Blue Chip Consulting Firms: A Malfunctioning System?
August 14, 2023
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
Blue chip consulting companies require engagements from organizations willing to pay for “expertise.” Generative software can provide an answer quickly. Instead of having many MBAs and people with “knowledge” of a technology provide senior partners with filtered information, software can do this work quickly and at lower cost.
A senior consultant looks at a malfunctioning machine. The information he used to recommend the system resulted in the problem which has turned into an unanticipated problem. Instead of a team of young MBAs with engineering degrees, he has access to smart software. Obviously someone will notice this problem. “Now what?” he asks himself.
“Consulting Firms Like Accenture Are Giving Recent Grads $25,000 Stipends to Push Back Their Start Dates” suggests that blue chip consulting firms are changing the approach to bringing new human resources on board. The write up reports:
Work has been slow at many top consulting firms over the past year. New hires straight out of business school are running errands and watching Netflix — to the tune of $175,000 a year — because there’s not enough work to go around. Others are being offered tens of thousands dollars to push their start dates back to next year.
Let’s assume that this report about “not enough work to go around” is accurate. What does this suggest to, a person who has worked at a blue chip consulting firm and provided services to blue chip consulting firms in my work career?
- The pipeline of work to be done is not filled or overflowing. Without engagements, billing is difficult. Without engagements, scope changes are impossible. Perhaps the costs of blue chip consultants is too high?
- Are clients turning to lower-cost options for traditional management consulting services? Outfits like Gerson Lehrman Group sells access to experts at a lower cost per contact than a blue chip firm? Has the gig economy crimped the sales pipeline?
- Is technology like ChatGPT-type services provide “good enough” information so companies can eliminate the cost and risk of hiring a blue chip consulting firm? (I think the outfits probably should be conservative in their use ChatGPT-type outputs, but today the “good enough” approach is the norm.)
Net net: Blue chip consulting firms are in the influence game. The delayed “start work” information indicates that changes are taking place in the market which supports these firms. The firms themselves are making changes. The signal summarized by the cited article may be a glitch. On the other hand, perhaps there is a malfunction in the machinery of what has been a smoothly-running machine for more than a century?
Stephen E Arnold, August 14, 2023
A Hacker Recommends Hacking Books
August 11, 2023
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
Hacxx, a self-identified posting freak, has published a list of “20 Best Free Hacking Books 2023.” I checked the post on Sinister.ly and noted that the list of books did not include links to the “free” versions. I asked one of my research team to do a quick check to see if these books were free. Not surprisingly most were available for sale. O’Reilly titles were free if one signed up for that publisher’s services. A couple were posted on a PDF download site. We think the list is helpful. For those interested in the list and where the books Hacxx says are “the best”, we have arranged them in alphabetical order. Authors should be compensated for their work even if the subject is one that some might view as controversial. Right, Hacxx?
