Lawyers Might Be Automated Too
November 14, 2016
The worry with artificial intelligence is that it will automate jobs and leave people without a way to earn income. The general belief is that AI will automate manufacturing, retail, food service, and other industries, but what about law? One would think that lawyers would never lose their jobs, because a human is required to navigate litigation and represent a person in court, right? According to The Inquirer article, “UCL Creates AI ‘Lawbot’ That Rules on Cases With Surprising Accuracy” lawyers might be automated too.
On a level akin to Watson, researchers at University College London, led by Dr. Nikoalos Aletras, created an algorithm that peruses case information and can predict accurate verdicts. The UCL team fed the algorithm litigation information from cases about torture, degrading treatment, privacy, and fair trials. They hope the algorithm will be used to identify patterns in human rights abuses.
Dr. Aletras does not think AI will replace judges and lawyers, but it could be used as a tool to identify patterns in cases with specific outcomes. The algorithm has a 79% accuracy rate, which is not bad considering the amount of documentation involved. Also the downside is:
At a wider level, although 79 percent is a bit more ED-209 than we’d like for now, it does suggest that we’re a long way towards being able to install an ethical and moral code that would allow AI to … you know, not kill us and that. With so many doomsayers warning us that the closer that we get to the so-called ‘singularity’ between humans and machines, the more likely we are to be toast as a race, it’s something of a good news story to see what’s being done to ensure AI stays on the straight and narrow.
Automation in the legal arena is a strong possibility for when “…implementation and interpretation of the law that is required, less so than the fact themselves.” The human element is still needed to decide cases, but perhaps it would cut down on the amount of light verdicts for pedophiles, sex traffickers, rapists, and other bad guys. It does make one wonder what alternative fields lawyers would consider?
Whitney Grace, November 14, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Project Tor Releases the Browser Manual
November 14, 2016
Tor Browser, the gateway to Dark Web has got its user manual that tells users a step-by-step procedure to download, install use and uninstall the browser in the most efficient manner.
On the official Tor blog titled Announcing the Tor Browser User Manual it says:
The community team is excited to announce the new Tor Browser User Manual! The manual is currently only available in English. We will be adding more languages in the near future, as well as adding the manual to Transifex.
Web users are increasingly adopting secure browsers like Tor that shields them from online tracking. With this manual, users who are not well-versed with Dark Web and want to access it or want to surf the web anonymously will get detailed instructions on doing so.
Some of the critical areas (apart from basic instructions like download and install) covered in the manual include – circumventing the network restrictions, managing identities, securely connecting to Tor, managing plugins, and troubleshooting most common problems.
The manual was created after taking feedback from various mailing lists and IRC forums, as the blog points out:
During the creation of this manual, community feedback was requested over various mailing lists / IRC channels. We understand that many people who read this blog are not part of these lists / channels, so we would like to request that if you find errors in the manual or have feedback about how it could be improved, please open a ticket on our bug tracker and set the component to “community”.
The manual will soon be released in other major languages that will benefit non-English speaking users. The aim is to foster growth and adoption of Tor, however, will only privacy-conscious users will be using the browser?
Vishal Ingole, November 14, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Battle of the Mid Tier Pundits: Smartwatch Sales
November 13, 2016
I love it when mid tier outfits do battle. Most blue chip consulting firms carve out unique niches and then create MBA lists and data designed to underscore the firms’ prescience and, dare I say it, brilliance. Not so with the mid tier outfits. These folks do the me to thing. Need to know what’s hoppin’ in 2017, just look at the flow of prognostications.
I read “Is the Smartwatch Market Tanking or on a Long, Slow Climb.” What makes this wonderful is that one of the mid tier outfits is or was affiliated with IDG, owner of Network World, the publication pointing out the discontinuities in estimates.
Hey, I love discontinuities. Think Brexit polls.
The write up points out without much irony or concern that
In late October, market research firm IDC said smartwatch shipments in the third quarter declined by 51% from the same quarter of 2015. The total shipped in the third quarter was 2.7 million, IDC said. By comparison, research firm Canalys on Thursday said smartwatch shipments were up 60% for the third quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter a year ago. That resulted in 6.1 million units shipped in the latest quarter, Canalys said.
Hmmm. Separate universes or an example of bad sampling, lousy data, and former English majors getting into technology analysis? Who knows.
Now about that data about Apple smartwatches, which I think are sort of wonky. The write up revealed:
IDC said Apple shipped 1.1 million units, a decline of 71%. But Canalys said Apple shipped 2.8 million Apple Watches, nearly three times as many as IDC reported.
There you go. But the write up does not focus on:
- Verification
- Vetting
- Management quality control.
My hunch is that most professionals don’t care. The time constrained folks will just choose the result that supports their position. I love the brave new world of mid tier consulting firm data. Waves and hype cycles are another kettle of fish because they are so “metaphorical,” which is appropriate for a student of Chaucer.
