Weekend Edition 11: No More Big Data + TikTok Ban and More...

WE 11.1: AI Has Enough Data?
Big Data no longer necessary to help AI solve problems, according to Carlos Guestrin, of Stanford. The way he sees it, AI is smart enough now to work successfully with much smaller datasets, using things like DALL-E and GPT-3 to guesstimate things rather well, rather than needing to crunch data sets of billions of data points to solve relatively simple problems. These are examples of what are considered “foundation models”, built from massive data sets, but can now be tweaked into specialized tools to perform the same kinds of tasks that huge,custom AIs used to be needed for. These things were designed to be generative, such as DALL-E, if you recall, being used to create digital art. Bias continues to be an issue, and the biases of the programmers will always have an effect on the outcomes from these AIs, no matter how powerful they may become. Reliabiltiy is another huge issue, as these AIs often break catastrophically if the data entered is not “just so”. The speakers at the fireside talk that this article was basd on kept comparing today’s AI with the way that Google became such a solid search engine, through getting pounded with queries and eventually learning what sorts of results actually got clicks (before they started their social engineering efforts).
Let me bottom-line this article from my perspective: these researchers are saying that they can now rely on existing AI tools, which were based on massive data sets, as a foundation for new tools which will be able to function with far less new data. This is not surprising, but a bit terrifying. I am happy to hear that these tools still have such intense limitations, in terms of bias and reliability. I wonder how long until these researchers and entrepreneurs sort out all of these problems, and we have an AI that could effectively run a large city. *shudder shudder*

https://www.geekwire.com/2022/why-big-data-is-not-a-priority-anymore-and-other-key-ai-trends-to-watch/

#weekendedition #AI #limits #progress #yikes #TechFreedom

WE 11.2: FCC Looking at Banning TikTok in Near Future
Wow. I mean, I should not be surprised, as this is blatant CCP spy-ware which has also damaged our country in terms of morality and common sense. I’m sorry if you are an avid user, and even more sorry if you got sucked into being a creator on TikTok., as I know that they really don’t pay you enough to keep the traffic and data flowing through their site, app, and their CCP-based servers.In September, ByteDance was pressured by bipartisan US lawmakers to commit to shutting down data flowing into China, but they would not commit to that course of action.
Ok, if you are addicted to TikTok, I understand. Shortform content is very appealing to our greatly diminished attention spans. The filters and fancy doodads are fun to look at, and the free music is an epic plus. It is easy to use, and highly addicting.
As a creator, it is easy to get started and use copyrighted material without permission, because the CCP has no concept of intellectual property, so why should Byte Dance care if you use popular music in your video, as long as it keeps eyeballs glued to screens on their site and apps? However, because they have no concept of intellectual property, they can also get away with not paying you well at all. You work hard, and they reap the benefits... How is that fair?
If an app is run by a company based in China, right now, you can almost guarantee that the CCP will be using it to spy on you. They have a vested interest in making sure that Americans are fat, lazy, confused, and demoralized,a s that makes it easier for them to wipe us off of the planet as a credible super power. Do you want to be a part of that? Get as far from TikTok and other apps like it as you can. Go cold turkey. Take your creative chops somewhere where they will actually make you some money.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/02/tech/fcc-commissioner-tiktok-ban

#weekendedition #CCP #tiktok #spyware #juststopit #banityesterday #TechFreedom

WE 11.3: Algorithms: Do They Already Run your Life Offline?

