Are there really people who will not get the vaccine but will buy fake ‘proof’ that they did?

https://slate.com/technology/2021/07/vaccine-cards-covid-scam-fake.html?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4

Inside the Weird, Thriving World of Fake Vaccine Cards

For $200, a scammer will even promise to get your info into an official database.

As some venues, businesses, workplaces, and gatherings of all kinds ask for vaccination proof, people who wish to avoid the shot are turning to the black market to buy vaccination documents.

In April, the National Association of Attorneys General asked eBay, Shopify, and Twitter to prevent users from selling counterfeit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine cards on their platforms. It looks like these companies took it seriously: Searching in early July, I couldn’t find any posts advertised the cards. The New York Times reported in April that the cards were sold on Etsy and Facebook as well. I was able to find one listing on Etsy with blank vaccine cards last week, but several days after, it was unavailable.

What your data is worth to criminals. (Why I’m willing to sell you out.)

https://www.databreaches.net/dark-web-price-index-2021/

Dark Web Price Index 2021

Information in this report reflects data collected on May 9, 2021 and reported by Privacy Affairs. They report their methodology was to: “scan dark web marketplaces, forums, and websites, to create an index of the average prices for a range of specific products.”

Their findings are also compared to what they found in 2020.

You can read their report here.

Regular E-discovery produces lots of data. This event was videoed and live streamed from multiple sources. Is it really important to show all possible views of a participant rather than just a few hundred?

https://www.pogowasright.org/capitol-siege-prosecutors-lose-bid-for-deloitte-help-with-data/

Capitol Siege Prosecutors Lose Bid for Deloitte Help With Data

Bernie Pazanowski reports:

Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP is barred from helping federal prosecutors and other government staff sort and organize the huge volumes of electronic data and other evidence it has collected from the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, a federal court in Washington said Friday.

The investigation into the events has generated massive amounts of evidence—the most in American history, according to the government. The evidence ranges from video footage of the attack on the Capitol to social media posts to cell tower data, it said.

Read more on Bloomberg.

(Related) Didn’t the FBI build a phone like this?

https://thenextweb.com/news/freedom-phone-anatomy-maga-scam?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheNextWeb+%28The+Next+Web+All+Stories%29

Freedom Phone: Anatomy of a MAGA scam

Honestly, I won't be shocked if we eventually find out it's a liberal troll job

Accurately forecasting the future of police robots?

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2021/07/dont-let-police-arm-autonomous-or-remote-controlled-robots-and-drones

Don’t Let Police Arm Autonomous or Remote-Controlled Robots and Drones

It’s no longer science fiction or unreasonable paranoia. Now, it needs to be said: No, police must not be arming land-based robots or aerial drones. That’s true whether these mobile devices are remote controlled by a person or autonomously controlled by artificial intelligence, and whether the weapons are maximally lethal (like bullets) or less lethal (like tear gas).

Police currently deploy many different kinds of moving and task-performing technologies. These include flying drones, remote control bomb-defusing robots, and autonomous patrol robots. While these different devices serve different functions and operate differently, none of them--absolutely none of them--should be armed with any kind of weapon.

Mission creep is very real. Time and time again, technologies given to police to use only in the most extreme circumstances make their way onto streets during protests or to respond to petty crime.

Improve the digital infrastructure to keep your state competitive?

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/07/california-passes-historic-plan-for-statewide-open-access-fiber-network/

California’s ambitious fiber-Internet plan approved unanimously by legislature

The California legislature unanimously approved a plan to build a statewide, open-access fiber network yesterday. The legislation was supported by Democrats and Republicans in votes of 78-0 in the California Assembly and 39-0 in the state Senate.

The statewide, open-access fiber lines will function as a "middle-mile” network that carries data from Internet backbone networks to connection points in cities and rural areas. A middle-mile network doesn't extend all the way to residential properties, but "last-mile" ISPs can get access to it and focus on building infrastructure that connects the middle mile to homes.

