No.64 Asides

Been Kim Is Building a Translator for Artificial Intelligence. “The goal of the second branch of interpretability is: Can we understand a tool enough so that we can safely use it? And we can create that understanding by confirming that useful human knowledge is reflected in the tool.”
Good thread by Wired’s Antonio García Martínez. “Tim Cook is calling for a federally-regulated clearinghouse for the (now) completely unregulated and Wild West third-party market in user data. This is where the real data villains live, let me explain…”
AlphaStar: Mastering the Real-Time Strategy Game StarCraft
Faking it: how selfie dysmorphia is driving people to seek surgery. I only scanned this but 😱.
Inside China’s leading 'sponge city': Wuhan's war with water. “[O]ne of the country’s first 16 “sponge cities” – areas piloting ecologically friendly alternatives to traditional flood defences and drainage systems.”
Alternative Camden. “A new take on an innovation district, set up to give people the freedom to create a more democratic and inclusive city. … Our mission is to kick start a series of experiments to explore how we want technology to shape Camden.”
Exxon’s Insane Ideas for Combating Climate Change. “In 1997, scientists working for the oil company offered visionary solutions for climate change. The only problem? Their plans might destroy the earth in the process.”
The Brain Maps Out Ideas and Memories Like Spaces.
The Treeographer “The Treeographer is my attempt to bring my enthusiasm for trees to others – not by evoking guilt or pity, but rather by celebrating the interlacing history of man and tree. I may focus on a single organism, an entire forest, or even just a concept of a tree that holds significance.” Via Tara Tiger Brown’s More Trees Please.
100+ MAKERS AND MAVERICKS. This year’s beautiful, inspiring, and diverse list by Hiut Denim Co.
There’s a Huge Ice Disk in a Maine River. No, the Aliens Aren’t Coming.
Wow! 195-gigapixel photo of Shanghai by BigPixel allows viewers to see street-level detail.