@Loukas Ah, yes. This is of course true.
Posts in English
@Loukas Yes, they say âit gets worse before it gets betterâ. But they never say if that phrase actually has a turning point or just keeps being true. đ
People around me talking about âco-existingâ with AI. Meanwhile, human activities have caused the world's wildlife populations to plummet by 68% in 50 years, as reported by the World Wildlife Fund several years ago.
I did not sign up for this timeline.
I think the Fediverse gained traction at exactly the right time for me. Being able to host my own social media platform is comforting. But more than that, so happy that I never stopped seeking refuge in writing and blogging. I really want to do more of thatâŠ
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/10/911500907/the-world-lost-two-thirds-of-its-wildlife-in-50-years-we-are-to-blame
@sidereal Iâd say here in Sweden most of those protections are in place.
Been talking to a fair few of my ethics class students (a vocational program to become a UX Designer), and essentially all of them express doubt that it will be possible to work in an ethically-aligned way once they find employment.
To be clear: they want to, but they just donât think it will be possible.
How the hell did we end up here, that the expected default is that companies will necessarily harm the wellbeing of their stakeholders, and that these same companies (read: individuals in upper management positions) wonât care to do better when a more compassionate path is made available to themâŠ
@liebach You are more than welcome to do just that đ
Thinking of changing my LinkedIn job title to "Luddite who loves technological progress."
The key word of course being 'progress'.
Every now and then I start thinking about all the data centers consuming huge amounts of energy with the purpose of storing a vast and growing collection of photos, documents and other media that no one will ever have any interest in accessing again.
So much energy being used in vainâŠ
A testament to human obliviousness.
Water required by data centers is increasing considerably with the advent of generative AI. Large language models trained on vast amounts of data need substantial cooling.
While some may argue that water can be reused, it is often pulled from water supplies in times of significant heatwaves, when residents are in need of it as well, and supplies diminsh faster.
In July of 2022, Microsoft pumped in about 11.5 million gallons of water to its cluster of Iowa data centers, according to the West Des Moines Water Works. Thatâs around 6% of all the water used in the district, which also supplies drinking water to residents.
Meanwhile, the energy required is of course not recycled â and itâs to be expected that energy use is growing as well. The companies behind the tools are just not disclosing how much their AI investments are costing us when it comes to their carbon footprint.
âIn its latest environmental report, Microsoft disclosed that its global water consumption spiked 34% from 2021 to 2022 (to nearly 1.7 billion gallons, or more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools), a sharp increase compared to previous years that outside researchers tie to its AI research.â
https://fortune.com/2023/09/09/ai-chatgpt-usage-fuels-spike-in-microsoft-water-consumption/
Water required by data centers is increasing considerably with the advent of generative AI. Large language models trained on vast amounts of data need considerable cooling.
While some may argue that water can be reused, it is often pulled from water supplies in times of considerable heatwaves, when residents are in need of it as well, and supplies diminsh faster.
In July of 2022, Microsoft pumped in about 11.5 million gallons of water to its cluster of Iowa data centers, according to the West Des Moines Water Works. Thatâs around 6% of all the water used in the district, which also supplies drinking water to residents.
Meanwhile, the energy required is of course not recycled â and itâs to be expected that energy use is growing as well. The companies behind the tools are just not disclosing how much their AI investments are costing us when it comes to their carbon footprint.
âIn its latest environmental report, Microsoft disclosed that its global water consumption spiked 34% from 2021 to 2022 (to nearly 1.7 billion gallons, or more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools), a sharp increase compared to previous years that outside researchers tie to its AI research.â
A.I. usage fuels spike in Microsoftâs water consumption | Fortune
Great summary by Dave Karpf of Brian Merchant's "Blood in the Machine".
"The craftsmanship of the book animates his discussion of the modern-day Luddites. Instead of Kirkpatrick Saleâs apocalyptic warnings, Merchant urges us to think seriously about power and inequality today. The modern-day Luddites arenât rejecting technology and living simply, off-the-grid. Theyâre people like Chris Smalls and Timnit Gebru, organizing resistance and demanding that the gains from technology ought to benefit workers and communities.
