An AI Tool to Identify AI-Written Text
September 19, 2019
When distinguishing human writing from AI-generated text, the secret is in the predictability. MIT Technology Review reports, “A New Tool Uses AI to Spot Text Written by AI.” We have seen how AI can produce articles that seem to us humans as if they were written by one of us, opening a new dimension in the scourge of fake news. Now, researchers have produced a tool that uses AI technology to detect AI-generated text. Writer Will Knight tells us:
“Researchers from Harvard University and the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab have developed a new tool for spotting text that has been generated using AI. Called the Giant Language Model Test Room (GLTR), it exploits the fact that AI text generators rely on statistical patterns in text, as opposed to the actual meaning of words and sentences. In other words, the tool can tell if the words you’re reading seem too predictable to have been written by a human hand. … GLTR highlights words that are statistically likely to appear after the preceding word in the text. As shown in the passage above (from Infinite Jest), the most predictable words are green; less predictable are yellow and red; and least predictable are purple. When tested on snippets of text written by OpenAI’s algorithm, it finds a lot of predictability. Genuine news articles and scientific abstracts contain more surprises.”
See the article for that colorfully highlighted sample. Researchers enlisted Harvard students to test GLTR’s results. Without the tool, students spotted just half the AI-crafted passages. Using the highlighted results, though, they identified 72% of them. Such collaboration between the tool and human interpreters is the key to warding off fake articles, one researcher states. The article concludes with a link to try out the tool for oneself.
Cynthia Murrell, September 19, 2019
Should Social Media Algorithms be Used to Predict Crime?
September 18, 2019
Do we want Thought Police? Because this is how you get Thought Police. Though tragedies like the recent mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton are horrifying, some “solutions” are bound to do more harm than good. President Trump’s recent call for social-media companies to predict who will become a mass shooter so authorities can preemptively move against them is right out of Orwell’s 1984. Digital Trends asks, “Can Social Media Predict Mass Shootings Before They Happen?” Technically, it probably can, but with limited accuracy. Journalist Mathew Katz writes:
“Companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Amazon already use algorithms to predict your interests, your behaviors, and crucially, what you like to buy. Sometimes, an algorithm can get your personality right – like when Spotify somehow manages to put together a playlist full of new music you love. In theory, companies could use the same technology to flag potential shooters. ‘To an algorithm, the scoring of your propensity [to] purchase a particular pair of shoes is not very different from the scoring of your propensity to become a mass murderer—the main difference is the data set being scored,’ wrote technology and marketing consultant Shelly Palmer in a newsletter on Sunday. But preventing mass shootings before they happen raises some thorny legal questions: how do you determine if someone is just angry online rather than someone who could actually carry out a shooting? Can you arrest someone if a computer thinks they’ll eventually become a shooter?”
That is what we must decide as a society. We also need to ask whether algorithms are really up to the task. We learn:
“The Partnership on AI, an organization looking at the future of artificial intelligence, conducted an intensive study on algorithmic tools that try to ‘predict’ crime. Their conclusion? ‘These tools should not be used alone to make decisions to detain or to continue detention.’”
But we all know that once people get an easy-to-use tool, the ease-of-use can quickly trump accuracy. Think of how often you see ads online for products you would never buy, Katz prompts. Then consider how it would feel to be arrested for a crime you would never commit.
Cynthia Murrell, September 18, 2019
Information Technology Outsourcing: Good or Bad?
September 18, 2019
One of the early twentieth century woes was outsourcing IT jobs. These jobs were sent to India, China, and other places in Asia. The outsourcing was a topic for comedy sketch shows and a political slogan for right and left wingers. There is more to IT outsourcing than we think, especially in the United Kingdom. Computer Weekly shares a new side about IT sourcing in the article, “IT Outsourcing Is Increasing, But Not As We Know It.” There is nothing new bout the growing demand for IT workers, but service providers have changed what they offer their customers.
The outsourcing statistics are worrying for the United Kingdom economy, because Whitelane Research and PA Consulting discovered that 71% of UK organizations plan to outsource the same amount or more of their services in 2019, according to a survey of 760 IT deals. The same study showed that the same organizations are going to insource less at 16%, compared to 22% in 2018. The main reasons for the outsourcing is how traditional service providers are being changed to meet customer demands and businesses streamline operations, such as automation, AI, and mobile apps.
