Thoughts about Search: A Word That Means Almost Anything
April 3, 2019
We have long been frustrated that search technology has not come very far since its early days. Sure, Google has made tweaks over the years, but even many of those incremental changes are designed to maximize that company’s ad revenue. Now, though, AI technology may fundamentally change how we find information online. Forbes asks, “Might AI Spell the Death of Search?” Writer Michael Ashley observes:
“‘This is the first time since 1994 when the search paradigm has changed,’ says David Seuss, CEO of Northern Light, a Boston-based strategic research portal provider I consult with that offers a cloud-based SaaS to global enterprises. ‘In 1994, you went to a search box, filled in a query, hit the search button, and received a list of documents. You manually reviewed these, picking the most relevant item to download. Fast forward to 2019 and it’s still the same thing. Find me one other part of the tech landscape that has not changed since the ’90s, whether it be broadband, wireless, mobile cloud computing, artificial intelligence—everything has changed. Everything except search.’”
The man has a point. He also claims it is Millennials that are pushing for change. Older users were just so happy to search from their desks instead of in the library stacks, he posits, that most of them remain satisfied with 90s-style online search. The younger generation, though, find manually reviewing search results inefficient, and they recognize that a lot of good information tends to get buried later in the search results—especially as paid listings claim the top spots. Ashley writes:
“With the help of A.I., tasks once relegated to flesh and blood researchers can be now accomplished by computers. Drawing on the latter’s pattern-forming and predictive abilities, it can observe users’ actions, discerning their interests based on what they download, share, comment on or bookmark. Informed by this knowledge, an A.I. can proactively—and without manual prompting—recommend relevant content to users. Disrupting the traditional search model to its page ranking core, content can seek out the user instead of the other way around.”
Ah, Northern Light sails again with the AI flag whipping in the marketing breeze with help from puffs of insight in “Why Are So Many People Wasting Their Time with Web Search?” Trim the jib!
Cynthia Murrell, April 3, 2019
Echosec: Dark Web Search for Those Who Qualify
April 2, 2019
A Canadian company has devised a way to search the Dark Web without the hassle of the Tor browser or proxy servers. HotHardware reports: “Beacon, a Dark Web Search Engine Can Be Your Eyes in the Internet Underworld.” The catch—one must prove to the company behind Beacon, Echosec, that they have a legitimate reason to use the “Google of the Dark Web.” The intention, we’re told, is for organizations to monitor whether any of their sensitive data has made it onto a Dark Web marketplace. Reporter Rod Scher writes:
“This could include stolen corporate emails, company documents, personal info, or other such data that could be detrimental to a company, its brand, or its customers. After all, if your data has been compromised, it’s always better to know than not to know. …
We noted this statement:
“While [CTO Mike] Raypold notes that it is possible to misuse Beacon, since the tool makes it easier for users to locate data they might otherwise have difficulty finding, he says that the company has taken steps to mitigate that danger. ‘First, every Echosec customer must go through a use-case approval process to determine how the customer is using the application and to make sure they are in compliance with the vendors from whom the data Is sourced,’ says Raypold. ‘If a potential customer cannot pass the use-case approval process, they do not get access to the system.’ Second, the company has built automated tools and manual processes into its platform and into the company workflows to notify the Echosec team if users attempt to run searches that are in violation of their approved use case.”
Not only will Echosec know if a user violates their agreement, certain queries simply cannot be run through Beacon. The company shares their acceptable-use policy here, and it is thorough. Founded in 2013, Echosec is based in Vancouver, British Columbia. If you want to see selected screenshots of the system’s output, check out the Dark Cyber video for March 26, 2019, at this link.
Stephen E Arnold, February 27, 2019
Audio Search: Google Gets with the Program
March 27, 2019
Searching audio files has been difficult. Exalead, before Dassault bought the company, dabbled in audio search. One could key in a key word and jump to the segment of a file which contained the word or phrase. That was in 2006, maybe 2007. That was, despite my advanced age and inability to recall the innovations from search and retrieval wizards, more than a decade ago.
I read “Google Podcast in Episode Search Is Coming, Shows Now Being Fully Transcribed.” The write up reports:
Google Podcasts is now automatically generating transcripts of episodes and is using them as metadata to help listeners search for shows, even if they don’t know the title or when it was published.
