Google Pays Apple to Be More Secure? Petulant, Parental, or Indifferent?
October 31, 2023
This essay is the work of a dumb humanoid. No smart software required.
I am fascinated by the allegedly “real” information in this Fortune Magazine write up: “Google CEO Sundar Pichai Swears Under Oath That $26 Billion Payment to Device Makers Was Partly to Nudge Them to Make Security Upgrades and Other Improvements.”
As I read the article, this passage pokes me in the nose:
Pichai, the star witness in Google’s defense, testified Monday that Google’s payments to phone manufacturers and wireless phone companies were partly meant to nudge them into making costly security upgrades and other improvements to their devices, not just to ensure Google was the first search engine users encounter when they open their smartphones or computers. Google makes money when users click on advertisements that pop up in its searches and shares the revenue with Apple and other companies that make Google their default search engine.
First, I like the “star witness” characterization. It is good to know where the buck stops at the Alphabet Google YouTube et al enterprise fruit basket.
The driver and passengers shout to the kids, “Use this money to improve your security. If you need more, just call 1 800 P A Y O F F S. Thanks, MidJourney, you do money reasonably well. By the way, where did the cash come from?
Second, I like the notion of paying billions to nudge someone to do something. I know that getting action from DC lobbyists, hiring people from competitors, pushing out people who disagree with Google management, and buying clicks costs less than billions. In some cases, the fees are considerably lower. Some non US law enforcement entities collection several thousand dollars from wives who want to have their husbands killed by an Albanian or Mexican hit man. Billions does more than nudge. Billions means business.
Third, I liked the reminder that no ruling will result in 2023. Then once a ruling is revealed, “another trial will determine how to rein in its [the Google construct’s] market power.”
Several questions popped into my mind:
- Is the “nudge” thing serious? My dinobaby mind interprets the statement as either a bit of insider humor, a disconnect between the Googley world and most people’s everyday reality, or a bit dismissive. I can hear one of my high school science club member’s saying to a teacher perceived as dull normal, “You would not understand the real reason so I am pointing the finger at Plato’s philosophy.”
- The “billions” is the giveaway. That is more than the average pay-to-play shyster of Fiverr.com charges. Why such a premium For billions, I can think of several lobbying outfits who would do some pretty wild and crazy things for a couple of hundred million in cash.
- Why is the already glacier-like legal process moving slowly with the prospect of yet another trial to come? With a substantial footprint in search and online advertising, are some billions being used to create the world’s most effective brake on a legal process?
- Why is so much of the information redacted and otherwise difficult or almost impossible to review? I thought the idea of a public trial involving a publicly traded company in a democratic society was supposed to be done in the sunshine?
Fortune Magazine sees nothing amiss. I wonder if I am the only dinobaby wondering what’s beneath the surface of what seems to be a trial which is showing some indications of being quite Googley. I am not sure if that is a positive thing.
I also wonder why a large outfit like Apple needs to be nudged with Google billions? That strikes me as something worth thinking about. The fake Albanian and Mexican hitmen may learn something new by answering that question. Hey, Fortune Magazine, why not take another shot at covering this story?
Stephen E Arnold, October 31, 2023
Google Gets into a One in Four Chance to Destroy Humanity? Risky? Nah!
October 31, 2023
This essay is the work of a dumb humanoid. No smart software required.
Below is quite a headline in the Blaze online “information” service. Note: The Blaze is sufficiently confident in its ability to attract subscribers that the outfit is moving away from advertising. Okay, let’s see how that works out in an era of subscription fatigue, right, aggregators?
Relax, there is only a 25 percent chance that AI will destroy humanity. Go for it! Thanks, MidJourney, is this Redmond after the apocalypse?
Here’s the headline:
Google Invests $2 Billion in AI Company Whose CEO Admits AI Has a One in Four Chance of Destroying Humanity
Snappy. What does the story about the Google reveal. Here are a couple of snippets, and you will have to navigate to the Blaze write up, endure the “please, oh, please, subscribe” message, and read the allegedly accurate story yourself… or not. Tip: Check out the non opt out cookie settings. Quite a nice touch in my opinion.
Item 1: Google and Amazon?