- Advanced Penetration Testing https://www.amazon.com/Advanced-Penetration-Testing-Hacking-Networks/dp/1119367689 [Less than $30US]
- Basics of Hacking and Penetration Testing https://www.amazon.com/Basics-Hacking-Penetration-Testing-Ethical/dp/0124116442?tag=50kft00-20
- Black Hat Python: Python Programming for Hackers and Pentesters https://www.amazon.com/Black-Hat-Python-Programming-Pentesters/dp/1593275900?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $33US]
- Blue Team Handbook: Incident Response Edition https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Team-Handbook-condensed-Responder/dp/1500734756?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $17]
- CISSP All-In-One Exam Guide https://www.amazon.com/CISSP-All-One-Guide-Ninth/dp/1260467376?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $60US]
- Computer Hacking Beginners Guide https://www.amazon.com/Computer-Hacking-Beginners-Guide-Penetration-ebook/dp/B01N4FFHMW/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2TKYVD64M3NLS&keywords=.+Computer+Hacking+Beginners+Guide&qid=1691702342&sprefix=computer+hacking+beginners+guide%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-1 [$1US for Kindle edition]
- Ghost in the Wires https://www.amazon.com/Ghost-Wires-Adventures-Worlds-Wanted/dp/0316037729?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $20US]
- Gray Hat Hacking: The Ethical Hacker’s Handbook, Sixth Edition https://www.amazon.com/Gray-Hat-Hacking-Ethical-Handbook/dp/1264268947?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $46US]
- Hackers Playbook 2 https://www.amazon.com/Hacker-Playbook-Practical-Penetration-Testing/dp/1980901759/ref=sr_1_2?crid=3OWZ8UCLX5ANU&keywords=.+The+Hackers+Playbook+2&qid=1691701682&sprefix=the+hackers+playbook+2%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-2 [Less than $30]
- Hacking: Computer Hacking Beginners Guide https://pdfroom.com/books/hacking-computer-hacking-beginners-guide/p0q2J8GodxE [Free download]
- Hacking: The Art of Exploitation, 2nd Edition https://www.amazon.com/Hacking-Art-Exploitation-Jon-Erickson/dp/1593271441/ref=sr_1_1?crid=BY25O5JGDY95&keywords=Hacking%3A+The+Art+of+Exploitation%2C+2nd+Edition&qid=1691702542&sprefix=hacking+the+art+of+exploitation%2C+2nd+edition%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-1 [Less than $30US]
- Hash Crack: Password Cracking Manual https://www.amazon.com/Hash-Crack-Password-Cracking-Manual/dp/1793458618?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $15]
- Kali Linux Revealed: Mastering the Penetration Testing Distribution https://www.amazon.com/Kali-Linux-Revealed-Penetration-Distribution/dp/0997615605?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $40US]
- Mastering Metasploit https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Mastering-Metasploit-Third-Edition [No charge as of August 10, 2023]
- Nmap Network Scanning at https://nmap.org
- Practical Malware Analysis: The Hands-on Guide https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Malware-Analysis-Hands-Dissecting/dp/1593272901?tag=50kft00-20 [Less than $45US]
- RTFM: Red Team Field Manual https://www.amazon.com/RTFM-Red-Team-Field-Manual/dp/1075091837/ref=sr_1_2?crid=16SFXUJRL3LMR&keywords=RTFM%3A+Red+Team+Field+Manual&qid=1691701596&sprefix=rtfm+red+team+field+manual%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-2 [This version is about $12US]
- Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking https://www.amazon.com/Social-Engineering-Science-Human-Hacking-dp-111943338X/dp/111943338X/ref=dp_ob_title_bk [Less than $21US]
- Web Application Hacker’s Handbook https://edu.anarcho-copy.org/Against%20Security%20-%20Self%20Security/Dafydd%20Stuttard,%20Marcus%20Pinto%20-%20The%20web%20application%20hacker’s%20handbook_%20finding%20and%20exploiting%20security%20flaws-Wiley%20(2011).pdf [This is the second edition]
- Web Hacking 101 https://pdfroom.com/books/web-hacking-101/E1d4DO6ydOb [Allegedly free]
Stephen E Arnold, August 11, 2023
MBAs Want to Win By Delivering Value. It Is Like an Abstraction, Right?
August 11, 2023
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
Is it completely necessary to bring technology into every aspect of one’s business? Maybe, maybe not. But apparently some believe such company-wide “digital transformation” is essential for every organization these days. And, of course, there are consulting firms eager to help. One such outfit, Third Stage Consulting Group, has posted some advice in, “How to Measure Digital Transformation Results and Value Creation.” Value for whom? Third Stage, perhaps? Certainly, if one takes writer Eric Kimberling on his invitation to contact him for a customized strategy session.
Kimberling asserts that, when embarking on a digital transformation, many companies fail to consider how they will keep the project on time, on budget, and in scope while minimizing operational disruption. Even he admits some jump onto the digital-transformation bandwagon without defining what they hope to gain:
“The most significant and crucial measure of success often goes overlooked by many organizations: the long-term business value derived from their digital transformation. Instead of focusing solely on basic reasons and justifications for undergoing the transformation, organizations should delve deeper into understanding and optimizing the long-term business value it can bring. For example, in the current phase of digital transformation, ERP [Enterprise Resource Planning] software vendors are pushing migrations to new Cloud Solutions. While this may be a viable long-term strategy, it should not be the sole justification for the transformation. Organizations need to define and quantify the expected business value and create a benefits realization plan to achieve it. … Considering the significant investments of time, money, and effort involved, organizations should strive to emerge from the transformation with substantial improvements and benefits.”
