Technology

Kevin Bankston, a Senior Advisor on AI Governance, discusses this concerning Google Gemini behavior.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.org/post/806357

Addition for the Archived link

Carissa Véliz is an expert in ethics applied to technology. The Spanish-Mexican philosopher, who does not provide a date or place of birth to protect her privacy, is one of the voices that warn us about the growing digital dangers that lurk at every corner and chip away at our individual autonomy.

Carissa Véliz: Autonomy is a fundamental principle. To have it, you need space to make your own decisions, to think about what your values are and act in that direction. And when they are watching you all the time, the other’s gaze is oppressive, it seeks your compliance. The simple fact of being observed reduces our impulse to experiment, to ask. Human beings need privacy, intimacy and a certain solitude to discover ourselves [...]

We don’t realize how surveillance influences us. If we turned off the cameras we would see that we do not think the same, we do not express things the same way, there is not the same type of frankness in the debate [...]

Anonymity is one of the most important social innovations of democracy, in particular, the possibility of making an anonymous protest, going out into the streets... Today we carry our cell phones with us, which identifies us, and that sometimes means that people do not show up when they need to [...]

China takes the lead [in the rejection of any privacy], it has no pretensions to being democratic or liberal. It is going all out with surveillance, it intends for it to be centralized. The surveillance you are subjected to at work has consequences on your personal relationships in a country like this. It affects, for example, the visibility you achieve on dating applications [...]

Obviously, we [in the West] need regulation. Collective problems need collective solutions. It is not up to the individual to change things and yet we have power; When we change our behavior, companies and governments are sensitive to it. It’s not about not using your cell phone. We must try to protect our privacy when we can and it is not too demanding. Instead of using WhatsApp, use Signal. It’s free, it works just as well, it doesn’t collect your data. Instead of using Gmail, use Proton Mail [...]

Any decision that can significantly affect a person’s life [should never be left in the hands of AI]. AI is not a moral agent, it cannot be responsible for harming someone or denying them an important opportunity. Nor should we delegate to AI jobs in which we value the empathy of a fellow citizen who can understand what we feel.

Crash telemetry databases show a trend.

A security researcher who assisted with the deal says he believes the only copy of the complete dataset of call and text records of “nearly all” AT&T customers has been wiped—but some risks may remain.

When Helixx co-founder and CEO Steve Pegg looks at Daisy — the startup’s 3D printed prototype delivery van — he sees a second chance. And he’s pulling inspiration from McDonald’s to get there. The prototype, which made its global debut this week at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, is an interesting proof of concept.

Two Linksys mesh routers send sensitive information to an Amazon server without any encryption, according to Belgian consumer organization Testaankoop. The practice could leave passwords, wireless network...

Whistleblowers have accused OpenAI of placing illegal restrictions on how employees can communicate with government regulators, according to a letter obtained by The Washington Post. Lawyers representing anonymous whistleblowers sent the letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler. The letter refers to a separate, formal complaint asking the SEC to investigate OpenAI’s severance, […]

End of an era for data hoarders

In a vault at the National Security Agency lies a historical treasure: two AMPEX 1-inch open reel tapes containing a landmark lecture by Admiral Grace Hopper, a giant in the field of computer science. Yet this invaluable artifact remains inaccessible, trapped in an obsolete format that the NSA will not release, stating that the agency is unable to play it back.

Meta announced former President Donald Trump’s Facebook and Instagram accounts will no longer be subject to heightened suspension penalties, according to an updated blog post on Friday. The company says it made the decision to ensure all Presidential nominees were on equal footing on their platform ahead of the 2024 Presidential election. When Meta reinstated […]

The EU says the way the social media site designs and operates blue tick accounts "deceives" users.

Red team exercise revealed a score of security fails

Ideas generated by ChatGPT can help writers who lack inherent flair but may mean there are fewer unique ideas

Study: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adn5290

Amazon Employees for Climate Justice is calling out the tech giant for what it says are misleading claims about its use of renewable energy.

A conference in the UK this week will outline new developments in a project to look for ‘technosignatures’ of other advanced species

Four Brandenburg-class F123 warships employ floppies for data-acquisition systems.

Congress accused advertisers group of colluding to tank X's revenue.

This doesn't just threaten writers' work—it has a corrosive effect on the web.

You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

The strict requirement for two physical keys is now eased when passkeys are used.

Influencer platform's controversial contest awarded prizes to three nonexistent people.

“Most of them will fail complete without ever anybody hearing about them. But even the successful ones take a stumble or two,” says Torvalds.

Upscaling comes to mobile.

More than 20 Palestinians say they have been kicked off Skype, a popular tool for contacting relatives.