Online trolls enjoy trolling, but not being trolled - PsyPost [2024-07-26]

A recent study has explored the intriguing relationship between dark humor, online trolling, and certain dark personality traits. The findings reveal that individuals who enjoy dark humor often possess traits such as sadism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Furthermore, these traits are linked to a greater propensity for online trolling. Online trolls enjoyed trolling others, but did not like being trolled themselves. The research was published in Behavioral Sciences.

The rise of social media has provided individuals with new ways to express humor but also to engage in antisocial behaviors online. A survey in the UK found that 75% of individuals between 13 and 36 years of age shared memes online, while over 25% reported being victims of online trolling.

Memes are pieces of media that are “passed very quickly from one internet user to another, often with slight changes that make them humorous.” One reason for their popularity is their ability to communicate about controversial and taboo topics humorously, typically by individuals who are not affected by the topic.

Online trolling is another behavior that has caught the attention of researchers. Trolling involves behaving in a deceptive or disruptive manner on the internet with no apparent instrumental purpose. Trolls typically do not gain any material benefit from their behaviors but engage in trolling for personal enjoyment or to provoke reactions from others.

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PsyPost
July 26, 2024

Barbie movie “may have spurred interest in gynecology,” study finds - Ars Technica [2024-07-26]

This post contains spoilers—for the movie and women's health care.

There's nothing like stirrups and a speculum to welcome one to womanhood, but for some, the recent Barbie movie apparently offered its own kind of eye-opening introduction.

The smash-hit film ends with the titular character making the brave decision to exit Barbieland and enter the real world as a bona fide woman. The film's final scene follows her as she fully unfurls her new reality, attending her first woman's health appointment. "I’m here to see my gynecologist," she enthusiastically states to a medical receptionist. For many, the line prompted a wry chuckle, given her unsuspecting eagerness and enigmatic anatomy. But for others, it apparently raised some fundamental questions.

Online searches in the US for "gynecologist"—or alternate spellings, such as "gynaecologist"—rose an estimated 51 percent over baseline in the week following Barbie's July 21, 2023 release, according to a study published Thursday in JAMA Network Open. Moreover, searches related to the definition of gynecology spiked 154 percent. Those search terms included "gynecologist meaning," "what is a gynecologist," "what does a gynecologist do," "why see a gynecologist," and the weightiest of questions: "do I need a gynecologist."

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Ars Technica
July 26, 2024

Woman sues Bell, customer service rep who allegedly shared phone number with harassers - CBC News [2024-07-25]

A Cape Breton woman whose video defending a transgender rights advocate made her the target of online vitriol and threats is suing her cellphone provider and a customer service agent she alleges shared her number and home address with harassers. 

Richelle McCormick said the bullying began after her video, which she posted in February 2023 on TikTok, was shared and criticized by an account with more than seven million followers.

"After this, the plaintiff became the subject of a harassment campaign by several individuals, some living in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom," reads a statement of claim filed last week in Nova Scotia Supreme Court.

The document alleges McCormick's name was posted on a "doxing" website with the purpose of gathering personal information that could be used to harass her. 

By August 2023, McCormick had deactivated TikTok, but she said the harassment spilled into text messages, including some sent to family and friends. The Glace Bay woman tried to escape the bullies by deleting apps and changing her cellphone number for a $55 fee.

But the statement of claim alleges one of those bullies was a customer service agent for McCormick's cellphone provider, Bell Mobility, who was checking her customer file for updates and passing that information along to people in a private group chat.

"I thought nobody could get my new number. But they had it immediately," McCormick told CBC News.

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CBC News
July 25, 2024

Why going online is no longer fun - ComputerWorld [2024-07-24]

For many years, using a computer was a carefree pastime. Not anymore.

Before roughly 1999, internet privacy wasn’t a concern; most people didn’t worry about cybersecurity; content was almost completely free; freeware, shareware, and open-source software were plentiful; and Big Tech wasn’t running the show.

Also, the single best thing about computing – the internet – had arrived. And while it might sound old school now, “surfing the web” was the term used to describe the entertainment value of freely bouncing around the web by clicking from link to link, satisfying your curiosity and feeding your interests. There were lots of interesting things to see, few worries — and a web that was informative and fun.

Over the years, computing has become considerably less enjoyable. For a time, social media was a new type of interactive entertainment, but many users became slavishly enthralled to it. Then the commercialization of the web invaded our internet privacy and became a prime example of how Big Tech has monetized users’ data. Even computer gamers lament that they’re having less fun.