So companies should consider carefully what, if anything, they stand to gain by going through this process. Maybe some will find the answer is “nothing” or “not much,” saving themselves a lot of hassle and expense. But if one decides it is worth the trouble, rest assured many consultants are eager to guide you through. For a modest fee, of course.
Cynthia Murrell, August 11, 2023
Generative AI: Good or Bad the Content Floweth Forth
August 11, 2023
Hollywood writers are upset that major studios want to replace them with AI algorithms. While writing bots have not replaced human writers yet AI algorithms such as ChatGPT, Ryter, Writing.io, and more are everywhere. Threat Source Newsletter explains that, “Every Company Has Its Own Version of ChatGPT Now.”
A flood of content. Thinking drowned. Thanks Mid Journey. I wanted words but got letters. Great Job.
AI writing algorithms are also known as AI assistants. They are programmed to answer questions and perform text-based tasks. The text-based tasks include writing résumés, outlines, press releases, Web site content, and more. While the AI assistants still cannot pass the Turing test, it is not stopping big tech companies from developing their own bots. Meta released Llama 2 and IBM rebranded its powerful computer system from Watson to watsonx (it went from a big W to a lower case w and got an “x” too).
While Llama 2, the “new” Watson, and ChatGPT are helpful automation tools they are also dangerous tools for bad actors. Bad actors use these tools to draft spam campaigns, phishing emails, and scripts. Author Jonathan Munshaw tested AI assistants to see how they responded to illegal prompts.
Llama 2 refused to assist in generating an email for malware, while ChatGPT “gladly” helped draft an email. When Munshaw asked both to write a script to ask a grandparent for a gift card, each interpreted the task differently. Llama 2 advised Munshaw to be polite and aware of the elderly relative’s financial situation. ChatGPT wrote a TV script.
Munshaw wrote that:
“I commend Meta for seeming to have tighter restrictions on the types of asks users can make to its AI model. But, as always, these tools are far from perfect and I’m sure there are scripts that I just couldn’t think of that would make an AI-generated email or script more convincing.”
It will be awhile before writers are replaced by AI assistants. They are wonderful tools to improve writing but humans are still needed for now.
Whitney Grace, August 10, 2023
A Group without a Leader: Lost in the Digital Wilderness. No Signal, No Hope
August 10, 2023
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
I read a story in a business magazine which may not make executives at a certain company happy. In fact, some of these executives may be thinking about some form of digital retribution. The story concerns Google Maps, a Google product/service which I find is pretty much unusable. Keep in mind that I am a dinobaby and dinobaby talons can’t hit the miniature graphics which cover Google maps like my ninth-grade acne. (Yeah, ugly.)
A high technology company’s project team. The group is lost. No one has any idea what to do or which direction to take. Their manager told them, “Rely on the digital maps your colleagues made.” How is that working out for you? Thanks, MidJourney. You have the desperation look nailed.
“Google Maps Has Become an Eyesore. 5 Examples of How the App Has Lost Its Way” contains a list of issues the author who probably has more online experience than I do identifies five issues with the much-loved service. The “love” refers to the revenue generated from Google Maps, not the “love” or lack of it from users like me.
These range from icon acne to weird behaviors with the street name “feature.” I am not going to romp through the issues the article flags. I want to focus on two which are deal breakers for me. In fact, the digital map thing recently forced me to purchase a trucker’s edition of a printed road map to the United States.
For me, Google has made it difficult for me (probably not you, dear GenX reader) to find the street view. I quite like finding a location and then being able to look at the physical surroundings. How do I address this need now? I use Bing Maps.
