Winter Olympics Opening: Was It a Demo?
February 11, 2018
I love digital technology. I even have a computer with video editing software. It seems that other folks follow my lead. Many are younger than I. I know this because the opening ceremony drone extravaganza was a demo.
I read “Drones Grounded at Opening Ceremony — But Not on Tape Delay.” I assume the write up is accurate, although even “real” news outfits have issues with “fake news.”
The line between reality and post production seems blurry. Does it matter? Not to advertisers as long as they get eyeballs. And Intel? Well, at least the post production drone show works unlike some of the firm’s technology.
Stephen E Arnold, February 11, 2018
Google Translate Gets a Needs Improvement on Its Translation System
February 5, 2018
I read “The Shallowness of Google.” The critique is not from a trendy start up in Silicon Valley or an academic who flopped in a Google interview. The analysis is by Douglas Hofstadter. if the name does not ring a bell, this is the fellow who wrote Gödel, Escher, Bach, a quite fun read.
The main point of the write up is that Google’s implementation of its artificial intelligence and machine learning technology for Google Translate is bad.
Google wants to be perceived as the alpha dog in smart software. Do you want to take this canine’s kibble? Google can bite even thought it may not get the whole “idea” and “understanding” behind a reprimand.
Mr. Hofstadter writes:
Having ever more “big data” won’t bring you any closer to understanding, since understanding involves having ideas, and lack of ideas is the root of all the problems for machine translation today. So I would venture that bigger databases—even vastly bigger ones—won’t turn the trick.
The idea is that “understanding” is not baked into Google Translate. In addition to providing examples of screwing up translations from French, German, and Chinese, Google Translate does not look up information in Google Search. Mr. Hofstadter does.
He points out:
Google Translate can’t understand web pages, although it can translate them in the twinkling of an eye.
He correctly observes:
As long as the text in language B is somewhat comprehensible, many people feel perfectly satisfied with the end product. If they can “get the basic idea” of a passage in a language they don’t know, they’re happy.
Mr. Hofstadter touches upon two issues, which another informed critic might convert to a write up in the Atlantic:
- Google is simply delivering “good enough” services. The object is advertising, not outputting on point products and services for a tiny fraction of its user base
- Google’s hype about its smart software is only slightly less off-the-wall than the marketing of IBM Watson. The drum beat for smart software is necessary to attract young programmers who might otherwise defect to Amazon or other Google competitors and to further the illusion that Google’s technology is magical, maybe otherworldly and definitely the alpha dog in the machine learning Iditarod.
The write up is worth reading. However, I would not run it through Google Translate if you prefer to ingest the article in one of Google Translate’s supported languages.
And for a person going through the Google interview process, it is not a plus to suggest that Google’s technology might be little more than a C or possible an F. Rah rah is a better choice.
That’s why we love Google Translate here in Harrod’s Creek, but we have switched to Free Translations.org since Google implemented a word limit.
Stephen E Arnold, February 5, 2018
DarkCyber for January 30, 2018, Now Available
January 30, 2018
DarkCyber for January 30, 2018, is now available at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress and on Vimeo at www.vimeo.com at https://vimeo.com/253109084.
This week’s program looks at the 4iq discovery of more than one billion user names and passwords. The collection ups the ante for stolen data. The Dark Web database contains a search system and a “how to” manual for bad actors. 4iq, a cyber intelligence specialist, used its next-generation system to locate and analyze the database.
Stephen E Arnold said:
“The technology powering 4iq combines sophisticated data acquisition with intelligent analytics. What makes 4iq’s approach interesting is that the company integrates trained intelligence analysts in its next-generation approach. The discovery of the user credentials underscores the importance of 4iq’s method and the rapidly rising stakes in online access.”
DarkCyber discusses “reputation scores” for Dark Web contraband sites. The systems emulate the functionality of Amazon and eBay-style vendor report cards.
Researchers in Germany have demonstrated one way to compromise WhatsApp secure group chat sessions. With chat and alternative communication channels becoming more useful to bad actors than Dark Web forums and Web sites, law enforcement and intelligence professionals seek ways to gather evidence.
