A Balloon Fetish?
June 2, 2022
Years ago as I drove down and up the 101 I noted the big hanger. I thought, “Hindenberg?” A couple of years later, the Google inflated the Loon balloons. I loved the name and the idea that balloons could remain in a semi stationary location providing Internet access to those in need. Maybe Sri Lanka or a storm-devastated island? Yeah.
I was interested in “Largest Airship Built in United States Since 1930s to Take Shape Soon Inside Akron Airdock.” The write up reported:
“LTA is standing on the shoulders of its predecessors here at the airdock,” said Alan Weston, the company’s chief executive officer. LTA – as in Lighter Than Air – was founded in California by billionaire Google co-founder Sergey Brin. “Because of their efforts, we are going to be able to build airships that are faster, that are safer, more environmentally friendly and have greater capabilities than any airship built before.”
Yep, another balloon and a big one.
The dollar stores in the rust belt are reporting shortages of helium. Is there a connection? Who knows.
What I do know:
- A certain Xoogler has an interest in balloons
- Previous balloon projects did not remain aloft
- A display of dozens of these big balloons would make a heck of a kids’ birthday party unicorn display just on a Google-like scale.
The big floater is an ideal advertising platform, right?
Stephen E Arnold, June 2, 2022
Google AI: Works Like a Champ
May 30, 2022
Google claims its Play Store allows users to download apps that are not exclusive to its software and systems, unlike the Apple App Store. Play Store detractors say Google makes it hard to locate apps outside the Play Store and that a “warning” alerts users when they are downloading software not housed in the store. The warning makes it seem the software is dangerous. Google kills competition and the Android Police shares the story of another victim: “Google’s Automated Play Store Enforcement Just Killed A Popular Open Source App.”
Because the Play Store needs to monitor the good apps from the bad, Google automated the process. Google’s monitoring algorithm deletes most of the bad apps from its platform, but sometimes innocent apps are removed too. Developers are rarely granted appeals and Google never explains how developers can prevent banning. FairMail, the popular open source Gmail alternative, was recently banned from the Play Store. FairMail’s developer decided to stop uploading his apps, because he is sick and tired of dealing with Google.
Google’s Play Store monitoring algorithm thought FairMail was spyware:
“…Google recently flagged FairEmail as spyware because it is presumably uploading contact lists from phones, with Google supposedly giving out no details as to what exactly the problem is. Developer M66B, as he calls himself on the XDA Forums and Github, believes that the Play Store could take issue with FairEmail’s automated favicon service, which only uses the domain info from email addresses to create fitting icons for senders and addressees. However, based on previous comments in the XDA thread, it’s clear that the developer tried to add optional Gravatar and Libravatar integration in earlier versions of the app that Google did not accept. Both services are uploading email addresses to their servers in order to match them with existing profile pictures attached to these email addresses, so the use of these would have to be indicated in the app’s privacy policy. From what we can gather, this never happened.”
Google is not clearly explaining why FreeMail was removed. It states that FreeMail did not have a privacy policy, however, it did. The privacy policy did not specifically mention Gravatar and Libravatar. Google only issues blanket statements to developers over app removal, but the company needs to have better communication with developers. Most of FreeMail’s downloads came from the Play Store that used to host the paid pro version. FreeMail’s developer does not want to work with Google anymore, cited personal problems, and lack of appreciation for his work as another reason why they are quitting. FreeMail is still available on Github and F-Droid, but the Play Store version should continue to work.
