Thomson Reuters: More Tax Services Are Better Maybe?
May 28, 2020
Once upon a time, Thomson Reuters was a news outfit. There was Lord Thomson, the much loved Lord Thomson of Fleet to be exact. There was Reuters, the nemesis to the once proud entities of AP and UP. The now bundled firm has branched out and now calls itself “the answer company.” The revamped Reuters already offers these tax services: CS Professional Suite, Checkpoint, OneSource, Aumentum, Onvio, and let’s not forget about Carswell. Who knows what each of these means or does? Not DarkCyber. Nevertheless, the company needed to find something to new make itself more technologically chic. BobsGuide announces its recent move in, “Thomson Reuters Enhances Strategic Partnership with Path Solutions for ONESOURCE Centralized Tax Solution.”
This partnership targets Path Solutions’ Islamic audience; that company specializes in Sharia-based banking software and services and contracts with clients in 40 countries. The write-up reports:
“Thomson Reuters, provider of the industry’s most powerful tax and accounting technology for corporations, and Path Solutions, provider of intelligent software solutions to Islamic banks and financial institutions, have enhanced their existing partnership to provide the GCC’s [Gulf Cooperation Council’s] financial services sector with an opportunity to introduce automation, efficiency and accuracy into tax workflows and core banking operations. By combining the power of Thomson Reuters ONESOURCE’s best-in-class indirect tax solution certified by the UAE Federal Tax Authority, and Path Solutions’ Sharia-compliant iMAL Islamic Core Banking Platform, this strategic partnership—unique in the GCC market—offers banks and financial institutions the tools to provide innovative and frictionless financial services and achieve seamless VAT [Value Added Tax] management and compliance supported by globally-trusted tax content. iMAL gives its clients the technology to meet the soundest Sharia and regulatory requirements, and to scale their businesses while also delivering personalised customer experience.”
Spokespeople from both organizations expect the partnership to prepare clients for fast-changing needs while keeping costs down and core principles intact.
Cynthia Murrell, May 28, 2020
First, the Covid Sputters, Now the Scanning Errors: AI in Health Care
May 28, 2020
Have you ever heard of the CSI effect? It mostly deals with forensic science, but another symptom is that computer “zoom” and “enhance” features actually produce crystal clear images. In reality, they do not. The Register explains that you will want a second opinion on your next medical scan in the article, “Don’t Trust Deep-Learning Algos To Touch Up Medical Scans: Boffins Warn ‘Highly Unstable’ Tech Leads To Bad Diagnosis.”
In short, AI algorithms used to enhance medical scans has led to numerous misdiagnoses. Many medical and AI professionals believe that deep-learning algorithms will cut down on time needed for medical scans, because the algorithms automatically improve image quality. Findings state the opposite as small details, such as tumors, are blurred or deleted from images. Another concerns is that static or other debris could appear on the scans.
“ ‘There’s been a lot of enthusiasm about AI in medical imaging, and it may well have the potential to revolutionize modern medicine: however, there are potential pitfalls that must not be ignored,’ said Anders Hansen, co-author of the study and an associate professor at the University of Cambridge’s department of applied mathematics and theoretical physics in Blighty. ‘We’ve found that AI techniques are highly unstable in medical imaging, so that small changes in the input may result in big changes in the output.’”
To discover the error, CT, NMR, and MRI machines were tested. It was discovered that even the finest corruption, i.e., a patient moving, ruined the image.
For the time being, it is better to rely on tried and true medical scanning processes and use the data generated to teach deep-learning algorithms. In order for anything to become standard operating practice in the medical or any other field, statistical procedures need to be better. This common sense observation does not apply to marketing, of course.
Whitney Grace, May 28, 2020
Oracle: We Do Open Source Just Like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft… Mostly
May 27, 2020
Silicon Angle published the PR-ish “Oracle’s Open Source Alter Ego Behind Some of Its Most Popular Products.” Oracle is creeping up to the half century mark. In Internet years or dog years, Oracle has been around so long that it is like comfortable shoes. The shine may be gone, but, by golly, those slippers work well indoors.
Oracle has its fans, and it has some detractors. Among its fans are the procurement officials in the US government who keep on renewing those contracts for the company’s flagship database. Among its detractors are some Googlers, licensees who struggle with integrating some of the company’s products into zippy new environments like NoSQL, and firms offering unauthorized Oracle training.
None of these considerations sully the Oracle open source article. We learn:
Oracle’s paid products and services are actually loaded with ingredients from open-source communities, including Linux, to which it is also a contributor. This circular ecosystem of contributing and borrowing back enables some of the versatility and cross-environment compatibility in the company’s latest database and hybrid-cloud offerings.