Stephen E Arnold, November 13, 2016
Are Silicon Valley Problems Affecting Palantir Technologies?
November 11, 2016
I read “Silicon Valley Has Much Bigger Problems than Peter Thiel, Tech Investor Says.” The write up tackles Peter Thiel’s endorsement of a presidential candidate. Mr. Thiel is one of the founders of Palantir Technologies, and the company’s headquarters—the Shire—are in Palo Alto, the Delphi of Silicon Valley. I wondered if the maven upon which the write up pivots is talking less about Mr. Thiel and more about one of his companies; specifically, Palantir Technologies, vaquisher of the US Army.
I noted this passage:
Many entrepreneurs are now financially motivated, rather than by an optimism to take risks and improve the world, McNamee [Elevation Partners] said.
The write up reports:
“I think people in Silicon Valley are still open to change,” McNamee said. “But the things that they’re working on aren’t as valuable as the things people used to work on. And sadly, we’ve seen far more fraud in the past couple of years than I can remember any time in the 34 years I’ve been here. And so I think people just want to get rich now, and scams have become part of what goes on in Silicon valley and that troubles me deeply.”
The article includes this statement by the McNamee:
“People have stepped back, if anything,” McNamee said. “The Valley has a real misogyny problem …
If the Elevation Partners’ statement is accurate about Silicon Valley, is Palantir a company which has greed and misogyny problems? One can interpret the Elevation Partners’ comment as identifying systemic flaws affecting many companies in Silicon Valley.
The US Department of Labor has raised questions about Palantir’s hiring practices.
Stephen E Arnold, November 11, 2016
American Spies Are Using MapD This Season
November 11, 2016
Spies have cool gadgets to do their jobs. Since the advent of the digital age, their gadgets not only have gotten cooler, but more complex. Spy technology is built on the same software used in other non-intelligence-related industries. Datanmi shares the CIA’s next technology investment in, “Why America’s Spy Agencies Are Investing In MapD.”
Q-Tel heads the CIA technological venture and they decided to run their new innovations on MapD. The article makes an apt point that the CIA has fallen into the big data pool like the rest of the world, thus they are encountering many of the same problems as other industries. Some of these problems include too much data and not enough time, funds, or ways to interpret it.
One reason that Q-Tel has turned to MapD is that it uses GPUs. MapD is a very fast SQL database and, unlike many of its counterparts, it was specifically designed to run on GPUs. It also includes a visual analytics layer that allows users to interact with data.
The CIA wants to use MapD to speed up its technology, so it can process and interpret its data faster than before. It is straight forward why the CIA wants to use MapD.
Do not think this will be the last development from MapD this year. The young company has already rounded up investors:
MapD is still ramping up. The San Francisco-based company completed a $12-million round of financing earlier this year, which In-Q-Tel was a part of. The company has 30 employees, and a handful of customers (Mostak says “in the tens”) across various industries. The software is being used by oil and gas companies, banks, hedge funds, retailers, ad tech firms, and the U.S. Government, the CEO confirms.
MapD will power an entire generation of CIA intelligence technology. That is something you will not learn from the latest spy movie.
Whitney Grace, November 11, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Three Deadlines in October and November Mark Three Strikes on Google
November 11, 2016
The article titled Google Is Getting Another Extension to Counter EU Antitrust Charges on Fortune begs the question, how many more times will the teacher accept the “I need more time” argument? With the potential for over a billion dollar penalty of Google is found guilty, the company is vying for all the time it can get before answering accusations of unfair treatment of rival shopping services through its search results. The article tell us,
The U.S. technology giant was due to respond to the accusations on Thursday but requested more time to prepare its defense. The company now has until Nov. 7, a European Commission spokesman said. “Google asked for additional time to review the documents in the case file. In line with normal practice, the commission analysed the reasons for the request and granted an extension allowing Google to fully exercise its rights of defense,” he said.
If anyone is counting at this point, the case is now 6 years old, meaning it has probably graduated kindergarten and moved into the First Grade. The article does not comment on how many extensions have been requested altogether, but it does mention that another pair of deadlines are looming in Google’s near future. October 26 and October 31 are the dates by which Google must respond to the charges of blocking competitor advertisements and using the Android operating system to suppress rivals.
Chelsea Kerwin, November 11, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Google Search Tips That Make You Say DUH
November 10, 2016
Unless you are establishing the trends in the search field, then there is room for you to learn new search-related skills. Search is a basic function in the developed world and is more powerful than typing a word or phrase into Google’s search box. Google also has more tricks in its toolbox than you might be aware of. Single Grain published, “Google Like A Pro: 42 Of The Most Useful Google Search Tricks” that runs down useful ways to use the search engine. Some of them, however, are cheap tricks we have discussed before.
