Welcome to the latest edition of Bacon Bytes. This week we’ve got a mix of topics, from AI and job markets to erasing your Facebook history so people don’t discover you dated your cousin. I’m not joking.
Facebook to release dating service
Someone needs to tell Mark Zuckerberg that the time to build a dating app is *before* you get married, not after.
Many people think AI will destroy jobs, but just not theirs
File this under the “it will never happen to me” department. The survey results are head-scratching: 73% of adults believe AI will destroy jobs, but only 23% have concern for their own job. That same group thinks AI will destroy over 50% of current jobs, but 91% think their job is safe. So, as a whole, we recognize that AI will change job markets. Our human minds know this to be true. But what we can’t imagine are the creation of new jobs. And we have faith in ourselves that we will be able to find work in the new economy. The results of this survey matches the sentiment I’ve found with data professionals. Many people cannot imagine a DBA role lost to AI. History suggest this will happen. History also suggest those humans will find new jobs.
Volunteers needed for DNA research project
The National Institute for Health is asking for one million Americans to submit their DNA to a research project. What could possibly go wrong?
GDPR phishing scams increasing
With GDPR compliance looming over everyone on the 25th of May, it is not a surprise to see a wave of GDPR phishing attacks. This is one of the reasons security remains difficult. With the flood of email to wade through each day, combined with FUD around GDPR, you know that people will click.
Cambridge Analytica to shut down operations
Cambridge Analytica, the company behind the Facebook election scandal, is going out of business. That sounds great until you realize that they are re-opening under a new name. The use of information to influence opinion is not so0mething new. The people behind Cambridge Analytica are always going to be with us, looking to walk the line of data ethics in pursuit of a dollar.
Nearly half of adults want to delete part of their Facebook history
In other Facebook news, users of the platform will be allowed to clear their history. I think the 50% estimate is a bit low. What we really need is a Time Stone to avoid signing up for Facebook to begin with. And if Facebook builds a dating app that matches you up with your cousin, this delete function will be the most popular feature, ever.
Twitter says bug exposed user plaintext passwords
I’m not saying there was a breach, but, if it was me…I would announce it in this exact same way. “Sorry, looks like nothing happened, but something could, so you should change your passwords, thanks.” Breaches take months before they become known. If these logs appear on the dark web in three months then Twitter is in the clear for telling us now and not waiting. I’d like to know more about this “bug” that output passwords in plain text though, that seems weird to me. There shouldn’t be a need to ever have a password in plain text. Twitter has a great chance to earn some trust and respect if they are able to disclose technical details.
May the 4th be with you, and see you next week!