An IT expert said:
“ ‘Technology-driven challenger organizations are transforming the way services are delivered and consumed across sectors,’ said Manish Khandelwal, IT transformation expert at PA Consulting.”
The traditional service providers might be changing, but they, along with smaller players, are increasing their IT spending. The same IT expert observed:
“’Technology investments are growing, presenting significant opportunities for established service providers and new entrants with differentiated offerings,’ said Khandelwal. ‘Service providers that are able to transition from traditional delivery and commercial models without compromising the service quality are looking at an exciting future ahead.’”
Organizations want to meet their customers’ demands, while achieving their business goals at the same time. This requires changing the traditional service structure, but also how companies are established and how they spend their money. It does not look good for growing local economies, but it could offer individuals the ability to start businesses when they might never had the chance. It is tough balance to keep, but no one knows what the results will be.
Whitney Grace, September 18, 2019
YouTube Recommendation Engine Benefits Advertisers, Users?
September 17, 2019
Beware the YouTube recommendation engine, especially where the kids are concerned. We are warned by Scientific American in its piece, “YouTube’s Recommendation Algorithm Has a Dark Side.” (And, no, this is not about the pedophile thing.) Writer Zeynep Tufekci readily admits there is a lot of good information on YouTube. In fact, that is why just staying away is not an option for most internet users. He cautions us, though, not to go for the worthy instructions and stay for the captivating rubbish. He writes:
“‘How do I’ assemble that table, improve my stroke, decide if I’m a feminist, choose vaccinations, highlight my cheeks, tie my shoelaces, research whether climate change is real…? Someone on YouTube has an answer. But the site has also been targeted by extremists, conspiracy theorists and reactionaries who understand its role as a gateway to information, especially for younger generations. And therein lies the dark side: YouTube makes money by keeping users on the site and showing them targeted ads. To keep them watching, it utilizes a recommendation system powered by top-of-the-line artificial intelligence (it’s Google, after all). Indeed, after Google Brain, the company’s AI division, took over YouTube’s recommendations in 2015, there were laudatory articles on how it had significantly increased ‘engagement’: Silicon Valley–speak for enticing you to stay on the site longer. These ‘recommended’ videos play one after the other. … YouTube’s algorithms will push whatever they deem engaging, and it appears they have figured out that wild claims, as well as hate speech and outrage peddling, can be particularly so.”
We’re reminded that kids (most of whom do not have the experience to consistently discern good information from bad) are likely to go to Google-owned YouTube with their questions before any other search platform because, like it or not, they much prefer video to text. Couple that with the fact that Google’s Chromebooks, which come preloaded with YouTube, dominate the U.S. K-12 market. Grown-ups probably underestimate how much time young people spend on the platform, and especially how often they are lured away from approved educational fare.
Tufekci’s suggestion is for Google to disable the recommendation engine on schools’ Chromebooks. That would be a good place to start, but how do we convince a pusher to cut off its youngest and most vulnerable users? Legislation may be required.
Google wants engagement. Google wants revenue. Is the Google speak making these two factors too difficult for users to discern?
Cynthia Murrell, September 17, 2019
Amazon and Google Discover Tension
September 17, 2019
Google is proud of its search algorithms’ secret sauce. Google does not share its secret sauce with anyone else, because Google likes to be the top search provider in the western hemisphere. Google hates it when anyone other than Google manipulates its search results. Amazon results tend to rank at the top of many Google searches and Google wants to stop that says Tame Bay in the story, “Google Search Diversity Update To Challenge Amazon Discovery Dominance.”
Google wants its search results to be more diverse. Instead of returning a list of Amazon links to queries, no more than two Amazon links or other dominant Web pages will appear in search results. Searchmetrics wanted to know how many Web sites dominated Google search results. Searchmetrics discovered:
“Searchmetrics analyzed top ten search results on Google.com for 10,000 words before and after the diversity update. The research says that three URLs from one domain are now appearing for 3.5% of the analyzed keywords. That’s down from 6.7% before the update. This halves the chance of shoppers to see the same website appearing three times in the ten ranking positions.”