I spoke with a person who translates audio recordings from one language into English. Here are some highlights from that chat:
- “Even though I am a native speaker and fluent in English, it is very, very difficult to make out what some people are saying. I slow down the recording. I listen several times. I fiddle with the sound.”
- “Accents pose a problem. For example, if a person is speaking one language but learned that language by osmosis, the pronunciation is often strange. In some cases, I have no idea what the person speaking is trying to communicate. Some people do not articulate or put the stresses where a native speaker puts them.
- “Muddled sounds pose big challenges. I am not sure why but even modern recording equipment drops sounds. In some cases, rustling or tapping fuzzes what the person is saying.”
Net net: How accurate will the transcripts be? The answer is going to be like the accuracy scores for facial recognition? Maybe 50 percent to 75 percent accurate out of the gate. But better than nothing, when one wants to sell ads which match the translated key words, right? Will Steve Gibson stop creating transcripts of Security Now? Probably not.
Stephen E Arnold, March 27, 2019
Apple News: Another Search Fail?
March 26, 2019
Apple is a bit of a mystery to me. Example: Navigate to the Apple app store. Type in a word like “disc recovery”? What do you get? Which app does what? I need to recover now, not conduct a day long click, read, and compare. Now try: “bootable iso”? Helpful, right? A suggestion or a link to Apple help might be useful? Next what app is best for a particular task like hotel reservation? Give up yet? Now go to Garageband and enter in the help or search box, “no audio for the microphone”? Get any help from the help system? Tip: Look for audio HDMI in utilities on a Mac laptop. The volume sliders get reset. How? Who knows? What about finding a book in Apple iTunes’ audiobook section? Type in an author’s name but misspell it by omitting a letter? Learn to spell, gentle reader.
I thought of these example when I read “Apple News Plus Is a Fine Way to Read Magazines, but a Disappointment to Anyone Wishing for a Real Boost for the News Business.” I noted this statement in the article:
It’s actually a little hard to even find L.A. Times and Journal content in Apple News Plus because they don’t fit into the magazine UX it’s dependent on. Tap “Browse the Catalog” in Plus and you can scroll all day, but you’ll never find either paper, because they’re not contained in “issues.”
Findability. Stated another way, Apple is not particularly good at search and retrieval. Gloss and PR are covered. Finding information? Not on the radar in my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, March 26, 2019
A Chat Search Feature for WhatsApp
March 21, 2019
Computers and anything with a hard drive or indexable database can be searched. Chat and text messages are stored are such devices, but good luck trying to find information with a quick search. WhatsApp is a popular message service and it might be on the verge of a breakthrough in chat technology: search. Mirror shares the story, “WhatsApp’s New Feature Will Make Searching Through Chats MUCH Easier.”
WhatsApp and other message services already have basic search functions that allow users to find specific messages, some keywords, and other information. The basic search still requires users to search through their messages to find information they cannot pull up with the function. That takes a long time and often does not yield successful results. WhatsApp will debut an advanced search mode that will outpace its basic search by a long run.
What will the new Whatsapp advanced search do?
“Advanced Search will let you filter your search, whether you’re looking for photos, links, audio, documents, GIFs or videos. The feature will also show your Search History. WABetaInfo explained: “If you tap a media file, for example Photos, WhatsApp will show all messages that contain an image!” Thankfully, your history an also be easily deleted, using a ‘Clear’ button. Your search results will also include a preview, meaning there’s no need to open the search result in order to see it.”
We believe this development could be an important one.
Whitney Grace, March 21, 2019
Has Search Evolved or Is It Spinning in Circles?
February 28, 2019
We have long been frustrated that search technology has changed into “we will tell you what you need to know.” Search is asking. Providing answers based on behavior is manipulation or a digital version of “mother knows best.”
