Ah, Information Weaponization. Who Would Do That?
April 11, 2018
People are always asking how companies like Facebook, Google, Spotify, and Amazon are able to get to the top of their industries. The answer is very simple: data. While the data these companies use is ordinary by industry standards, how they use it is the most important factor. Facebook, Spotify, Amazon, and Google receive user data and leverage or weaponize it. Forbes explains how important leveraged data is in the article, “How To Successfully Weaponize Your Data.”
Companies receive terabytes of data, but they can weaponize it by using artificial intelligence algorithms to perform specific tasks. As AI becomes more widespread, it will be easier to adopt and figure out how to use it to augment your company. They key will not be getting more or different data than your competition, it will be acquiring better data and then:
“In order to use this information effectively, you must first decide what your goal is — more sales, higher foot traffic in stores, higher awareness of a product, etc. — and then look at the data to see if it is in the right format for use with deep learning. This is something that’s hard to explain simply, but fundamentally, data has to be in a disaggregated state. That means you don’t really need to know how many people visited a store, but instead when exactly each person visited. You no longer need to understand how many sales you’ve made, but what each sale was and to whom. This is important because it allows you to break down the impact that various decisions or strategies have, and evaluate whether or not it’s something you want to continue in the long term. It also allows you to see how trends emerge and follow their trajectory.”
The article then fades into details about the importance of deep learning and how a company’s future success depends on adopting it and leveraging data. Weaponized data is important and will be crucial in the future, but do not forget about the basics of running a company.
Whitney Grace, April 11, 2018
Would This Employee Protest Get Traction in China?
April 10, 2018
I noted this headline and variants in my newsfeeds in the last four days: “Thousands of Google Employees Protest Company’s Involvement in Pentagon AI Drone Program.” I think this may be a management challenge for the Google executives.
What interested me is that Google wants to do more work for the US government. Amazon is working on this revenue angle as well. One company uses technology to sell ads; the other uses technology to sell products to consumers.
The contrast which struck me is that smart software is a booming business.
In “Forget the Trade War, China Wants to Win the Arms Race in Computing,” the article asserts:
While overall spending by China is unknown, its government is building a US$10 billion National Laboratory for Quantum Information Sciences in Hefei, Anhui Province, which is slated to open in 2020. US-funded research in quantum is about US$200 million a year, according to a July 2016 government report, and some researchers and companies don’t believe that’s enough.
With spending chugging along at a pace which makes the hare and tortoise race seem an apt metaphor, will Chinese employees protest the use of smart software? Will China’s newspapers publicize the apparent discord which seems to challenge Google management authority?
I am not sure what to make of this employee pushback as China pushes forward. My initial reaction is this may be an issue to consider with regards to where the hot spot in smart software may be located. And that location may not accommodate public employee protests.
Stephen E Arnold, April 10, 2018
Google Argues With Russia About Website Rankings
April 10, 2018
Amidst its employee petitions and the increasing concern about YouTube videos for children, Google is annoyed with Russia.
Google fiddled with its ranking algorithm to stop the dissemination of fake news and Russia believes it is biased against two of its news agencies. Reuters describes more of the argument in the story, “Google Seeks To Defuse Row With Russia Over Website Rankings.” Roskomnadzor called out Alphabet Inc. and its popular search engine Google, when it claimed that Google pushed Russian media sites Sputnik and Russia Today into lower search results.
Eric Schmidt claimed that Google would not be deleting those links, instead they would be pushed lower in search results. Russia claimed Google discriminated against Russia Today and Sputnik, also saying they would take action if necessary. Google responded:
“ ‘We’d like to inform you that by speaking about ranking of web-sources, including the websites of Russia Today and Sputnik, Dr. Eric Schmidt was referring to Google’s ongoing efforts to improve search quality,’ Google said in a letter posted on Roskomnadzor’s website… ‘We don’t change our algorithm to re-rank,’ it added. A Google spokeswoman confirmed the letter had been sent by the company but provided no further comment.”
Years ago Mr. Brin’s trip to space fizzled. Now the search giant is finding fault with a country known to use interesting methods to solve problems.