Whitney Grace, May 30, 2022
Google: Quantumly Supreme in PR That Is
May 26, 2022
It looks like Google PR department is working overtime. An article at The Independent declares: “‘The Game Is Over’: Google’s DeepMind Says It Is on Verge of Achieving Human-Level AI.” The lofty claim comes from DeepMind’s lead researcher, but is he getting ahead of himself? Writer Anthony Cuthbertson reveals:
“Dr Nando de Freitas said ‘the game is over’ in the decades-long quest to realise artificial general intelligence (AGI) after DeepMind unveiled an AI system capable of completing a wide range of complex tasks, from stacking blocks to writing poetry. Described as a ‘generalist agent’, DeepMind’s new Gato AI needs to just be scaled up in order to create an AI capable of rivaling human intelligence, Dr de Freitas said. Responding to an opinion piece written in The Next Web that claimed ‘humans will never achieve AGI’, DeepMind’s research director wrote that it was his opinion that such an outcome is an inevitability. ‘It’s all about scale now! The Game is Over!’ he wrote on Twitter. ‘It’s all about making these models bigger, safer, compute efficient, faster at sampling, smarter memory, more modalities, innovative data, on/offline… Solving these challenges is what will deliver AGI.’ When asked by machine learning researcher Alex Dimikas how far he believed the Gato AI was from passing a real Turing test – a measure of computer intelligence that requires a human to be unable to distinguish a machine from another human – Dr de Freitas replied: ‘Far still.'”
So… not quite there yet after all. A reality we are keenly aware of as we ponder standing in front of a Google self-driving car surrounded by traffic cones and temporary lane dividers. Or, on a less perilous but annoying note, consider those oh-so-relevant YouTube ads. But sure, general AI is right around the corner.
Cynthia Murrell, May 26, 2022
Google Can Now Auto Summarize Content With AI: Accurate? Probably Close Enough for Horseshoes
May 26, 2022
Technology has not yet advanced to the point where computers can write decent novels or hold detailed conversations with humans, but AI is getting better at summarizing, translating foreign languages, text to speech, and natural language processing. Google’s I/O 2022 conference was still low-key because it was not in person. Google announced the Pixel 6a and Pixel Watch, but for some, it was not as exciting as the new auto summarization announcement. Android Police details the low-grade but key advancement in: “Auto-Generated Summaries Might Be The Most Important I/0 2022 Announcement.”
Google spent years advancing its AI through machine learning to understand human sentiment, content, and meaning. We see the development of this technology through digital assistants, but when it comes to reading and writing technology is still in the development phase:
“The lineage of Google AI summaries reaches back to the “transformer” model devised by its researchers in 2017, which led to language processing and generation systems like GPT-2 that are capable of self-supervised pre-training. That means much of the early AI training happens without human oversight, so it’s faster and more adaptable than older methods like recurrent neural networks. More recently, Google refined these techniques for the Pegasus text summarization model in 2020.”
Transformers paired with Pegasus provided AI with data in the form of news articles and documents to train it on how to fill in information gaps. It took years to achieve the current model that will debut in Google Docs, but the AI got smarter and smarter with the more data it processed 24/7.
Google wants to use its auto summarization for Google Chat, Google Meet, and other applications. The tool has many uses across Google’s technology domain. However, it is kind of scary imagining Google summarizing everything without checks and balances.
Whitney Grace May 26, 2022
Google: Embrace, Control, and Sell Advertising?
May 25, 2022
Google claims to support open source technology and contributes some of its code libraries and projects, except for the black box search algorithm, to the public. The Verge shares Google’s new open source initiative in the article, “Google Will Start Distributing A Security-Vetted Collection Of Open-Source Software Libraries.” Google wants to add its branding and stamp of approval to open source software.
Google wants to control its portion of the open source community by curating and distributing security-vetted software to Google Cloud customers. The new initiative is called Assured Open Source Software. Andy Chang is a Google Cloud Group Produce Manager for Security and Privacy and he said there were challenges to secure open source software:
“ ‘There has been an increasing awareness in the developer community, enterprises, and governments of software supply chain risks,’ Chang wrote, citing last year’s major log4j vulnerability as an example. ‘Google continues to be one of the largest maintainers, contributors, and users of open source and is deeply involved in helping make the open source software ecosystem more secure.’”
The Assured Open Source Software will allow Google Cloud customers to use the same software auditing process as Alphabet Inc. The open source packages are the same ones the company uses and are managed by regular scanning and vulnerability analysis. Currently, there are 550 libraries Google monitors on GitHub and can be downloaded independently of Google. These same libraries will be available via Google Cloud later in 2022.
