Smart Automation
November 30, 2019
Companies the world over are using AI to automate more and more of their business processes. Digital South Africa takes a look at how some companies use the technology in their customer relationship management (CRM) in the article, “How AI Is Helping Brands Manage their Online Reputation.” Reporter Ashleigh Wainstein notes advantages include improved efficiency, error reduction, and detailed performance analyses. She writes:
“Customers are warming to the idea of artificial intelligence because it provides a way to get quick responses. Review responses can be semi-automated through NLP and AI but it is important to always have a human eye to ensure 100% accuracy and personalization. It’s important that there is some customizable wording in the response to the customer, but much of the information can be automated. It’s also important to have strategic keywords and elements in your review responses and software can ensure these elements are dynamically added, making the responses feel personalized and relevant to the rating and review.”
We are cautioned, however, to never automate responses to bad reviews or complaints. Leaving a bot to handle negative comments could easily spiral into a PR nightmare. Wainstein also observes automation must be adapted to business sectors and regions. In South Africa, for example, they have a lot of local slang on top of 11 official languages. She and her team chose the newly open sourced Google Bert, which she says uses a wider range of contextual words and natural language for more accurate results. They have trained it with their own data on South African language quirks.
Third-party APIs can be used to automate reporting, which saves time and reduces human error. We are reminded:
“Reports can be produced on anything from impressions, clicks and calls to reviews, review scores, social media posts and bookings stats. Generally, anything that’s quantifiable and that’s available to analyze, can be aggregated, counted and automated. Any measurable digital marketing stats are generally available through third-party APIs (application programming interfaces). An API is a link between two sites, for example between ours and Facebook, Google or TripAdvisor’s – which allows you to pass information back and forth.”
Wainstein closes by reiterating that, though automation can greatly benefit companies, it is important not to go too far. Maintaining the human touch is important, and not just when fielding criticisms. Each company will have to find its own balance.
Cynthia Murrell, November 30, 2019
Apple Defines Its World View Enablers: Money and Convenience?
November 30, 2019
Easy. Convenient. Confusing? Reality?
We noted that Apple continues to explain different versions of maps. “Apple Taking a Deeper Look’ at How It Handles Disputed Borders”
The write up reported:
Trudy Muller, a spokesperson for Apple, said that no changes have been made to the Maps app outside Russia and only Russian users have received the update because of new legislation in the country.
The idea, of course, is that maps have different purposes.
Apple may want to consider this statement by Alan MacEachren:
The representational nature of maps, however, is often ignored – what we see when looking at a map is not the word, but an abstract representation that we find convenient to use in place of the world. When we build these abstract representations we are not revealing knowledge as much as are creating it. — How Maps Work: Representation, Visualization, and Design, p. v. Note: MacEachren taught geography at Penn State.
But Apple is developing maps in order to facilitate revenue. The action seems destined to make acceptable an action which some find inappropriate. You can’t change a battery in an iPhone, but Apple can change the map for Russia. Some Wild West claim jumpers liked arbitrary maps too. The reality was gold. Priceless motive, right?
Stephen E Arnold, November 30, 2019
BOB: A Blockchain Phone
November 29, 2019
Remember the comment by some FBI officials about going dark. The darkness is now spreading. “Meet BOB, World’s First Modular Blockchain-Powered Smartphone” reports that a crypto currency centric phone may become more widely available.
The write up states:
BOB runs on Function X OS, which is an open-source operating system. As it uses the blockchain ecosystem, every task on the phone, be it sending texts, making calls, browsing the web, and file sharing, all happen on a decentralized network, making it highly encrypted and thus secure. Each unit of the BOB is a node that supports the entire Function X blockchain system.
DarkCyber thinks that Mr. Comey was anticipating these types of devices as well as thinking about Facebook’s encrypted message systems.
For more details, consult the TechRadar article.
One important point: The BOB has a headphone jack. Even those concerned about privacy and secrecy like their tunes.
