This new data poisoning tool lets artists fight back against generative AI

To address the food insecurity problem among its low-income students, Columbia University launched Swipes, a meal sharing app in which students with a surplus of “meal swipes” could donate them to students in need. But when that app struggled to function and roll out properly, Columbia looked downtown to New York University, where student Jon Chin launched a similarly purposed but more effectively designed app, Share Meals. So far, the app has enabled over a thousand meal donations, and is hoping to work with Columbia to share its code and expand its donor services.

Protected species of animals and plants are illegally sold online mainly due to buyers and sellers having no knowledge of laws or the consequences to the ecosystem. Enforcement Gaps Interface (EGI) is a software which uses machine learning to determine if the animal product is illegal or not.

Turin used to be a bustling hub for the automobile industry but since then it has been left as a dead industrial area. The Ex-incet development aims to change this by using an old company's headquarters to be the site where innovation and creativity can be brought together as people from different sectors work under the same roof.

The technology world, plagued by a lack of privacy and security, is looking for solutions. To increase trustworthiness of computers, transactions, and pretty much anything online, blockchain is being used all around the world. While blockchain was first used by the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, it is now being used in such diverse ways as to track business products, trade in the stock market, and support musical collaboration. Blockchain's applications are continuing to grow and spread.

The Kansas City school district and a group of local nonprofits are implementing a new software management system that will allow partners to access student data from a range of sources. The data-sharing agreement will paint a more holistic picture of students and, in the future, allow teachers and others to make informed interventions when appropriate.

Redeveloping and repurposing unused real estate provides a path toward economic revitalization. With a combination of public and private grants, the nonprofit group, International Sonoran Desert Alliance (ISDA), has purchased and redeveloped real estate in the town of Ajo, Arizona. The renovated town plaza and Curley School complex contain retail spaces, artist studios, and even house community gardens of the Ajo Center for Sustainable Agriculture.

In Eskilstuna, Sweden, there is a different kind of shopping mall – one that sells used and upcycled goods. In an effort to combat consumerism and bolster sustainability, the mall, called ReTuna, is nicely curated and organized, making second-hand shopping mainstream. The mall sees 700 people each day, on average, and has sold nearly $3.5 million worth of items.

Four years before the pandemic caused unemployment compensation claims to spike, South Carolina took advantage of a federal grant to modernize its claims processing systems. That upgrade saved thousands of hours of time once claims rose sharply, which meant that people making legitimate claims got paid relatively quickly. That stands in contrast with the Virginia Employment Commission's huge backlog, which must be run through a decades-old system. The state was finally upgrading its systems when the pandemic put that work on hold, leaving some laid-off people in financial limbo for several months.

A Portland-based foundation has revitalized a small town in Maine with the establishment of an arts colony, reconstruction of old buildings in downtown, and a full health center - a rarity for small towns. A declining population and the shuttering of major businesses contributed to the decline of Monson. The Libra Foundation's philanthropic efforts have spurred enthusiasm within the town well known for being the last stop along the Appalachian Trail.

A data analyst who is a Microsoft-certified trainer uploads videos on social media teaching digital technology skills in the Yorùbá language. The videos are free to watch and break the language barrier that arises with most English-only tech information available online.