The modern-day Luddites, in other words, are critical technologists. For the most part, they make use of legitimate outlets for resistance (ones that were not available 200+ years ago). They are not opposed to technological progress; they are challenging lazy, self-serving definitions of technological progress."
"You donât have to reject technology to be a Luddite. That was always a bait-and-switch.
Merchant convincingly demonstrates that a Luddite is someone who thinks about power, and who demands that we build a digital future where we take seriously how the increases in wealth and prosperity will be distributed.
Take it as a call-to-arms: We should all be Luddites now."
https://davekarpf.substack.com/p/we-should-all-be-luddites-now
Why would Nissan want to know about your sexual preferences? Simple: because car brands have found a source of income in selling your data, and your inferred preferences, to third parties.
Mozilla Foundation have recently published their research [1] into how 25 major car brands collect and share deeply personal data, including sexual activity, facial expressions, and genetic and health information.
They do this through car sensors, but also through direct contact with dealerships, their website, social media (yes!), and any of their apps you may download - all together working to build your profile and make assumptions about ("infer"), what your preferences are.
I myself took some time to read Nissan's US privacy notice [2] and it's dismal reading to say the least. Under the heading "Categories of information we collect and disclose", there is this:
"Sensitive personal information, including driverâs license number, national or state identification number, citizenship status, immigration status, race, national origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, sexual activity, precise geolocation, health diagnosis data, and genetic information."
They can also share and even sell "Inferences drawn from any Personal Data collected to create a profile about a consumer reflecting the consumerâs [âŠ] psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes" to others for targeted marketing purposes."
This means that one thing they infer from all the data is for example how smart they think you are.
Of course, if you are a passenger in a Nissan you will also be subjected to monitoring by sensors, and Nissan say it's up to the owner to tell passengers this surveillance is happening.
Oh, you think this is only about Nissan? Think again.
I haven't had a chance to see to what extent these practices are happening in the EU (where many of them of course are illegal), but the fact remains that there is a ton of surveillance going on in a modern car and you may want to start thinking about where that information ends up, how it is stored, who has access to it and how it is used.
[1] âPrivacy Nightmare on Wheelsâ, research summary
[2] Nissan USA privacy notice
https://www.nissanusa.com/privacy.html
[3] What Data Does My Car Collect About Me and Where Does It Go
#DigitalEthics
First season done and I have to admit I absolutely love One Piece on Netflix. In my case I didnât know what to expect but the characters and the live action are right up my alley.
To be clear, I was not familiar with the anime so there are no adaptation quirks for me to get hung up on.
#OnePiece #Netflix
âThe way of life can be free and beautiful, but we have lost the way. Greed has poisoned menâs souls, has barricaded the world with hate, has goose-steped us into misery and bloodshed.
We have developed speed, but we have shut ourselves in. Machinery that gives abundance has left us in want.
Our knowledge has made us cynical. Our cleverness, hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little. More than machinery we need humanity. More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness.
Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.â
After two years of filming the script he put together in 1938, The Great Dictator premiered in October of 1940. It was British comedian Charlie Chaplinâs first speaking role. At the time of its release, the United States â where Chaplin lived â was still formally at peace with Nazi Germany and neutral during what were the early days of World War II. Chaplin's film helped build a strong condemnation of the German and Italian dictators Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, as well as fascism, antisemitism, and the Nazis.
In his 1964 autobiography, Chaplin stated that he could not have made the film if he had known about the true extent of the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps at that time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7GY1Xg6X20&list=PLyU6zePFLJ-DJ62sKt89bh0l9zOx0btI-&index=1
@Midgard Men herrejÀvlar vad illa!!! Och ljuger dessutom om att ha fÄtt uppgifter av andra...
@chromatic This is extra funny because I had this exact conversation with a friend I shared the story with.
âAccording to Mozilla research, popular global brands â including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, Kia, and Subaru â can collect deeply personal data such as sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health and genetic information, and where you drive.
Researchers found data is being gathered by sensors, microphones, cameras, and the phones and devices drivers connect to their cars, as well as by car apps, company websites, dealerships, and vehicle telematics.
