Happy Tuesday, all! Here’s your Tuesday Tech Drop, the top stories from the last week involving politics and tech.
Musk makes a big announcement
Elon Musk claimed that his startup Neuralink has successfully implanted its first device in a human brain and that the person is “recovering well.” NBC News was unable to confirm the report, but the announcement suggests Musk may be one step closer to a device that, his company says, will allow people to control devices with their minds. Nightmare fuel.
Read more at NBC News.
Citywide social media advisory
New York City has officially declared social media to be a public health hazard, with New York Mayor Eric Adams classifying it in the same category as tobacco and guns. The announcement resulted in New York City’s health commissioner issuing a public health advisory on social media use.
Read more at The Washington Post.
For your eyes only (if you’re 18)
West Virginia is moving forward with a law that would require people to show some form of identification to verify they’re 18 or older before they can access pornography online. Several states have similar laws on the books; in addition to being difficult to enforce, a federal judge recently ruled that Texas’ version of the age-verification law violates the Constitution. An appeals court has allowed it to stay in effect while the case is pending.
Read more at The Associated Press.
Democrats demand a delay
A group of Democratic senators want the Department of Justice to stop helping local, state and tribal police buy so-called predictive policing tools until the DOJ can prove those tools won’t contribute to discriminatory practices. These tools rely on a variety of data to develop algorithms that allegedly determine where future crime might occur. Studies have shown predictive policing tools disproportionately identify people of color as potential criminals.
Read the senators’ letter to the DOJ here.
Warner’s misinformation warning
Sen. Mark Warner is worried about a “perfect storm” of election interference this year. The Virginia Democrat said in an NPR interview that he wished he were more confident, citing three concerns: potential influence efforts by Russia and Iran, election deniers in the United States, and a recent court decision that bars the government from conversations with social media companies. Warner says that the ruling could hamper government efforts at stopping the spread of disinformation.
Read Warner’s interview with NPR here.
Optimism? In this climate?
Axios reports on the “techno-optimists,” which is apparently a group of “mostly rich, white, middle-aged men with tech jobs, companies or investment funds” who’ve been amassing “political muscle through social media, podcasts, new journalism projects, and political donations and activism.” Axios reports they’re flexing that political muscle by supporting conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential bid. Seems like a group we ought to scrutinize more closely.
Check it out on Axios.