Weekly Watson Watch: Robots Become Socially Adept
September 25, 2015
The Watson promotional campaign is clogging my Overflight alert system. I will try to pick one Watson item from my favorite main frame company each week.
This week’s selection is from MIT Technology Review, whose editors find IBM Watson fascinating. The write up is “IBM Watson to Teach Robots Some Social Skills.” The MIT angle is magnetized by the money spinning Watson’s ability to “better understand and mimic human communication.” The write up focuses on an IBM wizard with the delightful name of Bob High.
The news hook is that an IBM partner used Watson to allow the partner’s robot Nao to speak “with realistic intonation.” The robot was also able to make “appropriate hand gestures during a conversation.”
The article tucks in an interesting comment, which struck me as a bit like Volkswagen’s approach to diesel emissions. Are you ready? Here is the passage I highlighted in a color I call truthful blue:
Speaking with MIT Technology Review after the demo, High admitted that this interaction was prerecorded, because the system doesn’t always work well in noisy environments. But he said the capabilities demonstrated reflected real research.
Ah, a demo. Where’s the beef? The PR hot dog seems to me to have some artificiality within.
I quite like the “real research” phrase. Who wants faux research like the work that creates television shows, flows of PR, and mid tier consultants praising cognitive computing.
I favor the type of research which allows me to buy 100 shares of IBM stock and then watch the value rise. I am not too keen on technology that does not work in a noisy environment. Been in an airport lately? How about under mortar fire? Well, canned responses will work in some cases I assume.
Watson is, as you know, gentle reader, open source, acquired, and home brew technology. Watson is, in my opinion, a good example of how basic search technology is wrapped with numerous other functions in a remarkable series of marketing efforts to generate revenue. We know the IBM Watson marketing people can elicit excitement from big time, “real” journalistic endeavors.
I feel lighthearted this morning. Here are my notes made as I sat on my deck watching the mine drainage stir the yellow green water in the still pond. It is time for a Frostian “you come too”:
- Will a drone equipped with two laser-guided AGM-114 Hellfire missiles experience emotion upon release of the ordinance?
- Will “love” robots incorporate the technology? Will the stop word list contain, “Take out the garbage” with appropriate intonation and gestures?
- Will the technology work in a real world environment like an office? The technology may be useful for some IBM HR applications; for example, a 54 year old employee is RA’d and discusses with a socially adept IBM robot the employee’s impending severance because the employees’ job will be off-shored in four weeks.
Enough old-person humor for this Weekly Watson. For more IBM information, check out Allliance@IBM.
Stephen E Arnold, September 25, 2015
More Google Plus Speculation
September 19, 2015
I read “Google Phases Out Google+ Even Further – Or Does It?.” Once upon a time, Google Plus was the future of Google. I assume that this particular Google is still the good, old Google, not the Ling Temco Vought Alphabet thing.
At one time, Google was going to be defined by Google Plus. Then Google Plus continued to lag behind the Xoogler-filled Facebook. The write up raises a question which is not interesting: Is Google Plus a thing or is Google Plus another Google lab test? Due to my inherent biases, I am not into social content. I do find it fascinating that so many people find that social systems are the cat’s pajamas.
Tucked into the write up, I spotted a statement which characterizes the ageing Google. Here’s the passage I found interesting:
At the same time, Zonozi [strategy expert at Zoomph] acknowledges that Google+ has completely pivoted from being the social platform it once aspired to be. He thinks Google is just trying to maintain its audience while it tries to figure out what exactly to do with the platform. Eventually, he could see it reemerging as something comparable to a Pinterest-Reddit hybrid.
I am not sure about a Pinterest-Reddit hybrid, but I sure do like the phrases “completely pivoted,” “trying to maintain its audience,” and “figure out exactly what to do with the platform.
Yep, the new Alphabet Google thingy in a nutshell.
Stephen E Arnold, September 19, 2015
Freedom Versus Fear
September 4, 2015
The Ashley Madison data breach has understandably been getting a lot of press, but what does it portend for the future of the Internet? Computerworld’s Tech Decoder predicts far-reaching consequences in, “Here’s Why the Dark Web Just Got a Lot Darker.” Security experts predict a boom in phishing scams connected to this data breach, as well as copycat hackers poised to attack other (more legit) companies.
