Mind Matters Natural and Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

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Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
July 29, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media
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Federal Judge Strikes Down Florida Big Tech Law

The judge ruled that the law violates the First Amendment rights of social media companies
Caitlin Bassett
July 29, 2021
Censorship, Law, Social Media

A federal judge struck down the recent Florida legislation aimed at reigning in the censorship powers of Big Tech, hours before it was set to go into effect. Within days of Governor DeSantis signing the bill into law in May, NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) filed a lawsuit, representing the biggest names in social media (such as Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Amazon). They argued that the new law is a violation of their First Amendment rights as private companies. On June 30, Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida ruled in favor of NetChoice and CCIA, issuing a preliminary injunction on the law after determining that it violates the First Amendment…

Bangkok. Thailand. June 9, 2017 : Man is typing on Google search engine from a laptop. Google is the biggest Internet search engine in the world.
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
July 15, 2021
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George Gilder: Google Does Not Believe in Life After Google

Robert J. Marks
July 15, 2021

Will technology permanently solve the problem of human productivity? Does the future look like a life of leisure while robots do all the work we currently do? In a panel discussion at the 2019 Dallas launch of the Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence, George Gilder offered some thoughts on the evening’s topic, “Will ‘Smart’ Machines Take Over…

question mark letters angle
question mark letters
Type
post
Author
News
Date
July 5, 2021
Categorized
Business and Finance, Social Media
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The Most “Woke” Company Could Contribute Most to Online Bias

Google has got to be one of the "Wokest" companies but there is a lesson in how Timnit Gebru got fired
News
July 5, 2021
Business and Finance, Social Media

Here’s a paper worth revisiting, “On the Dangers of Stochastic Parrots: Can Language Models Be Too Big?” (March 3, 2021), if only for the principal author’s trouble associated with publishing it. Although Google had hired Timnit Gebru to do ethics consultation, an executive, Megan Kacholia demanded that she remove all suggestion of her affiliation. In the ensuing uproar, Gebru ended up no longer employed there. The paper in question was, in Gebru’s mind, pretty unobjectionable. It surveyed the known pitfalls of so-called large language models, a type of AI software — most famously exemplified by a system called GPT-3 — that was stoking excitement in the tech industry. Google’s own version of the technology was now helping to power the…

Big brother electronic eye concept, technologies for the global surveillance, security of computer systems and networks
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
June 28, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy
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A Book Review: The Tyranny of Big Tech

A beautiful defense of the common man and woman against a technological elite
Caitlin Bassett
June 28, 2021
Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy

“Our republic has never been more hierarchical, more riven by class, more managed by an elite than it is today,” writes Josh Hawley in The Tyranny of Big Tech. Who might that elite be? According to Hawley, it’s not our politicians, our lawyers, our Ivy League graduates, or our Hollywood celebrities. It’s Big Tech – those big names like Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, Apple, and Google that have embedded themselves in our lives to an almost irreversible degree. Hawley has spent his career as a U.S. Senator, and formerly as Missouri’s Attorney General, holding Big Tech accountable where others don’t dare tread. In investigations, in legislation, and now in this book, Hawley has confronted the antitrust and privacy violations committed by…

female-artist-works-on-abstract-oil-painting-moving-paint-brush-energetically-she-creates-modern-masterpiece-dark-creative-studio-where-large-canvas-stands-on-easel-illuminated-low-angle-close-up-stockpack-adobe-stock
Female Artist Works on Abstract Oil Painting, Moving Paint Brush Energetically She Creates Modern Masterpiece. Dark Creative Studio where Large Canvas Stands on Easel Illuminated. Low Angle Close-up
Type
post
Author
Jonathan Bartlett
Date
June 15, 2021
Categorized
Business and Finance, Science
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Intelligent Design Is Not What Most People Think It Is

Widespread confusion about Intelligent Design leads us to address the question: What exactly is it?
Jonathan Bartlett
June 15, 2021
Business and Finance, Science

When I tell people that I do work in Intelligent Design (ID) research, either the person I’m talking to has no idea what Intelligent Design is, or they have quite a faulty idea of what Intelligent Design is. This isn’t their fault — media reports don’t seem to be able to make sense of what we are doing either. Some people have attributed this to malice, and, while I’m sure there’s plenty of that to go around, I think that it is in large part actually the result of Intelligent Design doing something genuinely new, making it difficult for people to shove us into existing boxes. Intelligent Design, at its core, says that agency is a distinct causal category in the world. That…

3d-rendering-of-futuristic-blue-circuit-board-stockpack-adobe-stock
3d rendering of futuristic blue circuit board
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 11, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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Can AI Design AI?: Responding to Google’s Latest Tech

Anything can be intelligence if we set the bar low enough
News
June 11, 2021
Artificial Intelligence

