Examine individual changes

'{{Advert|date=June 2020}} {{Infobox company | name = Jigsaw | former_names = Google Ideas (2010–2015) | logo = Jigsaw (Google) logo.png | logo_size = | type = [[Think tank]] | founders = [[Eric Schmidt]] | key_people = [[Jared Cohen]] (CEO) | services = | parent = {{Plainlist| * [[Google]] {{small|(2010–2015)}} * [[Alphabet Inc.]] {{small|(2015–2020)}} * [[Google]] {{small|(2020–present)}} }} | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = {{URL|https://jigsaw.google.com/}} | foundation = {{start date and age|2010}} | location_city = [[New York City]] | location_country = United States }} '''Jigsaw LLC''' (formerly '''Google Ideas''')<ref name="Transform Announce">{{Cite web |url=https://medium.com/jigsaw/google-ideas-becomes-jigsaw-bcb5bd08c423 |title=GOOGLE IDEAS BECOMES JIGSAW |last=Schmidt |first=Eric |date=2016-02-16 |website=[[Medium (website)|Medium]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> is a [[technology incubator]] created by [[Google]]. It is currently under Google management<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theinformation.com/articles/google-swallows-another-alphabet-unit-jigsaw|title=Google Swallows Another Alphabet Unit - Jigsaw|last=|first=|last2=|first2=|date=2020-02-10|website=The Information|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-02-11|last3=|first3=}}</ref> and used to operate as an independent subsidiary of [[Alphabet Inc.]]<ref name="fastcompany.com">{{Cite web |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/3056790/fast-feed/google-ideas-think-tank-to-become-tech-incubator-called-jigsaw |title=Google Ideas Think Tank To Become Tech Incubator Called Jigsaw |last=Mohan |first=Pavithra |date=2016-02-16 |website=[[Fast Company (magazine)|Fast Company]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> Based in New York City, Jigsaw is dedicated to understanding global challenges and applying technological solutions, from "countering extremism", online censorship and [[cyber-attack]]s, to protecting access to information.<ref name="usatoday.com">{{Cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/news/2016/02/16/google-ideas-jigsaw-eric-schmidt-jared-cohen/80474858/ |title=Google Ideas to become Jigsaw tech incubator |last=Guynn |first=Jessica |date=2016-02-16 |website=[[USA Today]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> [[Jared Cohen]], formerly with the [[Policy Planning Staff (United States)|Policy Planning Committee]] at the [[US State Department]], is the CEO of Jigsaw, and was formerly co-founder and director of Google Ideas.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://money.cnn.com/2016/02/17/technology/google-jigsaw/ |title=Google's Jigsaw will 'tackle toughest geopolitical challenges' |last=King |first=Hope |date=2016-02-17 |website=[[CNNMoney]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> ==History== ===Google Ideas=== In 2010, [[Eric Schmidt]] approached [[Jared Cohen]] to lead Google Ideas, as a "think/do tank" to research issues at the intersection of technology and geopolitics, and has worked on projects intended to protect activists and independent media from cyber-attacks.<ref name="fastcompany.com" /> Google Ideas also set a moon-shot goal of ending censorship within a decade.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/2016/09/inside-googles-internet-justice-league-ai-powered-war-trolls/|title=Inside Google’s Internet Justice League and Its AI-Powered War on Trolls|last=Greenberg|first=Andy|date=2016-09-19|website=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> Ideas brought together a team of Google engineers, research scientists, product managers, and policy experts to address these issues.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thehill.com/policy/technology/269670-google-spins-off-rebrands-think-tank |title=Google spins off, rebrands think tank |last=McCabe |first=David |date=2016-02-17 |website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> The team also hosted a number of conferences, the most recent of which was the Conflict in a Connected World Roundtable Series, in partnership with the Council on Foreign Relations’ Center of Preventative Action.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cfr.org/projects/world/conflict-in-a-connected-world-roundtable-series/pr1649 |title=Conflict in a Connected World Roundtable Series |last=Stares |first=Paul B. |website=[[Council on Foreign Relations]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> Ideas came under scrutiny for its links with the US State Department<ref>{{cite web |title=Clinton Emails Reveal the US Govt Used Google as a Geopolitical Weapon to Overthrow Assad |url=http://thefreethoughtproject.com/clinton-emails-expose-google-geopolitical-weapon-overthrow-assad/ |website=The Free Thought Project |accessdate=5 October 2018 |date=22 March 2016}}</ref> and its [[United States involvement in regime change|regime change]] activities.