And about That Windows 10 Telemetry?
May 28, 2021
The article “How to Disable Telemetry and Data Collection in Windows 10” reveals an important fact. Most Windows telemetry is turned on by default. But the write up does not explain what analyses occur for data on the company’s cloud services or for the Outlook email program. I find this amusing, but Microsoft — despite the SolarWinds and Exchange Server missteps — is perceived as the good outfit among the collection of ethical exemplars of US big technology firms.
I read “Three Years Until We’re in Orwell’s 1984 AI Surveillance Panopticon, Warns Microsoft Boss.” Do the sentiments presented as those allegedly representing the actual factual views of the Microsoft executive Brad Smith reference the Windows 10 telemetry and data collection article mentioned above? Keep in mind that Mr. Smith believed at one time than 1,000 bad actors went after Microsoft and created the minor security lapses which affected a few minor US government agencies and sparked the low profile US law enforcement entities into pre-emptive action on third party computers to help address certain persistent threats.
I chortled when I read this passage:
Brad Smith warns the science fiction of a government knowing where we are at all times, and even what we’re feeling, is becoming reality in parts of the world. Smith says it’s “difficult to catch up” with ever-advancing AI, which was revealed is being used to scan prisoners’ emotions in China.
Now about the Microsoft telemetry and other interesting processes? What about the emotions of a Windows 10 user when the printer does not work after an update? Yeah.
Stephen E Arnold, May 28, 2021
IBM and Watson: A More Focused Journey to Rediscover Relevance and Find More Revenue
May 21, 2021
Nope, this is not an episode of “Star Trek.” Think of “IBM’s CEO Says It’s Leaving Consumer AI Like Facial Recognition to Other Companies, As It Doubles Down on Pitching Watson to Business” as a new version of the 1904 film “Le Voyage à travers l’impossible.” Here’s the idea: A vendor of services, mainframes, and intellectual property like a two nanometer chip concept blasts off to a new world. The mission is:
enterprise AI. Watson will be “learning from small amounts of data” and utilizing natural language processing to answer specific business questions for
customers.”
IBM will continue to embrace Watson. Granted Watson has an interesting track record. The write up states:
IBM shut down its AI tool for drug discovery in 2019 after sluggish sales, and reportedly encountered hesitancy from banks when trying to sell into the financial sector.
Learn from one’s mistakes, my grandmother used to say.
The article points out:
Using natural language processing to understand communications like chat and email, building an AI that is trustworthy and free from bias, and automating business
functions like customer service and IT operations.
With the cloud propelling Watson to the Land of Enchanted Revenues, Big Blue will rely on innovations like Turbonomic and Instana. If you don’t know, Turbonomic is one of the leaders in AIOps. You don’t need to wait for Forrester or Gartner to explain this very advanced concept of Artificial Intelligence Operations. Turbonomic is one of the leaders in this nova like market, and IBM acquired the company. Instana, now swallowed by a Big Blue gulp delivers APM. Okay, I will clue to you in: APM means Application Performance Monitoring. The idea is that when smart software behaves in a stupid way and the cloud centric app won’t work, IBM can help you out. The idea makes sense for the IBM cloud, but I am not sure how some of IBM’s cloud competitors will perceive this change. Thunderstorms perhaps?
When will the revenues be discovered? Yeah, probably in a Rometty (that’s a unit of time used by a former Big Blue pure bred to describe Watson’s earlier pursuit of revenues in Houston, pardner. No tar and feathers from the cancer docs in them there parts, but it was suggested that some of the IBM Watson leave town before sundown. And what about using IBM Watson to discover drugs applicable to the Covid pandemic? (Cough, cough.) Is there a metaphor to describe the bold new direction in which the IBM Watson starship is headed? Yes, there it. Electrification, specifically “at the turn of the last century” electrification.
Will stakeholders wait for 19th century time to mark what has to happen in the zip zip real time world of the 21st century? Sure. Keep in mind the plot of the 1904 film which told the story of a journey through mountains to the sun and ended up under water. Yikes. Underwater! This is not a good word for shareholders and stakeholders to hear in a metaphorical context.
Stephen E Arnold, May 21, 2021
Google Tesla: A New Play for the Final Frontier?
