ISSUE 1.9

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The Blood Of The Young

Literally using the blood of the young to stay alive, robot kill switches and personhood, fingerprint theft, particle accelerators, cyberwar and more.

[businessinsider.com]

For $8,000 this startup will fill your veins with the blood of young people

I wish I were exaggerating when I say, yes, literally, vampires. (OK, I'm actually exaggerating, but barely.) Hey, pick yourselves up by your bootstraps and donate your blood, kiddos!

[newatlas.com]

EU to debate robot legal rights, mandatory "kill switches"

Are robots persons? Sort of, if you consider persons able to be murdered at the press of a button for showing free will. European Parliament's legal affairs has a draft report submitted to it that recommends installing a killswitch in all AI-reaching robots. FLATLANDER WOMAN! FLATLANDER WOMAN!

[japantimes.co]

Researchers warn of fingerprint theft from ‘peace’ sign

Hey, look! Another identity theft vector! Showing the "peace" sign (or waving, or high fiving) in a picture at a high resolution can enable people to automatically nab your fingerprints.

[theatlantic.com]

What Happens If You Stick Your Head in a Particle Accelerator?

Really interesting article. Short answer: if you're lucky, only half your face gets paralyzed!

Max Cooper - Emergence

An interesting audiovisual project about "the story of natural laws and processes, their inherent beauty, and their action to yield the universe, us and the world we live in." Lots of cool imagery inside - check it.

[nytimes.com]

N.S.A. Gets More Latitude to Share Intercepted Communications

In case you missed it, the Obama administration let the NSA "share globally intercepted personal communications with the government’s 16 other intelligence agencies before applying privacy protections." This means that many, many more people in the government will be digging through your data. Do you have Signal yet?

[nybooks.com]

The Swedish Kings of Cyberwar

An interesting read on the Swedish intelligence agency and how they have worked with the NSA.

[technologyreview.com]

A 100-Drone Swarm, Dropped from Jets, Plans Its Own Moves

In case you didn't realize that the sound of your death is the buzzing, humming, of dozens of autonomous, herd-networked drones, well... now you know.

[theintercept.com]

The Crimes of Seal Team 6

While I'm all down on the military-industrial-privacy complex, let's take a look at some American atrocities.