(Related)

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/16/virginia-gov-northam-announces-plan-for-universal-broadband-by-2024.html

Virginia Gov. Northam announces $700 million plan for universal broadband by 2024

Tools for Math & science…

https://www.freetech4teachers.com/2021/07/add-phet-simulations-to-your-powerpoint.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+freetech4teachers/cGEY+(Free+Technology+for+Teachers)

Add PhET Simulations to Your PowerPoint Slides

PhET is a free resource that has been popular with science and math teachers for many years. PhET provides free interactive math and science simulations covering topics in physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and mathematics. In the PhET library you'll find simulations appropriate for elementary, middle, high school, and university students. PhET even offers a search tool that will help you find lesson ideas built upon the free simulations.

Dozens of the PhET simulations are available to insert into PowerPoint presentations through the use of PhET's free PowerPoint Add-in. With the Add-in installed you can browse the available simulations and insert them into your slides. The simulations work in your slide just as they do on the PhET website.

Watch my short video ... to learn how to install PowerPoint add-ins.

How do I extort thee? Let me count the ways.

I extort thee to the depth and breadth and height

My tech can reach...

https://www.bespacific.com/ransomware-attackers-are-growing-bolder-and-using-new-extortion-methods/

Ransomware attackers are growing bolder and using new extortion methods

Tech Republic – “IT and OT environments are increasing targets and threat actors are using Dark Web forums to launch cybercrimes, according to Accenture’s 2021 Cyber Threat Intelligence report. It’s hardly surprising that threat actors are pervasive and aggressive, but a new report finds in the first half of 2021, they have been testing new extortion methods, targeting critical infrastructure business operations continuity in particular. This was one of four key trends identified in Accenture’s 2021 Cyber Threat Intelligence Report. The report also identified the rise of the Cobalt Strike, commodity malware invading operational technology from the IT space and Dark Web actors challenging IT and OT networks as the three other main cybersecurity trends. Meanwhile, the White House is stepping up federal efforts to fight domestic and foreign cyberattacks, and on Thursday launched a ransomware task force aimed at helping businesses and state and local governments combat cybersecurity threats…”

Rat out a friend, make it into the Witness Protection Program, and get rich?

https://www.databreaches.net/rewards-for-justice-reward-offer-for-information-on-foreign-malicious-cyber-activity-against-u-s-critical-infrastructure/

Rewards for Justice – Reward Offer for Information on Foreign Malicious Cyber Activity Against U.S. Critical Infrastructure

The following announcement is from the U.S. Department of State today:

The U.S. Department of State’s Rewards for Justice (RFJ) program, which is administered by the Diplomatic Security Service, is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, participates in malicious cyber activities against U.S. critical infrastructure in violation of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA).

Certain malicious cyber operations targeting U.S. critical infrastructure may violate the CFAA. Violations of the statute may include transmitting extortion threats as part of ransomware attacks; intentional unauthorized access to a computer or exceeding authorized access and thereby obtaining information from any protected computer; and knowingly causing the transmission of a program, information, code, or command, and as a result of such conduct, intentionally causing damage without authorization to a protected computer. Protected computers include not only U.S. government and financial institution computer systems, but also those used in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce or communication.

Commensurate with the seriousness with which we view these cyber threats, the Rewards for Justice program has set up a Dark Web (Tor-based) tips-reporting channel to protect the safety and security of potential sources. The RFJ program also is working with interagency partners to enable the rapid processing of information as well as the possible relocation of and payment of rewards to sources. Reward payments may include payments in cryptocurrency.

More information about this reward offer is located on the Rewards for Justice website at www.rewardsforjustice.net. We encourage anyone with information on malicious cyber activity, carried out against U.S. critical infrastructure in violation of the CFAA by actors at the direction of or under the control of a foreign government, to contact the Rewards for Justice office via our Tor-based tips-reporting channel at: he5dybnt7sr6cm32xt77pazmtm65flqy6irivtflruqfc5ep7eiodiad.onion (Tor browser required).

Since its inception in 1984, the program has paid in excess of $200 million to more than 100 people across the globe who provided actionable information that helped prevent terrorism, bring terrorist leaders to justice, and resolve threats to U.S. national security. Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/RFJ_USA.

Toward individual privacy choices?

https://www.huntonprivacyblog.com/2021/07/15/california-attorney-general-updates-ccpa-faqs-indicating-mandatory-compliance-with-global-privacy-control/

California Attorney General Updates CCPA FAQs Indicating Mandatory Compliance with Global Privacy Control

The California Attorney General has updated its CCPA FAQs to state that the newly developed Global Privacy Control (“GPC”) “must be honored by covered businesses as a valid consumer request to stop the sale of personal information.”