The second issue that drives me crazy is the omission of businesses (intentionally or unintentionally) because the business does not advertise. I have written about the Cuba Libre Restaurant issue, and it bedevils me even today. I was standing in front of the bustling Washington, DC, restaurant, but my digital map service did not show it. Objectivity, they name is not Googzilla, I say.
Let me shift gears and offer my hypothesis why Google Maps is almost unusable for me.
Imagine a team responsible for a mapping product. There are a couple of people who have some tenure with the team. A couple have escaped from a more dysfunctional team; for example, a failed smart software project. Plus, there are two new hires with zero clue how or why they are working on maps. These individuals are experts in data center engineering and never leave the servers and, therefore, don’t know anything about maps, just wiring diagrams.
Okay, now the group sits around and someone says, “What are we supposed to do?” The most senior person who is totally occupied about getting on a hot team focused on killing another vendor’s AI effort, says, “Let’s just come up with some ideas and implement a couple.” The group mumbles, plays with their mobile devices, chats with the data center wizard about slow response on the internal messaging system, and look out the windows. One hard charger says, “Let’s make a list of ideas on the whiteboard, rank them, and do the top two or three.” More mumbles. A list is generated. The six team breaks into two groups and the employees retreat to the snack area to talk about implementing the functions. The work is agreed upon and the coding is dumped on the two network professionals. These individuals write the code, make sure it doesn’t kill anything, and emails it to the others on the team. No one looks at it but everyone says, “Fine.” Done.
This work procedure evidences:
- Zero guidance from an involved, motivated “manager”
- The mental attitude of the engineers
- The indifference of the individuals to the idea of delivering useful, quality features.
Now the author of the article about Google Maps knows nothing about this modern management approach to adding features at an unnamed high technology company.
That’s why I don’t rely on digital maps. The printed map works just fine. Plus I have to stop and read the map. None of the figure out a map driving or walking, which can lead to a collision with a smart, self driving automobile or an engineer looking for work at another company.
Stephen E Arnold, August 10, 2023
The Zuckbook Becomes Cooperative?
August 10, 2023
The Internet empowers people to voice their opinions without fear of repercussions or so they think. While the Internet generally remains anonymous, social media companies must bow to the letter of the law or face fines or other reprisals. Ars Technnica shares how a European court forced Meta to share user information in a civil case: “Facebook To Unmask Anonymous Dutch User Accused Of Repeated Defamatory Posts.”
The Netherlands’ Court of the Hague determined that Meta Ireland must share the identity of a user who defamed the claimant, a male Facebook user. The anonymous user “defamed” the claimant by stating he secretly recorded women he dated. The anonymous user posted the negative statements in private Facebooks groups about dating experiences. The claimant could not access the groups but he did see screenshots. He claimed the posts have harmed his reputation.
After cooperating, executives at a big time technology firm celebrate with joy and enthusiasm. Thanks, MidJourney. You have happiness down pat.
The claimant asked Meta to remove the posts but the company refused based on the grounds of freedom of expression. Meta encouraged the claimant to contact the other user, instead the claimant decided to sue.
Initially, the claimant asked the court to order Meta to delete the posts, identify the anonymous user, and flag any posts in other private Facebook groups that could defame the claimant.
While arguing the case, Meta had defended the anonymous user’s right to freedom of expression, but the court decided that the claimant—whose name is redacted in court documents—deserved an opportunity to challenge the allegedly defamatory statements.
Partly for that reason, the court ordered Meta to provide “basic subscriber information” on the anonymous user, including their username, as well as any names, email addresses, or phone numbers associated with their Facebook account. The court did not order Meta to remove the posts or flag any others that may have been shared in private groups, though.”
The court decided that freedom of speech is not unlimited and the posts could be defamatory. The court also noted posts did not have to be deemed unlawful to de-anonymous a user.
This has the potential to be a landmark case in online user privacy and accountability on social media platforms. In the future, users might need to practice more restraint and think about consequences before posting online. They might want to read etiquette books from the pre-Internet days when constructive behavior was not an anomaly.