Reporter John Brandon suspects such activity will lead to the government stepping in to create two separate Internet channels: one “wild and unprotected” side and a “commercial” side, perhaps sponsored by big-name communications companies, that comes with an expectation of privacy. Great, one might think, we won’t have to worry if we’re not up to anything shady! But there’s more to it. Brandon explains:
“The problem is that I’m a big proponent of entrepreneurship. I won’t comment on whether I think Ashley Madison is a legitimate business. … However, I do want to defend the rights of some random dude in Omaha who wants to sell smartphone cables. He won’t have a chance to compete on the ‘commercial’ side of the Internet, so he’ll probably have to create a site on the unprotected second-tier channel, the one that is ‘free and open’ for everyone. Good luck with that.
“Is it fair? Is it even (shudder) moral? The commercial side will likely be well funded, fast, reliable, government-sanctioned, and possibly heavily taxed. The free side will be like drinking water at the local cesspool. In the end, the free and open Internet is that way for a reason. It’s not so you can cheat on your wife. Frankly, people will do that with or without the Internet. The ‘free and open’ bit is intended to foster ideas. It’s meant to level the playing field. It’s meant to help that one guy in Omaha.”
Yes, security is important, but so is opportunity. Can our society strike a balance, or will fear reign? Stay tuned.
Cynthia Murrell, September 4, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Facebook One Billion. Google Plus Not So Much
September 3, 2015
Alphabet Google can spell dominance. The problem is that in the social media department, spelling is not the same as doing. Navigate to the Zuck’s post here. Here’s the social media reality:
We just passed an important milestone. For the first time ever, one billion people used Facebook in a single day.
The Alphabet Google thing is likely to point out that it has more users every day. So there.
Stephen E Arnold, September 3, 2015
Facebook and the Young at Heart Spells Trouble for Alphabet
August 26, 2015
Poor old Google. Imagine. Hassles with Google Now. Grousing from the no fun crowd in the European Commission. A new contact lens business. Exciting stuff.
Then the Googlers read “Facebook’s New Moments App Now Automatically Creates Music Videos From Your Photos.” The idea is that one or two of the half billion Facebookers who check their status multiple times a day can make a movie video automatically.
Sounds good.
But instead of doing the professional video production thing, the video is created from the one’s shared photos.
I wonder how many of the young at heart will whip up and suck down videos of [a] children, [b] pets, [c] vacations, [d] tattoos (well, maybe not too many tattoos).
The idea is
With the update, Facebook Moments will automatically create a music video for any grouping of six or more photos. You can then tap this video in the app to customize it further by changing the included photos and selecting from about a dozen different background music options. When you’re finished making your optional edits to this video, one more tap will share the video directly to Facebook and tag the friend or friends with whom you’re already sharing those photos. The option to automatically create a video from your shared photos also makes Facebook Moments competitive with similar services like Flipagram, or those automatically created animations that Google Photos provides through its “Assistant” feature, which also helpfully builds out stories and collages.
Google may apply its Thought Vector research to the problem. The question is will Alphabet be able to spell success from its social services. Why would a grandmother care about a music video of a grandchild when there were Thought Vectors, Loon balloons, and eternal life to ponder?
Stephen E Arnold, August 26, 2015
Search Your Yahoo Mail? Yeah, Right
August 19, 2015
While Web site search used to be considered the worst before Google released a high-performing search widget, the title now officially goes to email search. Nobody wants to search through their email to find a missing email and you are doomed if you even think about using a mail application such as Outlook or Apple Mail. In part of its rebranding effort, Yahoo is taking measures to fix email search, says the New York Times in “Yahoo Tweaks Email To Make Search More Personal.”
Yahoo has been working for a year to improve email search and now Yahoo mail has implemented the changes. It now offers auto complete and suggestions when a search term is typed into the query box. It will also index attachments and links included in emails, so users do not have to find the actual email they were in. The sorting options have also been updated and social media accounts can now be synced.
The changes are small and the auto complete/suggestions usually revert to basic keyword suggestions, but it is a step in the right direction. Yahoo does not want to overhaul the mail system too quickly, because, as anyone knows, too many changes at once are upsetting to users.
“Instead, Yahoo is subtly making changes. Last month, for example, it added a small plus button to the bottom right of the window used to compose emails. If you click on that button, you can drag and drop photos and documents from your email archive, pull in an animated GIF from Yahoo’s Tumblr social network, or add the results of a web search.”
Yahoo made a good business choice and is working to improve its email and other applications. It will be interesting to watch the changes unfold.
Whitney Grace, August 19, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Twitter Message Disinformation: The Light Bulb Goes On
July 28, 2015
Twitter messages or tweets can be spoofed. No kidding. I read “Embedded Tweets Can Be Easily Faked.” Many exciting actions can be applied to the lowly tweet. The write up reveals this Ah Ha insight:
you may modify the actual text of the tweet. The favorite & retweet counts can be altered as well.
Marketers, rev your engines. Think of the possibilities for disseminating misinformation, reformed information, and good old disinformation.