Single Grain runs down the usual Google stats about how many people use the search engine, its multiple services, and the hard to find Advanced Search. Here is a basic article description:
Here’s a list of 42 of the most useful Google search tricks that’ve probably never thought of—some practical, some just plain fun. Everyone knows how to Google, but by learning how to Google like a pro, you can harness the full power of the search giant and impress your boss and friends alike. Or at least find stuff.
These tips include: calculator, package tracker, stock watcher, tip calculator, conversions, weather, flight tracker, coin flipping, voice search, fact checking, and other tips you probably know. What I love is that it treats Boolean operators as if they are a brand new thing. They do not even use Boolean in the article! Call me old school, but give credit where credit is due.
Whitney Grace, November 10, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Shining a Flashlight in Space
November 9, 2016
A tired, yet thorough metaphor of explaining the dark web is shining a flashlight in space. If you shine a flashlight in space, your puny battery-powered beacon will not shed any light on the trillions of celestial objects that exist in the vacuum. While you wave the flashlight around trying to see something in the cosmos, you are too blind to see the grand galactic show hidden by the beam. The University of Michigan shared the article, “Shadow Of The Dark Web” about Computer Science and Engineering Professor Mike Cafarella and his work with DARPA.
Cafarella is working on Memex, a project that goes beyond the regular text-based search engine. Using more powerful search tools, Memex concentrates on discovering information related to human trafficking. Older dark web search tools skimmed over information and were imprecise. Cafarella’s work improved dark web search tools, supplying data sets with more accurate information on traffickers, their contact information, and their location.
Humans are still needed to interpret the data as the algorithms do not know how to interpret the black market economic worth of trafficked people. His dark web search tools can be used for more than just sex trafficking:
His work can help identify systems of terrorist recruitment; bust money-laundering operations; build fossil databases from a century’s worth of paleontology publications; identify the genetic basis of diseases by drawing from thousands of biomedical studies; and generally find hidden connections among people, places, and things.
I would never have thought a few years ago that database and data-mining research could have such an impact, and it’s really exciting,’ says Cafarella. ‘Our data has been shipped to law enforcement, and we hear that it’s been used to make real arrests. That feels great.
In order to see the dark web, you need more than a flashlight. To continue the space metaphor, you need a powerful telescope that scans the heavens and can search the darkness where no light ever passes.
Whitney Grace, November 9, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Google May Be Edging Out Its Competitors Surreptitiously
November 9, 2016
Leading secure email service provider ProtonMail mysteriously vanished from Google’s search results for 10 long months. Though the search engine giant denies any wrongdoing on its part, privacy advocates are crying foul.
ZDNet in an article titled ProtonMail strikes out at Google for crippling encrypted email service searches says:
ProtonMail has accused Google of hiding the company from search results in what may have been an attempt to suffocate the Gmail competitor. The free encrypted email service, which caters to nearly one million users worldwide, has enjoyed an increasing user base and popularity over the past few years as governments worldwide seek to increase their surveillance powers.
This is not the first time that Google has been accused of misusing its dominant position to edge out its competitors. The technology giant is also facing anti-trust lawsuit in Europe over the way it manipulates search results to retain its dominance.
Though ProtonMail tried to contact Google multiple time, all attempts elicited no response from the company. Just as the secure email service provider vanished from its organic search results, it mysteriously reappeared enabling the email service provider to get back on its feet financially.
As stated in the article:
Once Google issued a “fix,” ProtonMail’s search ranking immediately recovered. Now, the company is ranked at number one and number three for the search terms at the heart of the situation.
What caused the outage is still unknown. According to ProtonMail, it might be a bug in the search engine algorithm. Privacy advocates, however, are of the opinion that ProtonMail’s encrypted email might have been irking Google.
Vishal Ingole, November 9, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
Good Old Sleuthing Can Still Beat Dark Web
November 8, 2016
Undercover investigative work of different agencies in Bergen County, New York resulted in arrest of an 18-year old man who was offering hitman services over the Dark Net.
As reported by Patch.com in news report titled Hitman Who Drove To Mahwah For Meeting Arrested: Prosecutor :
The Mahwah Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office Cyber Crimes Unit investigated Rowling, a Richmondville, New York resident. Rowling allegedly used the dark web to offer his services as a hitman.
Tracking Dark Web participants are extremely difficult, thus undercover agents posing as buyers were scouting hitmen in New York. Rowling without suspecting anything offered his services in return for some cash and a gun. The meeting was fixed at Mason Jar in Mahwah where he was subsequently arrested and remanded to Bergen County Jail.
As per the report, Rowling is being charged with:
In addition to conspiracy to murder, Rowling was charged with possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of a weapon, and possession of silencer, Grewal said.
Drug traffickers, hackers, smugglers of contraband goods and narcotics are increasingly using the Dark Web for selling their goods and services. Authorities under such circumstances have no option but to use old techniques of investigation and put the criminals behind bars. However, most of the Dark Net and its participants are still out of reach of law enforcement agencies.
Vishal Ingole, November 8, 2016
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, publisher of the CyberOSINT monograph
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