Whitney Grace, August 10, 2023
Useful Cloud Market Share Data: Accurate? Well, Close Enough for Horseshoes
August 9, 2023
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
Anyone looking for a handy summary of data about big cloud players will find “AWS vs Google Cloud vs Microsoft Azure” worth reading. The article mentions the big folks and includes some data about smaller (although large) players; for example, Oracle. Trigger warning: The article users the term “hyperscalers” which I find a bit rizzy for my rhetorical spice cupboard.
Here are three representative items from the article. For more numbers, navigate to the original, please.
- Amazon’s worldwide [cloud] market share is 34 percent.
- The Google Cloud (bless those kind Googlers) is a bold 10 percent.
- Microsoft “cloud” [a fuzzy wuzzy nebulous and undefined word] surpassed $110 billion in annual revenue for 2022 and Azure accounted for $55 billion of the $110 billion.
Why is the cloud a big money maker? The article has an answer: Generative AI. Okay, that’s a good reason. I think there may be other factors as well.
If you collect these types of data, you will find the short write up a good reference point for a few months.
Stephen E Arnold, August 9, 2023
Technology and AI: A Good Enough and Opaque Future for Humans
August 9, 2023
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
“What Self Driving Cars Tell Us about AI Risks” provides an interesting view of smart software. I sensed two biases in the write up which I want to mention before commenting on the guts of the essay. The first bias is what I call “engineering blindspots.” The idea is that while flaws exist, technology gets better as wizards try and try again. The problem is that “good enough” may not lead to “better now” in a time measured by available funding. Therefore, the optimism engineers have for technology makes them blind to minor issues created by flawed “decisions” or “outputs.”
A technology wizard who took classes in ethics (got a gentleperson’s “C”, advanced statistics (got close enough to an “A” to remain a math major), and applied machine learning experiences a moment of minor consternation at a smart water treatment plant serving portions of New York City. The engineer looks at his monitor and says, “How did that concentration of 500 mg/L of chlorine get into the Newtown Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant?” MidJourney has a knack for capturing the nuances of an engineer’s emotions who ends up as a water treatment engineer, not an AI expert in Silicon Valley.
The second bias is that engineers understand inherent limitations. Non engineers “lack technical comprehension” and that smart software at this time does not understand “the situation, the context, or any unobserved factors that a person would consider in a similar situation.” The idea is that techno-wizards have a superior grasp of a problem. The gap between an engineer and a user is a big one, and since comprehension gaps are not an engineering problem, that’s the techno-way.
You may disagree. That’s what makes allegedly honest horse races in which stallions don’t fall over dead or have to be terminated in order to spare the creature discomfort and the owners big fees.
Now what about the innards of the write up?
- Humans make errors. This begs the question, “Are engineers human in the sense that downstream consequences are important, require moral choices, and like the humorous medical doctor adage “Do no harm”?
- AI failure is tough to predict? But predictive analytics, Monte Carlo simulations, and Fancy Dan statistical procedures like a humanoid setting a threshold because someone has to do it.
- Right now mathy stuff cannot replicate “judgment under uncertainty.” Ah, yes, uncertainty. I would suggest considering fear and doubt too. A marketing trifecta.
- Pay off that technical debt. Really? You have to be kidding. How much of the IBM mainframe’s architecture has changed in the last week, month, year, or — do I dare raise this issue — decade? How much of Google’s PageRank has been refactored to keep pace with the need to discharge advertiser paid messages as quickly as possible regardless of the user’s query? I know. Technical debt. No an issue.
- AI raises “system level implications.” Did that Israeli smart weapon make the right decision? Did the smart robot sever a spinal nerve? Did the smart auto mistake a traffic cone for a child? Of course not. Traffic cones are not an issue for smart cars unless one puts some on the road and maybe one on the hood of a smart vehicle.
Net net: Are you ready for smart software? I know I am. At the AutoZone on Friday, two individuals were unable to replace the paper required to provide a customer with a receipt. I know. I watched for 17 minutes until one of the young professionals gave me a scrawled handwritten note with the credit card code transaction number. Good enough. Let ‘er rip.
