Mew and Me
One cat-loving video game developer started making video games for cats and ended up learning a lot about designing video games for humans along the way. Via LA Times
Outta This World
For the first time since 2011, human astronauts will launch from the US and travel to space next week when SpaceX attempts its first astronaut flight mission known as Demo-2. Via CNET
We Won!
The 2020 Webby Awards were announced this week honoring the best of the web including Little Nas X, Rihanna, and John Krasinski. We’re pretty proud our *Privacy Not Included was a winner in the best website - activism category. Via The Verge
Girl Power
An all-female robotics team from Afghanistan who first made news at an international competition in 2017 has turned to building ventilators out of car parts to help in their country’s fight against COVID-19. Via BBC
Llama Llama Duck
Best trend to come out of our new world of remote gatherings might be the business of animals--Llamas, alpacas, goats and more--joining video calls to give us all a smile (and help keep farms in business too). Via The Guardian
Lessons Learned
Remote learning has been hard for many school kids. For others it has been a blessing. Introverted kids, kids uncomfortable in large classrooms, and kids who focus better when learning remotely are doing better. Via NY Times
Downed Drones
Drones have become a common way to corral coronavirus quarantine violators, but judges in France recently banned the use of drones for such surveillance citing privacy issues. Via Bloomberg
Cleaner Clouds
Google said this week it would not build custom algorithms to help the oil & gas industry extract fossil fuels, making climate activists happy and putting pressure on Amazon and Microsoft to do the same. Via Ars Technica
Robot Relations
Humans have spent thousands of years learning how to relate to each other. We’re just now learning how to relate to artificially intelligent machines like self-driving cars. It might take us a while to understand them. Via Wired
They Still See You
Those masked selfies people share on social media these days are being collected by companies to help train their facial recognition algorithms to see your face even with a mask on. Via CNET
Brave New World
The global coronavirus pandemic seems to be fueling rapid growth in surveillance technology designed to track and manage crowds using our actions and biometrics that will stick around even after lockdowns ease. Via ZDNET
Do Better
Black content creators on TikTok say they are being shadowbanned by the platform when they call out racism, while racist messages are allowed to remain on the site. They’re organizing a black out day in June for their #ImBlackMovement. Via Daily Dot
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