Google’s Assured Open Source Software is an industry-wide pull to secure the open source software supply chain. The Biden administration supports the endeavor.
Open source does need to be secure, but is putting a tech giant, notorious for collecting and selling user data, the right way to go? Sure it is, it is Google approved!
Whitney Grace May 25, 2022
Does Google Have Search Fear?
May 16, 2022
I can hear the Googlers at an search engine optimization conference saying this:
Our recent investments in search are designed to provide a better experience for our users. Our engineers are always seeking interesting, new, and useful ways to make the world’s information more accessible.
What these code words mean to me is:
Yep, the ancient Larry and Sergey thing. Not working. Oh, my goodness. What are we going to do? Buy Neeva, Kagi, Seekr, and Wecript? Let’s let Alphabet invest and we can learn and maybe earn before more people figure out our results are not as good as Bing and DuckDuckGo’s.
Even Slashdot is running items which make clear that Google and search do not warrant the title of “search giant.”
Source: Slashdot at https://bit.ly/3PkBOGt
I crafted this imaginary dialog when I read “This Germany-based AI Startup is Developing the Next Enterprise Search Engine Fueled by NLP and Open-Source.” That write up said:
Deepset, a German startup, is working to add to Natural Language Processing by integrating a language awareness layer into the business tech stack, allowing users to access and interact with data using language. Its flagship product, Haystack, is an open-source NLP framework that enables developers to create pipelines for a variety of search use-cases.
But here’s the snappy part of the article:
The Haystack-based NLP is typically implemented over a text database like Elasticsearch or Amazon’s OpenSearch branch and then connects directly with the end-user application through a REST API. It already has thousands of users and over 100 contributors. It uses transformer models to let developers create a variety of applications, such as production-ready question answering (QA), semantic document search, and summarization. The company has also introduced Deepset Cloud, an end-to-end platform for integrating customized and high-performing NLP-powered search systems into your application.
In theory, this is an open source, cloud centric super app, a meta play, a roll up of what’s needed to make finding information sort of work.
The kicker in the story is this statement:
The Berlin-based company has raised $14M in Series A funding led by GV, Alphabet’s venture capital arm.
Yep, the Google is investing. Why? Check that which applies:
( ) Its own innovation engines are the equivalent of a Ford Pinto racing a Tesla Model S Plaid? Google search is no longer the world’s largest Web site?
( ) Amazon gets more product searches than Google does?
( ) Users are starting to complain about how Google ignores what users key in the search box?
( ) Large sites are not being spidered in a comprehensive or timely manner?
( ) All of the above.
Stephen E Arnold, May 16, 2022
Google and Skin Color: What Is AI Unable to Learn?
May 12, 2022
In the wake of high school science club management innovations, the Google has turned its attention to skin color. “Google Adopts 10-Step Skin Tone Scale to Teach Diversity to Its AI” reports:
Google has adopted a 10-grade scale to help it better judge and present skin tones, a change that highlights the tech giant’s efforts to better reflect the range of people who use Google Photos, search and other products.
Interesting. Pantone (the color for printers people) has a YouTube video with more than 100 skin tones. Not to be outdone, , I recall seeing on Creativa Fabrica a chart with 180 skin colors.
Will 10 do the trick? I assume that Google’s smart software was not able to identify human skin color using the “learning while processing” methods of some AI wizards. But 10? That seems like a modest number when a cosmetic outfit requires 60 to move its products.
Why would a consumer products company waste money on unneeded skin hues? Maybe L’Oral is just not Googley?
Stephen E Arnold, May 12, 2022
Let Us Let Google Think for Us? Yeah, Why Not?
May 10, 2022
What wonderful news… for the Google.