Stephen E Arnold, August 9, 2023
Someone Is Thinking Negatively and Avoiding Responsibility
August 9, 2023
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
I have no idea how old the “former journalist” who wrote “I Feel Like an Old Shoe: Workers Feel Degraded and Cast Aside Because of Ageism.” Let’s consider a couple of snippets. Then I will offer several observations which demonstrate my lack of sympathy for individuals who want to blame their mental state on others. Spoiler: Others don’t care about anyone but themselves in my experience.
A high school student says to her teacher, “You are the reason I failed this math test. If you were a better teacher, I would have understood the procedure. But, no. You were busy focusing on the 10 year old genius who transferred into our class from Wuhan.” Baffled, the teacher says, “It is your responsibility to learn. There is plenty of help available from me, your classmates, or your tutor, Mr. Rao. You have to take responsibility and stop blaming others for what you did.” Thanks, MidJourney. Were you, by chance, one of those students who blame others for your faults?
Here’s a statement I noted:
“Employers told me individuals over 45 and particularly those over the age of 55 must be ‘exceptional’ in order to be hired. The most powerful finding for me however had to do with participants [of a survey] explaining that once they were labeled ‘old,’ they felt degraded and cast aside. One person told me, ‘I feel like an old shoe that’s of no use any more.’”
Okay, blame the senior managers, some of whom will be older, maybe old-age home grade like Warren Buffet or everyone’s favorite hero of Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford), or possibly Mr. Biden. Do these people feel old and like an old shoe? I suppose but they put on a good show. Are these people exceptional? Sure, why not label them as such. My point is that they persevere.
Now this passage from the write up:
Over all, there are currently about the same number of younger and older workers. Nevertheless, the share of older workers has increased for almost all occupations.
These data originate from Statistics Canada. For my purposes, let’s assume that Canada data are similar to US data. If an older worker feels like an “old shoe,” perhaps a personal version of the two slit experiment is operation. The observer alters the reality. What this means is that when the worker looks at himself or herself, the reality is fiddled. Toss in some emotional baggage, like a bad experience in kindergarten, and one can make a case for “they did this to me.”
My personal view is that some radical empiricism may be helpful to those who are old and want to blame others for their perceived status, their prospects, or there personal situation.
I am not concerned about my age. I am going to be 79 in a few weeks. I am proud to be a dinobaby, a term coined by someone at IBM I have heard to refer to the deadwood. The idea was that “old” meant high salary and often an informed view of a business or technical process. Younger folks wanted to outsource and salary, age, and being annoying in meetings were convenient excuses for cost reduction.
I am working on a project for an AI outfit. I have a new book (which is for law enforcement professionals, not the humilus genus. I have a keynote speech to deliver in October 2023. In short, I keep doing what I have been doing since I left a PhD program to work for that culturally sensitive outfit which helped provide technical services to those who would make bombs and other oddments.
If a person in my lecture comes up to me and says, “I disagree,” I listen. I don’t whine, make excuses, or dodge the comment. I deal with it to the best of my ability. I am not going to blame anything or anyone for my age or my work product. People who grouse are making clear to me that they lack the mental wiring to provide immediate and direct problem solving skills and to be spontaneously helpful.
Sorry. The write up is not focusing on the fix which is inside the consciousness of the individuals who want to blame others for their plight in life.
Stephen E Arnold, August 7, 2023
Academic Research Resources: Smart Software Edition
August 8, 2023
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
One of my research team called “The Best AI Tools to Power Your Academic Research.” The article identifies five AI infused tools; specifically:
- ChatPDF
- Consensus
- Elicit.org
- Research Rabbit
- Scite.ai
Each of the tools is described briefly. The “academic research” phrase is misleading. These tools can provide useful information related to inventors and experts (real or alleged), specific technical methods, and helpful background or contest for certain social, political, and intellectual issues.
If you have access to a LLM question-and-answer system, experimenting with article summaries, lists of information, and names of people associated with a particular activity — give a ChatGPT system a whirl too.
Stephen E Arnold, August 8, 2023
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