It Makes Sense to Someone, Somewhere (in Moscow):
Why is Russia invading Ukraine and what does Putin want?
How did Russia’s invasion of Ukraine unfold? A timeline in maps.
Ukraine invasion: Is this a new Cold War?
Could Ukraine be Putin’s Afghanistan?
Advanced military technology in Russia.
‘Kill Your Commanding Officer’: On the Front Lines of Putin’s Digital War With Ukraine.
Ukraine is using crowdfunding to raise money for its military in war with Russia.
Ukrainian government calls on hackers to help defend against Russia.
Also,
The Simpsons were right.
And, from waaaay back in January...
Russians back off after Irish fishermen vow to disrupt war games.
TOP 5 (non-invasion) for the week
>01. Clearview AI aims to put almost every human in facial recognition database
via Ars Technica
The increase in photos could be paired with an expanded business model. Clearview "wants to expand beyond scanning faces for the police, saying in the presentation that it could monitor 'gig economy' workers and is researching a number of new technologies that could identify someone based on how they walk, detect their location from a photo or scan their fingerprints from afar."
See also:
>02. Crypto, NFTs, and sports betting: Money is now a hobby.
via Vox
The gamification of money, and the blurring boundaries between what constitutes investing and what constitutes entertainment, have raised plenty of concerns, and many argue that the government is too far behind the times to adequately address it.
See also:
Nonprofit hospitals weigh the risks of accepting crypto donations.
From a meme to $47 million: ConstitutionDAO, crypto, and crowdfunding.
>03. Their Bionic Eyes Are Now Obsolete and Unsupported.
via IEEE Spectrum
It wasn’t her phone battery running out. It was her Argus II retinal implant system powering down. The patches of light and dark that she’d been able to see with the implant’s help vanished.
See also:
In the World's Fastest Drummer, Scientists See a Bionics Breakthrough.
How technology has inspired neuroscientists to reimagine the brain.
Brain surgeons and rocket scientists no brighter than the rest of us.
>04. Introducing 21 Ways COVID Changed the World.
via Scientific American
In the spring of 2020 a cartoon was making the rounds on social media. It showed a city perched on a tiny island, surrounded by ocean. A speech bubble emerged from the skyline: “Be sure to wash your hands and all will be well.” Not far out at sea, a giant wave labeled “COVID-19” was about to crash over the city. Behind it was an even bigger wave marked “recession.” And beyond that one was a tower of water that threatened to swallow it all: “climate change.”
See also:
>05. Metaverse: We don't have the chips or the knowledge
via Protocol
If the metaverse sounds vague, that’s because it is.
See also:
JPMorgan thinks the metaverse is a $1 trillion yearly opportunity and opens the first virtual bank.
The metaverse is dystopian – but to big tech it’s a business opportunity.
Tangents
Quotes for the Week
There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else.
George Orwell, 1984
Best for the week ahead!
-Tim