Friday, September 03, 2021

Does Tesla know why its AI is failing?

https://apnews.com/article/business-7f8233589a3ae31bee32a1a939ac5e20

US asks Tesla how Autopilot responds to emergency vehicles

The U.S. government’s highway safety agency wants detailed information on how Tesla’s Autopilot system detects and responds to emergency vehicles parked on highways.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration made the detailed request in an 11-page letter sent to the electric car maker that was dated Tuesday.

In the crashes under investigation, at least 17 people were injured and one was killed.





Worth reading the entire article…

https://www.pogowasright.org/what-does-it-actually-mean-when-a-company-says-we-do-not-sell-your-data/

What Does It Actually Mean When a Company Says, “We Do Not Sell Your Data”?





Another long but read-worthy article/

https://www.databreaches.net/juniper-breach-mystery-starts-to-clear-with-new-details-on-hackers-and-u-s-role/

Juniper Breach Mystery Starts to Clear With New Details on Hackers and U.S. Role

The story here, for those who may have forgotten 2015 (it was a long time ago!) is that the NSA inserted a backdoor into a major encryption standard and then leaned on manufacturers to install it.





Something is “off” here. Since when has HPE been a leader in the surveillance business? Is $2 Billion spread over 10 years a contract for cutting edge AI or back office tools?

https://interestingengineering.com/hewlett-packard-just-got-2-billion-ai-surveillance-for-nsa

Hewlett-Packard Just Got $2 Billion to Make an AI Surveillance System for the NSA

Domestic surveillance programs may be in for an AI upgrade.

The National Security Agency of the United States just awarded a $2 billion contract to Hewlett Packard Enterprise to develop high-performance computing power that the agency will use to reach its data analytics and artificial intelligence needs, according to a Wednesday statement from the company,





Perspective. Does the phrase “tossing out the baby with the bath water” apply?

https://www.protocol.com/policy/the-texas-abortion-ban-could-force-tech-to-snitch-on-users

The Texas abortion ban could force tech to snitch on users

the law's construction creates a far broader surface area of risk than even that, enabling anyone to be sued for — knowingly or unknowingly — aiding and abetting the "performance or inducement" of an abortion. As some have pointed out, that tie could be as indirect as an Uber driver giving a woman a ride to a clinic.

Uber is not alone among tech companies in having to figure out a response to this bill. Because now, the tech sector's many social media platforms, messaging platforms, fundraising platforms and more will also have to decide what they will do if, in the process of one of these lawsuits, they receive a legal request for user data.





Perspective. An often repeated theme.

https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2021/09/02/air-force-chief-software-offer-knocks-dod-as-he-departs/

Air Force chief software officer knocks DoD as he departs

The Air Force’s chief software officer Nic Chaillan announced his departure in a blistering online post Thursday that criticized senior leaders for not taking IT modernization seriously and hamstringing senior IT leaders.





Perspective. Perhaps they need to add an AI to control the machines?

https://www.npr.org/2021/09/02/1033715465/mcdonalds-ice-cream-machines-mcflurries-ftc-investigation

Feds Are Reportedly Looking Into Why McDonald's Ice-Cream Machines Are Always Busted

I scream. You scream. We all scream ... out of sheer rage that the McDonald's ice-cream machine is busted again.

By now it is well known among connoisseurs of the fast-food giant's frozen desserts that McDonald's ice-cream machines often break down. The technical problems that regularly befall the contraptions can make McFlurries, shakes and other treats unattainable.

McDonald's has acknowledged the issue, But customers are not lovin' it.

The problem has gotten so widespread there's even an online tool that lets you track malfunctioning machines across the United States.

Now, the feds are reportedly on the case.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the Federal Trade Commission contacted McDonald's franchise owners over the summer looking for information about the broken ice-cream machines.

McDonald's franchisees have long griped about the machines, the newspaper reported, which require a nightly cleaning cycle that can fail and require a technician to fix.





Perspective. This is going to get worse...

https://www.bespacific.com/an-app-called-libby-and-the-surprisingly-big-business-of-library-e-books/

An App Called Libby and the Surprisingly Big Business of Library E-books

The New Yorker: “Increasingly, books are something that libraries do not own but borrow from the corporations that do… The sudden shift to e-books had enormous practical and financial implications, not only for OverDrive but for public libraries across the country. Libraries can buy print books in bulk from any seller that they choose, and, thanks to a legal principle called the first-sale doctrine, they have the right to lend those books to any number of readers free of charge. But the first-sale doctrine does not apply to digital content. For the most part, publishers do not sell their e-books or audiobooks to libraries—they sell digital distribution rights to third-party venders, such as OverDrive, and people like Steve Potash sell lending rights to libraries. These rights often have an expiration date, and they make library e-books “a lot more expensive, in general, than print books,” Michelle Jeske, who oversees Denver’s public-library system, told me. Digital content gives publishers more power over prices, because it allows them to treat libraries differently than they treat other kinds of buyers. Last year, the Denver Public Library increased its digital checkouts by more than sixty per cent, to 2.3 million, and spent about a third of its collections budget on digital content, up from twenty per cent the year before…”





Perspective. It used to take only fuel, air and spark. Now it’s fuel air spark and computers.

https://www.theverge.com/2021/9/2/22654357/gm-factory-shutdown-chip-shortage-truck-suv?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4

GM temporarily shuts down North American factories because of chip shortage

… Four of GM’s US-based plants will be affected: Fort Wayne, Indiana; Wentzville, Missouri; Spring Hill, Tennessee; and Lansing, Michigan. Four other factories in Mexico and Canada will also go dark for several weeks as GM works to shore up its supply of chips. The halt in production will affect GM’s most profitable vehicles, including pickup trucks and SUVs.



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