There has already been $500 million that Google has invested in Anthropic, with the remaining investment being provided over a period of time. This comes after Amazon invested $4 billion into Anthropic
Item 2: OpenAI DNA
Amodei [the Anthropic CEO] was previously OpenAI’s vice president of research before going his own way to build something that could rival ChatGPT. Since he departed three years ago, Anthropic has become a company worth $5 billion.
So OpenAI was influenced by the Google AI work. Anthropic is probably aware of OpenAI’s work. Google, like Amazon, has invested some pocket change in Anthropic?
Does this seem like a bit of a cozy little circle? Why is the US government issuing broad AI guidelines for an entire swath of technology outfits. Perhaps a bit more focus would be useful? Hurry, because the one in four chance of destroying humanity is playing out in real time. You know. Percentages work in interesting ways.
Stephen E Arnold, October 31, 2023
Google Loves Up Search Engine Optimization
October 31, 2023
This essay is the work of a dumb humanoid. No smart software required.
Alphabet, Google, YouTube is definitely a believer in search engine optimization or SEO. How do I know? Consider the reports that relay this allegedly accurate number: $26 billion. Yep, $26 billion paid out to other companies to buy click love.
“Google Paid a Whopping $26.3 Billion in 2021 to Be the Default Search Engine Everywhere” asserts:
Google obviously agrees and has paid a staggering amount to make sure it is the default: testimony in the trial revealed that Google spent a total of $26.3 billion in 2021 to be the default search engine in multiple browsers, phones, and platforms.
The article shares some napkin math and says:
Just to put that $26.3 billion in context: Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced in its recent earnings report that Google Search ad business brought in about $44 billion over the last three months and about $165 billion in the last year. Its entire ad business — which also includes YouTube ads — made a bit under $90 billion in profit. This is all back-of-the-napkin math, but essentially, Google is giving up about 16 percent of its search revenue and about 29 percent of its profit to those distribution deals.
It appears that Google does its own big money SEO. It pays to be the search system and, therefore, is artificially boosted to be the winner. Yes, SEO, but not the penny ante silliness of an art history major working at a Google optimization company. The billions deliver the big school of fish: Advertisers.
Is this good or bad? From my point of view, Google is doing what good optimization wizards do: Maximize return and reduce risk. Big money deals facilitated some important milestones in the American economy; for example, the steel monopoly, the railroad that made Stanford the exemplar of integrity, and everyone’s friend with the jingle Luckies taste better.
Maybe money can buy happiness or $150 billion in revenue for those offering free online search? Thanks, Microsoft Bing.
Google is little more than a clever construct. What’s fascinating is that the baloney about Google search being better has a shelf life of more than 25 years. What’s troubling is that it has taken Google, the US legal system, and users a long time to think about the company’s mechanisms of control.
Perhaps it is helpful to think about Google’s entanglement with certain government activities? Perhaps some thinking about the data collection, retention, and mining capabilities of the company? Perhaps some analysis abut the use of YouTube to shape thinking or distort thinking about certain issues?
I love the Google. I have a Christmas card from a long gone Googler. That shows something. Nevertheless, the gravitational “force” of an outfit like Google seems so right. The company is the environment of online.
But 25 years of Google love? That’s a bit much. The Sherman Anti-Trust Act of 1890 showed more awareness than the governmental officials beavering away in Washington, DC, today. Oh, I forgot. Many of those tireless workers have Google mouse pads and a Google T shirt to wear to a frisbee session at the reflecting pool.
Stephen E Arnold, October 31, 2023
Nice Work YouTube: Salacious Accident?
October 31, 2023
This essay is the work of a dumb humanoid. No smart software required.
Oops. If this piece from Bang Premier is to be believed, “YouTube Accidentally Allows Users to Upload Unremovable Adult Content.” Of course YouTube doesn’t normally allow porn on the site. However, according to reporting by 404 Media, hidden tags enabled some users to upload it. Permanently. The write-up states:
“A user explained to the outlet: ‘The way the bug worked was by using something called a newline, which YouTube very rarely counts as an actual character. It’s basically what is written when you type the return key on your keyboard. By spamming millions of these characters in the videos tags, using a proxy, it would prevent visibility changes on the video, such as setting it from public to private, or deleting it all together. [I] initially discovered the bug by just messing around with new lines video settings. It’s been well known inside of the little YouTube community we have—not the porn one in [404 Media’s] article, that type of crap is vile and weird—that new lines could be used for getting certain things over the character limit, such as channel descriptions and sometimes names. I tried video descriptions titles and it didn’t work. But for video tags, it did.’”