Whitney Grace, April 10, 2017
DarkCyber for April 10, 2018, Is Now Available
April 10, 2018
The DarkCyber video news program for April 10, 2018, is now available at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress and on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/263730425. DarkCyber is a weekly video news and analysis program about the Dark Web and lesser known Internet services tailored to security, law enforcement, and intelligence professionals.
The April 10, 2018, program reviews how law enforcement or intelligence entities can use software exploits to gather information from a suspect’s computing device. The procedure, according to Stephen E Arnold, author of CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access, supplements traditional methods such as interviews and traditional computer forensics. In DarkCyber, Arnold reviews an approach spelled out by cyber experts at Narus and the University of California—San Diego. The advantage of the Narus approach is that information can be collected which may not require decryption or direct access to a suspect’s computing device.
Also, DarkCyber reports about Turkey’s alleged use of intercept and content injection technology from the Canadian firm Sandvine. Turkish authorities used a surveillance system to gather information about Turkish and Syrian persons of interest. DarkCyber points out that countries like Lebanon, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates are on a path to reach intelligence parity with countries like France, Germany, and the UK for mobile and Internet data surveillance and content interception capabilities.
DarkCyber reviews surprising findings from a Dark Web research report conducted by cyber security firm Armor. The data in the report which caught the attention of the Dark Cyber were compiled from a study of Dark Web sites selling false passport and personal financial information. The video includes a link to the Armor study which is offered without charge
Arnold reveals electronic mail vendors providing encrypted email services. One of the services — Proton Mail based in Switzerland — allegedly was used by Cambridge Analytica. Proton’s service makes it very difficult if not impossible for law enforcement to retrieve messages within the system or if they have been deleted from the Proton mail servers. Several vendors of secure email are mentioned in the DarkCyber video.
Kenny Toth, April 10, 2018
Mondeca: Another Semantic Search Option
April 9, 2018
Mondeca, based in France, has long been focused on indexing and taxonomy. Now they offer a search platform named, simply enough, Semantic Search. Here’s their description:
“Semantic search systems consider various points including context of search, location, intent, variation of words, synonyms, generalized and specialized queries, concept matching and natural language queries to provide relevant search results. Augment your SolR or ElasticSearch capabilities; understand the intent, contextualize search results; search using business terms instead of keywords.”
A few details from the product page caught my eye. Let’s begin with the Search functionality; the page succinctly describes:
“Navigational search – quickly locate specific content or resource. Informational search – learn more about a specific subject. Compound term processing, concept search, fuzzy search, simple but smart search, controlled terms, full text or metadata, relevancy scoring. Takes care of language, spelling, accents, case. Boolean expressions, auto complete, suggestions. Disambiguated queries, suggests alternatives to the original query. Relevance feedback: modify the original query with additional terms. Contextualize by user profile, location, search activity and more.”
The software includes a GUI for visualizing the semantic data, and features word-processing tools like auto complete and a thesaurus. Results are annotated, with key terms highlighted, and filters provide significant refinement, complete with suggestions. Results can also be clustered by either statistics or semantic tags. A personalized dashboard and several options for sharing and publishing round out my list. See the product page for more details.
Established in 1999, Mondeca delivers pragmatic semantic solutions to clients in Europe and North America, and is proud to have developed their own, successful semantic methodology. The firm is based in Paris. Perhaps the next time our beloved leader, Stephen E Arnold, visits Paris, the company will make time to speak with him. Previous attempts to set up a meeting were for naught. Ah, France.
Cynthia Murrell, April 9, 2018
IBM: Can It Revivify Itself?
April 9, 2018
IBM has been struggling to keep up in a fight with Microsoft, Amazon, Google and other tech giants more suited for twenty-first century commerce. Another bold move by the company recently got it into a ton of hot water, as we discovered from a recent 24/7 Wall Street story, “IBM Hit With Massive Age Discrimination Charges, Undermining CEO Rometty.”
According to the story:
“The news once again will raise the question about the tenure of CEO Ginni Rometty, who has presided over the demise of IBM. The company has suffered quarter after quarter of falling revenue. She has tried unsuccessfully to make IBM a leader in cloud computing. In the meantime, its older software, services and hardware businesses have suffered.”