TechRadar reports that “Google Docs Will Now Practically Do Your Writing for You.” What an effective way to nudge language and information a certain direction. Docs’ “Smart Compose” feature already offers autocomplete suggestions as one types but, citing a recent Google blog post, writer Joel Khalili explains how its AI is poised to make even more “helpful” recommendations:
“The company is adding a number of new ‘assistive writing features’ to the word processing software, including synonym and sentence structure suggestions. The service will also flag up any ‘inappropriate’ language, as well as instances in which the writer would be better served by using the active rather than passive voice. … The arrival of further recommendation features for Docs is another step in the campaign to make the company’s product suite more intelligent. ‘Suggestions will appear as you type and help guide you when there are opportunities to avoid repeated or unnecessary words, helping diversify your writing and ensuring you’re using the most effective word for the situation,’ Google explained. ‘We hope this will help elevate your writing style and make more dynamic, clear, inclusive, and concise documents.’ When the tools are active, suggestions will be underlined in purple. Selecting the underline will bring up a small pop up that prompts the user to accept or decline the change. These suggestions will be switched on by default, but can be deactivated under the Tools menu at the top of the page.”
At least users who prefer to choose their own words have the option to turn suggestions off. The write-up states these new AI intrusions are being rolled out to all premium business customers now, a process that should be complete by the end of April. Alas, they are not available to Workspace Essentials, Business Starter, nor Enterprise Essentials users.
Cynthia Murrell, May 10, 2022
Some Real News People Are Never Happy
May 10, 2022
The European Publishers Council has joined the fight against Googley ad practices. Reuters reveals, “Google’s Advertising Tech Targeted in European Publishers’ Complaint.” Reporter Foo Yun Chee suggests the move could strengthen the current EU antitrust investigation into the company, but we have seen how Google tends to shrug off European efforts to constrain it. We are not sure this is the straw to break the behemoth’s back. Nevertheless, the write-up tells us:
“The European Commission opened an investigation in June into whether Google favors its own online display advertising technology services to the detriment of rivals, advertisers and online publishers. read more The publishers’ trade body, whose members include Axel Springer (SPRGn.S), News UK, Conde Nast, Bonnier News and Editorial Prensa Iberica, took its grievance to the European Commission, alleging Google has an adtech stranglehold over press publishers. ‘It is high time for the European Commission to impose measures on Google that actually change, not just challenge, its behavior,’ EPC Chairman Christian Van Thillo said in a statement. ‘Google has achieved end-to-end control of the ad tech value chain, boasting market shares as high as 90-100% in segments of the ad tech chain,’ he said.”
Indeed, which is why it is difficult to imagine consequences strong enough to make the company change its rapacious practices. Naturally Google denies any wrongdoing, gesturing at the billions of dollars it pays out to publishers each year. We appreciate the effort at redirection, but the real issue is whether publishers and other advertisers would be making more if Google played fair.
Cynthia Murrell, May 10, 2022
Cheerleading for the Google: A Soft Counter Howl
May 9, 2022
I have noted several posts which champion Google’s approach to smart software. I find it difficult to think about the cheerleading for Google’s “quantum supremacy” approach to its systems and methods. Dissent, disagree with the Jeff Deans of Google, or point out known flaws such as less useful results from a simple query — and what happens? The Google terminates people. The most recent example concerns a full fledged member of the Google High School science club. Dr. Satrajit Chatterjee suggested the emperor was wearing PR clothes. Yep, one can see things when the Big Dogs of Google parade around at conferences. For some “color” about Dr. Chatterjee’s misstep, check out this New York Times’ write up: “Another Firing Among Google’s A.I. Brain Trust, and More Discord.” (Paywall in place, but don’t complain to me.)
I read “Google AI Sparks a Revolution in Machine Learning.” Oh, really. I thought the Google’s machine learning was crafted from such methods as those presented by Dr. Christopher Ré, the Snorkel outfit, and the labors of engineers who recycle the original work of DeepMind. The novelty may be the PR, not the engineering.
The write up exclaims:
In all the hype around PaLM, people have not spent enough time understanding Google’s Pathways. But, when you do look into it, you will see that it is nothing short of a revolution. I’m not exaggerating.