When contacted, Google said it was working to fix the bug and to expel the content. Can it catch it all? Exciting stuff.
Cynthia Murrell, October 31, 2023
Does a UK Facial Recognition Case Spell Trouble for AI Regulation?
October 30, 2023
This essay is the work of a dumb humanoid. No smart software required.
I noted this Politico article in my feed today (October 30, 2023). I am a dinobaby and no legal eagle. Consequently I may be thinking incorrectly about the information in “An AI Firm Harvested Billions of Photos without Consent. Britain Is Powerless to Act.” The British government has been talking about smart software. French government officials seem to be less chatty. The US government has ideas as well. What’s the Politico write up say that has me thinking that AI regulation, AI industry cooperation, and AI investors will not be immediately productive?
“Where did my horse go?” asks the farmer. Thanks, Microsoft Bing. The image is not of a horse out of a barn, but it is good enough… just like most technology today. Good enough is excellence.
Here’s the statement which concerns the facial recognition company Clearview, and its harvesting of image data. Those data are used to assist enforcement agencies in their work. The passage I circled was:
The judgment, issued by the three-member tribunal at the First-tier Tribunal, agreed with Clearview’s assertion that the ICO lacked jurisdiction in the case because the data processing in question was carried out on behalf of foreign government agencies. The ICO failed “not because this isn’t monitoring and not because in other circumstances, this might not be in breach of U.K. GDPR, but because it’s foreign law enforcement. It’s outside of the scope of European Union law so it doesn’t apply,” said James Moss, privacy and data protection partner at the law firm Bird & Bird.
Could AI regulation in the EU find itself caught in the same thicket? Furthermore, efforts in the US to curb or slow down the pace of AI innovation may collide with the reality of other countries’ efforts to expand business and military use of AI. Common sense suggests that nation states like China are unlikely to inhibit their interests in AI. What will Britain and US do?
My thought is that much effort will be expended in meetings, writing drafts, discussing the ideas, and promulgating guidelines. The plain fact is that both commercial and investor interests will find a way to push forward. Innovations like AI and the downstream applications have considerable potential for law enforcement and military professionals.
Net net: AI, despite its flaws and boundary breaking, is now out of the barn. Time travel is an interesting idea, but the arrow of time is here and now like the lawyers and bureaucrats.
Stephen E Arnold, October 30, 2023
AI: Enough of the Terminator and Robots!
October 30, 2023
I read — yes, this is the real title — “Humanoid Robots, Glowing Brains, Outstretched Robot Hands, Blue Backgrounds, and the Terminator. These Stereotypes Are Not Just Overworked, They Can Be Surprisingly Unhelpful.” (I love the SEO influence.)
The article includes some suggested images; to wit:
To test what’s available. I navigated to Microsoft Bing and entered the prompt “photorealistic. artificial intelligence.” Here’s what Bing output:
Next I zipped to MidJourney and entered the same prompt. Here is what the innovators at that outfit provided:
Interesting. I love the hair on image V4, don’t you. Not creepy at all.
Some prompt crafters believe Microsoft Bing will not generate images of females. These AI confections sure look like women in the singularity mode.
Observations:
- The new images of AI are not as compelling as the “old” blue robot images. Why? Illustrating software is difficult and originality more difficult.
- The smart software produces images with less obscurity than the same images from the cited article. Sorry, humanoids, I like both the MidJourney and Microsoft Bing outputs.
- The most compelling images are ones which play on cultural tropes; that is, a menacing Terminator has more sizzle than a banana and a house plant.
Net net: Go with what catches the eye and sells. Also, let me know when the Leonardo of AI is “discovered.”
Stephen E Arnold, October 30, 2023
The GOOG and MSFT Tried to Be Pals… But
October 30, 2023
This essay is the work of a dumb humanoid. No smart software required.