Stephen E Arnold, November 29, 2019
TikTok Messaging
November 29, 2019
Is TikTok a platform for anti-nation state propaganda? (If you don’t know about TikTok, this write up will make no sense. Stop reading.)
The answer is, “Yep.”
A good explanation of what young people are doing with short videos appears in “Teen Who Went Viral with TikTok Hair Tutorial Tells ITV News People Need to Know about China Threat to Uighur Muslims.”
This is important for several reasons:
- TikTok is a China based outfit. DarkCyber thinks that Chinese officials will be talking about TikTok and coming up with some creative ideas to prevent hair tutorial type information from going global.
- Teens and other TikTok users may be difficult to guide down the path of truth and justice. More meetings will be necessary.
- More attention on the Uighur matter may not be desirable. More meetings will ensue.
Net net: TikTok may be invited to some meetings and given an opportunity to be re-educated. Just a thought. Russia re-educated Apple about Crimea. China and Russia may share ideas when their joint military exercise with Iran takes place.
Worth monitoring.
Stephen E Arnold, November 29, 2019
Xnor Touch Points
November 29, 2019
If you are not familiar with Xnor.ai, navigate to the company’s Web site and read the cultural information. There is a reference to diversity, the company being a “high growth start up,” and something called “ethics touch points.”
I think one of the touch points is not honoring deals with licensee, but my information comes from a razzle dazzle publication. “Wyze’s AI-Powered Person Detection Feature Will Temporarily Disappear Next Year” asserts:
Wyze’s security cameras will temporarily lose their person detection feature in January 2020 after the AI startup it partnered with on the feature abruptly terminated their agreement. In a post on its forums, Wyze said that its agreement with Xnor.ai included a clause allowing the startup to terminate the contract “at any moment without reason.”
There’s a reference to “mistakes,” in the tradition of 21st century information, there’s no definition of mistake.
I noted this passage: passage “Wyze’s low prices come with risks.”
Back up.
What’s an ethical touch point? Xnor.ai states:
Xnor is actively engaging in conversations around the ethical implications of AI within our society through “ethics touch points” that exist within our normal working patterns. These touch points allow is to actively review specific AI use cases and make informed decisions without compromising the speed in which we operate as a start-up.
Maybe recognizing a face is not good? When is recognizing a face good? I struggle with the concept of ethics mostly because I am flooded with examples of ethical crossroads each day. Was a certain lawyer in Ukraine for himself or for others? Was the fuselage failure of a 777 a mistake or a downstream consequence of an ethical log jam? Was the disappearance of certain map identifiers a glitch or an example of situational ethical analysis?
With about $15 million in funding, Xnor.ai the two year old company is an interesting one. What’s interesting is that Madrona Ventures may find itself with some thorns in its britches after pushing through the thicket of ethical touch points.
In 2017, Pymnts.com ran a story with this headline: “AI Startup Xnor.ai Raises $2.6M To Bring AI To All Devices.” See the word “all.”
That should have come with a footnote maybe? Other possibilities are: [a] the technology does not work, [b] Wyze did not pay a bill, [c] Xnor.ai has done what Aristotle did ineffectively.
Stephen E Arnold, November 29, 2019
Turkey Day: Forgetting a Murderer?
November 28, 2019
Who knows if one can forget a murder or a murderer? If the information is not available, then the murderer may not be a murderer. The logic seems a bit hippy dippy, almost millennial, but it is turkey day with time to ponder “German Ex-Con Wins Right to Have Any Murders He May Have Committed Forgotten” reports:
Although the case stretches back to the early Eighties, the issue really emerged when German magazine Der Spiegel published some archive articles about the case in 1999. In 2002, Gunther The Ripper was released from jail, and in 2009 became aware that the articles were floating about. Gunther argued that the news articles were inhibiting his “ability to develop his personality,” and went to federal court.
If a murder were committed and the victim a child, will the parents forget? What if this story is accurate and the murderer wants to work coaching a youth football team, would the alleged murderer forget he may have killed before?