May 14, 2021
I read some real “news provided by Google Cloud”. The story was “Google Cloud and SpaceX’s Starlink to Deliver Secure, Global Connectivity.” The write up said:
Google Cloud and SpaceX today announced a new partnership to deliver data, cloud services, and applications to customers at the network edge, leveraging Starlink’s ability to provide high-speed broadband internet around the world and Google Cloud’s infrastructure. Under this partnership, SpaceX will begin to locate Starlink ground stations within Google data center properties, enabling the secure, low-latency, and reliable delivery of data from more than 1,500 Starlink satellites launched to orbit to-date to locations at the network edge via Google Cloud. Google Cloud’s high-capacity private network will support the delivery of Starlink’s global satellite internet service, bringing businesses and consumers seamless connectivity to the cloud and Internet, and enabling the delivery of critical enterprise applications to virtually any location.
Tweets ensued. Pundits pundited.
Most of the comments focused on the key words the wordsmiths at the GOOG included; for example:
- Edge
- Organizations
- Private network
- Rural
- Seamless connectivity
Google knows what words are popular and elicit clicks. Very terrestrial.
However, the tie up — if it works out and does not get marginalized like Google’s Dodgeball, Orkut, and WebAccelerator efforts — could be something slightly more ambitious than connecting people to persistent advertising.
The deal makes the on-again, off-again lovebirds Google and Tesla the hot couple. The immediate payoff is publicity, usually good for a company’s stock price. The deal also may irritate some of the space-crazed wizards at Amazon, who also offer cloud services. Advertisers may like the idea of global delivery of compelling messages about vacation rentals, chicken sandwiches, and grammar checking software.
I see three different angles.
The first is that the Google – Tesla thing may represent a method for providing a new type of meta-fabric for innovation. If the service works, advertising may be available for those wanting to distribute messages globally to specific individuals who are going to buy something no matter where they are.
Second is that the service will be space-based. That alone provides a marketing and hyperbole edge. Even if the service burns up in the earth’s atmosphere, the deal is a juicy one. Think about those mid tier consultants writing “reports” this weekend. Boom. Consulting opportunities.
Third is that if the visions of the Musk-its (not Muscovites mind you) and the Googlers come to pass, we have a new type of information company in development. If the blended system works, the old AT&T is going to look even more old fashioned than it does at this time.
Net net: Satellites, a Saturday Night Live host, smart advertising, the “cloud” — what’s not to like? Will regulatory authorities buy the terrestrial spin in the Google news release? Probably. In the absence of regulatory controls, the sky’s the limit. Maybe I should say “the solar system” or maybe the “universe” is the limit. Amazon, Microsoft, Apple? Your move.
Stephen E Arnold, May 14, 2021
Who Watches? Mom or a 20-Something?
May 14, 2021
It is undeniable that COVID-19 has forever changed the work environment. In order to guarantee that telecommuting workers were being productive, organizations adopted new ways to monitor their performance. These include software that pushes the boundary between professionalism and Big Brother.
Organization heavily relied on Zoom for business meetings and calls, but that could be a thing of the past if NICE works. CFO Tech New Zealand has the details on the new employee management software: “NICE Rolls Out Agile Workforce Management For Distributed Workforces.”
NICE is a workforce engagement management (WEM) platform designed to virtually connect workforces in one location. Even thought workers can log onto a work network, engage in a Zoom conference call, or share work via the cloud it does not give them one centralized location.
It also does not allow organizations the chance to check in on their employees’ work. Before the pandemic, offices had “swivel chair assistance” or direct communication with workers. Worker engagement is at an all time low, but WEM could fix that. Here some NICE features:
“Gain visibility – understand employee activities and behaviors based on desktop analytics and workforce management (WFM) data from schedules and activities. By leveraging business-based key performance indicators (KPIs), such as average handle time (AHT), productivity and adherence, organizations can now drive team and employee focus. A holistic view of the blended office and workforce also enables better management of performance and skill gaps. Ensure performance – personalize employee coaching to meet and exceed business goals by focusing on direct data that emphasizes knowledge and gaps. This enables supervisors and managers to guide the workforce in the right direction. Share dedicated employee dashboards that provide insights to adjust their performance course. Drive engagement – boost workforce commitment and engagement by creating activities that challenge, motivate and reward employees to achieve results and support teamwork. Reward success by applying points and badges and enable their use for additional time off or related prizes.”
Exactly what does NICE do as part of its business? Does the firm provide specialized services to intelligence agencies, security, and law enforcement? That’s a good question. The answer may put these NICE workforce engagement tools in a different context.
