Sharing a Stage: Microsoft and Huawei
May 10, 2021
Just a small item from “Huawei Calls for Closer Public-Private Sector Action to Restore Trust in Technology” in New Zealand. The focus of the write up was on a call by Huawei (yep, the Chinese technology giant viewed with suspicion by some in the US, delivered a message about trust. Here’s the quote from the Huawei professional explaining trust:
As more devices feature connectivity, more services go online, and more critical infrastructures rely on real-time data exchanges, so must governments worldwide ensure that everyone is protected by the highest security standards… We must build strong trust in technology, enabled by a common set of rules, innovations, and progress. Only then can we commit to the sustainable and trustworthy use of technology.
Okay. But the item of information in the article which struck me as important was this passage:
Other speakers from the private sector include Roche board of directors chairman, Christophe Franz, Daimler chairman of the board of management, Ola Källenius, Microsoft chief executive officer, Satya Nadella, and HCL Corporation’s chief executive officer, Roshni Nadar Malhotra. [Emphasis added]
I found it interesting that Microsoft’s CEO shared a podium at a conference about trust. As you may recall, Microsoft experienced a misstep with Exchange Server and has struggled with Windows updates which bedevil some users.
The write up emphasized that “that trust is inherently built on openness and transparency.” Sounds tasty. Trust.
Stephen E Arnold, May 10, 2021
Be Cool with Boole
May 10, 2021
How often have you turned to a search engine to answer a question? You know the answer is on the tip of your tongue, but you cannot remember anything about it. Take that back, you do remember things about the answer, that is you know “what it is not.” For example, you are trying to remember the name of 1980s transforming robots but they are not Hasbro Transformers. Usually you could use the Boolean operator “not” in the search term, but that does not yield results.
Thankfully Tech Xplore explains that negative search options are on their way in the article: “New Approach Enables Search Engines To Describe Objects With Negative Statements.” Search engines and other computer programs use knowledge bases to answer user questions. The information must be structured in order for it to be discovered. Most information in knowledge bases use positive statements or statements that describe something true. Negative statements are not although they contain valuable information. They are to used, because there is an infinite number of negative statements; therefore impossible to structure every one.
Simon Razniewski of the Saarbücken Max-Planck-Institute for Informatics and his research team created a method to generate negative statements for knowledge bases in different applications. It works by:
“Using Steven Hawking as an example, the novel approach works as follows: First, several reference cases are identified that share a prominent property with the search object. In the example: physicists. The researchers call these comparison cases “peers.” Now, based on the “peers,” a selection of positive assumptions about the initial entity is generated. Since the physicists Albert Einstein and Richard Feynman won the Nobel Prize, the assumption Steven Hawking won the Nobel Prize could be made. Then, the new assumptions are matched with existing information in the knowledge base about the initial entity. If a statement applies to a “peer” but not to the search object, the researchers conclude that it is a negative statement for the search object—i.e., Steven Hawking never won the Nobel Prize. To evaluate the significance of the negative statements generated, they are sorted using various parameters, for example, how often they occurred in the peer group.”
The research team uses recommender systems like those in search engines or on commerce Web sites. They hope to refine the system to identify nuanced negative statements and implicit negative statements. Using negative statements will make search engines more intuitive and the research crosses over into the realms of NLP and AI. Boolean operators could become more obsolete.
Boolean may be back!
Whitney Grace, May 10, 2021
Google Search: A Disillusioned SEO Expert Grouses
May 10, 2021
Search engine optimization. Great play by the Google. Lots of “search experts” explaining how to get traffic. When the traffic went away or failed to materialize, these “SEO experts” morphed into Google ad hawkers. Slick. Who knew? Not the SEO crowd but the creeping tendrils of dawning knowledge are now wending their way through GenX and Millennial synapses.
What’s the proof?
I present Exhibit 1, “The Death of Search Engine Optimization.”
The author shows a screenshot of what are, it seems, ads probably loosely connected to the topic about which the user sought information. Then this explanation / commentary:
Notice what has happened to the page design—today, there is not one free organic search result anywhere to be seen on the first page, above the fold (where the computer screen breaks the page). Every single link on this page is now a paid advertisement—the links in the upper left coming from Google Ads, the links in the lower-left map coming from Google Local, and the links in the right coming from the Google Shopping product feed. Every single one a paid placement, which is great for Google maximizing their ad revenues. But, if you want to see an organic search result that is truly based on the quality of the content of the landing page, you need to scroll down “below the fold”, and even then, they don’t start until the bottom of that second screen view after you page down.