Could a computer design itself? Could it design a bigger and better computer? A team at Google says yes. According to a recent article at NewScientist, Google has begun using AI to design AI. “Engineers at Google have tasked an artificial intelligence with designing faster and more efficient processors – and then used its chip designs to develop the next generation of specialised computers that run the very same type of AI algorithms,” writes Matthew Sparkes. Sparkes continues by explaining Google’s chip design, and introducing the reader to Google’s Anna Goldie, a member of the team at the front of this effort that tasks computers with making better computers. “It is conceivable,” says Sparkes, “that this new AI-designed chip will be used…

woman-hand-using-smart-phone-with-lock-icon-graphic-at-coffee-shop-technology-business-concept-stockpack-adobe-stock
Woman hand using smart phone with lock icon graphic at coffee shop. Technology business concept.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
June 9, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media
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Censoring the Censors? Florida’s Anti-Censorship Law

What exactly does the law do, and why is Big Tech sponsoring a lawsuit to halt it?
News
June 9, 2021
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Originally published by Dr. Karl Stephan at Engineering Ethics On May 24, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill designed to stop social media firms from censoring free speech. At least that’s what the governor’s website claims it does. Two big-tech industry groups, Netchoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), sued the state of Florida in early June over the legislation, which is scheduled to take effect on July 1. What exactly does the law do, and why are organizations such as Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Google sponsoring a lawsuit to halt it? People of certain political persuasions need not look far for motivations to pass such a law. Following the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 of this year,…

judge-holding-documents-stockpack-adobe-stock
Judge Holding Documents
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
June 8, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media
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Big Tech Sues Florida Over New Censorship Law

Facebook, Twitter, and Google are fighting back against a Florida law that seeks to reign them in
Caitlin Bassett
June 8, 2021
Censorship, Law, Social Media

Technology trade companies representing Facebook, Twitter, and Google are suing Florida over its new law regulating the editorial and censorship powers of large social media platforms. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 7072 into law on May 24, the first of its kind in the nation to curb the powers of online companies to remove and censor content and users. NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA) – technology trade groups that have been vocal about their opposition to the law – filed the lawsuit against Florida the following Thursday in Tallahassee federal court. DeSantis and other supporters of the new law argue that its purpose is to safeguard the First Amendment rights of ordinary Florida citizens…

restaurant-automation-service-concept-robot-waiter-serving-a-tray-with-a-bottles-and-wine-glass-two-wheels-robotic-character-on-yellow-wall-gray-floor-background-copy-space-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Restaurant automation service concept. Robot waiter serving a tray with a bottles and wine glass. Two wheels robotic character on yellow wall, gray floor background. copy space
Type
post
Author
Gary Smith
Date
May 26, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence
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A World Without Work? Don’t Hold Your Breath

Predictions of mass unemployment caused by robots continue to be wildly inaccurate
Gary Smith and Jeffrey Funk
May 26, 2021
Artificial Intelligence

Will we soon be sitting on couches watching reality TV shows while robots work 24/7 doing all of the work humans used to do? The idea that robots will replace most human labor has been around for almost 100 years and has become more popular with each new advance, from sensors and microprocessors to enterprise software, data analytics, and AI. The latest wave of robot hysteria was tweaked by The Singularity is Near in 2005, emboldened by Race Against the Machine in 2012, and sent over the top by The Second Machine Age and The Rise of Robots in 2016, and A World Without Work in 2020, all best sellers. A World Without Work was shortlisted for the Financial Times & McKinsey 2020 Business Book of the Year, in addition…

face-recognition-and-personal-identification-technologies-in-street-surveillance-cameras-law-enforcement-control-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Face recognition and personal identification technologies in street surveillance cameras, law enforcement control.
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
April 28, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Law, Surveillance
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Canada Orders Facial Recognition App to Cease and Desist

Your face is likely already stored in this app's database
Caitlin Bassett
April 28, 2021
Artificial Intelligence, Law, Surveillance

In February, Canada released the findings of a year-long investigation into the US-based facial recognition app, Clearview AI. The investigation declared Clearview’s actions illegal within Canada and ordered the company to cease operations within the country and to remove all Canadian citizens from its database. “What Clearview does is mass surveillance, and it is illegal,” said Canadian Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien. So what is Clearview AI? And why has it raised the ire of our neighbors to the North? Clearview AI, Inc. Clearview AI is a facial recognition company marketed primarily to law enforcement agencies. It boasts a database of over 3 billion facial images “scraped” from public sources online such as news articles and social media sites. In other…

powder explosion.jpg
red vs orange
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
April 6, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Law, Social Media
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Parler vs. Amazon: Amazon Strikes Back!