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/stratforleaks-google-ideas-director-involved-‘regime-change’ |title=StratforLeaks: Google Ideas Director Involved in ‘Regime Change’ |last=Al-Saadi |first=Yazan |date=2012-03-14 |website=Al-Akhbar English |accessdate=2017-02-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329130644/http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/stratforleaks-google-ideas-director-involved-%E2%80%98regime-change%E2%80%99 |archive-date=29 March 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.newsweek.com/assange-google-not-what-it-seems-279447 |title=Assange: Google Is Not What It Seems |last=Assange |first=Julian |authorlink=Julian Assange |date=2014-10-10 |website=[[Newsweek]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> ===Jigsaw=== In February 2016, [[Eric Schmidt]] announced in a Medium post<ref name="Transform Announce" /> the expansion of Google Ideas to a technology incubator named Jigsaw. According to Schmidt, the new name "reflects our belief that collaborative problem-solving yields the best solutions" and the team's mission "is to use technology to tackle the toughest geopolitical challenges, from countering violent extremism to thwarting online censorship to mitigating the threats associated with digital attacks."<ref name="Transform Announce" /> Jigsaw will also leverage more of Alphabet's engineering talent and resources to build more sophisticated products.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://qz.com/846836/inside-google-jigsaw-the-powerful-tech-incubator-that-wants-to-reshape-geopolitics/ |title=Inside Alphabet’s Jigsaw, the powerful tech incubator that could reshape geopolitics |last=Wark |first=Lucy |date=2016-11-29 |website=[[Quartz (publication)|Quartz]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> ==Projects== ===Perspective=== In February 2017, Jigsaw and Google launched the free Perspective [[API]], "a new tool for web publishers to identify toxic comments that can undermine a civil exchange of ideas."<ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/23/technology/google-jigsaw-monitor-toxic-online-comments.html|title=Google Cousin Develops Technology to Flag Toxic Online Comments|last=Wakabayashi|first=Daisuke|date=2017-02-23|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-03-13|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Using machine learning technology, Perspective offers a score from zero to 100 on how similar new comments are to others previously identified as toxic, defined as how likely a comment is to make someone leave a conversation. Publishers can use Perspective in a number of ways, from offering readers instant feedback on the toxicity of their comments to giving readers the power to filter conversations based on the level of toxicity they'd like to see.<ref name=":3" /> Jigsaw claims "its AI can immediately spit out an assessment of the phrase’s “toxicity” more accurately than any keyword blacklist, and faster than any human moderator."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/2017/02/googles-troll-fighting-ai-now-belongs-world/|title=Now Anyone Can Deploy Google’s Troll-Fighting AI|last=Greenberg|first=Andy|work=WIRED|access-date=2017-03-13}}</ref> Perspective's launch partners included ''The New York Times, The Guardian, The Economist'' and Wikipedia.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-39063863|title=Google’s plan to make talk less toxic|last=Cellan-Jones|first=Rory|date=2017-02-23|work=BBC News|access-date=2017-03-13}}</ref> The research on Wikipedia started discussion about [[Artificial intelligence in Wikimedia projects]]. In June 2017, ''The New York Times'' announced that as a result of the partnership with Jigsaw, the ''Times'' will offer comments on all top stories and scale comments to 80% of its articles by the end of the year.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/insider/have-a-comment-leave-a-comment.html|title=The Times Sharply Increases Articles Open for Comments, Using Google’s Technology|last=Etim|first=Bassey|date=2017-06-13|work=The New York Times|access-date=2017-06-27|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> ===Project Shield=== Project Shield is a free anti-[[Denial-of-service attack#Distributed DoS|distributed denial-of-service]] (anti-DDoS) service that is offered by Jigsaw to websites that have "media, elections, and [[human rights]] related content."