Tag: americans:
AI Threatens Humanity’s Future, 61% of Americans Say
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: Americans are not paying off their credit-card debt. We should be concerned.
In One Chart: 2.3 million Americans ditched pay TV services in the first quarter: This chart shows just how much more we are cutting the cord
TurboTax to Pay $141M Settlement Over ‘Deceiving’ Millions of Low-Income Americans
TurboTax will begin sending checks next week to nearly 4.4 million low-income Americans whom the company deceived into paying for tax services that should have been free, New York Attorney General Letitia James said.
The checks, part of a $141 million settlement reached in May 2022 between TurboTax owner Intuit and all 50 states and the District of Columbia, are for people who were eligible to file taxes for free through an IRS partner program but were “tricked” into paying TurboTax between 2016 and 2018, James (D) said in a statement Thursday.
The company was also accused of knowingly misleading customers and blocking its landing page for its IRS Free File Program, a public-private partnership with the IRS, from showing up on search engines such as Google. Because Intuit and other companies agreed to participate in that program, the IRS agreed not to offer its own free electronic tax services.
Intuit admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.
Customers who qualify will receive between $29 and $85, depending on the number of years they paid for the services… Consumers who are eligible for the payments do not need to file a claim and will be notified by email, James’s office said Thursday. Checks will be sent automatically and will be mailed throughout May.
“TurboTax’s predatory and deceptive marketing cheated millions of low-income Americans who were trying to fulfill their legal duties to file their taxes,” said Attorney General James. “Today we are righting that wrong and putting money back into the pockets of hardworking taxpayers who should have never paid to file their taxes.” James described it as an effort “to stand up for ordinary Americans and hold companies who cheat consumers accountable,” specifically calling out Intuit “for deceiving millions of low-income Americans into paying for tax services that should have been free.”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Americans Are Ready for AI Regulation, Poll Finds
A new poll of more than 1,200 registered voters provides some of the clearest data yet illustrating the public’s desire to reign in AI.
Apple Hearing Study Suggests An Estimated 1 in 3 Americans Are Regularly Exposed to Excessive Noise
Extrapolating data collected from 130,000 Apple Hearing Study volunteers who contributed readings from their Apple Watch between November 2019 and December 2022, the University of Michigan estimated that 77 million adults across the United States are consistently exposed to high noise levels.
According to the World Health Organization and the United States Environmental Protection Agency, an annual average noise exposure level of 70 decibels (dBA) poses no risk for hearing loss, but exposure over 70 dBA can result in damage to hearing.
The study assumes that people with repeated daily average noise exposures over 70 dBA likely have an annual noise exposure over 70 dBA, which researchers say can result in hearing issues, irritation, heart problems, and sleep disturbances, in addition to impacting mental health. Higher noise levels for longer time periods can increase risk.
The Apple Watch has a built-in feature for detecting environmental sound level, and it collects data to tabulate an average daily environmental sound exposure level. The information collected by the watch can be located in the Hearing section of the Health app.
The Health app will let you know if your noise exposure levels are below 75 dB on average and are “OK,” or if you have been repeatedly exposed to higher levels of sound that can impact your health. At 80 dB, 40 hours of exposure over seven days could potentially result in damage, but at 120 dB, 14 seconds over seven days could cause problems. The Apple Watch is able to send an alert when it detects a harmful noise level so you can move to a quieter location.
People in Puerto Rico, Delaware, Rhode Island, Mississippi, and Connecticut experienced the highest noise pollution levels, and adults aged 35 to 44 were more likely to be exposed to high noise levels compared to those in other age groups.
Additional details about the study can be found in the full blog post on the University of Michigan website. To cut down on hearing damage, researchers recommend that those regularly exposed to excessive noise pollution move away from noisy areas and take “quiet breaks,” buy quiet appliances, and wear ear muffs and ear plugs when possible.
This article, “Apple Hearing Study Suggests An Estimated 1 in 3 Americans Are Regularly Exposed to Excessive Noise” first appeared on MacRumors.com
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Personal Finance Daily: 39% of Americans say they’ve skipped meals to make housing payments and why is the tax deadline April 18 this year, instead of April 15
Bitcoin’s insatiable appetite for energy is driving up pollution and costs for Americans, report finds
Bitcoin mines in the US have had a tremendous impact on power grids, a New York Times investigation reveals. The mines — which are giant data farms — use vastly more electricity than the communities surrounding them, driving up pollution from coal and gas power plants. The crypto mines also make electricity bills more expensive for their neighbors, even as the companies profit off incentives that grid operators offer to prevent blackouts during an energy crunch.
This is the most comprehensive analysis yet of Bitcoin’s impact on the environment and energy system in the US. And it comes as Democratic lawmakers press federal agencies to require crypto companies to divulge information about their operations. The Times has startling numbers…