See. “People” are not making an effort to understand the wonderfulness of Google’s method for reducing the cost of training machine learning models and then tuning those puppies with synthetic data. Why? “Real” data is increasingly difficult to get, even for the Google. Efficiency and cost reduction are the drivers. The PR push is designed to be a turbo charger.
Let’s take one small example of how the hype does not match what Google delivers. “Enterprise search” is a bound phrase. The idea is that if the bound phrase appears in a document, that document belongs in the search result set.
I get a sometimes daily and sometimes weekly summary of “important” and “relevant” documents sent to me via email. I use a competitive system as well, but the details of how that compares is not my concern. I want to focus on a result set of three:
enterprise search
NEWS
Global Enterprise Search Software Market â?? Recent Industry Trends and Projected Industry …
Global Enterprise Search Software Market â?? Recent Industry Trends and Projected Industry Growth 2021 â?? 2026. Admin Published: 8 minutes ago …
SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST (ENTERPRISE SEARCH ENGINEER) – City of Toronto Jobs – City of Toronto Jobs
Desperate search for survivors in Cuba hotel blast; 27 dead – Beaumont Enterprise
They checked the morgue, hospitals and if unsuccessful, they returned to the partially collapsed Hotel Saratoga, where rescuers used dogs to hunt for …
Flag as irrelevant
Enterprise applies The Trust Project standards to increase news transparency
These indicators are a collaborative, journalism-generated standard that help both readers and search engines assess the authority and integrity …
Notice that the bound phrase “enterprise search” is interpreted by Google’s smart software in these ways:
The first citation is to a junk-type market research report which purports to provide a look at the future of the enterprise search market. Keep in mind that this is a market which is dominated by open source options and a handful of vendors chasing niches; for example, Coveo and customer support and Fabasoft Mindbreeze the Microsoft market. Other vendors are just desperate to make sales and try to sell to another outfit, do and IPO, or get more financing. Enterprise search is a tough sector, and it is now almost a commodity.
The second citation is to a job posting in Toronto. What? No job posts in Berlin. I saw one the other day for an enterprise search engineer with NLP expertise. Plus there are “contact us” pleas from numerous vendors in the search-and-retrieve game just focusing on the law enforcement, intelligence, and business intelligence sectors.
The third citation is about the natural gas explosion in a hotel in Cuba. The separate words “search” and “enterprise” appear in the citation. The problem is that Google’s smart software ignored the bound phrase and did key word matching unaware of the location of words (title and body of article) and the order of the words. Enterprise before search, right? Not for Google’s smart software.
The fourth citation is interesting. Same problem. No bound phrase but the order of the disconnected words is close. Of the four citations, the results are incomplete because I get alerts on the subject from another outfit. But the Google results are 50 percent accurate.
That’s what I mean by Google’s methods generating results that a close enough for horseshoes: 50 percent accuracy. That’s a high water mark when a Google user relies on one of Android’s forthcoming medical outputs. Do you want to stand in front of a Google self driving car and see if that system is 50 percent accurate? I sure don’t.
Observations:
- Google wants its methods to become the one true way to implement machine learning and, hence, smart software. Disagree and you get fired. Just ask Dr. Chatterjee or Dr. Gebru.
- Some of Google’s methods can be used to deliver high-value outputs. A good example is Heron Systems’ smart software which virtually killed Animal in about 50 seconds. Just bits, gentle reader, no bullets killing a US Department of Defense Top Gun.
- The PR is disconnected from what the Google system is doing: In my view, Google wants to cut costs, eliminate insofar as possible the subject matter experts who build training sets and updates, and find methods that justify displaying endless Grammarly and Liberty Mutual ads to me when I watch a YouTube video about differential equations or Russian bloggers explaining that life is okay in St. Petersburg. (Sure it is.)
I have a suggestion. PR fluff needs to be labeled. Otherwise, you may be in the path of a self driving Waymo and your 50/50 chance may not work out as you assume. Advertisers, so far, remain unaware of what’s shakin’ with their expensive bacon.
Stephen E Arnold, May 9, 2022
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