Amazon ARM: We Are Just Being Efficient. Absolutely.
September 17, 2020
The Register published “AWS Is Bursting with Pride for Its Arm CPU Cores – So Much It’s Put Them behind a Burstable Instance Type.” The main point is that certain AWS uses cases will be less expensive. Good. However, the most interesting facet of the write up is this comment from an individual who uses the handle “Anonymous Coward”; to wit:
ARM servers in the datacenter are not going to be a Thing until there is a sufficiently common systems architecture that important software can be portable between different vendors’ implementations without a massive conversion and optimization effort. Compare for example AWS ARM instances and the Fujitsu ARM compute nodes. The market today is a lot like the desktop computer world before the IBM PC (which, incidentally, is the direct ancestor of the Lintel server of today). Contrast the rapid adoption of GPUs for compute, which is facilitated enormously by Nvidia driving a standardized API across a broad range of cards. The worst case scenario for ARM servers is that the market remains an archipelago of incompatible implementations. The second worst is that AWS ARM instances become the de facto standard by sheer weight of market presence, and everybody else is left trying to “do what AWS does” by inspection, much like S3.
DarkCyber believes that Anonymous Coward has nailed the AWS tactic. Competitors have to be more like Amazon AWS. The long term objective, in DarkCyber’s opinion, is to implement an updated version of IBM’s “lock in tactics.” Pretty savvy for an online vendor of digital books.
Stephen E Arnold, September 17, 2020
Remember Andrew Carnegie and Free Public Libraries?
September 17, 2020
DarkCyber spotted “Publishers Are Taking the Internet to Court.” The Nation’s write up states:
On June 1, Whitehead’s publisher, Penguin Random House, together with fellow megapublishers Hachette, HarperCollins, and Wiley, filed a lawsuit against the Internet Archive alleging “mass copyright infringement.” The Internet Archive closed the National Emergency Library on June 16, citing the lawsuit and calling for the publishers to stand down. But the plaintiffs are continuing to press their claims, and are now seeking to close the whole Open Library permanently.
The action is a response to the Internet Archive’s effort to make content available during the pandemic. The Internet Archive, like Google, is not comprehensive. Nevertheless, the idea was a good one even if it created a pathway to obtain some interesting data and possibly content.
On the other hand, the response by publishers is understandable. The notion of digital information has destroyed the gatekeeping role many publishers donned when they decided to convert a manuscript into a marketable product.
What’s up?
DarkCyber believes that the goal of everyone with skin in this information game wants:
- Lots of content under their control (directly or indirectly)
- Conversion of the “marketable product” into a subscription service
- Termination with extreme prejudice any mechanism to make information available without charge.
Does this mean the free public library has a red dot on its forehead? Maybe. Perhaps someone will demand that statues of Andrew Carnegie be destroyed.
Knowledge is power for some except for those without access to lending libraries, broadband access, mobile and desktop computing devices, and time to read and think. Gatekeepers unite.
Stephen E Arnold, September 17, 2020
The AI Landscape from Topbots
September 17, 2020
DarkCyber finds logo collections fascinating.
The most recent “infographic” from Topbots groups companies engaged in artificial intelligence into categories; specifically:
B2B sales and marketing
Business intelligence
Consumer marketing
Customer management
Data science and machine learning
Digital commerce
Engineering and information technology
Finance and operations
HR and recruiting
Health care
Industrials and manufacturing
Legal and compliance
Logistics and supply chain
Security and risk
Service providers
Is the list of categories exhaustive? No, for example, there is no category for policeware and intelware.
Is the list of companies comprehensive? No, for example, Anduril, Geospark Analytics, and similar firms are not included.
It doe snot appear that Amazon, Google, or Microsoft are included. Each of these firms is active in artificial intelligence across a spectrum of applications and use cases.
Nevertheless, the diagram is attractive. That’s important for the millennials and MBA go getters.
Stephen E Arnold, September 17, 2020
Google Bert: Why Not Apply Method to Advertising?
September 17, 2020
DarkCyber noted this story: “Google Accused of Allowing Scammers to Display Fake Adverts for Debt Help Online.” The main point is that questionable advertisements continue to appear for some Google users. Google needs advertising revenue to pay to keep the plumbing shipshape. Extra money is needed to fund noble projects like the Loon balloon and solving death.
