[2024.08] Data Umbrella Newsletter: August 2024
We organize data science events for the community.
Data Umbrella is a non-profit global community for underrepresented persons in data science. We organize online data science events for the community. All levels are welcome. Our Code of Conduct applies to all of our spaces.
Announcements
Data Umbrella News
CSCCE Tech Case Study: Using GitHub to maintain a static website (CarpentryCon) or blog (Data Umbrella)
In 2023, CSCCE hosted a series of community “Tools Trials” that focused on tools commonly used for community management in open-source and open-source-supporting communities. The goal of the series - which consisted of several live webinars with Q&A and this accompanying tip sheet collection - was to share existing knowledge and provide any scientific community manager with options about tools and use cases they could explore further.
One of the most commonly used tools by these communities is GitHub. In this case study, we summarize how two organizations, The Carpentries and Data Umbrella, make use of GitHub as a platform to host website materials on which their members can collaborate.
Open Source News
The EU’s AI Act is now in force
It’s official: The European Union’s risk-based regulation for applications of artificial intelligence has come into force starting Thursday, August 1, 2024.
This starts the clock on a series of staggered compliance deadlines that the law will apply to different types of AI developers and applications. Most provisions will be fully applicable by mid-2026. But the first deadline, which enforces bans on a small number of prohibited uses of AI in specific contexts, such as law enforcement use of remote biometrics in public places, will apply in just six months’ time.
Source: Platformer newsletter
Introducing the 2024 Quansight Labs Open Source Internship Program Cohort
The Quansight Labs summer internship was created to provide up-and-coming open source talent with the opportunity to connect with the community, work alongside open source leaders, and grow professionally while developing solutions for the larger scientific open source ecosystem. Each project focuses on a different part of our ecosystem, and gives interns a chance to contribute and interact with different open source communities.
Insights and Impact From Five Cycles of Essential Open Source Software for Science
For the past five years, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has supported the maintenance, growth, development, and community engagement for critical open source tools that are used globally in the life sciences through its Essential Open Source Software for Science (EOSS) program. In this report, CZI set out to review the impact of the first five cycles of the EOSS program to date from multiple perspectives and a variety of data sources, highlighting the support required to sustain OSS as well as the successes of our community.
FOSS funding vanishes from EU's 2025 Horizon program plans
Funding for free and open source software (FOSS) initiatives under the EU's Horizon program has mostly vanished from next year's proposal, claim advocates who are worried for the future of many ongoing projects.
"Our French [Horizon national contact point] was told - as an unofficial answer - that because lots of budget are allocated to AI, there is not much left for Internet infrastructure," Gibello said.
Community News
Getting elected for the PSF Board of Directors
Cristián Maureira-Fredes talks about being elected to the PSF Board of Directors, experiences in the PSF community and what next.
Microsoft shuts down diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) team
Microsoft, a global name in technology, has closed down its diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) team.
According to Business Insider, which viewed correspondence sent out to thousands of employees, Microsoft no longer views DEI as “business critical.”
Substack rival Ghost federates its first newsletter
Newsletter platform and Substack rival Ghost announced earlier this year that it would join the fediverse, the open social network of interconnected servers that includes apps like Mastodon, Pixelfed, PeerTube, Flipboard and, more recently, Instagram Threads, among others. Now, it has made good on that promise — with its own newsletter as a start.
Promoting open-source, from Inria to :probabl
Open-source efforts around scikit-learn at Inria are spinning off to a new enterprise, :probabl., in charge of sustainable development of a data-science commons.
Probabl has a mission, given by the French government, to build a "platform of digital commons for data science" The French government is backing us to push the envelope, with the goal of growth of the ecosystem and sustainability.
Source: Gael Varoquaux on LinkedIn
Resources
The Linux Command Line
Designed for the new command line user, this 555-page volume covers the same material as LinuxCommand.org but in much greater detail. In addition to the basics of command line use and shell scripting, The Linux Command Line includes chapters on many common programs used on the command line, as well as more advanced topics.
Source: Dr Maren Westermann on LinkedIn: The Linux Command Line
PyCon US 2024 videos are live
New videos posted! All sessions from the Main Stage at hashtag#PyConUS 2024 are live on the PyCon US YouTube channel.
CSV Conference 2024 Videos
csv,conf,v8 is a community conference for data makers everywhere, featuring stories about data sharing and data analysis from science, journalism, government, and open source.
Timestamps
CONTRIBUTE TO TIMESTAMPS: We still have about a dozen videos which need timestamps. We have instructions on how you can contribute to this project on GitHub. Help us help the community. Pick a video and get started.
Call for Suggestions
Do you have suggestions for future webinar topics or speakers? Would you like to speak on a topic? For these and any other suggestions, please complete our Online Suggestion Box or email us at info@dataumbrella.org.
Call for Speakers
We are looking for speakers on the following topics:
Data Privacy
Data Engineering
Generative AI
Software engineering
Code quality
Email us if you are interested in speaking or have a speaker or topic suggestion: info@dataumbrella.org
Upcoming Events (free & online webinars)
Why Knowledge Graphs Are Hot Right Now
August 20, 2024
Join us for an insightful presentation on the rising popularity of knowledge graphs. Our talk will delve into the various facets of knowledge graphs, including their traditional uses for data integration, search, and discovery, as well as their modern applications in decision-making, analytics, and predictions. We will explore the sudden surge of interest in knowledge graphs and the interplay with AI trends. Additionally, we'll look beyond LLMs and RAG to gain a broader perspective on the role of knowledge graphs as we go forward in the data landscape. This session promises to provide a comprehensive understanding of why knowledge graphs are currently a hot topic in the tech industry.
Videos
In case you missed our recent events, the videos have been posted. Subscribe to our Data Umbrella YouTube to receive notifications when the videos premiere.
Visualizing Energy Transitions (Exploring Climate Change)
This presentation is a demo of how data visualizations and storytelling can enhance understanding and communication about sustainable energy and climate change.
Featured Resources
Video Playlists
Data Umbrella Resources
Visit our blog site: blog.dataumbrella.org, and see articles written by our community members on their experience in recent sprints.
We have a Job Board. You can post jobs (for free)
Our Data Umbrella YouTube is growing! Subscribe to our channel to receive notifications of when our event videos are posted.
Accessibility Corner
Accessibility Update: Closed Captioning
Our webinars have closed captioning available! This feature makes our live events more accessible to those with hearing needs and for folks in general who like to see the transcript live during presentation to fully process information.
Connect with Us
Meetup: Data Umbrella & Data Umbrella Africa (*upcoming events*)
YouTube (*past recorded talks*)