How automated is your life? How about your municipal or state government? According to a report from the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), which spent 14 months digging into the city of Washington DC, found that across 20 city-level agencies, they employed at least 29 obscure algorithms to aid in decision making, and to improve the appearance of impartiality in city systems. However, as with other AIs, and as I talked about in tonight’s first story, these algorithms are anything but infallible, and there was one employed by the unemployment insurance system in Michigan to ferret out fraud, but it had a 93% error rate, and triggered 40,000 false fraud allegations. That is a big problem. A different study found that over half of federal agencies are using some form of AI to aid in decision making. No wonder it is an even bigger mess now than it was before.
For example, FraudCaster, by a company called Pondera Systems, owned by Thomson Reuters, is used to catch fraudulent food assistance applications, and of the 1.1 million flagged applications in California, more than half of them were to be found genuine. Wow. That is not a good ratio here, guys. Maybe, as we discussed earlier, we need to go back to the drawing board for these systems.
Let’s think about this... If the machines are failing so miserably, and even leading to death in some justice-related situations, should we be trying to use them at all right now? Are they ready? For trivial things like creating digital art or generating stories or poems, sure. For life and death decisions? No. We need to extricate our governments from these machines in any kind of major decision making. Let’s move in that direction, y’all. Justice needs a human face and heart to be real justice, not some cold algorithm that is wrong more often than not. Even if they were perfect (which I do not believe will ever happen, as humans create these systems, and humans will always be flawed, broken, and biased).

https://www.wired.com/story/algorithms-quietly-run-the-city-of-dc-and-maybe-your-hometown/

#weekendedition #AI #algorithms #government #fail #TechFreedom
WE 11.4: TikTok Data Could be Handled Anywhere in the World
I know, I teed off on TikTok earlier tonight, but take a look at this... They claim that they have “robust security controls” to prevent mishandling or misuse of user data, but as to what that actually means, no one really knows. They claim to be GDPR-compliant, but with as opaque as Byte Dance has been, who knows if they really are. After all, they are based in CCP-controlled China, not somewhere that actually at least gives lipservice to respecting privacy and intellectual property rights. The CCP treats their own people like cattle or pawns on a chessboard. Why should they respect anyone else any more than they do their own citizens?
I will say it again, if you are a TikTok user or creator, get your kicks and your creative juices flowing in a different direction that will respect you, your rights, and your work more through better splits and revenue sharing.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/03/tech/tiktok-european-data-china-staff

#weekendedition #TikTok #privacy #CCP #nobueno #TechFreedom

WE 11.5: Microsoft Extends Support Offer to Ukraine
Surprise, surprise, surprise. Microsoft, which is the heart of cabal control through software, is pledging to protect the cabal’s interests in Ukraine through offering free-to-Ukraine services for security of “critical infrastructure”. That is laughable, Microsoft helping a government to secure itself from cyber threats. They have committed resources worth an additional $100 million through the end of 2023, when they have already provided $400 million in the last 9 months of conflict. Wow. What is MSFT trying to keep hidden in Ukraine? Ok, so I am very cynical of anyone supporting the Ukrainian regime. Ukraine has been the heart of money laundering and other unethical practices for a number of years, probably longer than I realize, as Ukraine is also the same area where the Khazarians originated from, but I’m not going to get into that LONG story here.
Let me be clear, I empathize with the PEOPLE of Ukraine, however, their blatantly corrupt, NAZI regime needs to be ended. The whole place needs to be cleaned out, just as our government does, on every level. I don’t want to black pill anyone, but the November midterm elections, even if we succeed in creating a “red tsunami” will not solve the problems we face as a nation on its own. Red vs Blue is a false dichotomy. These are two wings on the same, corrupt bird. By all means, vote your conscience, come Tuesday. Vote in person. Do your best to prevent fraud at the ballot box. I have my doubts that even with that, and the greater awareness that has been exploding over the American people in the last year and a half of focus on what happened 2 years ago (and for at least 20-30 years prior to that, whether through old school means, like ballot harvesting, or through weighted algorithms in the ES&S or Konnech or other machines that have been used to assure the Selection of [their] chosen candidates).

https://www.geekwire.com/2022/microsoft-extends-ongoing-tech-support-for-ukraine-to-protect-digital-services-and-data-during-war/

#weekendedition #Ukraine #MSFT #voting #corruption #NAZI #TechFreedom

Devotions Channel:
https://rumble.com/c/c-1710083