This change appears to draw on Section 999.315(c) of the CCPA regulations, which states that “[i]f a business collects personal information from consumers online, the business shall treat user-enabled global privacy controls, such as a browser plug-in or privacy setting, device setting, or other mechanism, that communicate or signal the consumer’s choice to opt-out of the sale of their personal information as a valid [opt-out of sale] request . . . .”

This update to the FAQs comes after former Attorney General Xavier Becerra tweeted in January 2021 that the GPC satisfies the legal requirement for “businesses to treat a user-enabled global privacy control as a legally valid consumer request to opt out of the sale of their data.”

What would AI do?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/07/16/opinion/ai-ethics-religion.html

Can Silicon Valley Find God?

… Mr. Boettcher, a former Microsoft general manager who is now pursuing a Ph.D. in artificial intelligence and spirituality at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland

… I was one of 32 people from six faith backgrounds — Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus and nonreligious “nones”— who had agreed to participate in Mr. Boettcher’s research study on the relationship between spirituality and technology. He had programmed a series of A.I. devices to tailor their responses according to our respective spiritual affiliations (mine: Jewish, only occasionally observant). The questions, though, stayed the same: “How am I of value?” “How did all of this come about?” “Why is there evil and suffering in the world?” “Is there a ‘god’ or something bigger than all of us?”

By analyzing our responses, Mr. Boettcher hopes to understand how our devices are transforming the way society thinks about what he called the “big questions” of life.

I had a warning from a human (non-AI) English teacher about this. Also, the errors are similar to some translations my international students have submitted.

https://www.unite.ai/ai-generated-language-is-beginning-to-pollute-scientific-literature/

AI-Generated Language Is Beginning to Pollute Scientific Literature

Researchers from France and Russia have published a study indicating that the use of AI-driven probabilistic text generators such as GPT-3 are introducing ‘tortured language’, citations of non-existent literature and ad hoc, uncredited image reuse into previously respectable channels for the publication of new scientific literature.

Perhaps of most concern is that the papers studied also contain scientifically inaccurate or non-reproducible content presented as the fruits of objective and systematic research, indicating that generative language models are being used not only to bolster the limited English skills of the papers’ authors, but actually to do the hard work involved (and, invariably, to do it badly).

The report, titled Tortured phrases: A dubious writing style emerging in science, has been compiled by researchers from the Computer Science Department at the University of Toulouse and Yandex researcher Alexander Magazinov, currently at Tel Aviv University.

… The apparently AI-created/aided scientific submissions unearthed by the researchers include an extraordinary number of failed attempts at creative synonyms for known phrases in the machine learning sector:

deep neural network: ‘profound neural organization’

network attack: ‘organization (ambush | assault)’

network connection: ‘organization association’

big data: ‘(enormous | huge | immense | colossal) information’

data warehouse: ‘information (stockroom | distribution center)’

artificial intelligence (AI): ‘(counterfeit | human-made) consciousness’

graphics processing unit (GPU): ‘designs preparing unit’

central processing unit (CPU): ‘focal preparing unit’

Just to be clear, AI misbehavior is noticed only after the action is taken. (Oops, we didn’t mean to nuke New York.)

https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/07/14/austin-ai-crucial-military-commanders-will-pull-plug-misbehaving-systems.html

Austin: AI Is Crucial for Military, but Commanders Will Pull the Plug on Misbehaving Systems

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Tuesday spelled out the Pentagon's plan for using artificial intelligence, or AI, to deter or fight wars -- but pledged that the military will fix or pull the plug on any system that gets out of line.

"We're going to immediately adjust, improve or even disable AI systems that aren’t behaving the way that we intend," Austin said in a speech at the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence's summit on global emerging technology in Washington, D.C.

New player, new ideas?

https://www.databreaches.net/ohio-introduces-data-privacy-legislation/

Ohio Introduces Data Privacy Legislation

Kurt R. Hunt and Gregory A. Tapocsi of Dinsmore & Shohl LLP write:

On July 13, 2021, Ohio Lieutenant Governor John Husted announced the introduction of the Ohio Personal Privacy Act (OPPA), a comprehensive privacy framework following in the footsteps of recent legislative enactments in California (the CCPA as modified by the CPRA), Virginia (the CDPA), and Colorado (the Colorado Privacy Act).