Smart software or “AI” technology may fundamentally change how we find information online. Forbes asks, “Might AI Spell the Death of Search?” Writer Michael Ashley observes:
“‘This is the first time since 1994 when the search paradigm has changed,’ says David Seuss, CEO of Northern Light, a Boston-based strategic research portal provider I consult with that offers a cloud-based SaaS to global enterprises. ‘In 1994, you went to a search box, filled in a query, hit the search button, and received a list of documents. You manually reviewed these, picking the most relevant item to download. Fast forward to 2019 and it’s still the same thing. Find me one other part of the tech landscape that has not changed since the ’90s, whether it be broadband, wireless, mobile cloud computing, artificial intelligence—everything has changed. Everything except search.’”
The former consultant is doing consultant type thinking. There is a problem, and the consultant can ride to the rescue. A digital Lone Ranger can kill the useless system outputs. Well, that’s the story line.
Seuss claims it is Millennials that are pushing for change. Older users were just so happy to search from their desks instead of in the library stacks, he posits, that most of them remain satisfied with 90s-style online search.
The younger generation, though, find manually reviewing search results inefficient, and they recognize that a lot of good information tends to get buried later in the search results—especially as paid listings claim the top spots. Ashley writes:
“With the help of A.I., tasks once relegated to flesh and blood researchers can be now accomplished by computers. Drawing on the latter’s pattern-forming and predictive abilities, it can observe users’ actions, discerning their interests based on what they download, share, comment on or bookmark. Informed by this knowledge, an A.I. can proactively—and without manual prompting—recommend relevant content to users. Disrupting the traditional search model to its page ranking core, content can seek out the user instead of the other way around.”
Not surprisingly, the piece cites Northern Light’s platform as an example of the new, AI-powered possibilities: it quickly examines documents relevant to a query and presents a summary of pertinent information. The author ponders a time, close at hand, when the information we need finds us when we need it.
That sounds good, but I wonder—how can one be sure the algorithms are choosing wisely? What’s the old adage about consultants? Keep your hand on your wallet?
Cynthia Murrell, February 28, 2019
Free Web Search and Objective Results
February 8, 2019
I spotted a story from the Moscow Times called “Google Began Censoring Search Results in Russia, Reports Say.” I read:
Google began complying with Russian requirements and has deleted around 70 percent of the websites blacklisted by authorities, an unnamed Google employee told Russia’s Vedomosti business daily Wednesday. An unnamed Roskomnadzor source reportedly confirmed the information to the paper. On Thursday, a Roskomnadzor spokesman told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency that the regulator had established a “constructive dialogue” with Google over filtering content.
Let’s assume the report is accurate.
Is this the model for filtering content in online indexes which Google developed to comply with different countries’ laws and regulations?
If the Russian regulatory authority is “fully satisfied”, the Google system appears to be working.
Several questions crossed my mind; to wit:
- Has Google used this system to filter content in other countries; for example, the US, Brazil, or Iran?
- Does the system work with acceptable reliability? Some potentially objectionable can be located via a Google image query to cite one example?
- What is the economic payoff of Google find a solution to its pre-filtering disputes with Russia?
Interesting, particularly when one asks the question, “Am I getting accurate information when running a query on Google, regardless of the country in which the query appears to have been launched?”
If search results are shaped, what does one do to locate potentially useful information? One answer, I suppose, is to pay for commercial online access. Another may be to assume that what’s online IS the correct data set? One could ask those in one’s social network, but that too may be filtered.
But free services are free. Free services may have other characteristics as well. What does “free” mean? Hmmm.
Stephen E Arnold, February 8, 2019
Google Search and ATT Exposed Cable Report
February 6, 2019
Update at 320 US Eastern time:
I stopped an ATT repair truck (not a subcontractor). I reported the open box managing voice and data. The ATT employee told me, “The company doesn’t care. I can’t call it in. Even if I see a downed cable, management does not want to know. The new ATT.” Interesting insight into a company which advertises “moments together.” More like no moments whatsoever.
Original Story:
Come across an exposed cable or exposed cables? Run a Google query for ATT cable down and one gets the first result: 800 288 2020. Like this:
Now the first hit means relevance, or that’s my assumption. Dial the number and the automated system only responds if one is an ATT customer who has an account number. What happens if a child fiddles with the exposed cable or gear? Let’s think about the risks to the youngster. What about the risks to actual ATT wireless, DirecTV, or phone / data services?
