Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Enemies of the internet

*There's a way around everything, trust me.
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Artificial Intelligence Is Changing the World, and Humankind Must Adapt


IN A POST entitled “Machine Learning: Bane or Blessing for Mankind?,” I noted that the renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking along with his colleagues Stuart Russell, Max Tegmark, and Frank Wilczek recommend moving cautiously in the development of artificial intelligence (AI), especially in the area of autonomous weapon systems. Hawking and his colleagues understand, however, that the AI genie has already been released from the bottle and there is no way to get it back in.
After noting Hawking’s concerns, Ron Neale comments, “Such a warning about the application of AI and its derivative intelligent machines (IMs), especially in the area of military application, might be appropriate. But what if IMs are really just a new branch on the tree of evolution that has led us from the original Protists to where we are today?” [“Artificial & Machine Intelligence: Future Fact, or Fantasy?” EE Times, 13 May 2014] Although Neale finds the prospect of a Skynet-like system (the AI system in “Terminator” that takes over and starts eradicating humans) frightening, he’s skeptical that such a system will ever exist. He explains:
“Fear not, because in my view, for IMs to come into existence requires a unique evolutionary key [— Synergistic Evolution (SE) —] and it is that aspect of evolution that suggests why it might not ever occur. Synergistic Evolution (SE) requires a species to be aided in its evolutionary process by another species. This is not the same as acting as a food stuff, where the existence of an earlier species acts as the food or fuel that allows those higher up the chain to exist and evolve. Or where species like dogs or horses that exist at the same time, on a different branch, allows a species to more easily obtain food to exist and evolve. The nearest equivalent example of SE might be a species variation such as selective breeding (unnatural selection), where human intervention is used to provide a characteristic, such as additional meat or milk in cattle or in hunting animals, dogs, or horses. In any flight of fancy, I think … three options … must be considered as possibilities: the first option [is the] the evolution of some very clever tools, weapons, and body parts that become an integral part of the human species tree; or the second option … a new branch on the tree of evolution; or the third option an extension of the human branch.”
Frankly, I’m not sure that the biological evolution analogy is a good one. Biological evolution essentially changes the organic characteristics of a species so that beneficial traits can be passed on to subsequent generations. Two of Neale’s options aren’t really biological evolution because they aren’t organic (they fit much neater in the transhumanist framework). Only his “new branch of the tree” option could develop into an evolutionary process; but it wouldn’t be a new branch it would be an entirely new tree.
Regardless of how artificial intelligence develops in the years ahead, almost all pundits agree that the world will forever change as a result of advances in AI. During a speech at the American Enterprise Institute, Bill Gates insisted that the “mindset[s] of the government and people have not adjusted to view the future, even though technology is exploding this decade into a world of the Internet of Things and the propulsion into artificial intelligence.” [“Bill Gates outlines the mindset of A.I. for jobs in the future,” by Victoria Wagner Ross, San Diego Technology Examiner, 14 March 2014]
The greatest worry for many analysts, including Gates, is the number of jobs that artificial intelligence systems are poised to take over. Mark van Rijmenam reports, “The potential of Artificial Intelligence is enormous and in fact a 2013 study by Oxford University estimated that Artificial Intelligence could take over nearly half of all jobs in the United States in the near future.” [“Is Artificial Intelligence About to Change Doing Business Forever?” SmartData Collective, 8 March 2014] Ross also cites the Oxford University study. She writes:
“There are 702 occupations that will be affected by automation into the future of A.I. and robots according to [Carl Benedikt] Frey and his co-author, Michael Osborne, of the study. Frey who is a Ph.D. in economics was surprised how easily the algorithm replaced the loan officer. The loan officer was predicted with a 98% probability of replacement. A safer position at only 11% probability was journalists. Surgeons were at the lowest probability along with elementary school teachers.”
Ross reports that Gates asserted that “there are a couple of decades to re-set the mindset and prepare for the new occupation.” The question is: Exactly what occupations should students being prepared to fill? Gates believes that whatever new occupations emerge, the ones that will pay the best and be the most secure will require a good foundation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Ross explains, “Preparation will meet opportunity in the future and Gates educates government and people to be prepared to embrace the brave new world of artificial intelligence.” Most of the best jobs that will emerge will require close collaboration between humans and computers. Fortunately, we are raising a generation that is already being exposed to such collaboration.
“AI has allowed us humans to tailor-make robots that fit perfectly into our daily lives,” writes Zachary John, “suggesting faster routes to work, recommending TV shows we might like, even telling us jokes when we’re feeling down.” [“Robots: The Possibilities of Artificial Intelligence,” Guardian Liberty Voice, 22 March 2014] Dr. Kevin Curran, a technical expert at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), told Lee Bell “that AI is only getting better, as computational intelligence techniques keep on improving, becoming more accurate and faster due to giant leaps in processor speeds.” [“AI will play a vital role in our future, just don’t expect robot butlers,” The Inquirer, 14 March 2014] Like others, Curran believes that AI systems will continue to take on jobs now being filled by humans, especially “humans doing tedious automated tasks.”
Aki Ito reports, “Artificial intelligence has arrived in the American workplace, spawning tools that replicate human judgments that were too complicated and subtle to distill into instructions for a computer. Algorithms that ‘learn’ from past examples relieve engineers of the need to write out every command.” [“Your Job Taught to Machines Puts Half U.S. Work at Risk,” Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 12 March 2014] Like authors cited above, Ito points to the Oxford University study as proof that the future workforce is in need of a serious overhaul. Frey, co-author of that study told Ito that the global workforce would have to transform. “These transitions have happened before,” Frey stated. “What’s different this time is that technological change is happening even faster, and it may affect a greater variety of jobs.” Perhaps the biggest unanswered question is: Will there be enough good jobs to keep the global economy growing? After all, AI systems aren’t consumers and consumers are the sine qua non of economic growth.
Andrew Ng, director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory near Palo Alto, California, told Ito, “There will always be work for people who can synthesize information, think critically, and be flexible in how they act in different situations. Still the jobs of yesterday won’t be the same as the jobs of tomorrow.” Ito concludes, “Workers will likely need to find vocations involving more cognitively complex tasks that machines can’t touch. Those positions also typically require more schooling, said Frey. ‘It’s a race between technology and education.’”
Stephen F. DeAngelis is President and CEO of the cognitive computing firm Enterra Solutions.
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10 Scary Modern Technologies