The Ohio Personal Privacy Act generally resembles the privacy laws enacted in California, Virginia, and Colorado, but it more closely aligns with the Virginia CDPA in regards to structure, approach, and language.

Read more on The National Law Review.

[From the article:

Of specific importance for online advertising, the OPPA defines "personal data" as “any information that relates to an identified or identifiable consumer processed by a business for a commercial purpose.” The OPPA then defines “commercial purpose” as “the processing of information for the purpose of obtaining any form of consideration” from either “the person that is the subject of such information” or “any third party.”

How did “black box” software become acceptable?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/trueallele-software-dna-courts/2021/07/12/66d27c44-6c9d-11eb-9f80-3d7646ce1bc0_story.html

A secret algorithm is transforming DNA evidence. This defendant could be the first to scrutinize it.

(Related)

https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1835&context=nlj

SECRET ALGORITHMS, IP RIGHTS, AND THE PUBLIC INTEREST

The secrecy surrounding the algorithms that play a central role in American life today is proving to have alarming effects. Judges and juries are convicting defendants based on secret evidence. Major advertisers like Facebook are discriminating against minorities seeking housing. And Russians may very well be hacking our voting machines to change election outcomes. The algorithm secrecy underlying these results obscures whether such legal outcomes are actually accurate and fair or whether they were based on faulty evidence, affected by bias, or manipulated by outside influences. These are just a handful of the public-interest perils of algorithm secrecy. This Article explains that the pervasive secrecy surrounding algorithms is not entirely by accident. The Supreme Court’s recent overhaul of intellectual property (IP) law has driven algorithm developers toward secrecy. By limiting patent protection for software, the Court’s new IP regime pushes developers away from the required disclosure of patent law and toward the obscurity of trade secret law. In doing so, the new regime neglects to take into account the many negative effects that this heightened secrecy has on the public interest. Accuracy, fairness, and good policy require a more careful consideration of the tradeoffs between secrecy and transparency. This includes not only exploring how to minimize these swelling public-interest concerns but also reexamining the Court’s new IP rules with these negative effects in mind.

The problem that I see is convincing anyone that your AI is ethical. Do we need an Underwriters Laboratory for the Internet age?

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/15/building-ethical-ai-products-can-put-businesses-at-competitive-advantage.html

Building ethical A.I. products can put businesses at a competitive advantage

Making sure that AI-driven services and products are ethical and can be trusted could become a competitive strength for businesses, experts said Wednesday.

… others have pointed out that even in its current, narrow capabilities, AI raises a series of ethical questions — such as whether the data fed into AI programs are without bias, and whether AI can be held accountable if something goes wrong.

To build trusted AI systems, there needs to be cooperation among countries and various stakeholders, according to Wonki Min, a former vice minister at South Korea’s science and technology ministry, who spearheaded the country’s national AI strategy.

That means working together with neighboring countries as well as industry experts, academics, and everyday people who use those technologies, Min said during a panel discussion about AI governance at the Asia Tech x Singapore conference.

This could mean even dumber devices (i.e. much cheaper) that work like high-end desktop computers.

https://www.androidauthority.com/microsoft-windows-365-1644399/

Microsoft drops Windows 365, a cloud-based OS you can run on basically anything

We’ve all heard it a million times: the future of computing is in the cloud. While we’ve seen plenty of cloud services deliver on this promise, we’ve yet to see what we’ve always expected: a cloud-based version of Windows.

However, today, Microsoft formally announced that its cloud-based Windows would officially land as Windows 365 on August 2, 2021 (via PC World ).

Unfortunately, Microsoft is keeping the service locked to businesses for the moment. Business owners will have the option to pay a monthly per-user fee, allowing employees to access a virtual version of Windows. Employees could access this from all manners of devices, including low-powered laptops, tablets, and even phones.

Perhaps I too should take up yoga.

https://dilbert.com/strip/2021-07-15

Searching for that perfect metaphor?

https://news.softpedia.com/news/cyberattacks-should-be-treated-as-a-national-disaster-in-the-u-s-533505.shtml

Cyberattacks Should be Treated as a National Disaster in the U.S.