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theverge.com/2013/10/21/4862724/google-launches-new-anti-ddos-service-called-project-shield |title=Google launches new anti-DDoS service called 'Project Shield' |last=Brandom |first=Russell |date=2013-10-21 |website=[[The Verge]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> The main goal of the project is to serve "small, under-resourced news sites that are vulnerable to the web’s growing epidemic of [[Denial-of-service attack#Distributed DoS|DDoS]] attacks", according to team lead George Conard.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.wired.com/2016/02/google-wants-save-news-sites-cyberattacks-free/|title=Google Wants to Save News Sites From Cyberattacks—For Free |last=Greenberg |first=Andy |date=2016-02-24 |website=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> It is similar to services offered by companies like [[Cloudflare]]. Google initially announced Project Shield at their Ideas Conference on October 21, 2013.<ref name=":0" /> The service was initially only offered to trusted testers, but on February 25, 2016, Google opened up the service to any qualifying website.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://venturebeat.com/2016/02/25/google-opens-ddos-thwarting-project-shield-service-to-all-news-and-human-rights-websites/ |title=Google opens DDoS-thwarting Project Shield service to all news and human rights websites |last=Sawers |first=Paul |date=2016-02-25 |website=[[VentureBeat]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> The service works by having the website use Google's IP's, and traffic is routed through a Google-owned reverse proxy that identifies and filters malicious traffic.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.engadget.com/2016/02/24/google-project-shield-battling-ddos-attacks/ |title=Google's Project Shield helps any news site beat DDoS attacks |last=Ingraham |first=Nathan |date=2016-02-24 |website=[[Engadget]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> Project Shield provides news, human rights, and [[election monitoring]] sites with protection from DDoS [[cyber-attack]]s by a system of [[Cache (computing)|caching]] (storing the data from the protected website to reduce load on the site). It also filters traffic to thwart DDoS attacks. Project Shield is built on [[Google Cloud Platform]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://support.google.com/projectshield/answer/6358588?hl=en&ref_topic=6358107 |title=General FAQs - Project Shield Help |website=Google Help |access-date=30 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026170423/https://support.google.com/projectshield/answer/6358588?hl=en&ref_topic=6358107 |archive-date=26 October 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is provided free of charge to the qualifying websites of [[Freelancer|independent journalists]], human rights, and elections monitoring websites to protect them regardless of their location and Project Shield as of 2016 October has users in Europe, Asia, North America, and Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://support.google.com/projectshield/answer/6358873?hl=en&ref_topic=6358107 |title=FAQs for news publishers - Project Shield Help |website=Google Help}}</ref> Project Shield rescued Brian Krebs's security blog from a then-unprecedented DDoS attack that knocked the website entirely offline.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://fortune.com/2016/09/27/google-krebs-project-shield-hack/ |title=Google Rescues a Security Blogger Under Attack from Hackers |last=Roberts |first=Jeff John |date=2016-09-27 |website=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> In March 2017, Jigsaw launched a campaign called "Protect Your Election," a suite of free tools to help protect access to information during elections. These tools include Shield, Password Alert,<ref>{{cite web |title=Password Alert |url=https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/password-alert/noondiphcddnnabmjcihcjfbhfklnnep |publisher=Google |accessdate=5 October 2018 }}</ref> and two-step verification.<ref>{{cite web |title=Google 2-Step Verification |url=https://www.google.com/landing/2step/ |publisher=Google |accessdate=5 October 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wired.com/2017/03/cybersecurity-arsenal-thatll-help-protect-election/|title=A Cybersecurity Arsenal That'll Help ‘Protect Your Election’ {{!