Smart Software Names Cookies
December 11, 2018
Tired of McVities’ digestives, coconut macaroons, and chocolate chip cookies. Tireless researchers have trained smart software to name cookies. Next to solving death, this is definitely a significant problem.
The facts appear in “AI System Tries to Rename Classic Cookies and Fails Miserably.” You can read the original, possible check the cv of the expert who crafted this study, and inform your local patisserie that you want new names for the confections. (I assume the patisserie has not been trashed by gilets jaunes.)
Here’s an alphabetical list of the “new” names from the write up. Sorry, I don’t have the real world cookie name to which each neologism is matched. Complain to TechRadar, not me.
The names:
- Apricot Dream Moles
- Canical Bear-Widded Nuts
- Fluffin coffee drops
- Granma’s spritches
- Hersel pump sprinters
- Lord’s honey fight
- Low fuzzy feats
- Merry hunga poppers
- Quitterbread bars
- Sparry brunchies #2
- Spice biggers
- Walps
And my personal favorite:
Hand buttersacks.
I quite like the system. One can use it to name secret projects. I can envision attending a meeting and suggesting, “Our new project will be code named Quitterbread bars.”
Stephen E Arnold, December 11, 2018
Australia: A Government Watch Dog with Two Companies to Monitor
December 11, 2018
Australia has become the first country to pass a law requiring that encrypted messages have to be unlocked for law enforcement. That means WhatsApp and a gaggle of other secret messaging apps.
Now Australia has another interesting idea, reported by Business Daily in Africa. The Australian government wants a regulator to monitor Facebook and Google. According to the report I saw:
Australia’s competition watchdog on Monday [December 10, 2018] recommended tougher scrutiny and a new regulatory body to check the dominance of tech giants Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google in the country’s online advertising and news markets.
The source document cited a familiar refrain:
The two firms have already promised to do more to tackle the spread of fake news and, in submissions to the ACCC, said they provided users access to global news articles while providing advertisers a cheap way of reaching big audiences.
Australia is a member of Five Eyes, and the country may be setting a path which Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US may follow.
In short, the good old days of Wild West digital services may find the prairie managed in part by barbed wire fences, gates, and folks with badges and six shooters and maybe an automatic weapon too.
Stephen E Arnold, December 11, 2018
DarkCyber for December 11, 2018 Now Available
December 11, 2018
DarkCyber for December 11, 2018, is now available at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress and on Vimeo at https://www.vimeo.com. The program is a production of Stephen E Arnold. It is the only weekly video news shows focusing on the Dark Web and lesser known Internet services.
This week’s story line up includes… a detailed report about weapons sales on the Dark Web … ThomsonReuters sells driving and personal data to ICE… and The outlines of Dark Web Version 2 become visible.
First, an information packed study about Dark Web weapons sales reveals that Glocks are the most popular illegal hand gun. How much is an illegal weapon? Prices range from $200 to more than $10,000. But fully automatic weapons are the most expensive. Cyber weapons cost a fraction of the price of a physical weapon. The information has been assembled by the RAND Corporation, and the report makes clear that despite the shut down of many Dark Web eCommerce sites, unregistered weapons are available via Tor and the Dark Web. The video provides the information needed to obtain a copy of this useful collection of hard to find data.
Second, DarkCyber reports that ThomsonReuters along with a handful of less well known companies are selling personal data to the US government. ThomsonReuters, according to a source available to DarkCyber, sells information related to driving; for example, data about license tags and information derived from surveillance cameras. With these types of data, government investigators are able to examine travel routes and may be able to pinpoint the location of vehicles. The value of proprietary data is that the accuracy and timeliness of the information can accelerate certain investigations.
The final story reveals that private group chats and encrypted instant messaging may be the future of the Dark Web. Instead of relying on special software to make online behavior anonymous, message oriented applications allow bad actors to work on the public Internet, safe from the eyes of investigators. Stephen E Arnold, author of CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access, said: “Encryption is an issue. DarkCyber anticipates that the US, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia will aggressively seek back doors. The time and cost of traditional decryption are prohibitive as the volume of encrypted messages goes up.”
DarkCyber is released each week on Tuesday. The next program will be available on December 25, 2018.
Kenny Toth, December 11, 2018
The Legal Dodgeball Wings Facebook
December 10, 2018
Mark Zuckerberg is a digital circus carnival broker to some people. At least, in England, and like a wanted man in a Western flick, it’s going to take a posse to bring him in for questioning. Unlike his appearance in front of US lawmakers earlier this year, he is not granting the same audience with European officials, as we discovered in a recent Forbes story, “Facebook’s Zuckerberg Ignores ‘The New Reality’ By Skipping Fake News Inquiry in London.”