Whitney Grace, May 14, 2021
Speak Using Our Words, Or Do Not Speak
May 14, 2021
Google has learned from legal misfortune, both its own and other companies’. That is why, “To Head Off Regulators, Google Makes Certain Words Taboo.” The Next Web post outlines several of the major antitrust investigations the company currently faces at home and abroad. It also describes the role language played in past lawsuits brought against Google and, notably, Microsoft. We learn employees are given specific instructions on their language and other parts of communication both inside and outside the company. Having acquired some internal documents, the journalist known as The Markup writes:
“The taboo words include ‘market,’ ‘barriers to entry,’ and ‘network effects,’ which is when products such as social networks become more valuable as more people use them. ‘Words matter. Especially in antitrust law,’ reads one document titled Five Rules of Thumb for Written Communications. ‘Alphabet gets sued a lot, and we have our fair share of regulatory investigations,’ reads another. ‘Assume every document will become public.’ The internal documents appear to be part of a self-guided training session for a wide range of the company’s more than 100,000 employees, from engineers to salespeople. One document, titled ‘Global Competition Policy,’ says it applies not only to interns and employees but also to temps, vendors, and contractors. The documents explain the basics of antitrust law and caution against loose talk that could have implications for government regulators or private lawsuits. In one of the documents, which appear to be written by the legal team, employees are advised to choose their words carefully and use only third-party data when referencing Google’s ‘position in search’ in sales pitches. They are further cautioned never to print or hand out their slides.”
The documents helpfully suggest alternative words, including “industry,” “space,” “area,” or the name of a region instead of “market;” “valuable to users” rather than “network effects;” and “challenges” instead of “barriers to entry.” Though employees may (mis)use terms innocently, history tells us lawyers and regulators can and will seize upon certain definitions to build their cases. The higher in the company one is, the riskier careless language becomes. Especially sensitive are phrasings that suggest Google dominates any market, intends to “crush” its competition, or makes any choice for its own advantage rather than for the benefit of users. Because, of course, Google would never do that.
Cynthia Murrell, May 14, 2021
Why Are AI Wizards Fessing Up?
May 10, 2021
I asked myself, “What’s up with the wizards explaining some of the information about the limitations of today’s artificial intelligence systems and methods?”
Why?
I noticed several write ups which are different from the greed infused marketing presentations about smart software.
The first article is an apologia. This term means, “a defense especially of one’s opinions, position, or actions,” as Merriam Webster asserts.”Fighting Algorithmic Bias in Artificial Intelligence” allows the title to indicate that algorithmic bias is indeed an issue. The algorithms are not narrowed to machine learning. Instead the title pops up to the umbrella term. Interesting. Here’s a passage which caught my attention:
From Black individuals being mislabeled as gorillas or a Google search for “Black girls” or “Latina girls” leading to adult content to medical devices working poorly for people with darker skin, it is evident that algorithms can be inherently discriminatory…
Okay, reasonably convincing. But what went wrong in the university courses providing the intellectual underpinnings for smart software? That’s a question that the write up emphasizes in a pull quote:
It’s not just that we need to change the algorithms or the systems; we need to change institutions and social structures. — Joy Lisi Rankin
How quickly do institutions and social structures change? Not too quickly where tenure and student employment goals are intertwined with judgment, ethics, and accountability I surmise.
The second article I noted contains the musings of an AI pioneer (Andrew Ng) as related to an IEEE writer. “Andrew Ng X Rays the Hype” seems to assert that “machine learning may work on test sets, but that’s a long way from real world use.” We’re not talking about AI. Andrew Ng is focusing on machine learning, the go to method for the Google-type company. The truth is presented this way:
“Those of us in machine learning are really good at doing well on a test set,” says machine learning pioneer Andrew Ng, “but unfortunately deploying a system takes more than doing well on a test set.”
The point is that a test is just that, an experiment. MBAs engage in spreadsheet fever behavior in order to generate numbers which flow or deliver what’s needed to get a bonus. The ML crowd gets a test set working and then, it seems, leaps into the real world of marketing and fund raising. With cash, those test sets become enshrined and provide the company’s secret sauce. What if the sauce is poisoned? Yeah, ethics, right?
The third write up is appears in an online information service which has done its share of AI cheerleading. “What I Learned from 25 Years of Machine Learning” is a life lessons-type write up. What did the TechTarget Data Science Central article learn?
“Learn” is not the word I would use to characterize a listicle. There are 11 “pieces of advice.” Okay, these must be the lessons. Please, navigate to the source document to review the Full Monty. I want to highlight three “learnings” expressed as “advice.”