The synapses crackle and the author observes: “The death of search engine optimization. Let’s see if Google’s attempt to fleece all of its advertisers for even more money, and further clutter up its user experience, will open up a door for one of their competitors to start growing share in the search industry. But, until then, the grim reaper is sharpening his blade for the SEO industry. R.I.P. my dear friend.”
There you go. Insight.
Stephen E Arnold, May 10, 2021
SolarWinds: Info Dribbles Continue
May 10, 2021
A “dribble” is, according to Merriam Webster, “issue in piecemeal or desultory fashion.” From my point of view, “SolarWinds Says Russian Group Likely Took Data During Cyber-Attack” qualifies as info dribble. Paywalled Bloomberg reports:
SolarWinds said it “found evidence that causes us to believe the threat actor exfiltrated certain information as part of its research and surveillance,” according to a regulatory filing on Friday. The hackers “accessed email accounts of certain personnel, some of which contained information related to current or former employees and customers,” the company said.
How much data were taken, what content was pilfered, and for how long? Sorry, no info to address these questions. The write up reports:
SolarWinds estimates the hackers breached fewer than 100 of its customers using its software, according to the filing. The White House has found that about 100 U.S. companies and nine government agencies were hacked by the Russian cyber-attackers through SolarWinds and other means in the course of their espionage operation.
Remarkable how few entities were affected.
How did the attack occur? Here’s the explanation in the write up:
… the company believes the hackers may have used an unknown vulnerability, a brute-force cyber attack,or through social engineering — such as a phishing operation — according to the filing. The hackers then conducted “research and surveillance” on the company, including its Microsoft Office 365 environment, for at least nine months prior to October 2019, when they moved to the “test run” phase of the attack, according to the filing.
Okay, what happened exactly? Right, the company does not know.
What about the cyber security systems in place to identify malicious activity? What about systems to identify threats? What about the vulnerabilities in the supply chain processes?
Many questions. Dribble info is interesting but not germane to the big question: How did a lengthy attack go un-noticed for months? Another question: What’s the fix?
Stephen E Arnold, May 10, 2021
Why Are AI Wizards Fessing Up?
May 10, 2021
I asked myself, “What’s up with the wizards explaining some of the information about the limitations of today’s artificial intelligence systems and methods?”
Why?
I noticed several write ups which are different from the greed infused marketing presentations about smart software.
The first article is an apologia. This term means, “a defense especially of one’s opinions, position, or actions,” as Merriam Webster asserts.”Fighting Algorithmic Bias in Artificial Intelligence” allows the title to indicate that algorithmic bias is indeed an issue. The algorithms are not narrowed to machine learning. Instead the title pops up to the umbrella term. Interesting. Here’s a passage which caught my attention:
From Black individuals being mislabeled as gorillas or a Google search for “Black girls” or “Latina girls” leading to adult content to medical devices working poorly for people with darker skin, it is evident that algorithms can be inherently discriminatory…
Okay, reasonably convincing. But what went wrong in the university courses providing the intellectual underpinnings for smart software? That’s a question that the write up emphasizes in a pull quote:
It’s not just that we need to change the algorithms or the systems; we need to change institutions and social structures. — Joy Lisi Rankin
How quickly do institutions and social structures change? Not too quickly where tenure and student employment goals are intertwined with judgment, ethics, and accountability I surmise.
The second article I noted contains the musings of an AI pioneer (Andrew Ng) as related to an IEEE writer. “Andrew Ng X Rays the Hype” seems to assert that “machine learning may work on test sets, but that’s a long way from real world use.” We’re not talking about AI. Andrew Ng is focusing on machine learning, the go to method for the Google-type company. The truth is presented this way:
“Those of us in machine learning are really good at doing well on a test set,” says machine learning pioneer Andrew Ng, “but unfortunately deploying a system takes more than doing well on a test set.”
The point is that a test is just that, an experiment. MBAs engage in spreadsheet fever behavior in order to generate numbers which flow or deliver what’s needed to get a bonus. The ML crowd gets a test set working and then, it seems, leaps into the real world of marketing and fund raising. With cash, those test sets become enshrined and provide the company’s secret sauce. What if the sauce is poisoned? Yeah, ethics, right?
The third write up is appears in an online information service which has done its share of AI cheerleading. “What I Learned from 25 Years of Machine Learning” is a life lessons-type write up. What did the TechTarget Data Science Central article learn?
“Learn” is not the word I would use to characterize a listicle. There are 11 “pieces of advice.” Okay, these must be the lessons. Please, navigate to the source document to review the Full Monty. I want to highlight three “learnings” expressed as “advice.”