According to the story:
“A special “Grand Committee“ of nine governments from around the world had come together at the U.K. Houses of Parliament, hoping to ask Facebook’s founder about the spread of fake news on his platform…But lawmakers didn’t get the man with 60% of Facebook’s voting shares and thus ultimate control; they got Richard Allen, Facebook’s vice president of public policy for Europe.”
It comes as no surprise to the bulk of people following this story that Facebook’s profits have recently begun to sag. But, the complicated part is that it’s not because of customers defecting and also not because they are sinking bundles of cash into heightened security (in fairness, they are investing in verification, etc) but simply with the expense of being Facebook. Overhead is beginning to hurt this juggernaut, which is not a great combo with all the controversy. It’ll be interesting to see how Zuckerberg dodges this news.
Patrick Roland, December 10, 2018
French Wash Out Google. Recruit Qwant
December 10, 2018
Last year, we took note when the privacy-centric search engine Qwant, a French and German company, declared its intention to take on Google for internet search dominance. Now, The Sun reports, “France Declares War on Google as Military Replaces Search Engine with ‘Untrackable’ Qwant.” Apparently, officials feel their nation’s very (digital) independence is at risk. Reporter Felix Allen writes:
“[Member of Parliament] Florian Bachelier said: ‘We have to set the example. Security and digital sovereignty are at stake here, which is anything but an issue only for geeks.’ He chairs the National Assembly’s cybersecurity and digital sovereignty taskforce, which was set up in April to protect firms from hackers and end France’s reliance on foreign tech giants. Officials and politicians are said to be very concerned with the dominance of US and Chinese firms and the concept of ‘digital sovereignty,’ including a country’s control over its citizens data, reports Wired. 2013 report warned France and the EU risked becoming ‘digital colonies’ in the wake of the Snowden revelations on NSA spying.”
French officials are alarmed by the tendency for U.S.-based tech companies to play fast and loose with users’ personal information. President Macron is working to put laws into place that will prevent breaches like the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal from impacting French citizens. Or, at least, penalize the responsible companies when they do.
Based in Paris, Qwant was founded on May Day, 2011. After two years of R&D, the search engine itself was launched in 2013. Keep in mind that Qwant’s roots reach back even farther in time to the Pertimm system.
Cynthia Murrell, December 10, 2018
Amazonia for December 10, 2018
December 10, 2018
The Amazon show and tell has ended. The implications of most Amazon announcements have been reported in the “real” media. The Beyond Search team identified a handful of Bezos bullets, however. Read on:
- Someone should tell one of the world’s richest me to be positive. Here in Harrod’s Creek the shocking news that Amazon will go bankrupt stuns. The Beyond Search goose thinks that Mr. Bezos is working on his legacy; that is, an early “I warned you” makes him into a digital Nostradamus.
- Ever try to pay for something in an airport store? I have. Sometimes I leave my overpriced bag of trail mix amongst the M&Ms because no one waits on me. Amazon may solve this problem. “Amazon Looks to Airports to Expand Its Checkout-Free Store Footprint” explains that Amazon’s no human check out may solve this problem. Will the price of trail mix go up? Yeah, you know the answer to that.
- What’s with Amazon in the space data game? We learned about “Amazon’s Plan to Profit from Space Data” from the Daily Herald. Here’s the plan: “Rather than build its own satellite dishes and ground stations, the company has brokered an exclusive “multiyear strategic business agreement” with Bethesda-based defense contractor Lockheed Martin, which manufactures and operates satellites for the U.S. military.” Useful for policeware and intelware use cases, don’t you think? Nah.
- What’s the economic impact of Amazon saying it will put a big office in the DC area? A mere $15 billion impact. Get the semi analysis in the Zon-meister’s very own newspaper here.
- Axios said, “Amazon faces a politically perilous moment.” The JEDI deal is headed for another appeal. Oracle wants to keep its Pentagon power it seems.
- How much money does Amazon’s Prime video generate? Variety states that it is $1.7 billion. I thought Prime was for shipping. What about the data those viewing habits spin out? What happens if those data are cross matched to book browsing, purchase history, and method of payment? Grab some popcorn and kick back. Relax. It’s Amazon.
Stephen E Arnold, December 10, 2018
Alphabet Google: The Wing Clipping Accelerates
December 9, 2018
It is not a great time to be a tech titan. Facebook and Google and their peers seem to be embroiled in daily dilemmas. These kings of the internet are taking it on the chin regarding privacy, fake news, and more. And, yet, we are still surprised when their names pop up in the news feed. Such was the case with a recent Vulture piece, “Google Accused of GDPR Privacy Violations By Seven Countries.”