Nice work Google. A useless phone number. Nicer work ATT. Putting children and users at risk. (Please, don’t call me and tell me that someone somewhere is sorry. I don’t believe those sophistries.) We can make moments together in another way.
Stephen E Arnold, February 6, 2019
The Job Requirements Of A Dark Web Hunter
February 5, 2019
Batman is one of the best superheroes ever created. Batman’s gimmick is that he is a master of criminal activity, except he does not use his powers for evil, but for good. If Batman wanted to he could be the kingpin of crime, but he would rather save Gotham and innocent lives. Batman is a fictional superhero, but there are real world equivalents. One type of real world Batman are ethical hackers, i.e. IT experts who use their powers for good. What does it take to be an IT Batman, though? We picked up a Verizon job posting that lists the requirements for a: “Dark Web-OSINT Investigative Research Consultant.”
Verizon is a leading North American mobile phone and Internet provider and they have a team dedicated to tracking and preventing threats to their network, customers, and sensitive data. The job posting is for an opening on the Verizon Threat Response Advisory Center Intelligence Team, specifically for an expert in the surface, deep, and Dark Web. The Dark Web consultant will support Verizon’s Threat Intelligence Platform Service, the Rapid Response Retainer, and will provide threat intelligence for the company at large.
Moving further into the posting it reads like a “superhero want ad”:
“In order to proactively detect and identify such activity or investigate on-going attacks from foreign adversaries and cyber criminals, VTRAC requires a seasoned Surface, Deep, and Dark Web Investigative Research Consultant (Darkweb Hunter) that can conduct in-depth and investigative research, identification, and detection of adversarial attempts to degrade and disrupt their landscape, supply chains, physical infrastructure, personnel, and ecosystem.
In order to identify and detect such activity, VTRAC requires a seasoned Surface, Deep, and Dark Web Investigative Research Consultant who has in-depth physical and cyber tradecraft methodology and Tactics, Technics and Procedures (TTP) knowledge of foreign intelligence services, state-sponsors of terrorism, U.S. and international criminal organizations, and hacktivists.”
The job tasks include open source intelligence (OSINT) investigative research, intelligence that protects the company’s infrastructure, security intelligence, report analysis, and consultation. Interested personnel need at least a bachelor’s degree or four or more years of experience, OSINT experience, knowledgeable in cyber threats and deep and Dark Web. Applicants will rise to the top of the pile if they have a master’s degree, counterintelligence experience, are an ethical hacker, and are familiar with CISSP.
With all this knowledge, the Dark Web consultant could probably become Batman with the right technology, tools, and a giant robot to take over the physical tasks. As for the bottomless fortune part, maybe the Dark Web consultant could be a Robin Hood-steal the money from the bad guys and use it for good.
Whitney Grace, February 5, 2019
Palantir Revenue: Close to $1 Billion
January 18, 2019
I read “Palantir Posted Nearly $1 Billion in 2018 Sales, Executive Says.” The write up states:
Palantir Technologies Inc., the data analytics startup co-founded by Peter Thiel, generated almost $1 billion in revenue last year, an executive said in a French television interview.
Half of that revenue came from commercial clients. The other half came from non commercial clients like government agencies and non governmental organizations.
The company’s new Foundry product contributed to a boost in revenue, which had been forecast to be $750 million.
How close to $1 billion is Palantir? It seems that Palantir is closer to $800 million in revenue which is going to be okay for financial horse shoes.
How long has it taken Palantir to reach the $800 million figure, assuming that it is accurate?
Palantir was founded in 2003. That’s close to 15 years. How long did it take Autonomy to get close to $800 million in revenue? About 14 years.
What’s Palantir’s secret sauce? Its proprietary systems and methods. What was Autonomy’s secret sauce? Its secret neuro dynamics system.
Interesting. Palantir and Autonomy share other similarities as well.
The trajectory of Palantir’s initial public offering will be an event for investors who have injected about $2 billion in the firm.
Few search centric, content processing, analytics companies have achieved this type of revenue.
Like me, stakeholders in Palantir will be anticipating a pay day. Once the dust settles, I will get more information about sustainable revenue and other tidbits about the company. Perhaps other parallels with Autonomy will become evident.
Stephen E Arnold, January 18, 2019
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