The first gem I will highlight is “be friend with the IT department.” Maybe be friendly or be a friend of the IT department. The learning I gleaned from this “piece of advice” is use Grammarly or find an English major to proofread. Let’s consider the advice “be a friend of the IT department” and ask “Why?” The answer is that smart software can be computationally expensive, tough to set up, and a drain on existing on premises or cloud computing resources. The IT departments with which I am familiar are not friendly to non IT people who want to take time away from keeping the VP of sales’ laptop working. Data wizards are outsiders and the IT department may practice passive aggression to cause the smart software initiative to move slowly or not at all.
The second advice I want to flag is document. Yeah. The way the world of mathy things works is to try stuff. Try more stuff. Then try stuff suggested by a blogger. Once the process or numerical recipe works, the focus is not on documenting a journey. The laser beam of attention goes to hitting a deadline and hopefully getting a bonus, a promotion, or one of those Also Participated ribbons popular in the 1980s’ middle schools. As one of my long time tech wizards said, “Document? You wish.”
The third “module” of these learnings is “get precise metrics”. Okay but precision requires specific information. Who has specific information about the errors, gaps, timeliness, and statistical validity of the data one must use? Yep, good luck with that. Quick example: Due to my research for my National Cyber Crime Conference lectures, Google is now displaying ads for weapons, female bikini hauls, fried chicken sandwiches, and mega yachts. Why? Google’s method of determining what data to use from my online queries struggles because we were using one computer to research cyber crime (weapons), pornography stars on social media sites and the Dark Web, lunch (hence the chicken fetish), and money laundering. I mean how many mega yachts does one honest business person need with one new wife and handful of former spetsnaz professionals? Yeah, data and precise metrics. If the Google can’t do it, what are your chances, gentle reader.
Now back to the question: Why are AI wizards confessing their digital sins?” My answer:
- The increased scrutiny of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, et al bodes ill for these firms and their use of smart software to generate money. This is a variant of the MBAs’ spreadsheet fever.
- High profile AI “experts” want to put some space between them and the improvised roadside Congressional investigations. Bias is a heck of a lot easier to tie to math particularly when high profile ethics issues are making headlines in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
- The wizards want to be in the group of wizards who can say, “Look. I explained what should be done. Not my personal problem.”
Net net: AI has bought the mid tier consultant-speak, frothy financial confections, and behavior of a smart person who is one step ahead of an ATM user.
Stephen E Arnold, May 10. 2021
A Field of Data Silos: No Problem
May 5, 2021
The hype about silos has followed data to the cloud. IT Brief grumbles, “How Cloud Silos Are Holding Organisations Back.” Although the brief write-up acknowledges that silos can be desirable, it issues the familiar call to unify the data therein. PureStorage CTO Mark Jobbins writes:
“Overcoming the challenges presented by having cloud silos requires organisations to develop a robust data architecture. Having a common data platform should form the foundation of the data architecture, one that decouples applications and their data from their underlying infrastructure, preventing organizations from being locked into a single delivery model. Working with a multi-cloud architecture is valuable because it helps organizations utilize best-in-breed services from the various cloud service providers. It also reduces vendor lock-in, improves redundancy, and lets businesses choose the ideal features they need for their operations. It’s important to have a strong multi-cloud strategy to ensure the business gets the right mix of security, performance, and cost. The strategy should include the tools and technologies that consolidate cloud resources into a single, cohesive interface for managing cloud infrastructure. Hybrid clouds bring public and private clouds together.”
Such “hybrid clouds” allow an organization to retain those advantages of that multi-cloud architecture with the blessed unified platform. Of course, this is no simple task, so we are told one must recruit a gifted storage specialist to help. We presume this is where Jobbins’ company comes in.
Cynthia Murrell, May 5, 2021
Alphabet: Another PR Hit Related to Raising Prices and Changing the Google Rules?
April 23, 2021
Here in Harrod’s Creek, everyone — and I mean everyone, including my phat, phaux phrench bulldog — loves Google. After reading “Why I Distrust Google Cloud More Than AWS or Azure” it is quite clear that the post in iAsylum.net is authored by someone who would find our Harrod’s Creek perception off base.
The write up contains some salty language. On the other hand, there are a number of links to information supportive of the argument that Google cannot be trusted. Now trust, like ethics, is a slippery fish. In fact, I am not sure my trust checkbook has much value today.
The main point of the iAsylum write up is that Alphabet Google cannot be trusted. The principal reasons are that Google changes prices and acts in capricious ways. Examples range from Google Map fees to the GOOG’s approach to developers.
The most painful point for us lovers of all things Google was the question in the essay:
Will Google Cloud even exist a decade from now?