Amazon is trying to avoid a state lawsuit through a hardball legal maneuver
Caitlin Bassett
April 6, 2021
Censorship, Law, Social Media
Parler, an alternative social networking site, has been in a fierce legal battle with AWS/Amazon since it was removed from Amazon's platforms on January 10. Read More ›
Heritage-Building
Heritage Building
Type
post
Author
Caitlin Bassett
Date
March 31, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy
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Influential Think Tank Declines Big Tech Donations

The Heritage Foundation declined six-figure donations from Big Tech companies Facebook and Google in 2020, citing repeated censorship of conservative views
Caitlin Bassett
March 31, 2021
Censorship, Social Media, Technocracy

News website Axios obtained letters signed by Heritage Foundation‘s departing President Kay Coles James (pictured), addressed to the CEOs of both Facebook and Google in October 2020, explaining why Heritage felt compelled to decline the six-figure contributions from the companies. “We cannot in good conscience take money from a company that repeatedly, and blatantly, suppresses conservative speech on your platforms,” reads the letter to Google CEO Sundar Pichai.  A similar statement is made in the letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.  Heritage declined $225,000 from Google, and returned $150,000 that came from Facebook. The Heritage Foundation made several accusations against the companies in its letters, including: that Facebook suppressed their reach by blocking referral traffic; that Facebook targeted Heritage with third-party fact-checkers; and that Google…

hand-holding-smartphone-with-media-icons-and-symbol-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Hand holding smartphone with media icons and symbol
Type
post
Author
News
Date
March 5, 2021
Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics, Law
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Arizona Fights Back Against Big Tech App Store Monopoly

North Dakota’s anti-monopoly legislation was defeated but Arizona’s passed
News
March 5, 2021
Business and Finance, Economics, Law

Big tech, flexing political muscles, is starting to get pushback at the state level. Political analyst Matt Stoller tells us a tale of two states: A loser and a winner: Two weeks ago, Apple and Google managed to defeat a major bill in North Dakota to force competition in app stores. This week, the Arizona House of Representatives defied the tech giants and passed the very same bill… Matt Stoller, “Apple Threatens North Dakota, Suffers Crushing Loss in Arizona: “A Lot of It is Just Fear”” at Substack Even sovereign states like Australia have felt the heat from pushing back against the likes of Facebook. Facebook blocked access to the Australian government’s Facebook pages during the forest fire season, due…

bangkok-thailand-25-aug-2020-men-hand-using-digital-tablet-for-search-information-on-google-wireless-smartphone-technology-with-intelligence-search-engine-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Bangkok, Thailand 25 AUG 2020. Men hand using digital tablet for search information on Google. Wireless Smartphone technology with intelligence search engine.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
February 25, 2021
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Ethics
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Another AI Ethics Head at Google Gets Fired Over Diversity Issues

The AI ethics team and Google management may have very different ideas about what “ethics” means
News
February 25, 2021
Artificial Intelligence, Business and Finance, Ethics

On February 19, Google fired Margaret Mitchell, the AI ethics co-lead at Google Brain. Mitchell’s co-leading colleague, Timnit Gebru, had been fired in December, amid controversy. Both women were critical of Google’s diversity hiring record during the two years they worked together. The flashpoint in Mitchell’s case, for which she had been temporarily suspended earlier, hinged on claims of unauthorized use of files: In a statement, a Google spokesperson said Mitchell had shared “confidential business-sensitive documents and private data of other employees” outside the company. After Mitchell’s suspension last month, Google said activity in her account had triggered a security system. A source familiar with Mitchell’s suspension said she had been using a script to search her email for material…

newspaper-on-brown-wooden-table-stockpack-unsplash.jpg
newspaper on brown wooden table
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
February 22, 2021
Categorized
Media, Social Media
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Facebook Unfriends Australia, Blacks Out Critical News

It started as a trade dispute but the growing power of Big Social Media to impose news blackouts threatens freedom of information, even safety
Denyse O'Leary
February 22, 2021
Media, Social Media

Last week, in a business dispute with the government of Australia, Facebook wiped news from Australia from its 2.6 billion users’ feeds. Michael Cook (pictured), editor of Australia-based MercatorNet, explains what that meant: So when you checked your Facebook feed on February 18, you didn’t see anything from The Australian, The Guardian, the Sydney Morning Herald, the Herald Sun, Daily Telegraph or, initially, the Bureau of Meteorology, Western Australia’s Department of Fire and Emergency Services, Western Sydney Health, South Australia Health, various state health services and some state Governments. This is in the middle of the fire season and a Covid-19 pandemic, for which many people rely on Facebook for updates. You also didn’t see anything from MercatorNet or BioEdge,…

Seattle, Washington - November 22, 2019: General view of Amazon office building in Seattle, Washington
Type
post
Author
John G. West
Date
February 16, 2021
Categorized
Censorship, Media, Social Media
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Little-Known Civil Rights Law Could Bring Big Tech to Its Knees

