Artificial Intelligence and the Infrastructure of Surveillance Authoritarianism
Techno-sociologist Zeynep Tufecki provides a stark view of the potential future of artificial intelligence (AI) and the possible dystopia toward which we are heading.
Consolidation in Academic Publishing Has a New Target
Research publishers may acquire textbook publishers in order to increase market share in libraries with inclusive access programs
An Open Letter to the AAUP: Faculty Authors and “Full Freedom in Publication”
In 1940, the AAUP published a Statement on Academic Freedom. In 2018, it’s time for it to be updated–and some items clarified.
Guest Post: Finding Your Voice: The Scholarly Kitchen as an Educational Resource
In this guest post, Betsy Donohue (Vice President, Publisher Business Development & Strategy at Digital Science) offers some thoughts on how and why we could make The Scholarly Kitchen more valuable, in particular, for early career scholarly communications professionals.
Fixing Instead of Breaking, Part Three — Blockchain, RA21, Privacy, and Trust
We continue to battle the tidal wave of data with a bucket brigade of individual privacy settings. Maybe it’s time to pause and consider a state-level solution, ala Estonia.
Evaluating Open Access Programs
It often seems that it is taken for granted that open access will accelerate scientific discovery, but how would we evaluate this? Do we even know that it is true?
Badges? We Don’t Need No Stinking Preprint Badges!
By incorporating post-publication validation badges into preprints, bioRxiv begins to transform itself from a preprint server into a publishing platform.
Myth Busting: Five Commonly Held Misconceptions About RA21 (and One Rumor Confirmed)
RA21 aims to promote a modern, standards-based access management system that preserves patron privacy & control. It is important to dispel some myths about RA21 so we can move on from the outdated world of IP-authentication.
Stage Two Disruption in Scholarly Communications
Popular opinion to the contrary, scholarly publishing has not been disrupted. But only superior management can navigate the many challenges ahead.
Fixing Instead of Breaking, Part Two — The Subscription Model
Business models that exploit vulnerabilities are unfair. Can a model that aligns producer and consumers help fix the Internet?
Fixing Instead of Breaking, Part One — Open Citations
With so much broken by the Internet, we may be moving into a mode of fixing things. Are open citations part of the solution, or more of the problem?
Ask The Chefs: What Are Your Predictions For Scholarly Communications in 2018?
Prediction is a strong word. Does anyone really know the future? Of course not, but it’s fun (and can be helpful) to speculate. Come add to the Chefs’ predictions for 2018.
Book Review: “Technically Wrong,” by Sara Wachter-Boettcher
A new book explores how biases and broken systems get built into technology products and platforms.
Future of the OA Megajournal
Predicted to radically consolidate STM journals, the OA megajournal has found a successful niche market. The same can be said for MOOCs.
Napster vs. Record Labels, Sci-Hub vs. Publishers, Part 2: Differences
The challenges posed to record labels by Napster in the late 1990s and early 2000s resemble those posed by Sci-Hub to scholarly publishers today. But which of those resemblances are real, and which are misleading?