}} WIRED|website=Wired|access-date=2017-06-27}}</ref> ===Redirect Method=== The Redirect Method is an open source methodology developed by Jigsaw in partnership, with [[Moonshot CVE]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bringing new Redirect Method features to YouTube|url=https://youtube.googleblog.com/2017/07/bringing-new-redirect-method-features.html|website=Official YouTube Blog|language=en|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref> that leverages [[AdWords|Google's AdWords]] platform and [[YouTube]] to target potential [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|ISIS]] recruits and dissuade them from joining the group.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=https://www.wired.com/2016/09/googles-clever-plan-stop-aspiring-isis-recruits/ |title=Google’s Clever Plan to Stop Aspiring ISIS Recruits |last=Greenberg |first=Andy |date=2016-09-07 |website=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> Redirect, which was inspired by interviews with ISIS defectors and jailed recruits, "places advertising alongside results for any keywords and phrases that Jigsaw has determined people attracted to ISIS commonly search for. Those ads link to Arabic- and English-language YouTube channels that pull together preexisting videos Jigsaw believes it can effectively undo ISIS’s [influence]—clips like testimonials from former extremists, imams denouncing ISIS’s corruption of Islam, and surreptitiously filmed clips inside the group’s dysfunctional caliphate in Northern Syria and Iraq."<ref name=":2" /> Jigsaw claims that during a pilot project conducted in early 2016, its advertising was three to four times more effective than a normal campaign, and "those who clicked spent more than twice as long viewing the most effective playlists than the best estimates of how long people view YouTube as a whole."<ref name=":2" /> Jigsaw published the detailed steps for the methodology under a [[Creative Commons license]] on a [[GitHub]] repository. Initially piloted against ISIS, the Redirect Method has since been deployed against white supremacists <ref>{{Cite news|last=MacFarquhar|first=Neil|date=2019-12-30|title=White Extremism Faces a Subversive Foe Online: Google Ads|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/30/us/white-supremacy-moonshot-google-ads.html|access-date=2020-05-01|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> and disinformation<ref>{{Cite web|title=Software Used To Stop ISIS And KKK To Be Used Against Anti-Vaxxers|url=https://www.unilad.co.uk/technology/software-used-to-stop-isis-and-kkk-to-be-used-against-anti-vaxxers/|website=www.unilad.co.uk|language=en|access-date=2020-05-01}}</ref> <ref name=":32">{{Cite news|last=Quinn|first=Ben|date=2019-07-21|title=Anti-extremism software to be used to tackle vaccine disinformation|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/jul/21/software-used-against-online-extremists-to-tackle-anti-vaxxers|access-date=2020-05-01|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> in partnership with groups such as the [[(((Anti-Defamation League)))]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Redirecting hate: ADL hopes Googling for KKK or jihad will take you down a different path|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/06/24/adl-fighting-kkk-jihadism-by-redirecting-online-searches/1437331001/|last=Baig|first=Edward C.|website=USA TODAY|language=en-US|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref> and [[Moonshot CVE]]. ===Outline=== {{main|Outline VPN}} [http://getoutline.org/en/home Outline] is an open-source tool that lets news organizations provide their network of journalists safer access to the internet,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://medium.com/jigsaw/introducing-outline-making-it-safer-to-break-the-news-feda4d047b4|title=Introducing Outline: Making It Safer To Break The News|last=Jigsaw|date=2018-03-20|website=Medium|access-date=2018-03-20}}</ref>powered by [[Shadowsocks]].<ref name="wired" /> Jigsaw claims the VPN software can be set up on one's own server in a matter of minutes, even if the user is not technically savvy. According to WIRED, "Outline aims to provide an alternative to, on the one hand, stronger anonymity tools like Tor that slow down web browsing by bouncing connections through multiple encrypted hops around the world and, on the other hand, commercial VPNs that can be expensive, and also put users' private information and internet history at risk."<ref name="wired" /> [[Wired_(magazine)|WIRED]] adds that because administrators can add unlimited secret keys, "Outline [is] an easy way to run a VPN for an entire organization, like a group of activists or journalists." Another feature is that Outline requires minimal upkeep, as "a feature called Watchtower automatically checks for security updates and installs them."