Welcome back Reader!
The robots are coming, right? We’re always reading about how the end is nigh, with robots replacing lawyers, accountants and… well, all of us, I think?
Here at ICIJ, we decided to befriend the robots and put them to work.
We taught them how to sift through our massive piles of data to find — and cluster together — similarities, irregularities, and patterns, such as common words. Even as you read this email, no doubt we have a little robot working away, sifting through our latest data set.
This week our data guru, Rigo Carvajal, explains how it all works. Imagine the power of a machine helping us to sort through millions of files for particular words… I think we’ll keep befriending the robots for a while longer!!
Now, if you’re anything like me, or our project manager Fergus Shiel, you’re not a technical genius like Rigo. So this week, Fergus provides the Dummies Guide to SecureDrop.
Secure-what? You ask. SecureDrop is one of the safest ways to provide information to us here at ICIJ. (Other options here.) So, if you want to follow in the footsteps of John Doe (the anonymous source behind the Panama Papers), then you should probably read Fergus’ story.
And even if you don’t… it’s worth it for the humor. Who can’t relate to this:
“There is no computer, printer or phone which I cannot jinx with my innate inability to log on, download, upload or any load, more or less.”
Until next week!