DarkCyber points to a series of Dark Web reviews. The sites can be difficult to locate using Dark Web search systems and postings on pastesites. One of the identified Dark Web sites makes use of a hosting service in Ukraine.
About DarkCyber
DarkCyber is one of the few video news programs which presents information about the Dark Web and lesser known Internet services. The information in the program comes from research conducted for the second edition of “Dark Web Notebook” and from the information published in Beyond Search, a free Web log focused on search and online services. The blog is now in its 10th year of publication, and the backfile consists of more than 15,000 stories.
Kenny Toth, January 30, 2018
Google News Says Goodbye to Russian Propaganda
January 23, 2018
The United States is still reeling from possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Every other day has some headline associated with the Trump Administration’s ties with the great bear, but what they still remain unclear. However, one cold, hard fact is that Russia did influence online news outlets and media companies are taking steps to guarantee it does not happen again. Motherboard reports that “Eric Schmidt Says Google News Will ‘Engineer’ Russian Propaganda Out Of News Feed.”
Alphabet Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has faced criticism that Google News still displays Russian Web sites in news feeds. In response, Schmidt responded that his company is well aware of the problem and have a plan to ferret out Russian propaganda. The top two Russian news outlets that are featured in Google News are Sputnik and RT. Both Sputnik and RT are owned by the Russian government and have ceaselessly argued their legitimacy. Their “legitimacy” allows them to benefit from Google AdSense.
Despite the false legitimacy, Schmidt said Alphabet is aware of Russia’s plans to influence western politics:
Schmidt said the Russian strategy is fairly transparent, and usually involves ‘amplification around a message.’ That information can be “repetitive, exploitative, false, [or] likely to have been weaponized,’ he said. ‘My own view is that these patterns can be detected, and that they can be taken down or deprioritized.’
The problem is that Alphabet has not really outlined their plans to deter Russian influence. Russian propaganda in the news bears some similarities to the Watergate Scandal during the Nixon Administration. We have yet to see the long-term aftermath, but it peeks our curiosity about how it will affect the United States in years to come.
Whitney Grace, January 23, 2018
Big Data and Predictive Math: Some Doubters
January 19, 2018
I love Big Data. I love fancy math. I spotted two articles this morning which offer a contrarian view about two popular buzzwords: Big Data and Predictive Analytics.
The first write up is from the capitalist’s tool, Forbes Magazine. I can not tell what’s an ad or what’s a “real” journalistic endeavor. But in today’s world? Maybe the distinction is like arguing with St. Thomas Aquinas about the cause of evil.
Forbes’ story is “Big Data Is Overrated Compared To Human Ingenuity.” The main point is that humans with intelligence are more ingenious than software. No software, as far as I can tell, was consulted when formulating the thesis. The main point for me was:
an algorithm may be able to cover sports, you cannot clone or generate whimsy or humor or the essence of what makes writing enjoyable to read. We are not (at least not yet) at a point where computers are able to have full conversations, let alone exude the creativity to come up with ideas. The creative geniuses of the future may, in fact, be aided by big data, but they will simply use it (as one would use Google to search the giant database known as the internet) to ask the right questions to solve the world’s problems.
My thought is, “What about robot wars?” Does that TV show presage the NFL of the future?
The second write up is from a British online publication. The article’s title is “Software That Predicts Whether Crims Will Break the Law Again Is No Better Than You or Me.”
The main idea strikes me as:
…if you took someone with no legal, psychological or criminal justice system training – perhaps you, dear reader – and showed them a few bits of information about a given defendant, they’d be able to guess as well as this software as to whether the criminal would break the law again.
Interesting point; however, software might be able to chop through a backlog of cases, thus reducing costs. Sure a few good apples will be tossed into the for profit prisons, but that’s just a statistical error.
