AI that ‘predicts’ criminality based on a face sparks a furor

PLUS: Google's new data policy, the promise of carbon farming, and the US-China internet battle. [View this email in your browser]( | [Manage newsletter subscriptions](newsletter=wir) [[(image) WIRED Daily Newsletter Logo]06.24.20]( [PRIVACY]( [Google Will Delete Your Data by Default—in 18 Months]( BY LILY HAY NEWMAN [Starting today, the search giant will make a previously opt-in auto-delete feature the norm.]( [aerial of field ]( [SOIL CYCLE]( ['Carbon Farming' Could Make US Agriculture Truly Green]( BY ERIC NIILER [Today a Senate committee will hear about a bill that would help farmers adopt practices to release less carbon from the soil, reducing planetary warming.]( [submarine communication cables factory]( [OPINION]( [The US-China Battle Over the Internet Goes Under the Sea]( BY JUSTIN SHERMAN [The DOJ's opposition to Facebook and Google's 8,000-mile cable to Hong Kong highlights how physical infrastructure is as contentious as the virtual world.]( [ Banks of CCTV surveillance cameras on wall]( [SECOND LOOK]( [An Algorithm That 'Predicts' Criminality Based on a Face Sparks a Furor]( BY SIDNEY FUSSELL [Its creators said they could use facial analysis to determine if someone would become a criminal. Critics said the work recalled debunked “race science.”]( [Collage of images of schoolchildren in masks and social distancing]( [IDEAS]( [It’s Ridiculous to Treat Schools Like Covid Hot Zones]( BY DAVID ZWEIG [When students head back to class this fall, they may find themselves isolated from each other and wearing masks. This isn’t biosafety—it’s pandemic theater.]( [a woman standing at her window with her phone ]( [BRIEF RELIEF]( [How to Suspend Your Phone Service to Save Money]( BY JULIAN CHOKKATTU [You're probably using less cellular data while you shelter in place. Here's how you can temporarily pause your account—or switch to a cheaper network.]( [aerial of houses in Siberia]( [AS THE WORLD BURNS]( [Why the Arctic Is Warming So Fast, and Why That’s So Alarming]( BY MATT SIMON [When permafrost thaws, sea ice disappears, and wildfires rage in the north, the consequences extend to the rest of the world.]( [camping gear on a rooftop ]( [GET OUT]( [Quarantined in New York, We Escape Skyward]( BY KATE KNIBBS [When circumstances beyond our control put adventure on hold, we just climb the stairs to camp out in the urban jungle.]( [deck of cards overlapping in a spiral-like pattern starting from the center]( [BACKCHANNEL]( [Poker and the Psychology of Uncertainty]( BY MARIA KONNIKOVA [The game has plenty to teach about making decisions with the cards we’ve been dealt—on and off the table.]( [(image) WIRED Logo]( [(image) WIRED on Facebook]( [(image) WIRED on Twitter]( [(image) WIRED on Instagram]( [(image) WIRED on LinkedIn]( [(image) WIRED on YouTube]( This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( or [Manage your newsletter subscriptions](newsletter=wir)