AI and your privacy

+ Louisiana classifies abortion pills as controlled substances US Edition - Today's top story: Here's how machine learning can violate your privacy [View in browser]( US Edition | 29 May 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Even though artificial intelligence systems aren’t actual intelligent beings, today’s large language models do “know” an awful lot, and that awful lot could include your personal – even intimate – information. The models are trained on vast amounts of data vacuumed up from the internet. Is your privacy at risk? Purdue University statistician Jordan Awan [explains how]( machine learning models work, how they can “memorize” your data, and how – and how well – techniques such as differential privacy can protect you. Also in this week’s science news: - [Research-based advice for keeping kids safe from sexual abuse]( - [Dangerous hurricane season brewing]( - [How supercapacitors could boost energy storage]( If there’s a subject you’d like our team of editors to investigate, please reply to this email. Martin LaMonica Director of Editorial Projects and Newsletters If your data was used to train an AI, it might – or might not – be safe from prying eyes. ValeryBrozhinsky/iStock via Getty Images [Here’s how machine learning can violate your privacy]( Jordan Awan, Purdue University A data privacy expert explains how machine learning algorithms draw inferences and how that leads to privacy concerns. Misoprostol has a long history of safe and effective use. AP Photo/Allen G. Breed [Louisiana reclassifies abortion pills as controlled, dangerous substances − here’s what that means]( Jamie Rowen, UMass Amherst; Tami S. Rowen, University of California, San Francisco The new law makes it illegal to possess 2 types of abortion pills without a prescription. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory detects X-ray emissions from astronomical events. NASA/CXC & J. Vaughan [I’m an astrophysicist mapping the universe with data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory − clear, sharp photos help me study energetic black holes]( Giuseppina Fabbiano, Smithsonian Institution 2024 marks 25 years since NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory started detecting X-rays from energetic astronomical events. [Hurricanes don’t stop at the coast – these mountain towns know how severe inland flood damage can be, and they’re preparing]( Craig E. Colten, Louisiana State University In the mountains, heavy downpours can be devastating, especially when storms hit back to back. Yet, hurricane season’s inland flood risk is often overlooked until it’s too late. [Phone cameras can take in more light than the human eye − that’s why low-light events like the northern lights often look better through your phone camera]( Douglas Goodwin, Scripps College Phone cameras are an example of what’s called computational photography. Digital tools built into these cameras can enhance your images in real time. [Animals self-medicate with plants − behavior people have observed and emulated for millennia]( Adrienne Mayor, Stanford University Humans have watched and learned from animals who treat their ills with bioactive plants. This animal wisdom has a scientific name: zoopharmacognosy. [The people displaced by tornadoes, wildfires and other disasters tell a story of vulnerability and recovery challenges in America]( Tricia Wachtendorf, University of Delaware; James Kendra, University of Delaware Census data and research show all things are not equal in disaster displacement, as 2 experts in disaster recovery explain. - [Colon cancer rates are rising in young Americans, but insurance barriers are making screening harder]( Andrea Shin, University of California, Los Angeles Colon cancer is curable when caught early, but some insurers are either refusing to cover or significantly delaying approval for colonoscopies. - [Avocados are a ‘green gold’ export for Mexico, but growing them is harming forests and waters]( Viridiana Hernández Fernández, University of Iowa Avocados are marketed as a superfood, but growing them for an expanding world market has turned a rural Mexican state into an unsustainable monoculture. - [Understanding how ions flow in and out of the tiniest pores promises better energy storage devices]( Ankur Gupta, University of Colorado Boulder To model the inside of a supercapacitor, my team had to rework a common physics law that most high school students learn. - [Hurricane forecast points to a dangerous 2024 Atlantic season, with La Niña and a persistently warm ocean teaming up to power fierce storms]( - [I want to keep my child safe from abuse − but research tells me I’m doing it wrong]( - [Successful city parks make diverse communities feel safe and welcome − this Minnesota park is an example]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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