Once upon a time, dildos and vibrators were used in…medicine? They were “medical instruments” that were used to treat “hysteria” (now known as “anorgasmia”) in women in the 1800s. Hysteria was a minor, but very common disease that messed with happy married life, frequent conception, and healthy birth. Both doctors and laypeople who would self-treat would use these sex toys to bring women to orgasm as a “cure”. They have also never been outlawed, even when other obscene materials, like porn and contraceptives, were banned. 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
Merv
August 15, 2022