According to the article:
“The complaints, which each group has issued to their national data protection authorities in keeping with GDPR rules, come in the wake of the discovery that Google is able to track user’s location even when the “Location History” option is turned off. A second setting, “Web and App Activity,” which is enabled by default, must be turned off to fully prevent GPS tracking.”
As detailed in the New York Times, Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy of “Deflect, Deny, Delay” has been keeping them out of any serious legal hot water. Google’s challenge may rip headlines from the Zuckerberg connection machine.
The reason? Information is now becoming available about Google’s malicious ad network flaws. Since Google found inspiration in GoTo, Overture, and Yahoo’s pay to play system, Google is now talking about ad abuse; for example, “Tackling Ads Abuse in Apps and SDKs.”
What worse? Siphoning data or failing to identify issues which undermine the Madison Avenue way?
Ad fraud? Facebook and Google alike but different except to regulators in Europe.
Stephen E Arnold, December 9, 2018
Patrick Roland, November 30, 2018
Google Explains: Yes, We Ignore Do Not Track
December 8, 2018
I love explanations which raise more questions than they answer. Facebook is good at this approach to governance, editorial policy, and decision making fantasy prose. But Google is Googley.
I read “Turn Do Not Track On or Off.” Here’s the passage I noted:
Most websites and web services, including Google’s, don’t change their behavior when they receive a Do Not Track request. Chrome doesn’t provide details of which websites and web services respect Do Not Track requests and how websites interpret them.
With Microsoft throwing in the towel on Edge, I think that most people using a browser are going to be tracked. In short, Chromium based browsers are not playing a gatekeeper role for their users.
I may be wrong, but I did not find the article helpful.
I do think that Google is thinking about Google. I assume that is why Marine General Joseph Dunbar wanted to know why Google will work with China but not with the US military.
Yes, we do not work with some requests. Interesting.
Stephen E Arnold, December 8, 2018
Censorship: An Interesting View
December 7, 2018
I read “Former ‘Guardian’ Editor On Snowden, WikiLeaks And Remaking Journalism.”
I noted this passage:
In the modern world, it is very difficult to prevent good information (and sadly, bad information) … from being published, because it’s like water, and you can’t you can’t control it in the way that you could even 50 years ago. [emphasis added]
That 50 year date means that censorship was easy and presumably widely practiced in 1968.
Interesting.
How did I come to know about Prague Spring, the murder of Martin Luther King, the assassination of Senator Robert Kennedy, anti-Vietnam protests, Surveyor 7, the moon landing, the strike in Paris, the Pueblo (remember Mogen David and the Grapes of Wrath), and my getting encouragement in my quest to index Latin sermons?
Telepathy? What did I miss?
Stephen E Arnold, December 7, 2018
Microsoft and Facial Recognition: An Attempt to Parry Amazon?
December 7, 2018
Image recognition is widely used in many products, applications, and software systems. Most people don’t think too much about how a camera can read a license plate, figure out who has entered a building, or what “sign” indicates a potential problem like a gang attack.
Why would the average bear?
Microsoft is becoming more vocal about facial recognition. On the surface, the concern seems reasonable, almost a public service.
I read “Microsoft Sounds an Alarm over Facial Recognition Technology.” The write up seems okay, almost a good Samaritan effort. I noted this statement:
The AI Now researchers are particularly concerned about what’s called “affect recognition” — and attempt to identify people’s emotions, and possibly manipulate them, using machine learning.
Emotion analysis is interesting. But is the concern over facial recognition more of a business initiative, not a push to create awareness for a technology which has been around for decades. Sure facial recognition is getting better, faster, and cheaper. Like other technologies, facial recognition diffuses into other products, including those used by Ecuador, ZTE, and US analysts trying to make sense of imagery from a warzone.
Microsoft used the AI Now information to express concern for a race to the bottom. That’s interesting. A company which has facial recognition technology and a penchant for creating problems via a routine update to individual users’ computers is looking out for me. Yeah, right.
Imagine. The USSS wants to use facial recognition near the White House. Why not just hire another 200 agents to walk around or sit in surveillance suites looking for potential problems? Advanced technology is often useful to law enforcement and intelligence professionals. Expanding the use of that technology to safeguard those who work in certain US government facilities makes sense to me.
What’s really pushing Microsoft to become the champion for facial recognition controls?
In my view, Amazon is. Check out Amazon’s patents for facial recognition. These are examples of what I call “policeware” and the innovations have other applications as well. A good place to begin is with US9465994B1.
My view is that Microsoft’s concern about facial recognition has more to do with adding friction to Amazon’s progress than it does with a concern for me and my beloved Beyond Search goose here in Harrod’s Creek, Kentucky. For more about Amazon’s policeware technologies, navigate to YouTube.com and search for DarkCyber Amazon.
Stephen E Arnold, December 7, 2018
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