With the diversity update Amazon is limited to only two links in a box above third-party organic search results. Google did state if the search results from one domain are specifically relevant to the query then it would display more results from that specific Web site.
The downside is that sellers with paid Amazon listings will be pushed lower in the search rankings. However, it proves the argument that sellers need to diversify their marketplace with their own Web site and other channels to sell their products, instead of relying only on Amazon.
Whitney Grace, September 17, 2019
YouTube May Be Too Big to Monitor or Fail
September 17, 2019
A friend if mine who shall remain nameless, but who is a Baby Boomer and not technology illiterate once said that the United States government should just shut down the entire Dark Web. I burst out laughing at this statement and incredulously he asked why I guffawed. After explaining how wide spread the Dark Web is, the number of countries involved, and using the “herding cats” metaphor my point was made. Google is facing the same problem as it tries to sanitize YouTube, you can read the story from IT Wire.
YouTube is a big Web site and its expanse does not know an end. Google’s CEO Sundar Puchai stated to CNN that it was too difficult to clean up the entire video platform. YouTube tends to obey the US’s First Amendment Right to Freedom of Speech, but there is a mega backlash when it comes to YouTube hosting harmful content.
The definition of “harmful and malicious” content varies. The general consensus is videos related to neo-Nazism, white supremacy, racist, nudity, promoting terrorism, sexism, hate speech, and anything that specifically targets ethnic or social groups in a negative fashion fits the harmful definition.
Pichai said that using a combination humans and machines Google has gotten 99% of YouTube sanitation right, but videos still sneak between the upload cracks. This reminds me of Web filters “supposed’ to protect children from harmful Internet content, but they always took things to the extreme. Pichai admitted that while he wants the harmful content on YouTube to be well below 1%, he admitted that any large scale system will have a trace amount of fraud, take credit cards for example. Pichai remained silent when confronted with a conspiracy question:
“Asked why YouTube had taken nearly seven years to remove videos claiming that the massacre of children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut in 2012 never took place, Pichai did not give a straight answer, but danced around, saying he wished that the company had gotten to the task of removing such videos much earlier. The Google chief was not asked about the fact that numerous alternative media sites have now been demonetized as a result of the purge of content which Google says is unsuitable for YouTube.”
Yep, impossible.
Whitney Grace, September 17, 2019
Tools and Tips for Google Analytics Implementations
September 16, 2019
Here is a handy resource to bookmark for anyone with Google Analytics in their future. Hacking Analytics describes “The Complexity of Implementing Google Analytics.” Writer and solution architect/ data manager Julien Kervizic explains:
“There is more than just placing a small snippet on a website to implement Google analytics. There are different integration patterns in order to capture the data into Google Analytics, and each integration is subject to a lot of pitfalls and potential regressions needed to guard against. There are also question as to whether or how to use the different APIs provided by GA.”
Kervizic begins by detailing three primary integration patterns: scraping a website, pushing events into a JavaScript data layer, and tapping into structured data. Next are several pitfalls one might run into and ways to counter each. See the write-up for those details.
Of course, your tracking setup is futile if it is not maintained. We learn about automated tests and monitoring tools to help with this step. Last but not least are Google Analytics APIs; Kervizic writes:
“Implementing Google analytics, sometimes requires integrating with Google Analytics APIs, be it for reporting purpose, to push some backend data, or to provide cost or product information. Google Analytics has 3 main APIs for these purposes.”
These are the three main APIs: the reporting API, augmented with the dimensions & metrics explorer for checking different field-naming; the measurement protocol with its hit builder tool for setting up requests; and the management API for automating data imports, managing audiences, and uploading cost info from third-party ad providers.
Cynthia Murrell, September 16, 2019
Just Like Amazon: Prepackaged AI Available from Microsoft
September 16, 2019
Fast food computer software got its start with Microsoft Windows and Bill Gates was the short order cook. Technology has certainly become user friendlier, although programming, coding, and the more advanced functions remain special orders on the technology menu. Forbes describes how Microsoft wants to continue its fast food services with a brand new idea that could make it the go to name for AI, “Microsoft Offers ‘Premade’ No-Code Artificial Intelligence.”
