Notes from the Electronic Cottage 2/23/23: Informed Consent 1

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

When we are going to undergo a medical procedure or be part of a research study, we are asked to give “informed consent” to permit the medial professionals to provide treatment or to be part of a research study. There are very specific criteria for what “informed consent” means in those situations. On the web, we are often asked to give consent to our Internet Service Provider (ISP) or to web sites we use to enable the ISP or the site to collect and sell our personal information. But what does “informed consent” mean in those cases? Let’s think about that, and begin to look at what a recent national study discovered about that question.

About the host:
Jim Campbell has a longstanding interest in the intersection of digital technology, law, and public policy and how they affect our daily lives in our increasingly digital world. He has banged around non-commercial radio for decades and, in the little known facts department (that should probably stay that way), he was one of the readers voicing Richard Nixon’s words when NPR broadcast the entire transcript of the Watergate tapes. Like several other current WERU volunteers, he was at the station’s sign-on party on May 1, 1988 and has been a volunteer ever since doing an early stint as a Morning Maine host, and later producing WERU program series including Northern Lights, Conversations on Science and Society, Sound Portrait of the Artist, Selections from the Camden Conference, others that will probably come to him after this is is posted, and, of course, Notes from the Electronic Cottage.

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 2/16/23: AI Thoughts We Aren’t Hearing

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is all around us today, and that is going to be even more true – and more obvious – in the near future. Simply put, AI is going to change the world we live in every day. So who should decide how those changes will happen? It’s a good – and critically important – question that we all would do well to think about, and then make our opinions known.

About the host:
Jim Campbell has a longstanding interest in the intersection of digital technology, law, and public policy and how they affect our daily lives in our increasingly digital world. He has banged around non-commercial radio for decades and, in the little known facts department (that should probably stay that way), he was one of the readers voicing Richard Nixon’s words when NPR broadcast the entire transcript of the Watergate tapes. Like several other current WERU volunteers, he was at the station’s sign-on party on May 1, 1988 and has been a volunteer ever since doing an early stint as a Morning Maine host, and later producing WERU program series including Northern Lights, Conversations on Science and Society, Sound Portrait of the Artist, Selections from the Camden Conference, others that will probably come to him after this is is posted, and, of course, Notes from the Electronic Cottage.

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 2/9/23: 23rd Anniversary Edition!

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

This month marks the 23rd anniversary of Notes from the Electronic Cottage on WERU. Let’s take a little trip down memory lane as we listen to what we think is the very first Electronic Cottage program.

About the host:
Jim Campbell has a longstanding interest in the intersection of digital technology, law, and public policy and how they affect our daily lives in our increasingly digital world. He has banged around non-commercial radio for decades and, in the little known facts department (that should probably stay that way), he was one of the readers voicing Richard Nixon’s words when NPR broadcast the entire transcript of the Watergate tapes. Like several other current WERU volunteers, he was at the station’s sign-on party on May 1, 1988 and has been a volunteer ever since doing an early stint as a Morning Maine host, and later producing WERU program series including Northern Lights, Conversations on Science and Society, Sound Portrait of the Artist, Selections from the Camden Conference, others that will probably come to him after this is is posted, and, of course, Notes from the Electronic Cottage.

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 2/2/23: Thoughts on Buying a Computer

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Someone asked the other day what all the measurements that often appear in computer ads mean. We haven’t looked at that sort of information lately, so let’s give it a try today.

About the host:
Jim Campbell has a longstanding interest in the intersection of digital technology, law, and public policy and how they affect our daily lives in our increasingly digital world. He has banged around non-commercial radio for decades and, in the little known facts department (that should probably stay that way), he was one of the readers voicing Richard Nixon’s words when NPR broadcast the entire transcript of the Watergate tapes. Like several other current WERU volunteers, he was at the station’s sign-on party on May 1, 1988 and has been a volunteer ever since doing an early stint as a Morning Maine host, and later producing WERU program series including Northern Lights, Conversations on Science and Society, Sound Portrait of the Artist, Selections from the Camden Conference, others that will probably come to him after this is is posted, and, of course, Notes from the Electronic Cottage.

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 1/26/23: Privacy Policies & More Headlines

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Read any good online privacy policies lately? Just in case the answer is no, today we read a bit from a recently updated Privacy Policy from the publisher Conde Nast. It’s clearly written and not that different from the policies at many other web sites, and it is unlikely to make us feel good about the information web sites can collect about us. As an extra added attraction, a few recent tech headlines some of us may have missed.

Full Conde Nast updated Privacy Policy

About the host:
Jim Campbell has a longstanding interest in the intersection of digital technology, law, and public policy and how they affect our daily lives in our increasingly digital world. He has banged around non-commercial radio for decades and, in the little known facts department (that should probably stay that way), he was one of the readers voicing Richard Nixon’s words when NPR broadcast the entire transcript of the Watergate tapes. Like several other current WERU volunteers, he was at the station’s sign-on party on May 1, 1988 and has been a volunteer ever since doing an early stint as a Morning Maine host, and later producing WERU program series including Northern Lights, Conversations on Science and Society, Sound Portrait of the Artist, Selections from the Camden Conference, others that will probably come to him after this is is posted, and, of course, Notes from the Electronic Cottage.

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 1/19/23: January ’23 Headlines

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Now that holiday time is over, let’s take a look at some recent digital related headlines and stories that may affect our everyday lives in Maine and beyond.

About the host:
Jim Campbell has a longstanding interest in the intersection of digital technology, law, and public policy and how they affect our daily lives in our increasingly digital world. He has banged around non-commercial radio for decades and, in the little known facts department (that should probably stay that way), he was one of the readers voicing Richard Nixon’s words when NPR broadcast the entire transcript of the Watergate tapes. Like several other current WERU volunteers, he was at the station’s sign-on party on May 1, 1988 and has been a volunteer ever since doing an early stint as a Morning Maine host, and later producing WERU program series including Northern Lights, Conversations on Science and Society, Sound Portrait of the Artist, Selections from the Camden Conference, others that will probably come to him after this is is posted, and, of course, Notes from the Electronic Cottage.

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 1/12/23: ChatGBT

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

ChatGPT has caused quite of lot of online buzz of late, and there are good reasons. In case you aren’t familiar with what ChatGPT can do, or are wondering about some of the implications, both good and bad, of its use, here is a start. And, just because, we note a few other recent items that most of us wish weren’t happening.

About the host:
Jim Campbell has a longstanding interest in the intersection of digital technology, law, and public policy and how they affect our daily lives in our increasingly digital world. He has banged around non-commercial radio for decades and, in the little known facts department (that should probably stay that way), he was one of the readers voicing Richard Nixon’s words when NPR broadcast the entire transcript of the Watergate tapes. Like several other current WERU volunteers, he was at the station’s sign-on party on May 1, 1988 and has been a volunteer ever since doing an early stint as a Morning Maine host, and later producing WERU program series including Northern Lights, Conversations on Science and Society, Sound Portrait of the Artist, Selections from the Camden Conference, others that will probably come to him after this is is posted, and, of course, Notes from the Electronic Cottage.

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 1/5/23: Will Quantam Computing Change the World?

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

In the Dec. 19, 2022 print issue of the New Yorker, one article trumpeted “The Future of Everything: How Quantum Computing will Change the World – Eventually.” That’s quite an assertion but just what is quantum computing and how might it change the world? Here’s one way.

Here’s the digital version of the article mentioned today.

About the host:
Jim Campbell has a longstanding interest in the intersection of digital technology, law, and public policy and how they affect our daily lives in our increasingly digital world. He has banged around non-commercial radio for decades and, in the little known facts department (that should probably stay that way), he was one of the readers voicing Richard Nixon’s words when NPR broadcast the entire transcript of the Watergate tapes. Like several other current WERU volunteers, he was at the station’s sign-on party on May 1, 1988 and has been a volunteer ever since doing an early stint as a Morning Maine host, and later producing WERU program series including Northern Lights, Conversations on Science and Society, Sound Portrait of the Artist, Selections from the Camden Conference, others that will probably come to him after this is is posted, and, of course, Notes from the Electronic Cottage.

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