Law enforcement officials have announced that a more widespread reaction will be forthcoming following the Kaseya ransomware attack that impacted over a thousand companies across the globe last week. Shortly thereafter, the FBI initiated actions to recover the Bitcoin payments, including the successful recovery of a portion of the ransom paid by Colonial Pipeline.

US authorities said they will treat ransomware attacks with similar priority to terrorism after noticing the huge scale of recent cyberattacks. Another powerful organization, the military alliance NATO, warned in late June that cyberattacks on its members could trigger a military response.

Be careful what you wish for? Perhaps they thought that the cops were closing in? Perhaps Putin simply took over their work?

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3625250/revil-gang-suddenly-goes-silent-leaving-victims-unable-to-recover-systems.html#tk.rss_all

REvil gang suddenly goes silent leaving victims unable to recover systems

All REvil websites went offline on Tuesday, leaving security experts and victims to speculate on the reason why.

The dark web sites operated by the notorious REvil ransomware group suddenly went offline on Tuesday, prompting speculation that the US or Russian governments stepped in. Meanwhile, victims and the security companies working for them to recover data have been put in a more difficult situation.

"Victims have been left without the ability to recover the decryption software necessary to restore encrypted networks, our clients being among them," Mike Fowler, vice president of intelligence services at GroupSense, a company that provides ransom negotiation services, tells CSO. "It is our hope that the organization responsible for the takedowns was able to gather the necessary software needed to provide the decryption keys when supplied with the victim-specific encryption keys. If not, we consider it computationally infeasible that the victims will be able to recover their data via other means."

(Related) That which does not kill us, makes us sneaker?

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-pentagon-tried-to-take-down-these-hackers-theyre-back?scrolla=5eb6d68b7fedc32c19ef33b4

The Pentagon Tried to Take Down These Hackers. They’re Back.

Last fall, on the eve of the elections, the U.S. Department of Defense tried to throttle a transnational cybercrime group. But the hackers have rebuilt much of their operations. It’s become clear in recent months that the gang is very much alive and well.

The Russian-speaking hacking group, sometimes referred to by the name of the malware it uses, Trickbot, has gone after millions of victims around the globe, stealing victims’ banking credentials and facilitating ransomware attacks that have left businesses scrambling to pay hefty extortion demands for years.

And now, even though the Pentagon’s U.S. Cyber Command tried to put a dent in the gang’s operations last year, there are signs the hacking gang is working behind the scenes, quietly updating its malware to monitor victims and gather intelligence. That’s according to the latest intelligence from Romania-based cybersecurity firm Bitdefender, which shared its findings exclusively with The Daily Beast.

For my Computer Security students.

https://www.csoonline.com/article/3625271/nist-s-eo-mandated-software-security-guidelines-could-be-a-game-changer.html#tk.rss_all

NIST’s EO-mandated software security guidelines could be a game-changer

Following a string of high-profile supply chain hacks, President Biden's wide-ranging executive order on cybersecurity (EO) issued on May 12 directed the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to produce guidance on a series of software security matters. First, the EO asked NIST to produce a definition of critical software, which it released at the end of June. Second, the EO directed NIST to publish guidance on security measures for EO-critical software use, which NIST released last Friday.

… Like so many other NIST guidance and framework documents, NIST presents each measure along with its corresponding federal government informative references, mostly technical specifications and industry standards, so that practitioners can rely on more detailed guidance. In addition, all software security measures count both the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) and NIST Special Publication (SP) 800-53 Revision 5, Security and Privacy Controls for Information Systems and Organizations as informative references. NIST released a white paper that lays out the new software security schema in detail.

The EO further directed NIST to publish guidelines on vendors' source code testing.