*As long as we're at it... I found these a few months back and bench tested them. I found three that were close yet didn't sink the basket.


Technology makes our lives better. You're taking a MOOCclass, and have your appointments organized on your computer. You watch wepisodes on your internet-capable high-definition television. You pay your bills electronically and save time and money. That's fine and dandy, until someone takes out the electronic banking system and the machines take over the planet.
Sounds crazy? Perhaps. None of the gadgets and innovations we included in our list of 10 scary technologies is likely to rain death and destruction on our little planet, though that doesn't prevent people from being unnerved by them. Read on to find out what weirdness may await in the future.

You can take it from here > 
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    Reverse IP Search for End Users Revisited / You can be tracked and found

    This is a common fiber burial box I passed on my daily stroll for fresh fish to have breakfast.


    The contracted will place an identifier like this up when they finish.


     There is no FttD here, verified. From this burial there will be a flop over to snail wire / Cat 3, Cat 5 at best. That run from the CO to your home, business, condo is going to be less than 400ft by the TIA standards before I left a few years back.

     Which means, "When I do a reverse IP search" you or the location you use that hard wired device at are within 400ft of my results.

     I've tested three random neighbors and I was never more than 400ft away / more like 275ft. Does that sound familiar?

     When these sites say this can't be done they're either ignorant of the fact or it's for a reason unbeknownst to me.

     IT Can Be Done.

    *I wonder why that's a Verizon box? Did Brighthouse now Spectrum get a good deal?

     Re:
    Even if it's a coaxial run, the "TIA" standard in 2012 was 2000ft which still places the searcher in your neighborhood, I can't see that being major obstacle.


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    My financial institution flagged my account

    I was totally unaware that my bank account had been flagged while staying in Cambodia.
    "Flagged", meaning I was being monitored for suspicious activity without any type of notice as a result of the Patriot Act.

     My financial institution never gave me notice and I would have never known but I attempted to move money exceeding $10,000.

     I did some "border line legal" cyber digging and found that my institution has the ability to track ATM activity around the world yet they don't = possibly set by some standard of govt or lack of funding for such monitoring.

