The snow is still covering parts of the ground and I’m writing the introduction, purpose and research questions on my bachelor’s thesis in political science. If all goes according to plan, it’ll be complete and presented to the examiner and supervisor in late May and in May-June it’ll be publicly discussed and examined.
Book review: Click here to kill everybody
For those who don’t know of Bruce Schneier, he’s one of the world’s most famous and prominent cybersecurity experts. If there’s one person you’d like to guide you and hold your hand while in need, Schneier is the one. This book is about basics of cybersecurity, not the technical aspects, but rather about security on the Internet and the Internet+, the interconnected world of the Internet of things.
Time to decide again
It’s been two years and finally it’s time to study some more. In roughly one month, we’ll begin writing our bachelor thesis.
Book review: Reset
The director of the famous Citizen Lab has written about the state of the (tech) world and solutions to the crisis of democracy and tech. If there’s one book to rule them all, this is the one.
Two sides of Cambridge Analytica
Chris Wylie is a self-taught computer guy with a nack for analyzing data, especially electoral data from Canada, England and the US. Brittany Kaiser is devoted to human rights and worked for Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign. Both end up working for the notorious Cambridge Analytica.
Ukraine: The Gates of Europe and Bloodlands
Despite my interest in history I’ve never read on the history of Ukraine. Through the years I’ve read some about the Czech Republic and the Soviet Union, but that’s basically all regarding what’s consideded Eastern Europe. Now I’ve read two books that cover Ukraine from different perspectives and times.
Swedish economy in free fall
Economics and and personal finance are in the news each and every day now and have been for some time. Swedes are generally interested in personal finances, because of the hype around stock markets and the freedom money creates. Now, though, the focus is on debts, the increase in energy prices, the inflation and what those entail for the population in general, and (almost always) the houseowner specifically.
Dead soldiers in Clearview AI (Revised June 15th)
The war between Russia and Ukraine rages on. One method for the Ukrainian resistance to raise awareness of the number of dead Russian (and Ukrainian) soldiers is to use Clearview AI, the facial network services company, which can detect faces and connect them to, for instance, social media profiles.
Perspectives on the war in Ukraine
I have been listening intently to a number of podcasts because of the war in Ukraine. One that is not mainly on the daily “progress” of the war, but rather from a higher perspective is The Ezra Klein Show from New York Times.
Book review: Computational propaganda
Oxford Internet Institute is a go-to-zone whenever I need some knowledge about cyberspace, cybersecurity, Internet research or many other topics. It’s a fascinating interdisciplinary institute, blending what is called social data science, data science with social science. The book comprises case studies of digital disinformation efforts (a main focus is certain types of bots) in nine countries, ranging from Canada and Poland to Russia and, naturally, Ukraine.