The hidden side of politics

Pinterest Wants You to Relax, Equifax’s $700M Fine, and More News

Reported by WIRED:

Pinterest wants to calm you down, Equifax gets hit with a record fine, and facial recognition is still struggling with darker faces. Here’s the news you need to know, in two minutes or less.

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Today’s Headlines

Feeling stressed? Pinterest wants to help

For many people, social media generates stress. But when social platform Pinterest noticed a lot of users searching for “anxiety” and “stress,” it built a little set of exercises to help them feel better. This so-called compassionate search is Pinterest’s plan to comfort its users without veering too far from the original product.

$700 Million Equifax fine is still too little, too late

Two years after its historic data breach, the credit bureau Equifax agreed to settle for at least $575 million, and up to $700 million. And while it is a record settlement amount for a data breach, the settlement struck many close observers as insufficient when considering the massive scope and scale. As one cybersecurity expert pointed out, “When you have 150 million people who are affected, this settlement is only really giving two or three dollars per person.”

Cocktail Conversation

Despite ongoing debate, facial recognition is everywhere from airports to government agencies—and it’s spreading fast. But even the best-performing facial recognition systems misidentify black people at rates five to 10 times higher than they do white people. While the issue is hardly a new one, it’s yet another reason to be wary of the spread of facial recognition in the world.

WIRED Recommends: Super Automatic Espresso Machines

When it comes to espresso you usually have a few options: Go get it at a coffee shop, go through the laborious process of making it yourself, or endure a lesser pod-based solution. Enter Super Automatic Espresso Machines. You still get the benefits of the process, it just happens for you. Our reviewer has some ideas on which ones you should consider if you’re in the market.

News You Can Use

Adware is the malware you should actually be worried about.

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Source:WIRED

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