Why is Oracle into open source? Why are Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and other commercial proprietary software vendors embracing open source? DarkCyber finds this statement in the article interesting:
The use of Linux across Oracle’s portfolio, and as the underlying OS for its products and services, enhances end users’ experience.
The article includes a testimonial from the Oracle wizard of open source, who says:
When its contributions improve both the larger Linux community and its own products, a circular flow of innovation develops that helps everyone that uses Linux, according to Coekaerts. “It’s not so much about making my own world better and having Linux be better and Ksplice and so forth, which is important, but that becoming part of the bigger picture — that’s the exciting part.” — Wim Coekaerts, senior vice president of software development at Oracle Corp.
DarkCyber was under the obviously false impression that proprietary software vendors were embracing open source for these reasons:
- Shift some development costs to the community
- Link proprietary systems and methods to open source to provide a runway to commercial licenses
- Prevent other companies from capturing open source technologies and preventing others from using those technologies
- Respond to enterprise customers who view open source as a way to avoid the handcuffs of proprietary software by implementing a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” strategy
- Gain insight into individuals who might be good hires.
Obviously DarkCyber was incorrect. We acknowledge our error.
Stephen E Arnold, May 27, 2020
Artificial Intelligence: Some Limitations
May 27, 2020
I just completed an interview with two professional musicians. The subject was the sone written by smart software for the Eurovision music competition. One of the key points articulated by the two accomplished musicians was that the AI tune lacked surprise. The DarkCyber team should have the interview ready to post in the next three or four days.
While you wait for that interview, I suggest you read “Why Is Artificial Intelligence So Useless for Business?“That article states:
What’s more, artificial research teams lack an awareness of the specific business processes and tasks that could be automated in the first place. Researchers would need to develop an intuition of the business processes involved. We haven’t seen this happen in too many areas. The big successes have happened where the problem is easily understood and has many publicly-available examples (machine translation), where there is a promise of a massive ROI (self-driving cars), or where a large company arbitrarily decides to throw enough resources at the problem until they can crack it (AlphaGo).
Where can AI deliver a big payoff? The article asserts:
This means, however, that we can expect artificial intelligence to succeed in automating business processes when 1) researchers are able to focus on a specific problem, and 2) they are able to accumulate enough data to train a workable model. (Another criterion for success is that should aim to empower the people involved in the process, not replace them, but that is for a different discussion.)
Good points. Wisdom, creativity, insight? Marketers think it is here. Consultants think it will arrive. Two musicians know software may never deliver those three “features”.
Stephen E Arnold, May 27, 2020
Policeware Marketing: Medium Blog Post a Preferred Channel
May 27, 2020
Just a short note. Sintelix, a developer of policeware, published a white paper called “Sintelix – The Text Intelligence Solution.” The document is available on Medium, a popular publishing platform. The white paper / product description is about 1,500 words in length. The article contains illustrations, diagrams, and lists. One of the DarkCyber team said, “It reads like a product brochure.” I thought the information was useful. The Sintelix decision to use Medium is one additional example of the stepped up marketing policeware and intelware vendors are taking. Shadowdragon is using Twitter to promote its policeware system. Palantir Technologies’ CEO has used public forums and video to explain use cases for its investigative and analytic system. LookingGlass has moved forward with online demonstrations and webinars for potential licensees of its cyber system.
Observations:
- Tradition has dictated that vendors of specialized services developed for law enforcement and intelligence agencies market via personal contacts or restricted/classified events. The fierce competition for available government contracts may be forcing a change.
- Face-to-face events like breakfasts, brown bag presentations, and lectures for LE and intel professionals may be difficult to supplement with online-only initiatives. Plus, there is the danger of webinar fatigue or the sign up and no show problem. Security is also a consideration because some attendees may not be whom they purport to be on registration form.
- Expanded visibility like that achieved by NSO Group may have unexpected consequences. Some government procurement processes shy away from high-profile vendors. As a result, obtaining information about the activities of a Leidos, for example, is difficult. Increased visibility may repel some potential customers.
The shift in marketing, no matter how minor, is important. The downstream consequences of visibility are difficult to predict because conference organizers, procurement processes, customers who prefer face-to-face interactions, and similar pre Rona methods may no longer work as well.
Stephen E Arnold, May 27, 2020
Google and Its Hard-to-Believe Excuse of the Week
May 27, 2020
I taught for one or two years when I was in graduate school. Did I ever hear a student say, “My dog ate my homework”? I sure did. I heard other excuses as well; for example, “I was shot on Thanksgiving Day (a true statement. The student showed me the bullet wound in his arm.) I also heard, “I had to watch my baby sister, and she was sick so I couldn’t get the homework.” True. As it turned out, the kid was an only child.
But I never heard, “The algorithm did it.”
Believe it or not, Engadget reported this: “YouTube Blames Bug for Censoring Comments on China’s Ruling Party.” I think Engadget should have written “about China’s” but these real journalists use Grammarly, like, you know.
The article states:
Whatever way the error made its way into YouTube, Google has been slow to address it.
For DarkCyber, the important point is that software, not a work from home or soon to be RIFed human made the error.
The Google plays the “algorithm did it.”
Despite Google’s wealth of smart software, the company’s voice technology has said nothing about the glitch.
Stephen E Arnold, May 27, 2020
Booz Allen Wins Modest Contract
May 27, 2020
I used to labor in the Booz Allen & Hamilton vineyards. I noted “DOD lands major contract for war-fighting AI.” The headline is misleading. Booz Allen obtained from GSA a contract “to develop AI for warfighting operations.” The contract is in the $800 million range: Smaller than JEDI but bigger than many other contracts. Yo, the Booz does smart software. Wait for those scope changes, gentle reader.
Stephen E Arnold, May 27, 2020
Palantir Technologies: A Very Unusual Emission from a Specialized Services Firm
May 26, 2020
The PR battle among the firms providing specialized services to law enforcement and intelligence entities has taken an unusual turn. If you send email to an outfit like BlackDot, you will probably be ignored. The same non response holds true for the vast majority of firms delivering solutions that put bad actors at a disadvantage. Sure, there are less low profile uses of these technologies, but applications like eDiscovery do not capture the attention of the real media.
DarkCyber spotted “Our Product Is Used on Occasion to Kill People’: Palantir’s CEO Claims Its Tech Is Used to Target and Kill Terrorists.” DarkCyber has noted that NSO Group has found itself in the PR spotlight due to allegations from Facebook and assertions about an NSO professional using the firm’s system for personal activities. But the “kill people” thing is sure to catch the attention of the hundreds of specialized service firms’ attention.
What’s even more interest catching is that one of the senior managers of Palantir Technologies serves as a member of the Axel Springer shareholder committee. What’s an Axel Springer? The company owns Business Insider, the “real news” outfit which reported Mr. Karp’s rather intriguing statement about a use case for Gotham and other Palantir modules.
The story also provides a link to a video from an outfit called Axios, presumably to buttress the “true fact” of Mr. Karp’s statement.
For a low profile outfit to offer this alleged admission about software’s link to termination with extreme prejudice may have some downstream consequences. With low profile companies like Shadowdragon publicizing its system on Twitter, will PR become the go-to marketing method in the future?
Making sales is one thing, but some government customers are wary of specialized services vendors who hum the 1960s song “Talk Too Much.” Some licensees can consult the “seeing stone” or just hit Philz and listen for some Palantirian chatter.
Stephen E Arnold, May 26, 2020
Amazon AWS Translation Notes
May 26, 2020
DarkCyber wants to say, “Good job” to the person who assembled “Amazon Web Services.” The write up is a list of more than 160 AWS services. Each service is identified by the often wonky Amazon name and followed by a brief description. The list is a medieval gloss for a 21st century cloud vendor’s service, product, frameworks, and features. The monks who compiled Psychomachia of Aurelius Prudentius would be envious.
Amazon wants to offer something for everyone, and as the company has emitted services, coherence has been a casualty. Worth downloading and tucking in one’s “We Want to Be Number One” folder. I assume a mid tier consulting firm or a WFHer will put the list into Excel and indicate which of these AWS offerings are available and mostly working from competitors like Google, IBM, and Facebook.
Stephen E Arnold, May 26, 2020
Zabasearch: Not Too Useful for Targeting Me
May 26, 2020
A reader wanted to know, “Have you used Zabasearch.” The answer was, “No.” I navigated to the Web site and learned:
People Search. Honestly Free! Search by Name.
Find People in the USA. Free People Finder.
Free. Okay! I tested the system by plugging my name into the search box. This once was called “ego surfing.” Here’s what the system revealed:
According to Zabasearch, I am in an industrial park between two computer stores. I feel safe because I am not at that location. I have driven by that location.
I did a Zabasearch using the site’s reverse phone look up. It found the name of the person whose number I plugged in. Once again, instead of living 500 feet from my office (not in the middle of a parking lot, thank you), the individual resides at the Edge Full Service Salon somewhere in West Louisville.
Close enough for free? Sure.
The system reports an incorrect telephone number for me too. I called it and I was invited to leave a message at Entré Computer Center. I checked the full profile and discovered that I am related to “Jeff Arnold.” Nope, sorry.
Net net: Zabrasearch is not likely to become my go-to person locator or source of phone numbers.
Stephen E Arnold, May 35, 2020
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