Brands can then share or sell this data to third parties. Car brands can also take much of this data and use it to develop inferences about a driverâs intelligence, abilities, characteristics, preferences, and more.â
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/privacy-nightmare-on-wheels-every-car-brand-reviewed-by-mozilla-including-ford-volkswagen-and-toyota-flunks-privacy-test/
I did some further reading after sharing this, and it turns out that âsexual activityâ is actually mentioned verbatim in the Nissan USA privacy notice.
Fromt Nissanâs very real Privacy notice, under âCategories of information we collect and discloseâ:
âSensitive personal information, including driverâs license number, national or state identification number, citizenship status, immigration status, race, national origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, sexual orientation, sexual activity, precise geolocation, health diagnosis data, and genetic information.â
Not only that⊠as Mozilla Foundation writes:
âThey also say they can share and even sell "Inferences drawn from any Personal Data collected to create a profile about a consumer reflecting the consumerâs preferences, characteristics, psychological trends, predispositions, behavior, attitudes, intelligence, abilities, and aptitudes" to others for targeted marketing purposes. Yes, Nissan says they can infer things like how smart you are, if you have a predisposition to drink, if you are acting depressed, and if you are any good at chess (we're guessing that's what they can infer..it could be even worse than that), and then they say they can make as much money off that very personal information as they can. Nissan, you suck.â
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/nissan/
Some of you are wondering how the cars collect and share this if they have no internet connection. A lot of this data is actually collected through other means, and when you are in touch with a dealership. So itâs direct contact but also info they proactively collect through social media (not kidding! I just read Nissanâs privacy notice again) and credit reporting entities. If you have downloaded one of their apps, the internet connection is right there.
Of course, a lot more cars than you imagine have internet connections, and cars have had some sort of onboard computer since the 1970s. A lot of data is stored until it can be accessed or uploaded. And you often donât even have to press buttons for something to be logged. Sensors are always on, marketed as making you safer, but also saving data to be sold to third parties.
So car companies may also combine information collected about you from your car with personal information they get from third parties. Then they can share (or even sell) that information, and any âinferencesâ they made based on it, to all kinds of businesses
And hereâs another kicker⊠just by sitting in a vehicle that uses NissanConnect services, you agree to have your data collected by Nissan. So if you hitch a ride with a friendâs Nissan, you are on Nissanâs radar. The privacy policy makes it the responsibility of the owner to disclose this to anyone travelling in their car.
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded/articles/what-data-does-my-car-collect-about-me-and-where-does-it-go/
Hur försiktig Àr du nÀr du ska skanna en QR-kod? I mitt senaste inlÀgg berÀttar jag om hur ett hotell jag besökte i somras lÀt lappar med QR-koder spridas som konfetti pÄ borden i lobbyn. Hotellet som avsÀndare kÀnns tryggt, men nÄgon av alla mÀnniskor som passerar borden kan förstÄs byta ut en eller flera av dessa lappar mot sin egen⊠och jag leker med vad det scenariot kan innebÀra.
Vad QR-koden var till för? Att boka tid för frukost. Det lÄter jag förstÄs inte heller gÄ okommenterat.
Med denna text börjar jag hitta tillbaka till en ton i mitt sprÄk som jag njuter helhjÀrtat av att skriva.
https://axbom.se/hotell-qr-kod/
"More than once, she challenged Bill Gates face-to-face to fix problems with Internet Explorer."
An absolute legend. This is such sad news.
#MollyHolzschlag #Accessibility #WebStandards #a11y
Hur försiktig Àr du nÀr du ska skanna en QR-kod? I mitt senaste inlÀgg berÀttar jag om hur ett hotell jag besökte i somras lÀt lappar med QR-koder spridas som konfetti pÄ borden i lobbyn. Hotellet som avsÀndare kÀnns tryggt, men nÄgon av alla mÀnniskor som passerar borden kan förstÄs byta ut en eller flera av dessa lappar mot sin egen⊠och jag leker med vad det scenariot kan innebÀra.
Vad QR-koden var till för? Att boka tid för frukost. Det lÄter jag förstÄs inte heller gÄ okommenterat.