The use of the cover letter has become nearly ubiquitous in the job hunt. But cover letters had grander beginnings; the first noted use of the cover letter was to “cover” the intended message of spies during the American Revolution. From its origins as a means to transfer hidden truths interlaced in lies, it has evolved to become “a few syllables about self-worth in language that reduces human value to sets of marketable skills” – although sometimes still laced in lies. Read full article here
Societal Issues
AI Predicts Crime A Week In Advance With 90 Per Cent Accuracy
An artificial intelligence model built by Ishanu Chattopadhyay and his colleagues analysed crime data in Chicago from 2014 to 2016 and managed to predict future levels of crime down to the nearest 300 metres, a week before they actually happened. While extremely useful, this artificial intelligence has been shown to expose racial prejudice in law enforcement. Hopefully, as the study’s data and methodology have been made available for others to evaluate, these prejudices can be avoided in the next iteration. Read full article here