<ref name="wired">{{Cite news|url=https://www.wired.com/story/alphabet-outline-vpn-software/|title=Alphabet's 'Outline' Software Lets Anyone Run a Homebrew VPN|work=WIRED|access-date=2018-03-20}}</ref> ===Other projects=== Other Jigsaw projects include Detox, Sideways Dictionary, Password Alert, Unfiltered.news, Digital Attack Map, and Montage (graduated to Storyful). In 2016, Jigsaw worked with the [[Wikimedia Foundation]] on Detox, a project using [[Machine learning]] to help better understand online harassment on Wikipedia, with application to other web platforms. <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/aeyvxz/wikipedia-jigsaw-google-artificial-intelligence|title=Inside Wikipedia’s Attempt to Use Artificial Intelligence to Combat Harassment|last=Smellie|first=Sarah|website=[[Vice (magazine)]]|date=2017-02-17|access-date=2019-06-22}}</ref> The tool was removed in 2019, however, due to concerns about its accuracy. In March 2017, Jigsaw partnered with ''The Washington Post'' to launch Sideways Dictionary, a community-driven collection of analogies to explain complex tech jargon.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.fastcodesign.com/3068933/infographic-of-the-day/alphabet-is-building-an-urban-dictionary-for-tech-jargon|title=Alphabet Built An Urban Dictionary For Tech Jargon|date=2017-03-14|work=Co.Design|access-date=2017-03-14}}</ref> Sideways Dictionary is available as a Chrome extension and on ''The Washington Post.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/14/sideways-dictionary/|title=Jigsaw and The Washington Post try to explain tech jargon with their new Sideways Dictionary|last=Ha|first=Anthony|website=TechCrunch|access-date=2017-03-14}}</ref> Password Alert helps protect against phishing attacks;<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://fortune.com/2015/04/29/google-password-alert-phishing/ |title=Password Alert: Google's new free tool to prevent phishing attacks |last=Hackett |first=Robert |date=2015-04-29 |website=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> according to ''WIRED,'' "the company developed it for Syrian activists targeted by government-friendly hackers, but when it proved effective, it was rolled out to all of Google’s users."<ref name=":1" /> Unfiltered.news "uses Google News data to show users what topics are being [[Under-reporting|under-reported]] or are popular in regions around the world,"<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.niemanlab.org/2016/03/a-new-data-viz-tool-shows-what-stories-are-being-undercovered-in-countries-around-the-world/ |title=A new data viz tool shows what stories are being undercovered in countries around the world |last=Lichterman |first=Joseph |date=2016-03-18 |website=[[Nieman Foundation for Journalism|Nieman Journalism Lab]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> and the Digital Attack Map displays the top digital attacks in the world in real time.<ref name="usatoday.com" /> Montage is a program that "lets war correspondents and nonprofits [[Crowdsourcing|crowdsource]] the analysis of YouTube videos to track conflicts and gather evidence of human rights violations."<ref name=":1" /> In May 2016, Jigsaw announced it had partnered with [[Vice News]] on a five-part documentary series called Blackout to examine free expression around the world.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-media/2016/05/vice-google-jigsaw-blackout-documentary-223164 |title=Vice teams with Alphabet incubator Jigsaw on doc series ‘Blackout’ |last=Hadas |first=Gold |authorlink=Hadas Gold|date=2016-05-13 |website=[[Politico]] |accessdate=2017-02-14}}</ref> Jigsaw also helped develop CopCast, an open source project that can turn any Android phone into a body-worn camera system for law enforcement. In June 2017, ''USA Today'' reported that the Jersey City Police Department will scale this technology to more than 250 officers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2017/06/25/who-needs-body-cameras-police-testing-cellphone-cameras/426859001/|title=Who needs body cameras? Police testing cellphone cameras|work=USA Today|access-date=2017-06-27}}</ref> ==See also== * [[uProxy]] * [[Project Shield]] ==References== {{Reflist|30em}} ==External links== * {{Official website}} {{Alphabet Inc.}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2011}} [[Category:Google|Ideas]] [[Category:Think tanks based in the United States]] [[Category:Alphabet Inc.]] [[Category:Alphabet Inc. subsidiaries]]'