Here is an interesting tangent to the DOJ’s case against Google. Yahoo Finance shares reporting from Bloomberg in, “Microsoft-Google Peace Deal Broke Down Over Search Competition.” The two companies pledged to stop fighting like cats and dogs in 2016. Sadly, the peace would last but three short years, testified Microsoft’s Jonathan Tinter.
In a spirit of cooperation and profits for all, Microsoft and Google-parent Alphabet tried to work together. For example, in 2020 they made a deal for Microsoft’s Surface Duo: a Google search widget would appear on its main screen (instead of MS Bing) in exchange for running on the Android operating system. The device’s default browser, MS Edge, would still default to Bing. Seemed like a win-win. Alas, the Duo turned out to be a resounding flop. That disappointment was not the largest source of friction, however. We learn:
“In March 2020, Microsoft formally complained to Google that its Search Ads 360, which lets marketers manage advertising campaigns across multiple search engines, wasn’t keeping up with new features and ad types in Bing. … Tinter said that in response to Microsoft’s escalation, Google officially complained about a problem with the terms of Microsoft’s cloud program that barred participation of the Google Drive products — rival productivity software for word processing, email and spreadsheets. In response to questions by the Justice Department, Tinter said Microsoft had informally agreed to pay for Google to make the changes to SA360. ‘It was half a negotiating strategy,’ Tinter said. Harrison ‘said, ‘This is too expensive.’ I said, ‘Great let me pay for it.’’ The two companies eventually negotiated a resolution about cloud, but couldn’t resolve the problems with the search advertising tool, he said. As a result, nothing was ever signed on either issue, Tinter said. ‘We ultimately walked away and did not reach an agreement,’ he said. Microsoft and Google also let their peace deal expire in 2021.”
Oh well, at least they tried to get along, we suppose. We just love dances between killer robots with money at stake.
Cynthia Murrell, October 30, 2023
Microsoft and What Fizzled with One Trivial Omission. Yep, Inconsequential
October 27, 2023
This essay is the work of a dumb humanoid. No smart software required.
I read “10 Hyped-Up Windows Features That Fizzled Out” is an interesting list. I noticed that the Windows Phone did not make the cut. How important is the mobile phone to online computing and most people’s life? Gee, a mobile phone? What’s that? Let’s see Apple has a phone and it produces some magnetism for the company’s other products and services. And Google has a phone with its super original, hardly weird Android operating system with the pull through for advertising sales. Google does fancy advertising, don’t you think? Then we have the Huawei outfit, which despite political headwinds, keeps tacking and making progress and some money. But Microsoft? Nope, no phone despite the superior thinking which brought Nokia into the Land of Excitement.
What do you mean security is a priority? I was working on 3D, the metaverse, and mixed reality. I don’t think anyone on my team knows anything about security. Is someone going to put out that fire? I have to head to an off site meeting. Catch you later,” says the hard working software professional. Thanks MidJourney, you understand dumpster fire, don’t you?
What’s on the list? Here are five items that the online write up identified as “fizzled out” products. Please, navigate to the original “let’s make a list and have lunch delivered” article.
The five items I noted are:
- The dual screen revolution Windows 10X for devices like the “Surface Neo.” Who knew?
- 3D modeling. Okay, I would have been happy if Microsoft could support plain old printing from its outstanding Windows products.
- Mixed reality. Not even the Department of Defense was happy with weird goggles which could make those in the field of battle a target.
- Set tabs. Great idea. Now you can buy it from Stardock, the outfit that makes software to kill the weird Window interface. Yep, we use this on our Windows computers. Why? The new interface is a pain, not a “pane.”
- My People. I don’t have people. I have a mobile phone and email. Good enough.
What else is missing from this lunch time-brainstorming list generation session?
My nomination is security. The good enough approach is continuing to demonstrate that — bear with me for this statement — good enough is no longer good enough in my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, October 27, 2023
An Interesting Example of Real News. Yes, Real News
October 27, 2023
![Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[2]](https://arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t2-21.gif "Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[2]")
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
I enjoy gathering information which may be disinformation. “The Secrets Hamas Knew about Israel’s Military” illustrates how “facts” can create fear, doubt, and uncertainty. I reside in rural Kentucky, and I have zero ability as a dinobaby to determine if the information published by DNYUZ is accurate or a clever way to deceive.