Stephen E Arnold, July 28, 2015
Facebook Strokes Brain’s Pleasure Center
July 21, 2015
Why do people like using Facebook? It is a question that researchers have asked since Facebook premiered in 2004. It was assumed to be a passing fad like prior social networks, including Myspace and Live Journal, but over a decade later Facebook is still going strong without a sign of stopping. MakeUseOf.com decided to answer the question using an informative infographic and many research studies, check out “Why Do People Like, Share, And Comment On Facebook?”
Apparently Facebook taps the pleasure center of the brain, because when users actively share or “like” content they feel like they are directly engaging with a community. The infographic also explains that posting status updates relieves loneliness and increases a user’s virtual empathy. While “likes” are a quick form of communication, comments still seem to be the favorite way to interact on the social network:
“Moira Burke, who is studying 1,200 Facebook users in an ongoing experiment, has found that personal messages are more satisfying to receivers than the one-click communication of likes.”
Direct, more personal types of communication are still preferred by users. Facebook also is appealing, because users feel like they are getting something in return as well. They get discounts or coupons for their favorite brands, participate in contests, receive updates, and get individualized advertisements.
There are several other studies highlighting in the infographic, but the bottom line is that people are gaining a high level of personal interactivity that they can share with their friends and family. Facebook is an integral part of the Internet, because it connects users organically and appeals to a deep, psychological need to interact with other humans.
Whitney Grace, July 21, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Facebook Opens Messenger to Non-Members
July 20, 2015
Facebook is making its Messenger app free, even to those who don’t have a Facebook account, we learn in “Does this Spell the End for WhatsApp?” at the U.K.’s Daily Star. What does that have to do with mobile messaging tool WhatsApp? Reporter Dave Snelling writes:
“This means even people without a Facebook account will be able to start using the service and that could put it in direct competition with WhatsApp. And guess who owns WhatApp…yes Facebook! The social network paid an insane $19 billion for WhatsApp late last year and it’s gone on to see a huge rise in success. WhatsApp now has over 800 million users and the figure is growing daily. Facebook Messenger brings users the same features as WhatsApp including sending photos, videos, group chats, voice and video calling and stickers.”
We notice that “search ability” is not among the features. Pity that; users must continue to employ an outside method to find a certain drop of info in their sea of messages. We’d value a search box over “stickers” any day, but perhaps that’s just us.
So far, the non-Facebook-member Messenger is only available in Canada and the U.S., but is expected to cross the Atlantic soon. Snelling wonders whether users will switch from WhatsApp to Messenger. I wonder whether Facebook plans to merge the apps, and their users; why would they hang on to both? As the article concludes, we’ll have to wait and see.
Cynthia Murrell, July 20, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Quality Peer Reviews Are More Subjective Than Real Science
July 16, 2015
Peer reviewed journals are supposed to have an extra degree of authority, because a team of experts read and critiqued an academic work. Science 2.0 points out in the article, “Peer Review Is Subjective And The Quality Is Highly Variable” that peer-reviewed journals might not be worth their weight in opinions.
Peer reviews are supposed to be objective criticisms of work, but personal beliefs and political views are working their way into the process and have been for some time. It should not come as a surprise, when academia has been plagued by this problem for decades. It also has also been discussed, but peer review problems are brushed under the rug. In true academic fashion, someone is conducting a test to determine how reliable peer review comments are:
“A new paper on peer review discusses the weaknesses we all see – it is easy to hijack peer review when it is a volunteer effort that can drive out anyone who does not meet the political or cultural litmus test. Wikipedia is dominated by angry white men and climate science is dominated by different angry white men, but in both cases they were caught conspiring to block out anyone who dissented from their beliefs. Then there is the fluctuating nature of guidelines. Some peer review is lax if you are a member, like at the National Academy of Sciences, while the most prominent open access journal is really editorial review, where they check off four boxes and it may never go to peer review or require any data, especially if it matches the aesthetic self-identification of the editor or they don’t want to be yelled at on Twitter.”
The peer review problem is getting worse in the digital landscape. There are suggested solutions, such as banning all fees associated with academic journals and databases, homogenizing review criteria across fields, but the problems would be far from corrected. Reviewers are paid to review works, which likely involves kickbacks of some kind. Also trying to get different academic journals, much less different fields to standardize an issue will take a huge amount of effort and work, if they can come to any sort of agreement.
Fixing the review system will not be done quickly and anytime money is involved, the process is slowed even further. In short, academic journals are far from being objective, which is why it pays to do your own research and take everything with a grain of salt.
Whitney Grace, July 16, 2015
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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