Quick serve software and technology is not a new concept, but making AI follow the same route as an OS is conventional. Microsoft is the most used to system for most businesses in the western world and now it wants to offer its customers AI capabilities through its Power Platform. The Power Platform combines Microsoft Power BI, PowerApps, and Flowing into one platform. Flow is a powerful function, because it allows non-technical users to create/automate workflows that span multiple apps and services. One new tool in the Microsoft Power Platform concerns AI development:
“Newest among the Microsoft Power Platform goodies is Microsoft AI Builder, a no-code AI capability which also supports integrations with PowerApps and Flow. Microsoft AI Builder is (if you hadn’t guessed from the name) a means of shortcutting to almost ‘premade’ AI tasks that enterprises often need in regularly occurring business situations. It takes common AI scenarios and provides point-and-click solutions for app makers to solve everyday tasks like forms processing, object detection and text and binary classification.”
Microsoft AI Builder will be useful to manufacturing, banking, hospitality, retail, and other industries that require real-time customer feedback.
The Microsoft Power Platform allows users to build high grade AI based tools and other functions that would usually require an IT expert to develop.
Whitney Grace, September 16, 2019
Skip the Nose Ring. Think Cyborg Implants
September 16, 2019
Ah, cyborgs! Cyborgs are the invention of science fiction, a combination of a human with robotic parts. Some people with artificial limbs with robotic components could be considered cyborgs. A full blown cyborg, however, is still in the future, but it is not that far away. Fast Company reports on one man’s dream to combine humans and machine: “Yuval Noah Harari: Humans Are On The Verge Of Merging With Machines.”
Harari spoke at the Fast Company European Innovation Festival in Milan about how humans and machines are closer than ever to becoming one. He pointed how Apple, Facebook, Google, and other technology companies created an online reality. Harari said that technology, such as a smartphone, will not be separated from a human body:
“If we are able to somehow merge these technologies with the human body—through chips in our brains or bodies—Harari says this would be the biggest revolution in all of human history. Throughout our existence as a species, we have always been able to manipulate our environment and create tools that make our lives better. But until now, we haven’t been able to manipulate ourselves.”
He makes another comparison between technology and magic, i.e. the technology of the present is the magic of the past. Harari does make a good argument that humans have already manipulated genetics and there are technologies like IVF. He does go on to insult Earth, but with climate change adapting to another environment is not a bad idea. Perhaps his most valid argument is that humans armed with their technological creations have a tendency to use them negatively.
Harari wants technology to improve human consciousness: our creativity, compassion, and spirituality. Good idea, but could it work? The negative usually trumps the bad, powered by money.
Whitney Grace, September 16, 2019
Alternatives To Google Products
September 15, 2019
Google remains a dominant feature in millions of lives, whether you use the search engine, email, free office suite, or any of the other Google physical or digital products. While some individuals have totally given themselves over to the Google cult, there remain stalwart dissenters such as the SGT Report have not: “The Complete List Of Alternatives To Google Products.”
The list for Google product alternatives was made because:
“With growing concerns over online privacy and securing personal data, more people than ever are considering alternatives to Google products. After all, Google’s business model essentially revolves around data collection and advertisements, both of which infringe on your privacy. More data means better (targeted) ads and more revenue. The company pulled in over $116 billion in ad revenue last year alone – and that number continues to grow. But the word is getting out. A growing number of people are seeking alternatives to Google products that respect their privacy and data.”
The main reason people use Google is as a search engine. There are a wide variety of alternatives and they note that these alternate search engines do filter their results from Google or Bing. Apparently there is only one search engine with its own crawler: Mojeek from the UK.
The list continues with more alternatives to Gmail, Chrome, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Docs/Slides/Sheets, Google Photos, Google Translate, Google Maps, Google Analytics, and the Google Play Store. There are even alternatives to YouTube, but the majority of these are hit and miss with their content. The Google Play Store his rivalry by F-Droid, an installable catalog of free and open source software. The only problem is the applications are only for Android. Curses to Apple!
These alternatives are great, but they do have their weaknesses. Google has its evils, privacy issues among them are the worst. However, you have to admit it does make good products. Just stay away from the speakers and use Firefox.
Whitney Grace, September 15, 2019
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