Believe me. Bigfoot is coming for your lunch. One young person says, “Bigfoot? Cool.” Thanks, MidJourney, descend that gradient.
Let’s look at several of the assertions in the write up. I will leave it to you, gentle reader, to figure out what’s what.
The first item is related to what appears the detail about what the attackers did; specifically, rode five motorcycles each carrying two individuals. As the motorcyclists headed toward their target, they shot at civilian vehicles. Then they made their way to an “unmanned gate”, blew up the entrance, and “shot dead an unarmed Israelis soldier in a T shirt.”
My reaction to this was that the excess detail was baloney. If a group on motorcycles shot at me, I would alert the authorities. You know. A mobile phone. Also, the gate was unmanned. Hmmm. Each military base I have approached in my life was manned and had those nifty cameras recording the activity in the viewshed of the cameras. From my own experience, I know there are folks who watch the outputs of the cameras and there are other people who watch the watchers to make sure the odd game of Angry Birds does not distract the indifferent.
The second item is the color coded map. I have seen online posts showing a color coded print out with alleged information about the attack. Were these images “real” or fabricated along with the suggestion the attack had been planned a year or more in advance. I don’t know. Well, the map led the attackers to a fortified building with an unlocked door. Huh. As I recall, the doors in government facilities I have visited had the charming characteristic of locking automatically, even in areas with a separate security perimeter inside a security perimeter. Wandering around and going outside for a breath of fresh air was not a serendipitous action as I recall.
The third item is the “room filled with computers.” Yep, I lock access to my computer area in my home. My office, by the way, is underground. But it was a lucky day for bad actors because the staff were hiding under a bed. I don’t recall seeing a bed in or near a computer room. I have seen crappy chairs, crappy tables, and maybe a really crappy cot. But a bed under which two can hide? Nope.
The credibility of the story is attributed to the New York Times. And, by golly, the “real” journalists reviewed the footage and concluded it was the actual factual truth. Then the “real” journalists interviewed “real” Israelis about the Israeli video.
Okay. Several observations:
- Creating information which seems “real” but may be something else is easy.
- The outlet for the story is one that strikes me as a potential million dollar baby because it may have click magic.
- I am skeptical about the Netflix type of story line the article.
Net net: Dynuz, I admire your “real” news.
Stephen E Arnold, October 27, 2023
Will New EU Privacy Oversight Members Be Googley?
October 27, 2023
This essay is the work of a dumb humanoid. No smart software required.
The European Union has tried to protect individual privacy and tries to keep US technology companies in line. Unlike some other government constructs, EU countries have agencies to enforce privacy regulations and Tech Crunch reports how Ireland’s DPC “Major Big Tech Privacy Watchdog In EU Set To Get Two More Commissioners Soon.” As an EU member, Ireland has the Data Protection Commission (DPC) to ensure big tech companies comply with laws. The DPC recently posted job ads for two more commissioners.
Ireland’s DPC is a major player in enforcing Europe’s privacy laws as part of the pan-EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Many tech companies have a branch on Irish soil. The DPC changed its structure in July 2022 to increase its monitoring capabilities as the GDPR’s caseload increases. The DPC monitors Apple, X, Meta, Google, TikTok, and soon will watch AI-based companies like OpenAI.
Whoever joins the DPC will have an F-150 load of responsibility parked in their driveway. Part of their job will involve battling with privacy advocates and politicians. The DPC is also dealing with lots of criticism, particularly in how slow the organization moves. The DPC has rallied for more help since its founding in 2018 and how it handles enforcing the GDPR:
“The European Commission itself has been forced to dial up its monitoring of how regulators including the DPC are enforcing the GDPR, following complaints lodged with its ombudsman which stemmed from criticism of the DPC. This summer the EU’s executive also came out with a proposal for reforming procedural rules around GDPR enforcement with the aim of making the handling of cross-border cases ‘more efficient and harmonized across the EU.’”
The DPC is enforcing laws on big tech companies that have the funds and time to waste in litigation. The DPC can also raise fines on big tech companies and penalize them for not obeying EU laws. Who will win? Our bet is that the US outfits have the money and motivation to prevail. Governments! Pesky things.
Whitney Grace, October 27, 2023
-
- Subscribe to Beyond Search
Feature archive
News archive
-
