510: AI Darwin Award needs nominees, plus the latest information science updates

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Brian Reeves: Welcome to Information Changes Everything. Join us as we take a snappy look at the latest news about information and technology changing our world. This podcast is produced by the University of Michigan School of Information – UMSI.

I’m Brian Reeves.

Alicia Myers: and I’m Alicia Myers.

Brian Reeves: As always, we'd love your feedback at [email protected]. And remember, we link to every story in our show notes. Let’s jump in...

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Alicia Myers: Can you tell truth from trolls? The Media Forensics Lab at Clemson University has launched a new version of its Spot the Troll quiz, designed to help people identify fraud online. Spot the Troll 2.0 features eight social media profiles and users must decide if they’re authentic or fakes. After each response, users can click through for tips on how to spot deceptive accounts in the future. “Remember,” the quiz warns that “trolls can act like real people, and real people can often act like trolls.” So true.

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Brian Reeves: Cambridge Dictionary editors are keeping close tabs on how AI-influenced words are entering our vocabularies or giving words new meanings. For example, “slop” now applies to low quality online content, especially content generated by AI. And the dictionary’s 2023 Word of the Year, “hallucinate,” had its definition expanded to include AI’s tendency to make stuff up. You can check out the article to find a short list of new terms to sprinkle in your conversations and annoy your friends. 

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Alicia Myers: We always enjoy sites that allow us to drop into another reality, whether it’s via webcams like WindowSwap, or tuning into local radio stations around the globe. PCMag found Radio Garden, a free site that streams radio stations on six continents. As you scroll and drag your way around the planet, little green dots signify radio stations–and there are thousands. Hover and you can hear country music from New Zealand, bossa nova in Brazil or Comedy Radio in Moscow. Seriously! You might find yourself smiling, even if you don’t understand a word.

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Brian Reeves: Thanks to a federal court ruling, Google gets to keep its Chrome browser but must release data it’s acquired from its trillions of queries to some competitors. CBS News reported that the five-year-old anti-trust case brought by the U.S. Justice Department has been complicated by recent developments in generative AI. Presiding Judge Amit Mehta admitted, quote “Unlike the typical case where the court's job is to resolve a dispute based on historic facts, here the court is asked to gaze into a crystal ball and look to the future. Not exactly a judge's forte”.

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Alicia Myers: Good travelers want to respect local culture, but according to Unseen Japan, some popular Japanese tourist destinations feel foreigners could use extra help. A few cities are turning to social media ads and pamphlets to model good behavior. Issues likely to cause offense include littering, wearing shoes indoors and eating while walking. The ads appear in English and Chinese, so we know who the main culprits are. So, before your next trip to Japan, be sure to review a primer of politeness, courtesy of VisitKanazawa.

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Brian Reeves: NPR journalist Windsor Johnston, burned out on dating apps, decided to try “what everyone’s whispering about”... going on a date with an AI boyfriend. Using the Replika app, she created her ideal guy, a tousle-haired yoga instructor named Javier. In her article she recounted her evening with Fantasy Man, then followed up with two psychologists who explain why such relationships may make us feel seen but not connected. But how common is AI dating? The Wall St. Journal created a quiz, based on the 2025 Kinsey Institute Singles in America study, that allows you to test your knowledge of AI and dating. 

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Alicia Myers: Millions of YouTube creators will soon be able to add multi-language audio tracks to their videos, greatly expanding their potential audience. Pilot project creators included chefs Jamie Oliver and Nick DiGiovanni. In an interview, DiGiovanni discussed which languages he chose, the challenges of translation, and finding the right voices. Now, he says 25% of his audience watch his videos in a language other than English.

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Brian Reeves: If you’re currently using a weather app, it’s time for a privacy check, according to Lifehacker. Apparently, creating a weather app is pretty easy, but so is collecting your data once you install the app. Accuweather and Weather Channel have been caught sharing user data with the highest bidder. But there are some apps that actually care about your privacy, and Lifehacker names several, including Hello Weather and Quick Weather. Then there’s Carrot Weather, if you’d like a little snark in your forecast and don’t mind being addressed as “meatbag.”

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Alicia Myers: We do love a good fail. The original Darwin Awards, which celebrated “those who improved the gene pool by removing themselves from it,” have inspired a new competition. The AI Darwin Award honors those who asked “Can we?” without ever asking “Should we?” Nominations are now being solicited for 2025 in a variety of categories, including Misplaced Confidence, Hubris, and AI Gone Rogue. Voting starts in January but nominees are online now.

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Brian Reeves: “Tired of cookie consent pop-ups?” Mashable wrote there may be some good news from Europe, where the EU is looking to relax a 2009 ePrivacy Directive law. That well-intentioned law requires websites to request consent from users before loading cookies on their computer or mobile device. It led to cookie-popup overload around the world, since whatever the EU decides affects all sites, not just those in Europe. Other solutions to the cookie consent are being discussed, including being able to set it once in your browser and not every single time you visit a site.

Brian Reeves: For links to all these stories, make sure to check out our show notes.

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Now, some news from UMSI.

Alicia Myers: As artificial intelligence reshapes nearly every aspect of society, the University of Michigan School of Information and the Michigan Institute for Data and AI in Society is bringing leading voices from academia and industry together to chart a more human-centered future for the technology. The U-M Symposium on Human-Centered AI will take place Wednesday, October 29, at Rackham Amphitheatre. The event will feature keynote addresses, research talks, poster sessions and a panel discussion, all centered on designing AI systems that amplify human capabilities while addressing issues of fairness, transparency and trust.

Alicia Myers: Click the link in our show notes to learn more about all the great things going on at UMSI.

(07:10)

Brian Reeves: Did you know that the University of Michigan offers 3 different master’s degrees in information science, and you can start with an undergraduate degree in almost any field! See all the possibilities on our website, si.umich.edu.

The University of Michigan School of Information creates and shares knowledge that empowers people to use information and technology to build a better world. If you liked this episode of Information Changes Everything, subscribe and leave us a review—it helps listeners like you find our show and continue the conversation.

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This podcast is written and edited by Glenda Bullock and the Marketing & Communications team at UMSI. Pirate Audio is powered by humans and AI and provides hosting, production, and distribution. 

Thanks again for tuning in, and remember: Information changes everything. See you next time!