NCC April McKinsey: More Controversy
April 27, 2022
The real news outfit AP (once Associated Press) published “Macron holds 1st big rally; Rivals stir up ‘McKinsey Affair’.” [If this link 404s, please, contact your local AP professional, not me.] The main point of the news story is that the entity name “McKinsey” is not the blue chip, money machine. Nope. McKinsey, in the French context of Covid and re-election, means allegations of about the use of American consultants. What adds some zip to the blue chip company’s name is its association by the French senate with allegedly improper tax practices. The venerable and litigious AP uses the word “dodging” in the article. Another point is that fees paid to consulting firms have risen. Now this is not news to anyone with some familiarity with the practices of blue chip consulting companies. For me, the key sentence in the AP’s article is this sentence:
…the [French senate] report says McKinsey hasn’t paid corporate profit taxes in France since at least 2011, but instead used a system of ‘tax optimization’ through its Delaware-based parent company.
That’s nifty. More than a decade. Impressive enforcement by the French tax authority. I suppose the good news is that the tax optimization method did not make use of banking facilities in the Cayman Islands. Perhaps McKinsey needs to hire lawyers and its own business advisors. First the opioid misstep in the US and now the French government.
Impressive.
Stephen E Arnold, April 27, 2022
NCC April Sentiment Like a Humanoid
April 27, 2022
Artificial intelligence algorithms are dumb when it coms to interpreting human emotions. Human emotions are extraordinary complex, especially when rendered in text or emojis. There is a goldmine of information for organizations to use to their advantage if only sentiment analysis could be perfected. Brandwatch is working on sentiment analysis perfection and discuss their latest endeavors in the blog post: “Interview: The Data Science Behind Brandwatch’s New Sentiment Analysis.”
Brandwatch recently deployed a new sentiment AI model to over one hundred million sources covered in Brandwatch Consumer Research and apps the company powers. The upgrade provides 18% better language accuracy, it is also multilingual, and add sentiment analysis to all languages. Sentiment analysis is a key component Brandwatch offers its customers, because it aids in assessing brand health, detects potential circuses, identifies advocates/detractors, and discovers positive and negatives topics associated with the brand.
Colin Sullivan is a Data Science Manager, who heads different Brandwatch projects involving linguistics and computational linguistics. Sullivan explained that Brandwatch wanted to implement a new way of analyzing sentiment, because the company wanted to use new state-of-the-art developments and simplify the process.
The new model uses transfer learning, which is how a human brain works. The model gains a general understanding of a task, then transfers its newly knowledge to a new task. It is an improved model because:
“One of the key advantages of this new approach is that it makes it more robust when dealing with more complex or nuanced language. The new model can see past things like misspellings or slang. Previously, supervised learning models would be restricted to a fixed set of known patterns during training, which did not come close to exhaustively capturing all linguistically plausible ways of expressing a concept. New state-of-the-art models are better able to re-use what it already knows when faced with new or rare patterns. The transfer learning approach means the model will take what it knows to fill in gaps…And it works in almost any language because we are not training for a new language each time. This also means it can handle a wider range of regional dialects and posts where someone switches between languages.”
The new model has a 60-75% accuracy rate of the sentiment in content. If that fact holds up, AI could soon understand sarcasm. It would be helpful if they could also detect fake reviews from Karens/Kyles or bots.
Whitney Grace, April 27, 2022
NCC April People: A Bad Word?
April 27, 2022
I am trying to get used to the “them” word. I try, but my grade school teachers in the early 1950s were into the he and she pronouns. Its were okay. Them acceptable in certain constructions. Old habits are often hard to change despite the confidence of the nudge experts that altering a humanoid pattern is no big deal. Just ask Facebook (Zuckbook) or Google. Nudge. Nudge.
“A 630-Billion-Word Internet Analysis Shows ‘People’ Is Interpreted as ‘Men’” explains that gender bias turns up in a neutral word. People. Gender biased. Who knew?