Does Google have a potential solution?
“Google Using Language AI Model to Match Stories with Fact Checks” raises the possibility that the company can. The write up reports:
Google is now leveraging BERT, one of its language AI models, in full coverage news stories to better match stories with fact checks and better understand what results are most relevant to the queries posted on Search. The more advanced AI-based systems like BERT-based language capabilities can understand more complex, natural-language queries.
But maybe not?
The article points out:
Google has more than 10,000 search quality raters, people who collectively perform millions of sample searches and rate the quality of the results.
DarkCyber thinks there may be another reason for faulty advertising screening.
That reason is money. Google needs cash and laying off people, automating, and fending off Amazon, Facebook, and Microsoft is expensive. Maybe any advertising is judged differently from other types of content.
Stephen E Arnold, September 17, 2020
Another Interesting 2020 Moment: User Reaction to Facebook
September 16, 2020
After years of letting online services operate like independent countries, a handful of the faithful have taken action. If the information in “Kim Kardashian to Freeze Facebook, Instagram Accounts in #StopHateForProfit Effort” is accurate, luminaries are using their orbital power to cause change. Elected officials lack the hands on experience with digital power houses that high profile cultural icons do. The write up reports:
Kim Kardashian West announced that she will join two dozen celebrities in temporarily freezing their Instagram and Facebook accounts on Wednesday because the platforms “continue to allow the spreading of hate, propaganda and misinformation — created by groups to sow division and split America apart.”
What is interesting is that governments have shown less initiative than made-for-social-media stars. DarkCyber is intrigued that individuals closely associated with Facebook usage are demonstrating a behavior that appears to be “adulting.”
Unregulated, cowboy operations are spinning money. Corporate actions have motivated celebrities to organize and behave — for at least a day — in a way that calls attention to behaviors these individuals find reprehensible.
In 2020, a year of surprises and challenges, Kim Kardashian West-type individuals appear to be manifesting more moxie, purpose, and understanding than most elected officials, Silicon Valley go getters, and churn-centric Wall Street professionals.
DarkCyber is indeed surprised.
Facebook’s management is likely to greet the user response and 24 hour pushback with a bold, “Meh.”
Stephen E Arnold, September 16, 2020
Facebook: Luck of the Irish
September 16, 2020
“Facebook Takes Legal Action after Irish Regulator Threatens to Clamp Down on Transatlantic Data Transfer” illustrates that the company is consistent. The write up reports:
Facebook … launched legal action against Ireland’s data regulator, in an attempt to halt a preliminary order that could stop the company from transferring user data from the European Union to the U.S. The social media giant has applied to seek judicial review of the approach used by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission on the grounds it was premature for the IDPC to have reached a preliminary conclusion at this stage.
On the surface, it appears that Facebook wants to rely on the legal system, not the luck of the Irish, in its effort to sidestep certain constraints on its business. Is this action out of step with Facebook’s socially responsible policies? No. Facebook is acting in a consistent manner. Facebook’s tag line, according to one person on the DarkCyber research team, is “socially responsible.” Another team member understood that colleague to have used the word “reprehensible.”
Another perplexing issue which DarkCyber cannot resolve.
Stephen E Arnold, September 16, 2020
Amazon Cares and Helps Small Business
September 16, 2020
DarkCyber noted “Amazon to Invest $18 Billion This Year to Help SMBs.”
“SMB” means small and mid sized businesses. These are the companies that are going out of business because some of the digital monopolists do not care.
The write up states with enthusiasm:
In the next 12 months, the ecommerce behemoth will provide more than 500,000 SMBs in the US currently selling on Amazon, with online selling guidance, education, and support and the company plans to onboard an additional 100,000 US businesses as new sellers in its store.
But that is not all:
Amazon has launched more than 135 new tools and services this year to help sellers manage and grow their businesses, including new ways to connect brands with customers. The company said it will spend an additional $100 million this year to promote small businesses during Prime Day and through the holiday season. Last year during Prime Day, third-party sellers – mostly SMBs – exceeded $2 billion in global sales.
