Yahoo! Research Labs released a beta version of a new search tool called Yahoo! Mindset allowing users to filter results on an axis of "shopping" (i.e., commercial) vs "researching" (i.e., non-commercial) sources. From their site: Find the results you like.Sort…
Category: Information Ethics
Concerns with Google Print Library
Siva Vaidhyanathan is working on a paper/talk about the social implications of Google's plan to digitize library books, and asks for feedback. The broadest issue is the widespread acceptance of the "Google paradigm" for organizing, distributing and accessing information. Google…
University Presses Unhappy at Google Print
InsideGoogle points to this report about a group of academic publishers concerned about Google's plan to scan millions of library books into its Internet search engine index:The plan "appears to involve systematic infringement of copyright on a massive scale," wrote…
Value Implicaitons of Nanotechnology
While presenting at the AAAS Science and Technology in Society Graduate Conference this past weekend, I met Ruben Rodriques, a Political Science grad student from Northeastern University. Ruben is a researcher at the Nanotechnology and Society Research Group, an exciting…
Blurring of Search Results and Ads
One of the things Google brags about with its Adsense and Adwords programs is the high relevancy of the ads placed alongside its search results. Their logic is that the more relevant the ads are to the search, the less…
Mind-Mapping and Spatial Information Navigation
Today's New York Times includes a story on mind-mapping software, "To-Do List: Shop, Pay Bills, Organize Brain." It suggests that to learn new topics, organize ideas and spur creative thinking, people should draw dynamic and unstructured "mind maps" rather than…
Blogs as Information Interfaces
There's a discussion at Jeff Jarvis' Buzzmachine about what term should be used to describe "blogs" (the assumption being, apparently, that "blogs" is too techie, or has a negative connotation, or something like that). Jeff has frequently used the term…
Ethics of Robot Design
There's a discussion today on Slashdot regarding the threats and benefits of using robots to monitor both children and employees. As reported by ABC News, Microsoft is researching such technology:The teddy bear sitting in the corner of the child's room…
Credit Reporting Agencies Blocking Referrals to Free Credit Report Website
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the three credit reporting agencies are blocking referral links to the Annual Credit Report website they created to conform to the new federal law giving consumers the right to an annual free credit report:Although…
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France’s Top Librarian Attacks Google Online Library
TechNewsWorld reports that The National Library of France is not happy with Google's effort to scan and integrate millions of books into its Web search. Jean-Noel Jeanneney, President of the library, wrote in an editorial that he is concerned Google's…
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