Many tech giants have considerable assets and many employees in Seattle's jurisdiction
John G. West
February 16, 2021
Censorship, Media, Social Media

SEATTLE—As state and federal lawmakers consider drafting new legislation to counter big tech censorship of dissenting political voices, few seem to realize that an anti-discrimination law already on the books could spell big trouble for big tech companies that engage in political censorship.  Ironically, the law was enacted by one of the most politically progressive cities in the country: Seattle.  Unlike most political jurisdictions in the United States, Seattle expressly forbids discrimination on the basis of “political ideology.” Seattle defines political ideology expansively as any idea or belief, or coordinated body of ideas or beliefs, relating to the purpose, conduct, organization, function or basis of government and related institutions and activities, whether or not characteristic of any political party or group. This…

seo-symbol-on-the-keyboard-of-a-latop-3d-renderingconceptual-image-online-google-and-search-concepts-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
SEO symbol on the keyboard of a latop, 3d rendering,conceptual image. online google and search concepts.
Type
post
Author
News
Date
December 18, 2020
Categorized
Business and Finance, Economics, Ethics
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Why Are 38 American States Suing Google?

Better question: What search engine results do you NEVER see?
News
December 18, 2020
Business and Finance, Economics, Ethics

The current lawsuit was announced by Colorado’s Attorney General Phil Weiser but 38 states are signatories. The big issue is alleged suppression of competition. First, a bit of background: This is not the first big time lawsuit. That one would be from the U.S. Department of Justice in October: In October, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Google, owned by Alphabet, for violating antitrust laws and actively enabling a monopoly in search engines and search advertising. The announcement followed a year’s worth of investigation by prosecutors, who “have spoken with Google’s rivals in technology and media, collecting information and documents that could be used to build a case.” The suit focuses on the tech giant’s illegal actions…

bangkok-thailand-25-aug-2020-men-hand-using-digital-tablet-for-search-information-on-google-wireless-smartphone-technology-with-intelligence-search-engine-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Bangkok, Thailand 25 AUG 2020. Men hand using digital tablet for search information on Google. Wireless Smartphone technology with intelligence search engine.
Type
post
Author
Denyse O'Leary
Date
December 8, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Work
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Google’s Leading AI Ethics Researcher Fired, Amid Controversy

Her research team targeted Google’s “cash cow”: advertising
Denyse O'Leary
December 8, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, Work

Timnit Gebru, a leading AI ethics researcher, was fired from Google early this month under circumstances that have raised suspicions across the industry: On December 2, the AI research community was shocked to learn that Timnit Gebru had been fired from her post at Google. Gebru, one of the leading voices in responsible AI research, is known among other things for coauthoring groundbreaking work that revealed the discriminatory nature of facial recognition, cofounding the Black in AI affinity group, and relentlessly advocating for diversity in the tech industry. But on Wednesday evening, she announced on Twitter that she had been terminated from her position as Google’s ethical AI co-lead. “Apparently my manager’s manager sent an email [to] my direct reports…

concept-of-a-futuristic-quantum-data-center-supercomputer-running-with-physical-waves-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Concept of a futuristic quantum data center, supercomputer running with physical waves
Type
post
Author
News
Date
December 4, 2020
Categorized
Artificial Intelligence, Programming
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Why Google’s “Quantum Supremacy” Isn’t Changing Much—Not Yet

Quantum computing was suggested by physicist Richard Feynman in 1982; the supremacy battles are quite recent
News
December 4, 2020
Artificial Intelligence, Programming

In last week’s podcast, “Enrique Blair on quantum computing,” Walter Bradley Center director Robert J. Marks talks with fellow computer engineer Enrique Blair about why quantum mechanics is so strange but important to our future. One thing they discussed was Google’s claim to quantum supremacy. What does it mean? Does it matter? https://episodes.castos.com/mindmatters/Mind-Matters-110-Enrique-Blair.mp3 The discussion of quantum supremacy begins at approximately 47:55. The Show Notes and transcript follow. Excerpts from the transcript: Robert J. Marks (pictured): Google recently announced they had achieved quantum supremacy. What is quantum supremacy, and how does that relate to the quantum computer and the other computers that we use today? Enrique Blair: It’s a pretty interesting buzzword. Maybe the first thing to mention is what…

quantum-wave-stockpack-adobe-stock.jpg
Quantum Wave
Type
podcast
Author
Robert J. Marks
Date
November 26, 2020
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Bingecast: Enrique Blair on Quantum Computing

Robert J. Marks
November 26, 2020

What is quantum mechanics? What can quantum computers do that classical computers can’t? Has Google achieved quantum supremacy? Robert J. Marks discusses the weird world of quantum mechanics with Dr. Enrique Blair. Show Notes 00:54 | Introducing Dr. Enrique Blair, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at Baylor University 03:08 | The history of quantum mechanics 13:16 | Quantum…