The write up explains:
Psychologists at New York University analyzed text from nearly three billion Web pages and compared how often words for person (“individual,” “people,” and so on) were associated with terms for a man (“male,” “he”) or a woman (“female,” “she”). They found that male-related words overlapped with “person” more frequently than female words did. The cultural concept of a person, from this perspective, is more often a man than a woman…
What’s the fix? Nudges? Prescriptive rules with substantive punishments for those who violate the rules? Nuclear destruction of humanoid life forms?
The write up concludes:
Word embeddings, the same linguistic tools employed in the new study, are used to train artificial intelligence programs. That means any biases that exist in a source text will be picked up by such an AI algorithm. Amazon faced this problem when it came to light that an algorithm the company hoped to use to screen job applicants was automatically excluding women from technical roles—an important reminder that AI is only as smart, or as biased, as the humans who train it.
This sounds as if the passage were informed by Dr. Timnit Gebru’s and her concerns about Google, Snorkel, and the use of synthetic data. That leads me to a question:
Why didn’t Scientific American ask Dr. Gebru about the study?
Yeah, science.
Stephen E Arnold, April 27, 2022
Were Some Party Goers at 10 Downing Street Targeted by NSO Group Technology?
April 26, 2022
The New Scientist (yes, the New Scientist for goodness sakes) published “UK Prime Minister’s Office Smartphones Targeted by Pegasus Spyware.” (You may have to pay to view this write up, gentle reader.) The main point of the write up is it seems to me:
Researchers claim to have uncovered cyber attacks using Pegasus software against 10 Downing Street and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Is this the government office about which Euronews said that UK prime minister Boris Johnson was fined over Downing Street lockdown partiers? It sure looks like it to me.
The New Scientist story recycles the Citizen Lab reports about someone using NSO Group technology to snoop on individuals in the British government. I don’t know if the research is on the money. I described the University of Toronto’s interest in NSO Group as a Munk-ey on the poster child company.
Several observations:
- I am concerned that the recycling of information about NSO Group technology may have unintended consequences; for example, if I were a college computer science professor, I could envision asking students to check out the Pegasus software on GitHub and come up with similar functionality. But I am not a college prof yet there may be a professor in Estonia who comes up with a similar idea.
- The idea that a scientific research publication is focusing attention on an Israeli firm whose software was used by a government illustrates how information leakage can slosh around. Is this a click decision or a political decision or an ethical decision? I have no idea, but someone made a decision to recycle the Munk story.
- Companies pay big money to get their “brand” in front of eyeballs. NSO Group is clearly the brand champion in the intelware sector. Winner? Well, maybe.
Net net: This NSO Group buzz shows no sign of decreasing. That’s not good.
Stephen E Arnold, April 26, 2022
Infrared Tags Hide Information Like Magic: Will Bad Actors Respond?
April 26, 2022
A trope in fantasy stories is when an object is enchanted with information and will only reveal it to the “chosen hero” or under specific circumstances. A famous example of this trope is from Tolkien’s The Hobbit when Elrond reads the Thrór’s Map at Rivendell. Humans have found ways to hide information for centuries using chemistry, physics, and physical/pictorial illusions.
These hiding tricks are described as magical, but it is really human ingenuity that casts the true spell. Wonderful Engineering explains a new way to render information invisible: “These New Infrared Tags Can Embed ‘Invisible’ Info Within 3D-Printed Objects.”