This is a major setback for IBM atop some other unsavory setbacks. A recent story said that as the company aims to positing its enterprise search for the future, it is acting as its own worst enemy in the planning stages. That seems to be the case we see over and over with IBM, they can’t seem to get out of their own way with this disgraceful age discrimination case or with the general day-to-day, it does not seem unlikely that the behemoth will someday get absorbed into a larger competitor. But who remains a question.
Perhaps IBM can pose that question to Watson? Well, maybe not?
Is Chinese Smart Software Different from US and UK AI?
April 9, 2018
I read “China Now Has the Most Valuable AI Startup in the World.” That’s one difference: Valuation. According to the Bloomberg news report:
Backed by Qualcomm Inc., it underscores its status as one of a crop of homegrown firms spearheading Beijing’s ambition to become the leader in AI by 2030. And it’s a contributor to the world’s biggest system of surveillance: if you’ve ever been photographed with a Chinese-made phone or walked the streets of a Chinese city, chances are your face has been digitally crunched by SenseTime software built into more than 100 million mobile devices.
Yep, another difference. Instead of pushing ads, the Chinese AI outfit seems to be focused on surveillance. Instead of operating in stealth mode, it seems as if someone affiliated with the company is delighted to make the link between smart software and mass surveillance.
Is there a third difference?
Based on the information dribbling in via my open source news stream, yes, there is another difference:
Engineers, computer scientists, and data management professionals.
US universities crank out top notch folks. But China goes for the Daily Double: Lots of engineers. Many high quality engineers, computer scientists, and data management professionals.
Those differences matter in my view.
Stephen E Arnold, April 9, 2018
Google Wobbles
April 8, 2018
I noted that some of Google’s employees are not happy with the firm’s decision to apply its smart software to US government projects. What’s interesting is that for years, grousing at Google was low key. When Xooglers began posting their thoughts about the company, there was some activity which fizzled quickly. I wondered why no one was doing Google “tell all” type writing.
Now Google faces yet another management challenge. A UPI story reports that Google employees are protesting. The Googlers don’t want the ad supported search giant supporting the Pentagon’s drone strike program. (Tip: If you are a target, a mobile phone with a GPS capability is not your friend.)
According the story:
In a letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai, the employees voiced opposition to Project Maven, “a customized AI surveillance engine that uses ‘Wide Area Motion Imagery’ data captured by U.S. government drones to detect vehicles and other objects, track their motions, and provide results to the Department of Defense.”
From my vantage point in Harrod’s Creek, Google may face some challenges with regard to staff management.
With this UPI story in mind, I noted an essay titled “Google’s Near Monopoly May Be Crumbling.” The article asserts:
The broader point is that the awesome market power of behemoths like Facebook and Google may be far more vulnerable than investors and rivals have assumed.
That strikes me as a bit of wishful thinking. The notion that a metasearch engine which relies on Bing or another Web index for results can challenge Google is a bit of a stretch. Alternatives to Google are available, but neither Qwant or Yandex is likely to deliver what users of Google seem to want.
I do think that Google’s management capabilities are showing signs of weakness. I believe that the real challenge to Google resides within the firm’s 60,000 staff and thousands of contractors.
The idea that a union or federation of employees may gain some traction. Human resources, not technology or user loyalty, may be the most vulnerable component of Google.
The reason is that from its inception, Google favored an engineering approach to management. The firm’s engineering may not be top drawer, but it is good enough. I think Google’s handling of its human resources and personnel problems will make clear if the “soft” or “illogical” aspect of running a business is an asset or a liability.
Stephen E Arnold, April 7, 2018
Attivio and MC+A Combine Forces
April 7, 2018
Over the years, Attivio positioned itself as more than search. That type of shift has characterized many vendors anchored in search and retrieval. We noted that Attivio has “partnered” with MC+A, a search centric company. MC+A also forged a relationship with Coveo, another search and retrieval vendor with a history of repositioning.