The first gem I will highlight is “be friend with the IT department.” Maybe be friendly or be a friend of the IT department. The learning I gleaned from this “piece of advice” is use Grammarly or find an English major to proofread. Let’s consider the advice “be a friend of the IT department” and ask “Why?” The answer is that smart software can be computationally expensive, tough to set up, and a drain on existing on premises or cloud computing resources. The IT departments with which I am familiar are not friendly to non IT people who want to take time away from keeping the VP of sales’ laptop working. Data wizards are outsiders and the IT department may practice passive aggression to cause the smart software initiative to move slowly or not at all.
The second advice I want to flag is document. Yeah. The way the world of mathy things works is to try stuff. Try more stuff. Then try stuff suggested by a blogger. Once the process or numerical recipe works, the focus is not on documenting a journey. The laser beam of attention goes to hitting a deadline and hopefully getting a bonus, a promotion, or one of those Also Participated ribbons popular in the 1980s’ middle schools. As one of my long time tech wizards said, “Document? You wish.”
The third “module” of these learnings is “get precise metrics”. Okay but precision requires specific information. Who has specific information about the errors, gaps, timeliness, and statistical validity of the data one must use? Yep, good luck with that. Quick example: Due to my research for my National Cyber Crime Conference lectures, Google is now displaying ads for weapons, female bikini hauls, fried chicken sandwiches, and mega yachts. Why? Google’s method of determining what data to use from my online queries struggles because we were using one computer to research cyber crime (weapons), pornography stars on social media sites and the Dark Web, lunch (hence the chicken fetish), and money laundering. I mean how many mega yachts does one honest business person need with one new wife and handful of former spetsnaz professionals? Yeah, data and precise metrics. If the Google can’t do it, what are your chances, gentle reader.
Now back to the question: Why are AI wizards confessing their digital sins?” My answer:
- The increased scrutiny of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, et al bodes ill for these firms and their use of smart software to generate money. This is a variant of the MBAs’ spreadsheet fever.
- High profile AI “experts” want to put some space between them and the improvised roadside Congressional investigations. Bias is a heck of a lot easier to tie to math particularly when high profile ethics issues are making headlines in the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
- The wizards want to be in the group of wizards who can say, “Look. I explained what should be done. Not my personal problem.”
Net net: AI has bought the mid tier consultant-speak, frothy financial confections, and behavior of a smart person who is one step ahead of an ATM user.
Stephen E Arnold, May 10. 2021
Online: Finding Info Is Easy or Another Dark Pattern?
May 7, 2021
When I attended meetings about online search, I found considerable amusement in comments like “Online makes finding information easy” and “I am an expert at finding information on Google.” Hoots for sure.
I read “How to Find a Buyer or Seller’s Facebook Profile on Marketplace.” According to the write up, at some time in the recent past “finding” information about a person offering something for sale on Facebook Marketplace was easy. Since I have never used Facebook Marketplace, I can accept the facile use of the word “easy” as something a normal thumbtyping Facebooker could do. Some investigators probably had the knowledge required to figure out who was pitching a product allegedly stolen from a bitcoin billionaire.
The write up identifies about nine steps in the process to navigate from a listing’s “seller handle” to the vendor’s Facebook profile. I thought this online search was easy.
I can think of several reasons why Facebook makes finding information difficult with weird words and wonky icons. (One of these was described as a “carrot” in the write up. A carrot? What’s up, Mark?
It is possible that Facebook wants to accrue clicks and stickiness. Since I don’t use Facebook, I am not a good judge of how sticky the site is. I do know that some individuals in government agencies think a lot about Facebook and the information the company’s databases contain.
Another possibility is that Facebook wants to make it more difficult for stalkers, miscreants, and investigators to move from a product listing to the seller information. The happy face side of me says, “Facebook cares about its users.” The frowny face says, “Facebook wants to make life difficult for anyone to get useful information because accountability is a bad thing.”
A third possibility is that Facebook’s engineers are just incompetent.
Net net: Finding information online is easy as long as one works at the organization with the data and the person doing the looking has root. Others get an opportunity to explore a Dark Pattern. Fun. Helpful even.
Stephen E Arnold, May 7, 2021
Be Resilient. Follow the Google Regimen
May 7, 2021
To learn the secret, navigate to “Google’s ‘Global Head of Resilience’ Says the Secret to Avoiding Burnout Is TEA.” The acronym says it all: TEA (not the street slang for cannabis). Google’s wizard in charge of resilience explains the secret:
- Thoughts. Complete these sentences to help you learn “to differentiate between helpful and unproductive thinking patterns:” “Today my mind is …” “To refocus I need to …”
- Energy. The goal of the ‘E’ section of TEA is “observing how we are feeling in the moment, and intentionally investing in activities or people that fuel positive enthusiasm and motivation.” Complete these sentences: “Today my energy is…” “To change or maintain, I need to…”
- Attention. This one helps you become more intentional about where you place your attention by asking you to complete this sentence: “To be my best today, I will focus on doing or being…”
Quite a mnemonic device.
