News of the week selected by Impactscool – 15th October, 2018

Machine learning against bullying on Instagram

According to Ditch the Label, a British non-profit organization, in 2017 the bullying acts among the very young were greater on Instagram than on Facebook. Perhaps also because of these numbers, the well-known social network dedicated to sharing photos has decided to run for cover, relying on machine learning to detect offenses, insults and threats on its platform. The algorithms will not only control the feeds but will also be able to monitor stories and live videos. The intervention of the machine does not exclude the presence of a control by operators in the flesh: the use of these algorithms, however, will allow finding out even more veiled and subtle offenses, which can potentially harm the dignity of users. The bullies on social networks have the hours counted: to win them today there is one more ally, an algorithm.

Data of 500 thousand users in danger: closed Google Plus

A bug in the Google Plus platform has endangered the privacy of hundreds of thousands of users. The Wall Street Journal, according to which the company was aware of the danger at least from the month of March, revealed the flaw in the system. The reaction of Google was not long in coming: the company, in fact, announced the closure of the social network for the public, while a version reserved for companies could remain active. A decision not particularly difficult that of the Mountain View’s house: for the same admission of the company, in fact, G+ had rather low utilization and engagement rates. Google claims it would have announced the closure of the social in any case, but the Wall Street Journal’s investigation has anticipated its communication. However, if so, why risk the data of 500 thousand users for over six months, in particular after the Cambridge Analytica scandal that has invested Facebook? Closed the curtain on Google Plus (for the final shutdown may take about 10 months), there are those who are ready to bet that Google is already thinking of a new social media. We will see.

Food and the increasing of the population: a study shows us the way forward

In 2050, the Earth could have 10 billion inhabitants and, also because of global warming, the resources may not be enough to allow the sustenance of the entire population. For this reason, an international research team has carried out a study to predict and estimate the production and consumption of food at a global level, defining some parameters and suggesting solutions to make the global food system sustainable. The research, published in the scientific journal Nature, emphasizes that it is not enough to reduce our environmental impact and limit climate change: it will be necessary to act on several fronts. We can summarize these actions in three points: change our eating habits, favouring a diet based on plant products; halve food waste; favouring the development of new agricultural technologies, increasing investments in this sector and enhancing crops. Climate change and population growth impose on us a new food style. If we are not able to reverse the trend, food scarcity could become a big problem in 2050.