Is incremental change over time
is enough?
https://theconversation.com/war-in-ukraine-accelerates-global-drive-toward-killer-robots-198725
War
in Ukraine accelerates global drive toward killer robots
The
U.S. military is intensifying its commitment to the development and
use of autonomous weapons, as confirmed by an update to a Department
of Defense directive. The update, released Jan. 25, 2023, is the
first in a decade to focus on artificial intelligence autonomous
weapons. It follows a related implementation
plan released by NATO on Oct. 13, 2022, that is aimed at
preserving the alliance’s “technological edge” in what are
sometimes called “killer robots.”
Both
announcements reflect a crucial lesson militaries around the world
have learned from recent combat operations in Ukraine
and Nagorno-Karabakh:
Weaponized
artificial intelligence is the future of warfare.
“We
know that commanders are seeing a military value in loitering
munitions in Ukraine,” Richard Moyes, director of Article
36, a humanitarian organization focused on reducing harm from
weapons, told me in an interview. These weapons, which are a cross
between a bomb and a drone, can hover for extended periods while
waiting for a target. For now, such semi-autonomous missiles are
generally being operated with significant human control over key
decisions, he said.
(Related)
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2023/02/on-with-kara-swisher-trae-stephens-on-autonomous-warfare-ai.html
Trae
Stephens on the Ethics of AI Warfare Kara Swisher talks to the
Anduril co-founder about autonomous weapons and tech as deterrence.
Artificial
intelligence and machine learning may suddenly seem to be
everywhere,
but that’s not true in the defense
sector, despite the growing ubiquitousness of drone warfare and
the apparently unlimited amount of money the U.S. gives to defense
contractors. One company trying to outflank the big defense firms
with higher tech is Anduril,
which has been selling surveillance, reconnaissance, and
counter-drone
technologies to the U.S., including a “smart wall” system for the
southern border. Last fall, it introduced its first weapon, a
drone-based “loitering munition.”
In
the latest episode of On
With Kara Swisher,
Kara grills Anduril co-founder Trae Stephens about the company’s
approach to defense and its implications. They also discuss spy
balloons, the war in Ukraine,
AI bias, and the challenge of cutting China
out of the supply chain. As seen in the excerpt below, they also get
into Saint Augustine and the ethics of autonomous weapons as well as
why Stephens believes big defense contractors are still struggling to
innovate.
Would
this be worse than asking Google?
https://futurism.com/the-byte/openai-ceo-ai-medical-advice
OPENAI
CEO SAYS AI WILL GIVE MEDICAL ADVICE TO PEOPLE TOO POOR TO AFFORD
DOCTORS
AN
"AI MEDICAL ADVISOR"? WHAT COULD GO WRONG?
This could be
interesting…
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2023/02/reddit-should-have-to-identify-users-who-discussed-piracy-film-studios-tell-court/
Reddit
should have to identify users who discussed piracy, film studios tell
court
Film
studios that filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against a cable
Internet provider are trying to force Reddit to identify users who
posted comments about piracy.
The
lawsuit
was
filed in 2021 against cable company RCN in the US District Court in
New Jersey by Bodyguard Productions, Millennium Media, and other film
companies over downloads of 34
movies such
as Hellboy,
Rambo
V: Last Blood,
Tesla,
and he
Hitman's Bodyguard.
In an attempt to prove that RCN turned a blind eye to users
downloading copyrighted movies, the plaintiffs sent a subpoena to
Reddit last month seeking identifying information for nine users.
Plaintiffs
specifically asked Reddit for "IP address registration and logs
from 1/1/2016 to present, name, email address and other account
registration information" for nine users. Reddit's response
provided at least some information about one user but no information
on any of the other eight. According to the film studios, Reddit
argued that "the requests for identifying information associated
with the additional eight accounts are more in the nature of a
fishing expedition and are neither relevant nor permissible under the
First Amendment."
Now,
the studios want a federal court to force Reddit's hand. The film
companies last week filed a motion
to compel Reddit
to respond to the subpoena in US District Court for the Northern
District of California. The latest filing and the ongoing dispute
over the subpoena were detailed
in a TorrentFreak article published
Saturday.
Often
interesting…
https://www.databreaches.net/thoughts-on-dubin-v-united-states-and-the-aggravated-identity-theft-statute/
Thoughts
on Dubin v. United States and the Aggravated Identity Theft Statute
Law
professor Orin Kerr writes:
On
February 27, the Supreme Court will hear argument in Dubin
v. United States,
a case on the Aggravated Identity Theft Statute, 18
U.S.C. § 1028A.
This statute comes up often in the context of computer crimes, and
its interpretation raises some interesting and important questions.
