)
  + It’s doable that geometry is one thing that solely people, not animals or machines, can grasp. (NYT $) 

10 ‘Digital resting factors’ allow you to cease doomscrolling with out logging off
They’re the great issues individuals submit to cleanse our timelines—fairly pictures, enjoyable movies, and meditation ideas. (WP $)

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