What I find amusing is the point made by a TV pundit in “How to Stop ‘Extremely Disruptive’ AI from Harming Society: Robert Shiller.” I don’t know about you but knowing unintended consequences before they occur might be difficult. Facebook has been around for years, and people are just now figuring out that the system can do more than help grandmother keep track of the grandchildren.
Exciting stuff. Predictive law enforcement is important. Big Data are getting bigger and being used to sell ads to people who don’t recognize the message as an ad. Regulating technology is like standing on the pier after the Queen Mary set sail and shouting, “Hey, come back.”
Stephen E Arnold, January 19, 2018
Neural Net Machine Translation May Increase Acceptance by Human Translators
January 2, 2018
Apparently, not all professional translators are fond of machine translation technology, with many feeling that it just gets in their way. A post from Trusted Translations’ blog examines, “Rage Against the Machine Translation: What’s All the Fuzz About?” Writer Cesarm thinks the big developers of MT tech, like Google and Amazon, have a blind spot—the emotional impact on all the humans involved in the process. From clients to linguists to end users, each has a stake in the results. Especially the linguists, who, after all, could theoretically lose their jobs altogether to the technology. We’re told, however, that (unspecified) studies indicate translators are more comfortable with software that incorporates neural networking/ deep learning technology. I seem such tools produce a better linguistic flow, even if some accuracy is sacrificed. Cesarm writes:
That’s why I mention emotional investment in machine translation as a key element to reinventing the concept for users. Understanding the latest changes that have been implemented in the process can help MT-using linguists get over their fears. It seems the classic, more standardized way of MT, (based solely on statistical comparison rather than artificial intelligence) is much better perceived by heavy users, considering the latter to be more efficient and easier to ‘fix’ whenever a Post-Editing task is being conducted, while Post Editing pre-translated text, with more classical technology has proven to be much more problematic, erratic, and what has probably nurtured the anger against MT in the first place, giving it a bad name. Most users (if not all of them) will take on pre-translated material processed with statistical MT rather that rule based MT any day. It seems Neural MT could be the best tool to bridge the way to an increased degree of acceptance by heavy users.
Perhaps. I suppose we will see whether linguists’ prejudice against MT technology ultimately hinders the process.
Cynthia Murrell, January 2, 2018
Humans Living Longer but Life Quality Suffers
December 28, 2017
Here is an article that offers some thoughts worth pondering. The Daily Herald published, “Study: Americans Are Retiring Later, Dying Sooner And Sicker In Between”. It takes a look at how Americans are forced to retire at later ages than their parents because the retirement age keeps getting pushed up. Since retirement is being put off, it allows people to ideally store away more finances for their eventual retirement. The problem, however, is that retirees are not able to enjoy themselves in their golden years, instead, they are forced to continue working in some capacity or deal with health problems.
Despite being one of the world’s richest countries and having some of the best healthcare, Americans’ health has deteriorated in the past decade. Here are some neighbors to make you cringe:
University of Michigan economists HwaJung Choi and Robert Schoeni used survey data to compare middle-age Americans’ health. A key measure is whether people have trouble with an “activity of daily living,” or ADL, such as walking across a room, dressing and bathing themselves, eating, or getting in or out of bed. The study showed the number of middle-age Americans with ADL limitations has jumped: 12.5 percent of Americans at the current retirement age of 66 had an ADL limitation in their late 50s, up from 8.8 percent for people with a retirement age of 65.
Also, Americans’ brains are rotting with an 11 percent increase in dementia and other cognitive declines in people from 58-60 years old. Researchers are not quite sure what is causing the decline in health, but they, of course, have a lot of speculation. These include alcohol abuse, suicide, drug overdoses, and, the current favorite, increased obesity.
The real answer is multiple factors, such as genes, lifestyle, stress, environment, and diet. All of these things come into play. Despite poor health quality, we can count on more medical technological advances in the future. The aging population maybe the test grounds and improve the golden years of their grandchildren.