     I established that they have the ability to track cookies (I'm a cookie monster / entirely different level and can never be found on the net to my knowledge) but this is inoperable most likely for the same reason I mentioned in the latter paragraph.

     I'm posting this for you to be aware of where you travel and the secret is right there in front of your face by using deductive reasoning.
     Google, "I want to expat to "X" country and draw money from my American bank". If that country is not on the list, you will be flagged.
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    Why You Should Let Your Employees Nap at Work

    *This is a practice in Asia that dayes back before my birth.

     Sleeping on the job may still be frowned upon as a sign of laziness, but in recent years, many progressive companies have begun to encourage employees to take mid-day naps to recharge.
    Marketing-software company, HubSpot has a nap room featuring a hammock suspended above a plush carpet and soothing cloud-covered walls to encourage its 750 employees to catch some z’s at work. CMO Mike Volpe, who is known to use the nap room frequently, says a 20-minute nap is often all he needs to regain focus and re-energize to be more productive for the rest of the day.
    The nap room is seen as a way to help employees balance the demands of work and home life. A father of two young children, Volpe often finds himself chasing after the elusive full night’s sleep, leaving him fighting fatigue during the workday.
    “If I have things that are particularly draining for me, like a presentation or lots of interviews, getting 20 or 30 minutes to pay back some of the sleep I lost the night before can make me so much more effective,” he says.
    The nap room is also often used by frequent travellers. “We do a fair amount of business in California and we have an office in Dublin so we’re often coming back to the office after a red-eye,” says Volpe. Rather than trying to slog through the day, which can lead to errors in judgement and a decline in productivity, HubSpot has found allowing employees to have a rest can help make the day much more productive.
    Napping has become increasingly popular in the tech industry, where developers are often required to work long hours, but where company culture hinges on creating a laid-back atmosphere in order to attract top talent and compete with companies who offer perks such as game rooms, lounges and on-site frozen yogurt stations. Google was among the first large tech companies to promote napping. The tech giant introduced energy pods -- reclining chairs that sit inside a large bubble and include built-in music producing soothing sounds and an alarm that wakes up nappers with lights and vibration.
    Offering employees a space to catch a mid-day siesta is now becoming a common amenity for companies looking to position themselves as progressive, dynamic places to work – almost as attractive as the office coffee machine, yet perhaps more beneficial. A 2008 study showed a power nap is more effective than caffeine.
    Although napping is becoming a more popular employee perk in some industries, there’s still a great deal of resistance in the corporate world towards sleeping on the job, says Terry Cralle, a certified sleep expert who helps companies to implement a company culture that encourages napping.
    “I’m still surprised that people are put off by napping," she says. "We’ve got great research supporting the fact that naps can help corporations and employees, yet we still feel reluctant to make it an acceptable part of a healthy lifestyle and a healthy workday."
    The problem, she says, is that many employers and executives equate naps with slacking off, something Cralle says couldn’t be farther from the truth. “Some large companies have workout areas or gyms on-site and yet we’re turning a blind eye to sleep and it’s a biological necessity,” she says.
    Here’s what to consider when encouraging napping in your workplace:
    Build a separate room. A quiet room with couches, a hammock or, if you have the funds, a sleep pod, is essential to encouraging employees to nap. HubSpot’s nap room is located in a quiet part of the office and painted a calming shade of green with clouds and a soft carpet below the hammock to encourage drifting off. Cralle says while the mid-afternoon nap comes naturally to some, others need to learn how to nap. Having a space that encourages the body to shut down is key to training them to nap.
    Make napping part of company culture. Making napping a part of company culture means employees won’t be sneaking shut-eye away from supervisors and co-workers, but rather sends the message that naps are encouraged as a way to help employees perform at their best. At HubSpot, the nap room is booked like a conference room. There are no rules about how often employees can use it, but Volpe says there haven’t been any issues around misuse. “Anyone can book it for as short or as long and as often as they want, as long as they’re meeting their performance goals,” he says.
    Encourage employees to time their naps appropriately. A nap before a meeting or a major presentation could make all the difference between success or a performance flop. A NASA study showed a nap of just 26 minutes can boost productivity by as much as 34 percent and increase alertness by 54 percent.
    LISA EVANS
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