Ah, forget it.
Stephen E Arnold, November 28, 2019
Europol Crackdown Factoids
November 28, 2019
“Europol Goes After IS Propaganda Online” contained several interesting items:
Telegram was the online service provider “that contained the most extremism related material.”
Companies cooperating with Europol were Dropbox, Files.fm, Instagram, Google, Telegram.
Crackdowns force content elsewhere.
Is there a solution for encrypted messaging and online channels for activities such as grooming and recruitment?
Yes. The write up states that one approach is to mount “an effort to limit the space for extremist groups to recruit people online.”
Stephen E Arnold, November 28, 2019
Turkey Day: Maps Are Fluid
November 28, 2019
Anyone recall the phrase “Maps are not the territory”? Interesting observation. “Apple Changes Crimea Map to Meet Russian Demands” explains:
Apple has complied with Russian demands to show the annexed Crimean peninsula as part of Russian territory on its apps.
Clear enough.
Now what happens if another country—say Canada—wants to modify its border to suck in Buffalo?
Apple has not yet explained why there are different representations of the Crimea. And Buffalo? Stay tuned.
Stephen E Arnold, November 28, 2019
NSO Group and Facebook: An Escalation
November 27, 2019
“Workers at Israeli Surveillance Firm NSO Sue Facebook for Blocking Private Accounts” adds some zest to the dust up between the digital country of Facebook and a company which develops policeware. Facebook’s WhatsApp accused NSO of fiddling with content of the encrypted messaging service.
Reuters reports:
NSO employees said Facebook had imposed a “collective punishment” by choosing to block their private accounts due to the legal process Facebook is conducting against NSO. They also said their lawsuit came only after they made repeated requests to Facebook that went unanswered. “Blocking our private accounts is a hurtful and unjust move by Facebook,” the statement said. “The idea that personal data was searched for and used is very disturbing to us”.
In this legal battle of a digital nation and a software and services company, whose lawyers will prevail?
Worth monitoring because policeware (software and services for law enforcement) and intelware (software and services for intelligence agencies) is rarely in the news.
Will the story have legs or will the legal eagles nibble at these entities patellas? Maybe crippling one or both?
Stephen E Arnold, November 27, 2019
Secure Data? Maybe after a Data Loss?
November 27, 2019
Amid discussions of data breaches, one huge source of risk is often overlooked. Information Management warns us about “Unstructured Data: The Hidden Threat in Digital Business.” Writer Bernadette Nixon believes too many companies look at only their structured data when they plan security—sources like databases, spreadsheets, customer relationship management (CRM) systems, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. However, the prevalence of unstructured data in business is growing, and procedures for securing it are not keeping up. Nixon writes:
“Unstructured data has become an integral part of how organizations conduct digital business. It’s often what enables an easier, faster customer experience. For example, would you rather fill out generic forms detailing your car’s damage or instantly share an image with an insurance agent? For convenience, we are all likely to opt to share unstructured data with an organization and businesses will continue to incorporate it into processes for exactly that reason. To that end, it’s no surprise that Gartner predicts that, by 2022, 80 percent of all global data will be unstructured. With the growth of unstructured data comes the unfortunate truth that it is much more difficult to control and secure than structured data. If an employee is taking information in the form of unstructured data and inputting it elsewhere, they might store the original document or picture on a local file share or leave it in an email as an attachment. Within one organization, the process for handling documents could vary across employees and teams and it’s entirely likely that management has no idea this is taking place.”
In order for organizations to plug this security gap, Nixon has some suggestions. Make it a priority for the IT department to secure unstructured data right away, before an issue comes up. Determine just what unstructured data is on hand and where it is stored, keeping in mind this might differ from one department to another. Finally, delineate clear, standardized procedures for handling and storing this data from the time it enters the system to the time it is destroyed. Ideally, as much of this workflow would be automated, saving time, removing responsibility from individual workers, and ensuring the process is followed correctly.
Cynthia Murrell, November 27, 2019
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