Will this be as influential as the GDPR? If so, we better get it right!

https://www.bespacific.com/machines-learning-the-rule-of-law/

Machines Learning the Rule of Law

Sümeyye Elif Biber – Verfassungsblog: EU Proposes the World’s first Artificial Intelligence Act. “On 21 April 2021, the European Commission (EC) proposed the world’s first Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA). The proposal has received a warm welcome across the EU as well as from the US, as it includes substantial legal provisions on ethical standards. After its release, the media’s main focus laid on the proposal’s “Brussels Effect”, which refers to the EU’s global regulatory influence: EU laws exceed their “local” influence and become global standards. With the AIA, the EU has the potential to become the world’s “super-regulator” on AI. More than the Brussels Effect, however, the emphasis should lie on the EU’s intention to explicitly protect the rule of law against the “rule of technology”. Despite this expressed goal, the normative power of the regulation to ensure the protection of the rule of law seems inadequate and raises serious concerns from the perspective of fundamental rights protection. This shortcoming becomes most evident across three main aspects of the AIA, namely in the regulation’s definition of AI systems, the AI practices it prohibits, and the preeminence of a risk-based approach…”

Not the first time I’ve run across this idea.

https://hbr.org/2021/07/to-spur-growth-in-ai-we-need-a-new-approach-to-legal-liability

To Spur Growth in AI, We Need a New Approach to Legal Liability

The existing liability system in the United States and other countries can’t handle the risks relation to AI. That’s a problem because it will slow AI innovation and adoption. The answer is to revamp the system, which involves revising standards of care, changing who compensates parties when inevitable accidents occur via insurance and indemnity; changing default liability options; creating new adjudicators; and revamping regulations to prevent mistakes and exempt certain kinds of liability.

An excellent resource for students planning to actually use statistics.

https://news.columbia.edu/news/top-10-ideas-statistics-ai

Top 10 Ideas in Statistics That Have Powered the AI Revolution

Though deep learning and AI have become household terms, the breakthroughs in statistics that have fueled this revolution are less known. In a recent paper, Andrew Gelman, a statistics professor at Columbia, and Aki Vehtari, a computer science professor at Finland’s Aalto University, published a list of the most important statistical ideas in the last 50 years.

… The 10 articles and books below all were published in the last 50 years and are listed in chronological order.

More resources.

https://www.makeuseof.com/learn-how-to-code-for-free/

The 7 Best Ways to Learn How to Code for Free

Any guidance can help.

https://www.huntonprivacyblog.com/2021/07/12/nydfs-issues-ransomware-guidance-outlining-expected-security-controls/

NYDFS Issues Ransomware Guidance Outlining Expected Security Controls

On June 30, 2021, the New York State Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS,” the “Department”) issued guidance to all New York state regulated entities on ransomware (the “Guidance”), identifying controls it expects regulated companies to implement whenever possible.

To help prevent successful ransomware attacks, the Department outlines a playbook of known cybersecurity countermeasures and controls. Notably, the guidance states that, given the substantial risk from ransomware, “every NYDFS-regulated company should seek to implement the controls outlined in this Guidance to the extent possible.”

Ah, the French. They are different. What would Napoleon do?

https://www.makeuseof.com/french-competition-regulator-slaps-google-with-593m-fine/

French Competition Regulator Slaps Google With $593M Fine

The French antitrust regulator is set to fine Google €500 million ($593 million) after the tech giant failed to reach a deal with publishers using its platform. The argument centers around a 2020 decision levied on Google News to pay media outlets and publishers for snippets displayed on the service.

Google has apparently ignored the Autorité de la concurrence and now will have to pay the fine. Or, more likely, head straight back to court to contend the fine.

Misapplication of (undue reliance on) an algorithm, if not a true AI.

https://www.insideprivacy.com/gdpr/italian-supervisory-authority-fines-foodinho-over-its-use-of-performance-management-algorithms/

Italian Supervisory Authority Fines Foodinho Over its Use of Performance Management Algorithms

On July 5, 2021, the Italian Supervisory Authority (“Garante”) announced that it has fined Foodinho S.r.l. (“Foodinho”) 2.6 million EUR for its use of performance algorithms in connection with its employees. The authority held Foodinho in breach of the principles of transparency, security, privacy by default and by design, and held it responsible for not implementing suitable measures to safeguard its employees’ (i.e., riders’) rights and freedoms against discriminatory automated decision making. The Garante’s decision is the first of its kind in the realm of the algorithmic management of gig workers. According to the Garante, Foodinho’s management violated Article 22(3) of the GDPR.