Whitney Grace, December 28, 2017
Silicon Valley Has the Secret to Eternal Life
December 27, 2017
Walt Disney envisioned his namesake park, Walt Disney World, to be a blueprint for the city of the future. Disney was a keen futurist and was interested in new technology that could improve his studios and theme parks. His futuristic tendencies led to the urban legend that he was cryogenically frozen and will one day be revived. Disney wasn’t put on the ice, but his futuristic visions are carried out by Silicon Valley technologists seeking immortality. Quartz reports on the key to eternal life in the article, “Seeking Eternal Life, Silicon Valley Is Solving For Death.”
Death is the ultimate problem that has yet to be solved. Many in Silicon Valley, including Oracle’s Larry Ellison, are searching for a solution to prolong life with anti-aging research. Bill Maris convinced Alphabet’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin to start Calico, Google’s billion-dollar effort to cure aging. Also, cryogenics remains popular:
Other denizens of the valley pursue cryogenics or cryonics, which is the process of freezing oneself in a vat of liquid nitrogen soon after death. They do this in the hope that it will suspend them in time, preserving them for a future when science can bring them back to life. There are about 350 people already frozen worldwide with another 2,000 signed up—but yet to die.
Medical breakthroughs have already extended the US lifespan and that of other developed nations. Developing nations still have short lifespans and it draws the conclusion that wealthier people will live forever, while the poor ie quicker. It is questionable that the extra years tacked onto people’s lives are really worth it because many people spend them unable to care for themselves or in pain.
The article spins into current anti-aging research, then into philosophy about humans vs. machines and what makes a person a person. Throw in some science-fiction and that is the article in short.
Whitney Grace, December 27, 2017
There Is on Obscure Search Engine Beating Google (a Little)
December 22, 2017
Is there life out there beyond Google? Sure, there’s Bing and Yahoo, but are there any people could actually fall into a routine of using? If that’s your question, things could be looking up for your search, according to a recent Search Engine Watch story, “6 Innovative New Search Engines To Keep an Eye On.”
According to the story,
Believe it or not, there are a number of other search engines out there, still crawling the web and making their mark. Since Google has so completely dominated the “all-purpose” search engine space, many of them have moved to occupy more niche areas, like academia, or sought to distinguish themselves in other ways.
As technology continues to have a hand in most everything that we do, it’s important to be aware of the other contenders in the industry. While they aren’t likely to revolutionize SEO overnight, they’re indicative of the trends and technology currently making their way through search, which could show up on a much larger scale later on.
To those on the list, we wish you good luck. You’re gonna need it. Google has had a stranglehold on the search world for longer than anyone can remember. The only one of the engines recommended here that even stand a chance is Semantic Scholar. As Wired pointed out, this scholarly engine actually stands a great chance of succeeding somewhere Google can’t because it helps users bypass pesky paywalls for scientific journals. Wow. Keep an eye on this.
Patrick Roland, December 22, 2017
IBM Thinks It Can Crack Pharmaceutical Code with AI
December 20, 2017
Artificial intelligence has been tasked with solving every problem from famine to climate change to helping you pick a new favorite song. So, it should come as no surprise that IBM thinks it can revolutionize another industry with AI. We learned exactly what from a Digital Trends story, “IBM’s New AI Predicts Chemical Reactions, Could Revolutionize Drug Development.”
According to the story,
As described in a new research paper, the A.I. chemist is able to predict chemical reactions in a way that could be incredibly important for fields like drug discovery. To do this, it uses a highly detailed data set of knowledge on 395,496 different reactions taken from thousands of research papers published over the years.
Teo Laino, one of the researchers on the project from IBM Research in Zurich, told Digital Trends that it is a great example of how A.I. can draw upon large quantities of knowledge that would be astonishingly difficult for a human to master — particularly when it needs to be updated all the time.
It’s an absolutely valid plan, but we aren’t sure if IBM is the one to really pull off this trick. IBM trying to work in big pharma seems kind of like your uncle tinkering on his “inventions” out in the shed. We’d rather see someone whose primary focus is AI and medicine, like Certara, PhinC, and Chem Abstracts.
Patrick Roland, December 20, 2017
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