Ph.D. candidate Mustafa Doga Dogan heads a MIT team working on “Infrared Tags.” Essentially these Infrared Tags will contain all the same information as a barcode, but instead of being unattractive or coming off an item they are hidden. The Infrared Tags are invisible to human eyesight, but are visible with an infrared camera. The Infrared Tags can be printed within any object and can be manufactured in two ways:
“MIT team has developed the tags, that seem like regular barcodes, using an infrared-transmitting filament interspersed with air gaps. Such filament appears opaque in visible light but looks translucent in Infrared Light. It was printed inside the walls of the 3D object. One approach involves carving a pattern of tiny air gaps out of a layer of plastic, covered with a smooth protective layer. These gaps represent ones and zeroes, so they can be read like binary code by an IR Camera. There is another approach as well. It involves the utilization of a second plastic. Such plastic is opaque to IR light to create more traditional QR codes. These are covered with an outer layer of the main plastic.”
The Infrared Tags are actually built into the item. It makes an object more appealing, because a barcode is not printed on it. The tags are also more durable as they cannot be removed through physical means.
If mobile devices are built with infrared cameras, then these tags would return design to pre-barcode days. Barcodes contain an extraordinary amount of information, especially for entertainment mediums, retail, and organization systems. What would it mean if they were rendered invisible? The proper magical device may inspire bad actors. The digital sword of Damocles is swinging.
Whitney Grace, April 26, 2022
UAE Earns a Spot on Global Gray List
April 26, 2022
Forget Darkmatter. This is a gray matter.
Where is the best place to stash ill-gotten gains? The Cayman Islands and Switzerland come to mind, and we have to admit the US is also in the running. But there is another big contender—the United Arab Emirates. The StarTribune reports, “Anti-Money-Laundering Body Puts UAE on Global ‘Gray’ List.” Writer Jon Gambrell tells us:
“A global body focused on fighting money laundering has placed the United Arab Emirates on its so-called ‘gray list’ over concerns that the global trade hub isn’t doing enough to stop criminals and militants from hiding wealth there. The decision late Friday night by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force [FATF] puts the UAE, home to Dubai and oil-rich Abu Dhabi, on a list of 23 countries including fellow Mideast nations Jordan, Syria and Yemen.”
Will the official censure grievously wound business in the country? Not by a long shot, though it might slightly tarnish its image and even affect interest rates. The FATF admits the UAE has made significant progress in fighting the problem but insists more must be done. Admittedly, the task was monumental from the start. We learn:
“The UAE long has been known as a place where bags of cash, diamonds, gold and other valuables can be moved into and through. In recent years, the State Department had described ‘bulk cash smuggling’ as ‘a significant problem’ in the Emirates. A 2018 report by the Washington-based Center for Advanced Defense Studies, relying on leaked Dubai property data, found that war profiteers, terror financiers and drug traffickers sanctioned by the U.S. had used the city-state’s boom-and-bust real estate market as a safe haven for their money.”
Is the government motivated to change its country’s ways? Yes, according to a statement from the Emirates’ Executive Office of Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism. That ponderously named body promises to continue its efforts to thwart and punish the bad actors. The country’s senior diplomat also chimed in on Twitter, pledging ever stronger cooperation with global partners to address the issue.
Cynthia Murrell, April 26, 2022
Equality: Man Versus Company (A Big Company)
April 26, 2022
I read “DC Attorney General Says Fighting Big Tech Is Like David Versus Goliath.” I learned:
“In a real way, when you take on tech, it’s David versus Goliath,” Racine said in a recent interview with CNBC in his office. “Which means you’ve got to be thorough, studied and precise. And willing to go the distance.”
This statement allegedly comes from District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine.
The article added:
He said he’s not surprised that the tech companies would hire the most experienced lawyers to back them up and engage in a process that “grinds down smaller players and plaintiffs.” And, he said, he has faith that the courts, with a little bit of extra explanation on the particulars of their cases, will come around. “We are willing to take on that David role,” Racine said. “And after all, I think, David won.”
David, as I understand it, used a sling and maybe some help from a higher power. Today’s battle is digital, legal, and informational.
The interesting question is, “Which is more equal in the US men (who in theory enjoy certain rights) or companies (which I believe are persons under current rules and regulations)?”