That’s a difficult question to answer. Some companies are predictable. Amazon’s Bezos bulldozer moves in quite specific directions. True, it can swerve to avoid a large rock, but for the most part, the Bezos bulldozer’s actions are not much of a surprise. Got a hot product? Amazon may just happen to have one too. No surprises.
Google is unpredictable. There’s the HR and ethics mess in the AI unit. There’s the spate of legal challenges about the firm’s approach to advertising. There’s the search service which returns some darned interesting results, often not related to the query the user submitted.
For those of us in Harrod’s Creek, worries about the future should be factored into our lives. But for now, we love those Google mouse pads. Our last remaining mouse pad is now yellowed and cracking. But it once was a spiffy thing.
Let me rephrase the iAsylum question:
Will Google Cloud evolve like my Google mouse pad?
Stephen E Arnold, April 23, 2021
TikTok: A Good Point about Data Collection
April 21, 2021
I wish I could recall which addled Silicon Valley podcaster explained that TikTok was not a problem. I would urge this individual to read in the British paper the article “Case Launched Against TikTok over Collection of Children’s Data.” The essay explains:
Despite a minimum age requirement of 13, Ofcom found last year that 42% of UK eight to 12-year-olds used TikTok. As with other social media companies such as Facebook, there have long been concerns about data collection and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office is investigating TikTok’s handling of children’s personal information. Longfield said: “We’re not trying to say that it’s not fun. Families like it. It’s been something that’s been really important over lockdown, it’s helped people keep in touch, they’ve had lots of enjoyment. But my view is that the price to pay for that shouldn’t be there – for their personal information to be illegally collected en masse, and passed on to others, most probably for financial gain, without them even knowing about it. “And the excessive nature of that collection is something which drove us to [challenge] TikTok rather than others.
The cloud of unknowing swirling around individuals who insist that data collection from children is no big deal is large and possibly impenetrable.
TikTok says it is an outfit staying within the bright white lines. Nevertheless, according to the write up:
In February last year, ByteDance, the Chinese company legally domiciled in the Cayman Islands that owns TikTok, was fined a record £4.2m ($5.7m) in the US for illegally collecting personal information from children under 13.
Add to the actions which triggered the fine, TikTok is an outfit associated with China. The data from TikTok might add some useful insights about user predilections if those data flow into a Chinese aggregation system.
To the cheerleaders for TikTok, I would suggest a rethink of your position. However, it is possible that funding for some cheerleading squads may be coming from interesting sources and carry along some other agendas. Bad actors can operate within a regulation lax environment. That’s a reality.
Stephen E Arnold, April 21, 2021
Oracle Matches One Amazon AWS Capability: Bringing Order to Chaos
April 19, 2021
In 2018, I started noticing more Amazon AWS support for ServiceNow. ServiceNow is a company which uses cloud technology to help its customers manage digital workflows for enterprise operations. Amazon revealed in 2018 “How to install and configure the AWS Service Management Connector for ServiceNow,” the procedure which some AWS customers had mastered before the blog post gave its stamp of approval.
“Oracle Integrates ServiceNow into its Cloud Infrastructure” makes it clear that the much loved database vendor is doing what AWS did in 2018. The article reports:
Oracle has announced the integration of ServiceNow into its Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. The integration means enterprise customers have the ability to access and manage OCI (Oracle Cloud Infrastructure) resources via their existing ServiceNow service portal and the ITOM (ServiceNow IT Operations Management) Visibility application, which will give them a single dashboard to manage their public cloud resources from Oracle and other cloud providers.
Legacy Oracle customers like government agencies are likely to find the integration helpful. At one time, the likes of Amazon itself and Google might have been over the moon. Both of these cloud giants jettisoned Oracle technology and have moved in other directions.
A ServiceNow VP spins the Oracle move this way:
“With this integration, ServiceNow and Oracle are making it seamless for enterprises to unlock productivity for distributed teams to deliver products and services faster, access powerful business insights and create great experiences for employees, wherever they may be,” says ServiceNow’s vice president & general manager of Operations Management & Data Foundations, Jeff Hausman. Joint customers leveraging the Now Platform and OCI will get the best of both worlds, a seamless experience that maximizes the value of cloud investments and the ability to harness the power of artificial intelligence for proactive operations.”
Many buzzwords like seamless, unlock productivity, business insights, experiences which are “great”, value, proactive, and of course artificial intelligence.
The winner may be ServiceNow. For Oracle, I am not sure yet. Maybe on deck to enter the cross cloud de-chaosizing work now going on in many organizations.
Stephen E Arnold, April 19, 2021
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