So I thought I would blog about the case and offer some impressions.
I’ll
start with the statutory problem that prompts the Dubin
case;
then turn to the case itself; and conclude with my own views.
Read
more at Reason.
As
a scifi fan, I would welcome well written stories no matter the
source. I can see the problem of so many submissions that might need
extra review.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/feb/21/sci-fi-publisher-clarkesworld-halts-pitches-amid-deluge-of-ai-generated-stories
Sci-fi
publisher Clarkesworld halts pitches amid deluge of AI-generated
stories
Founding
editor says 500 pitches rejected this month and their ‘authors’
banned, as influencers promote ‘get rich quick’ schemes
One
of the most prestigious publishers of science fiction short stories
has closed itself to submissions after a deluge of AI-generated
pitches overwhelmed its editorial team.
Clarkesworld,
which has published writers including Jeff VanderMeer, Yoon Ha Lee
and Catherynne Valente, is one of the few paying publishers to accept
open submissions for short stories from new writers.
But
that promise brought it to the attention of influencers promoting
“get rich quick” schemes using AI, according to founding editor
Neil Clarke.
In
a typical month, the magazine would normally receive 10 or so such
submissions that were deemed to have plagiarised other authors, he
wrote in a
blogpost.
But since the release of ChatGPT last year pushed AI language models
into the mainstream, the rate of rejections has rocketed.
In
January, Clarke said, the publisher rejected 100 submissions, banning
their “authors” from submitting again. In February to date, he
has banned more than 500.
(Related)
https://www.techradar.com/news/the-amazon-kindle-store-could-soon-be-overrun-with-chatgpt-authored-books
The
Amazon Kindle store could soon be overrun with ChatGPT-authored books
The
Amazon
Kindle has
been a real boon for self-publishing authors, but its virtual book
store risks being overrun by a particularly prolific new scribe:
ChatGPT.
As
spotted by Reuters,
there are already 200 e-books on Amazon's Kindle store that list
ChatGPT as the author or co-author. But because Amazon doesn't
require that authors disclose whether or not they've used AI, that's
likely a huge underestimation of the number of titles that AI tools
have either written or co-created.
The
ChatGPT-created books are published through Amazon’s Kindle Direct
publishing arm, which releases
over 1.4 million self-published books
(opens in
new tab)
every
year and sells them alongside ones written by big-name authors.
Resource?
https://www.bespacific.com/salesforce-offers-5-guidelines-to-reduce-ai-bias/
Salesforce
offers 5 guidelines to reduce AI bias
Tech
Republic:
“Salesforce, which last year introduced its Einstein AI framework
behind its Customer 360 platform, has published what it says is the
industry’s first Guidelines
for Trusted Generative AI.
Written by Paula Goldman, chief ethical and humane use officer, and
Kathy Baxter, principal architect of ethical AI at the company, the
guidelines are meant to help organizations prioritize AI-driven
innovation around ethics and accuracy — including where bias leaks
can spring up and how to find and cauterize them. Baxter, who also
serves as a visiting AI fellow at the National Institute of Standards
and Technology, said there are several entry points for bias
in machine learning models
used for job screening, market research, healthcare decisions,
criminal justice applications and more. However, she noted, there is
no easy way to measure what constitutes a model that is “safe” or
has exceeded a certain level of bias or toxicity.”
Call
it background because techies don’t care about history.
https://www.trendmicro.com/en_us/research/23/b/ransomware-evolution-part-1.html
A
Deep Dive into the Evolution of Ransomware Part 1
This
3-part blog series takes an in-depth look at the evolution of
ransomware business models, from the early stages to current trends.
Not
sure I understand…
https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2023/02/quick-debrief-on-the-gonzalez-v-google-oral-arguments.htm
Quick
Debrief on the Gonzalez v. Google Oral Arguments
Interesting
return to ad sponsored TV?
https://restofworld.org/2023/amazon-minitv-india-free-streaming/
Amazon’s
plan to lure shoppers with free streaming is working in India
If
the e-commerce giant cracks the ad-free, shop-as-you-watch code in
the country, nothing stops it from rolling miniTV out
internationally.
Amazon
chairman Jeff Bezos famously said that every time an Amazon Studios
production wins a Golden Globe, it helps the company’s e-commerce
arm sell more shoes. He was describing Amazon’s “flywheel”
strategy, where users who are Prime subscribers shop more, browse
more, and watch more of the platform’s award-winning content in
order to make the most of their membership.
In
India, Amazon is experimenting with a new but similar
content-to-commerce strategy through miniTV, an ad-supported
streaming service inside its shopping app. The hope is that it will
lure young audiences with free content, eventually turning them into
online shoppers, former and current company executives told Rest
of World.