My hunch is that money decides equality because cash can intervene in the digital, legal, and informational world. Very few are clued into this ability to put the finger on the scales of justice. She’s blind, isn’t she or is it them? (Sorry, I cannot get my pronouns straight.)
Stephen E Arnold, April 26, 2022
The Patching Play
April 25, 2022
I read “Patching Is Security Industry’s ‘Thoughts and Prayers’: Ex-NSA Man Aitel.” The former leader of ImmunitySec asserts that patching delivers a false sense of security. Other industry experts believe that patching has some value. Both are correct. In my opinion, both are missing an important aspects of patching software and systems to keep bad actors at bay.
What’s my view?
Patching — real or pretend — is a launch pad for marketing. A breach occurs and vendors have an opportunity to explain what steps have been taken to protect the software and services, partners, customers, and in some cases the vendors themselves. Wasn’t it Solar something?
Microsoft explained that bad actors marshaled a team of 1,000 programmers. That’s marketing because the bad actors were in that case countries, not disgruntled 40 years olds in a coffee shop.
The name of the game is cat and mouse. The bad actors find a flaw, exploit it, or sell it. The good actors respond the the issue and issue an alleged patch. The PR machines, which is like Jack Benny’s Maxwell with a transplanted Tesla electric motor fires up.
Will the wheels fall off? Haven’t they?
Stephen E Arnold, April 25, 2022
Enterprise Search Vendor Buzzword Bonanza!
April 25, 2022
Enterprise search vendors are similar to those two Red Bull-sponsored wizards who wanted to change aircraft—whilst in flight. How did that work out? The pilots survived. That aircraft? Yeah, Liberty, Liberty Mutual as the YouTube ads intone.
Enterprise search vendors want to become something different. Typical repositionings include customer support which entails typing in a word and scanning for matches and business intelligence which often means indexing content, matching words and phrases on a list, and generating alerts. There are other variations which include analyzing content and creating a report which tallies text messages from outraged customers.
Let’s check out reality. “Enterprise search” means finding information. Words and phrase are helpful. Users want these systems to know what is needed and then output it without asking the user to do anything. The challenge becomes assigning a jazzy marketing hook to make enterprise search into something more vital, more compelling, and more zippy.
Navigate to “What Should We Remember?” Bonanza. The diagram is a remarkable array of categories and concepts tailor-made for search marketers. Here’s an example of some of the zingy concepts:
- Zero-risk bias
- Social comparison
- Fundamental attribution
- Barnum effect — Who? The circus person?
Now mix in natural language processing, semantic analysis, entity extraction, artificial intelligence, and — my fave — predictive analytics.
How quickly will outfits in the enterprise search sector gravitate to these more impactful notions? Desperation is a motivating factor. Maybe weeks or months?
Stephen E Arnold, April 25, 2022
Microsoft: A Consistently Juicy Target
April 25, 2022
I am perched in Washington, DC, checking news flows. What did I spy this morning (April 24, 2022)? This article caught my eye: “Microsoft Exchange Servers Are Being Infected with Ransomware.” Is this a remembrance from times past? The story asserts as actual factual (but who knows anymore?):
In the attack the team studied, Hive commenced its assault via the exploitation of ProxyShell, a collection of Microsoft Exchange Server vulnerabilities (and critical ones at that) that provide a way for attackers to remotely execute code. Microsoft reportedly patched this problem in 2021.
The key phrase in this allegedly accurate write up is “Microsoft reported patched this problem in 2021.”
Several observations:
- Yo Windows Defender and the other Microsoft security systems, “What’s shaken’?”
- What’s with the “reportedly”? If the write up is accurate, the problem was fixed.
- How many thousands of bad actors are involved in this problem? Probably quite a few because this is CaaS, crime as a service.
Net net: Microsoft may be faced with security problems for which there is no reliable remediation. PR, however, is quite easy to deploy.
Stephen E Arnold, April 25, 2022
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