How widely is this secret employed at Google; specifically, in the AI ethics department? The write up does not elucidate on this matter.
Resilience for one former AI ethics type the secret was landing a job at Apple.
Stephen E Arnold, May 7, 2021
Despite Acronyms, Ineffective Cyber Security Persists
May 7, 2021
I want to be brief. I read “XDR defined: Giving Meaning to Extended Detection and Response.” The write up is a commercial for a forthcoming flurry of fuzzy reports from assorted mid-tier consultants. Some of the big blue chips are embroiled in management dust ups and legal matters related to opiate marketing. So the mid-tier crowd has a chance to sell reports and billable consulting hours. Furthermore some vendors of cyber security products and services will rush to the party.
The article is about the outfit doing business as Forrester. I learned:
Forrester has released research on what XDR is, what XDR isn’t, and what clients need to look for when evaluating XDR solutions. This research is a rigorous breakdown of what to expect from XDR solutions based on interviews and survey results from XDR end users and over 40 security vendors.
Well, what is XDR in the current environment of SolarWinds, Microsoft Exchange Server, and assorted breaches involving Facebook and dozens of other outfits? XDR is shorthand for extended detections and response.
The hitch in the git-along is that cyber breaches are a today problem. Presumably many firms have one, two or three cyber security solutions, threat intelligence updates, and smart software like the high profile, yet debate sparking Darktrace.
From my point of view, existing cyber security solutions did not work for the months which the bad actors had to exploit SolarWinds. Then the Microsoft Exchange Server issue. These have been followed by VPN exploits, wonky partners with ties to ever cozy bears, and assorted database thefts.
The fix is an acronym and a report?
I don’t want to be skeptical, but the problem is that marketing is now more important than delivering cyber security information and solutions that prevent breaches. As a point of fact, the compromised systems in the US Federal government and an unknown number of organizations are now compromised. Do we have a cyber security system capable of dealing with the sophisticated exploits used by adversaries.
The answer is, No, not XDR.
Stephen E Arnold, May 7, 2021
Xoogler Meredith Whittaker Explains How to Be Google Grade
May 7, 2021
I read the interview called “Ex-Googler Meredith Whittaker on Political Power in Tech, the Flaws of ‘The Social Dilemma,’ and More.” Very Silicon Valley. You will need to work through the transcript yourself. Here are the points I circled as checkpoints for being Google Grade. The phrase in my lingo means “How to keep your job at the GOOG.” I identified six behaviors; your mileage may vary.
- Be a white male.
- Float above the concerns of non-Google grade type people.
- Emulate senior Google leaders; for example, the affable, other directed Jeff Dean.
- Ethics. Ho ho ho. Embrace phenomenological existentialism within the Google context.
- Respond like a Pavlovian dog or pigeon when money and power are the payoff.
- Fight the impulse to be a contrarian.
And the interview ends on an interesting note. The Xoogler allegedly said:
It’s going to be really hard to repurpose that toward democratic, people-driven ends, given the consolidation of power that is right now dominating those infrastructures and given the neoliberal capitalist incentives that are driving those who dominate those infrastructures.
Maybe not hard, just too late.
Stephen E Arnold, May 7, 2021
Specialized Technology: Why Processing Talk Can Be Helpful to Anyone
May 7, 2021
Some specialized services companies have provided cheat sheets for audio and video intercepts. I heard that this technology was under wraps and available only to those with certain privileges. Not any longer.
An outfit at Wordcab.com can perform what once was an intelligence function for anyone with Internet access, content, and a way to pay. Navigate to Wordcab.com and sign up. The company says:
Automagically summarize all your internal meetings. Wordcab creates detailed, natural-language summaries of all your meetings and sales calls. So you can focus on people, not paper.
Thumbtypers will thrill with the use of the word “automagically.” The service can ingest a Zoom recording and generate a summary. The outputs can be tweaked, but keep in mind, this is smart software, not Maxwell Perkins reincarnated as your blue pencil toting digital servant. There’s an API so the service can be connected to whizzy distributed services and, if you have a copy of Palantir Gotham-type software, you can do some creative analysis.
The idea is that the smart software can make an iPhone toting bro or bro-ette more efficient.
The key point is that once was a secret capability is now available to anyone with an Internet connection. And to those who don’t think there is useful information in TikTok-type services. Maybe think again?
Stephen E Arnold, May 7, 2021
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