We learned from “Attivio and MC+A Announce Partnership to Deliver Next-Generation Cognitive Search Solutions” at Markets Insider that:
“MC+A will resell Attivio’s platform, seamlessly integrate their enterprise-grade connectors into it, and provide SI services in the US market. ‘Partnering with MC+A extends our ability to address organizations’ needs for making all information available to employees and customers at the moment they need it,’ said Stephen Baker, CEO at Attivio. ‘This is particularly critical for companies looking to upgrade legacy search applications onto a modern, machine-learning based search and insight platform.’ …
The story added:
“By combining self-learning technologies, such as natural language processing, machine learning, and information indexing, the Attivio platform is helping Fortune 500 enterprises leverage customer insight, surface upsell opportunities, and improve compliance productivity. MC+A has over 15 years of experience innovating with search and delivering customized search-based applications solutions to enterprises. MC+A has also developed a connector bridge solution that allows customers to leverage existing infrastructure to simplify the transition to the Attivio platform.”
Attivio was founded in 2007, and is headquartered in Newton, Massachusetts. The company’s client roster includes prominent organizations like UBS, Cisco, Citi, and DARPA. Attivio in its early days was similar in some ways to the Fast Search & Transfer technology once cleverly dubbed ESP. No, not extra sensory perception. ESP was the enterprise search platform.
Based in Chicago and founded in 2004, MC+A specializes in implementations of cognitive search and insight engine technology. A couple of years ago, MC+A was involved with Yippy, the former Vivisimo metasearch system. When IBM bought Vivisimio, the metasearch technology morphed into a Big Data component of Watson.
If this walk down memory lane suggests that vendors of proprietary systems have been working to find purchase on revenue mountain, there may be a reason. The big money, based on information available to Beyond Search, comes from integrating open source solutions like Lucene into comprehensive analytic systems.
In a nutshell, the rise of Lucene and Elastic have created opportunities for some companies which can deliver more comprehensive solutions than search and retrieval anchored in old-school solutions.
More than repositioning, jargon, and partnerships may be needed in today’s market place where “answers”, not laundry lists are in demand. For mini profiles of vendors which are redefining information access and answering questions, follow the news stories in our new video news program DarkCyber. There’s a new program each week. Plus, you can get a sense of the new directions in information access by reading my 2015 book (still timely and very relevant) CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access.
Stephen E Arnold,
Stephen E Arnold, April 7, 2018
Video Search: Still a Challenge
April 6, 2018
As MIT Technology Review describes in its article, “The Next Big Step for AI? Understanding Video,” artificial intelligence still tends to have trouble correctly interpreting video. A recent slew of new jobs at YouTube (owned by Google) underscores this flaw—“YouTube is Hiring 10,000 People to Police Offensive Videos,” reports the New York Post. When it comes to objectionable content, algorithms just don’t get it. Yet. Meanwhile, the PR machine keeps running.
MIT Tech editor Will Knight discusses some promising solutions in the above article, beginning close to home with a collaboration between MIT and IBM. He writes:
“MIT and IBM this week released a vast data set of video clips painstakingly annotated with details of the action being carried out. The Moments in Time Dataset includes three-second snippets of everything from fishing to break-dancing. ‘A lot of things in the world change from one second to the next,’ says Aude Oliva, a principal research scientist at MIT and one of the people behind the project. ‘If you want to understand why something is happening, motion gives you lot of information that you cannot capture in a single frame.’” … “The MIT-IBM project is in fact just one of several video data sets designed to spur progress in training machines to understand actions in the physical world. Last year, for example, Google released a set of eight million tagged YouTube videos called YouTube-8M. Facebook is developing an annotated data set of video actions called the Scenes, Actions, and Objects set.”
Knight also mentions Twenty Billion Neurons, which, he notes:
“… Created a custom data set by paying crowdsourced workers to perform simple tasks. One of the company’s cofounders, Roland Memisevic, says it also uses a neural network designed specifically to process temporal vision information.”
So, we should not be surprised if, soon, AI can comprehend what it “sees.” Meanwhile, sites that host video content would do well to employ the judgment of humans.
Cynthia Murrell, April 6, 2018
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