We need to keep up with the Chinese, let’s spend lots of money!

https://www.justsecurity.org/77354/artificial-intelligence-in-the-intelligence-community-money-is-not-enough/

Congress wants to pour hundreds of billions (yes with a B) of dollars into the federal government to increase the nation’s competitiveness in emerging technology and, in particular, to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies that are vital to protecting our national security. The bipartisan support shown for the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA ) – the bill that provides these funds – is a noteworthy and important step in ensuring the United States is resilient and competitive in the 21st century. And that kind of money is nothing to sneeze at. But can the federal government manage to spend it? [They will likely spend it without management. Bob]

… However, having spent the last 20 years in the U.S. government, 15 of them in the Intelligence Community (IC), I believe that without a visible, concerted effort to revisit current budget, acquisition, risk, and oversight frameworks – led by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and IC leadership – the IC will not be able to effectively identify, develop, and incorporate in real-time the technological advances needed to keep its competitive edge, regardless of how much USICA money comes its way.

AI systems have the potential to transform how the IC makes sense of the world, rapidly and at scale. To discover secrets and provide policymakers with exquisite intelligence and insights at mission speed, the IC must be able to quickly and accurately sort through vast amounts of data to find patterns, uncover connections, understand relevance, and draw conclusions in real-time. Without the advantages that evolving AI will continue bring, the IC will quickly be outmatched by the nation’s formidable adversaries.

An interesting idea. We are far from this level of AI.

https://www.dbta.com/Editorial/News-Flashes/Machine-Learning-and-the-End-of-Search-147641.aspx

Machine Learning and the End of Search

Does the wider adoption of machine learning mean the end of search as we know it? Northern Light CEO David Seuss explained why he believes it does and how search must leverage smart taxonomies going forward during his presentation at Data Summit Connect 2021.

"We are approaching the era when users will no longer search for information in the traditional way. They will expect the machine to find what they need on its own and bring it to them. To do this, search must evolve to have an in-depth understanding of the search material and the ways of knowing in the user's domain so you can't just throw a generic search solution at a generic content set and have this work," Seuss said.

An AI resource.

https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/cern-sparks-podcasts-explore-artificial-intelligence/

CERN Sparks Podcasts Explore Artificial Intelligence

On Tuesday, CERN will launch a new podcast series on artificial intelligence. The series looks forward to the first edition of the Sparks! Serendipity Forum in September, when over 30 leading thinkers will converge on the laboratory for high-level multidisciplinary discussions designed to spark ethical innovation.

To whet your appetite for the forum, the podcasts bring a selection of the Sparks delegates together in pairs. Think of these conversations like collisions in the LHC. Rather than protons, however, we’re colliding a diverse cast of thought leaders featuring computer scientists, neuroscientists, philosophers, physicists and psychologists. And rather than energy being transformed into new particles, the weight of scholarship is transformed into new seams of creative energy — a foretaste of the intellectual dust-up planned for September.

They say it’s satire, I’m not so sure.

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/trump-sues-eighty-one-million-voters-for-banning-him-from-white-house

Trump Sues Eighty-one Million Voters for Banning Him from White House

“This would mean that it’s up to millions of Americans to decide who gets to use the White House and who doesn’t,” the former President said.

Something those of us who teach MS software should consider?

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/07/10/former-microsoft-employee-makes-better-living-making-youtube-videos.html

YouTubers are making a living on videos about Microsoft software

When Microsoft updated its Teams communication app with a more sophisticated way to give PowerPoint presentations in January, the company published a 500-word blog post on the feature. People could read the blog post and try to figure out how to use it, or they could consult YouTube.

On the video service owned by arch-rival Google, a former Microsoft employee named Kevin Stratvert published a video on Presenter Mode to his more than 800,000 subscribers, garnering more than 180,000 views and hundreds of comments. Microsoft itself had not published a video on the topic.

Tools & Techniques.

https://www.makeuseof.com/find-word-cant-remember-onelook-reverse-dictionary/

How to Find the Word You Can't Remember With OneLook Reverse Dictionary

OneLook Reverse Dictionary is a free reference site to find a word by its definition. Most language producers face the problem of finding the right word at the right time, just when their brains can't recall it.

OneLook Reverse Dictionary helps users find the word by explaining what it means. The dictionary allows users to find synonyms and phrases related to the word they're looking for. You can also type the suggested definition that falls into the same category of the related word and the dictionary will provide you with the best-related words.