Tag: artificial intelligence

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News You Can Use: 5/22/2019

  • Trump declares national emergency over IT threats

    According to a White House statement, Mr Trump’s order aims to “protect America from foreign adversaries who are actively and increasingly creating and exploiting vulnerabilities in information and communications technology infrastructure and services”.

    It gives the secretary of commerce the power to “prohibit transactions posing an unacceptable risk to the national security”, the statement adds.

    The move was instantly welcomed by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai, who called it “a significant step toward securing America’s networks”.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48289550
    Huawei responds to Trump’s national emergency ban on foreign telecoms makers

    In a statement to the Chinese state-run Global Times, Huawei said: “If the U.S. restricts Huawei, it will not make the U.S. safer, nor will it make the U.S. stronger. It will only force the U.S. to use inferior and expensive alternative equipment, lagging behind other countries . . . and ultimately harming U.S. companies and consumers.”

    The company also tried a bit of de-escalation diplomacy, saying it was willing to “communicate with the U.S. to ensure product security.” Where this goes from here is anyone’s guess, but it’s certain that the Trump administration will leverage all the power in its arsenal to try to rein in foreign companies it sees as a threat to U.S. interests.

    https://www.fastcompany.com/90350980/huawei-responds-to-trumps-national-emergency-ban-on-foreign-telecoms-makers

  • Technology Is as Biased as Its Makers

    One possible response to this is that the algorithm is neutral, that it is just a vehicle for the ad, automatically responding to how people use it; algorithms aren’t racist, people are racist. But the algorithm is built in a way that also confirms implicit biases that exist in the real world, and it does so over and over again. The assumption that African American people are less trustworthy than white people is a commonly held form of implicit bias. It has real-world implications in a whole range of ways, from the success of job applicants to the split-second decisions made by police when pointing their guns at people. In Sweeney’s study, we see this attitude reproduced in the world of digital technology, intentionally or otherwise. This is not a mystery or an unfathomable outcome. Google is not entirely responsible for racism having an impact on automated advertising, but it cannot shirk responsibility for it. Ford was not solely responsible for hundreds, possibly thousands of cases of people being burned alive in their Pintos, but the court of public opinion rightly felt that it could have easily prevented them if it had designed the car differently.

    https://longreads.com/2019/05/14/technology-is-as-biased-as-its-makers/

  • How will Facebook and Google handle your death?
  • Sri Lanka Has Blocked Most Major Social Networks After A Facebook Post Sparked Anti-Muslim Riots

    The move comes three weeks after jihadist bombers killed at least 300 people in the country, sparking fears of sectarian violence against the country’s minority-Muslim population.

    On Twitter, Sri Lanka’s largest mobile carrier, Dialog Axiata, confirmed that it had restricted the websites and apps according to a directive from Sri Lanka’s telecom regulator. NetBlocks, a nonprofit organization that tracks internet outages, tweeted that this was the third time in weeks the country had banned social media in the wake of religious tension.

    https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/pranavdixit/sri-lanka-has-blocked-most-major-social-networks-after-a

  • “Zombies” who use their cellphones at crosswalks could be fined under proposed NY law

    Under the proposal, people crossing the street with their nose buried in their phone could face fines of between $25 to $250. The legislation targets people “using a portable electronic device while crossing a roadway,” and makes exceptions for emergency response and other medical personnel.

    “[The bill] does not say you can’t talk on the phone,” the bill’s sponsor, New York state senator John Liu, told the Guardian. “We’re talking about handheld devices … you can wait the five seconds to get to the other side.”

    https://www.fastcompany.com/90352008/ny-cellphone-users-could-be-fined-for-texting-at-crosswalks

Photo by Alexander Mils on Unsplash

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News You Can Use: 10/31/2018

  • A groundbreaking study reveals how we want machines to treat us

    In a new study published in Nature, they show that when it comes to how machines treat us, our sense of right and wrong is informed by the economic and cultural norms of where we live. They discovered three general geographic areas with distinct ethical ideas about how autonomous vehicles should behave: West (which includes North America and Christian European countries), East (which includes Far East countries and Islamic countries), and South (which includes much of South America and countries with French influences). These groups also have their own subclusters, like Scandinavia within the West and Latin American countries within the South. As the study’s interactive graphic shows, Brazilians tend to prefer sparing passengers over pedestrians; Iranians are much more likely to spare pedestrians; Australians are more likely to spare the physically fit than the average.

    https://www.fastcompany.com/90259513/a-groundbreaking-study-reveals-how-we-want-machines-to-treat-us

  • Upgrade? No Thanks. Americans Are Sticking With Their Old Phones

    Pricier devices, fewer subsidies from carriers and the demise of the two-year cellphone contract have led consumers to wait an average of 2.83 years to upgrade their smartphones, according to data for the third quarter from HYLA Mobile Inc., a mobile-device trade-in company that works with carriers and big-box stores. That is up from 2.39 years two years earlier.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/upgrade-no-thanks-americans-are-sticking-with-their-old-phones-1540818000?ns=prod/accounts-wsj
    Samsung Chalks Up Another Record Profit, but Phones Are a Worry

    In an earnings release, Samsung said smartphone shipments were flat and the profit drop was attributable to “increased promotional costs and a negative currency impact.”