Definitely significant because if it works, Amazon wins. That’s the way it is supposed to be when the Bezos bulldozer drives along the Information Superhighway. That road may feature billboards which say, “We are helping.” Impressive.
Stephen E Arnold, September 16, 2020
Microsoft Azure: Big Like a Trillion
September 16, 2020
Microsoft, the JEDI knight for 2020, is bigger and more capable. “Microsoft AI Tool Enables Extremely Large Models with a Trillion Parameters.” Yep, a trillion. Can you visualize a trillion? I can’t. When I worked at an interesting consulting firm, I learned about a study of the behaviors of Boards of Directors for large public companies. The finding was that the Boards would spend more time discussing small financial activities than multi-million or multi-billion dollar deals. So a trillion. Yeah, right.
The write up asserts:
Microsoft Corp. has released a new version of its open-source DeepSpeed tool that it says will enable the creation of deep learning models with a trillion parameters, more than five times as many as in the world’s current largest model.
The article continues:
DeepSpeed is a software library for performing artificial intelligence training. Announced in February, it has already gone through multiple iterations that increased the maximum size of the models it can train from more than 100 billion to more than a trillion.
What’s interesting is that Microsoft cannot install a $0.99 codec into Windows 10. The trillion is 12 zeros. The .99 is off the radar, just like the crazy assertions about big data. DeepSpeed, like a JEDI unable to deal with a codec.
Stephen E Arnold, September 16, 2020
Social Media: Inherently Corrosive?
September 16, 2020
DarkCyber noted “The Inevitable Corruption of Social Systems on the Web.” [You may be asked to pay to view this write up. Sigh.] The article invests some effort into explaining a Captain Obvious point: Amazon reviews cannot be trusted. Okay. Insight.
In the essay is one interesting point. DarkCyber dubs this SMIC’s Law; to wit: The Law of SMIC (Social Media Inherently Corrosive) is, according to the write up:
Any system with a social base will experience, from a certain level of popularity, a corruption of its operations that will tend to destroy the value of the metrics used in it.“
DarkCyber agrees. Too bad users and regulators choose to ignore it.
Stephen E Arnold, September 16, 2020
Passport Report: Useful Guidance for Governments and Bad Actors?
September 15, 2020
The consulting firm Bearing Point is an interesting outfit. Marketing, of course, is job one. DarkCyber noted “BearingPoint Study Assesses the Digital Maturity of Passport Services in Countries around the Globe.” The document provides the firm’s assessment of government processes related to digital work flows. Not surprisingly, the report finds opportunities for improvement across the 20 countries surveyed.
A passage DarkCyber noted states:
No examined countries currently assessed to be at level five.
Surprising? No, the object of the study is to sell consulting services for online passport application services.
However, the report provides some useful insights for bad actors interested in figuring out what type of false documents to purchase via an illegal channel. That’s right. The report is a compendium of ideas for bad actors; for example:
The study covers twenty countries selected from across Europe and other regions. The countries included in the study are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA. Of the countries included in the study, eleven offered a partial or full online passport application service. Australia, Brazil, Estonia, France, Switzerland, and the USA were assessed at level three in the service maturity assessment. Level three represents a partial online application service in which citizens can submit application details (all data required excluding the passport image) online, in advance of attending an appointment to complete the application. The critical efficiency at this level is minimizing the volume of data inaccuracy associated with paper applications and capturing the data in advance of attending a public office, which leads to a reduction in data errors and also provides a more efficient service. Finland, Ireland, New Zealand, Singapore and the UK were assessed at level four. This represents a passport service that offers citizens an entirely online application process, though some offline interaction may be required. Passport services at this level offer online services for handling problems with the application, for example, resubmitting a photo digitally if the initially submitted photo did not meet specified standards.
The countries with what appear to be business processes in need of digital enhancement are countries like Romania and Sweden. Sweden?
The report could be used as a shopping guide for false documents which may be used to enter a country illegally. On the other hand, the report is designed to help Bearing Point sell consulting services.
Interesting information if the data are accurate.
Stephen E Arnold, September 15, 2020
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