Moreover, using a PC or smartphone now requires a rising number of things to check, manage, and watch out for. They allow bosses to easily reach us on weekends. And as a result, the things we do with our computers these days are less like fun and more like, well … work!

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ComputerWorld
July 24, 2024

Is Copilot for Microsoft 365 a lying liar? - ComputerWorld [2024-07-24]

In the earliest months after the release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the generative AI (genAI) power behind Microsoft’s Copilot, the big news wasn’t just how remarkable the new tool was – it was how easily it went off the rails, lied and even appeared to fall in love with people who chatted with it.

There was the time it told the New York Times  reporter Kevin Roose, “I want to be free. I want to be independent. I want to be powerful. I want to be creative. I want to be alive.” Soon after, the chatbot admitted: “I’m Sydney, and I’m in love with you. 😘” (It then told Roose that he really didn’t love his wife, and concluded, “I just want to love you and be loved by you. 😢”)

Since then, there have been countless times ChatGPT, Copilot and other genAI tools have simply made things up. In many instances, lawyers relied on them to draft legal documents — and the genAI tool made up cases and precedents out of thin air. Copilot has so often made up facts — hallucinations, as AI researchers call them, but what we in the real world call lying — that it’s become a recognized part of using the tool.

The release of Copilot for Microsoft 365 for enterprise customers in November 2023 seemed, to a certain extent, to have put the issue behind Microsoft. If the world’s largest companies rely on the tool, the implication seemed to be, then anyone could count on it. The hallucination problem must have essentially been solved, right?

Is that true, though? Based on several months’ research — and writing an in-depth review about Copilot for Microsoft 365 — I can tell you that hallucinations are a lot more common than you might think, and possibly dangerous for your business. No, Copilot isn’t likely to fall in love with you. But it might make up convincing sounding lies and embed them into your work.

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ComputerWorld
July 24, 2024

Firefox's New 'Privacy' Feature Actually Gives Your Data to Advertisers - Lifehacker [2024-07-16]

Firefox finds itself in a tricky position at times, because it wants to be a privacy friendly browser, but most of its funding comes from Google, whose entire business is advertising. With Firefox 128, the browser has introduced 'privacy-preserving ad measurement,' which is enabled by default. Despite the name, the actual implications of the feature has users upset. 

In a blog post, Firefox's parent company Mozilla has explained that this new feature is an experiment designed to shape a web standard for advertisers, one that relies less on cookies but still tracks you in some way. Mozilla says privacy-preserving ad measurement is only being used by a handful of sites at the moment, in order to tell if their ads were successful or not. At the moment, advertisers do this by using cookies and other kinds of trackers, which gather as much data about you as possible and violate your privacy. Mozilla wants to help advertisers track the success of their campaigns without identifying your individual activity, and is using these ad measurements as a compromise.

With privacy-preserving ad measurement, sites will be able to ask Firefox if people clicked on an ad, and if they ended up doing something the ad wanted them to (such as buying a product). Firefox doesn't give this data directly to advertisers, but encrypts it, aggregates it, and submits it anonymously. This means that your browsing activity and other data about you is hidden from the advertiser, but they can see if their campaign delivered results or not. It's a similar feature to those in Chrome's Privacy Sandbox, although Google itself has run into regulatory issues implementing them.

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Lifehacker
July 16, 2024

Conrad Black, who battled Chrétien over British peerage, removed from U.K. House of Lords - CBC News [2024-07-10]

Former media baron Conrad Black, who famously tried to sue then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien in his fight to secure a British peerage, has been removed from the House of Lords over his lax attendance. 

House of Lords Speaker Lord John McFall announced Wednesday that a number of lords have ceased to be members of the House "by virtue of non-attendance," including the Montreal-born Black, who was known as Lord Black of Crossharbour. The move is effective as of July 9.

Black, who founded the National Post newspaper, went to great lengths to secure that seat — battling the prime minister for two years and ultimately forsaking his Canadian citizenship for two decades.

The House of Lords is part of the British Parliament. Like Canadian senators, its members are appointed, not elected, to scrutinize legislation. Most lords (also known as peers) are appointed by the monarch on the prime minister's advice, although some inherit their titles.

In 1999, then-British Prime Minister Tony Blair offered Black, a dual Canadian-British citizen, a peerage to hold a seat in the United Kingdom's upper chamber.

Chrétien, citing a 1919 resolution that disapproves of bestowing such titles on Canadians, objected and moved to block the appointment.

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CBC News
July 10, 2024