    Consumers are balking at $1,000 phones and holding on to their devices longer than ever. But the South Korean technology giant was surprised this year by poor sales for its flagship Galaxy S9 handsets, a device marketed around its animated human emojis. To rejuvenate sales, Samsung moved up the release of its large-size Galaxy Note 9 to Aug. 24, weeks earlier than the prior-year model.

    https://www.wsj.com/articles/chips-displays-drive-samsung-to-another-record-profit-1540946737

  • Why whistleblowing is the loneliest and most courageous act in the world
  • Wisconsin’s $4.1 billion Foxconn factory boondoggle

    But what seemed so simple on a napkin has turned out to be far more complicated and messy in real life. As the size of the subsidy has steadily increased to a jaw-dropping $4.1 billion, Foxconn has repeatedly changed what it plans to do, raising doubts about the number of jobs it will create. Instead of the promised Generation 10.5 plant, Foxconn now says it will build a much smaller Gen 6 plant, which would require one-third of the promised investment, although the company insists it will eventually hit the $10 billion investment target. And instead of a factory of workers building panels for 75-inch TVs, Foxconn executives now say the goal is to build “ecosystem” of buzzwords called “AI 8K+5G” with most of the manufacturing done by robots.

    Polls now show most Wisconsin voters don’t believe the subsidy will pay off for taxpayers, and Walker didn’t even mention the deal in a November 2017 speech announcing his run for re-election.

    https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/29/18027032/foxconn-wisconsin-plant-jobs-deal-subsidy-governor-scott-walker

  • FCC Falsely Claims Community Broadband an ‘Ominous Threat to The First Amendment’

    More than 750 such networks have been built in the United States in direct response to a lack of meaningful broadband competition and availability plaguing America. Studies have routinely shown that these networks provide cheaper and better broadband service, in large part because these ISPs have a vested interest in the communities they serve.

    In his speech, O’Rielly highlighted efforts by the last FCC, led by former boss Tom Wheeler, to encourage such community-run broadband networks as a creative solution to private sector failure. O’Rielly subsequently tried to claim, without evidence, that encouraging such networks would somehow result in government attempts to censor public opinion.

    https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/bj49j8/fcc-falsely-claims-community-broadband-an-ominous-threat-to-the-first-amendment

Photo by Yucel Moran on Unsplash

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News You Can Use: 5/30/2018

  • Why We Gave Up a Star Employee to a Top Customer, and Why You Should, Too

    For us, encouraging our former COO to take on a major role at a customer company has accomplished just that. “Close business relationships are more important than ever, and my moving from intive-FDV to DropCar has, if anything, made our relationship stronger,” said Leandro Larroulet, who is now that company’s CIO. “Because I still work with the same team in the same office at intive-FDV, we can all leverage our established relationships to easily communicate based on an underlying trust from years working together.”

    Even if the employee who makes the move doesn’t stay in the same office, the two companies involved can still build a similar level of trust and provide exceptional customer experience. Though most of our clients are based in other countries, we continue to be able to cement relationships by making communication a matter of culture and habit. The same practices apply to the case of an employee leaving to work with a customer.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/313637

  • Is Remote Work Taking a Psychological Toll on Your External Workers? Researchers Say Yes.

    Concerns about remote work are why a country like France has passed a “right to disconnect” provision to keep work at work. And while a similar provision was recently introduced in New York, it may be a long time before other cities — let alone the nation — embrace this kind of thinking.

    So, where does this leave employers in the United States? Companies can’t just tell their employees “We know what’s best for you,” and revoke remote work policies. That could upset employees by removing flexibility, while also decreasing productivity.

    The best compromise may be to add flexible policies, rather than remove them. To avoid the issues of isolation, companies can require employees to work in-office two or three times per month or per quarter.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/313496

  • Has our ability to create intelligence outpaced our wisdom?
  • Report: Demand for these skills will rise dramatically by 2030
    1. Demand for technological skills, both basic digital and advanced tech, will rise by 55%
    2. Demand for social and emotional skills, such as leadership and managing others, will rise by 24%
    3. Demand for basic cognitive skills, which include basic data input and processing, will decline by 15%
    4. Demand for physical and manual skills, which include general equipment operation, will decline by 14%

    https://www.fastcompany.com/40577234/report-demand-for-these-skills-will-rise-dramatically-by-2030

  • What’s the Secret to Becoming a Leader? Stop Being a Boss.

    Having trouble delegating? You’ll never get far in your role as a leader if you hoard the major responsibilities for yourself. Imagine you’re jogging along a path at your local park: Not only will you stumble and potentially fall if you’re carrying a lot of luggage, but you also won’t move very efficiently. Instead, evaluate which responsibilities you should continue to shoulder, and delegate the rest to other team members.

    Transitioning from being an ear-to-the-ground manager to an effective leader isn’t possible if you can’t tell others what to do and then allow them to finish the job their way. To help you feel more comfortable doing that, try providing context to your team members about how their role fits into the big picture. Remember that teammates may not take the routes you would to achieve results — and that that’s OK. If they make missteps, be a leader they can come to for suggestions rather than reprimands. Not only will you get more done, but your employees will get a boost of self-esteem and empowerment.

    https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/313388

Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash