August 27, 2019
The Next Web reported, “This Terrifying AI Generates Fake Articles from Any News Site.” Now, the point here is to create an AI that can easily detect fake news, but researchers at the Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence began with one that could generate such content. Basically, it takes one to know one. We learn:
“A team of researchers at the institute recently developed Grover, a neural network capable of generating fake news articles in the style of actual human journalists. In essence, the group is fighting fire with fire because the better Grover gets at generating fakes, the better it’ll be at detecting them. … Most fake news is generated by humans and then spread on social media. But the rise of robust systems such as OpenAI’s controversial GPT-2 point toward a future where AI-generated articles are close enough to the real thing to obfuscate nearly any issue. While it’s easy enough to search a website to see if an article is legitimate, not everyone is going to do that. And if an article goes viral, no matter how false it is, some people will be convinced.”
Writer Tristan Greene shares some passages Grover wrote, so see the article if you wish to read those. They are pretty convincing, especially if one just skims the text (as many readers do).. One example aptly mimics President Obama’s writing/ speaking style, while another seems to spook Greene with how well it captures his own writing essence. The article concludes with this link, where each of us can take Grover for a test drive. Modern life is fun.
Cynthia Murrell, August 27, 2019
July 1, 2019
Data are often difficult to locate. Once located, verfication is a great deal of work. Nevertheless, you may find the “numbers” in “Examining Online Fraud in Southeast Asia (Infographic),” a useful reference point. Some data are in paragraphs like this one:
In 2018, the region’s internet economy hit US$72 billion in 2018 – double what it was in 2015. Southeast Asia is well on its way to exceed Google’s prediction of hitting US$200 billion by 2025, with ecommerce players such as Lazada, Shopee, and Tokopedia expanding their efforts in the region to meet the demands of consumers.
Others appear in graphics. Here a single item:
DarkCyber will comment on the methods used by fraudsters in an upcoming DarkCyber video.
Stephen E Arnold, July 1, 2019
April 24, 2019
Ah, data, big and small, are everywhere. Believe ’em or not:
5. Number of US airports with facial recognition systems. Source: Quartz
2. Number of towns in Kansas which gave Facebook-infused educational program an F. Source: New York Times
12,000. Number of factoids the UK government added to Alexa. Source: The Inquirer
10 percent. Percentage of Americans who do not use the Internet. Source: Pew Research Center
$2.7 billion. FBI’s calculation of the losses to cyber crime in 2018. Source: DarkReading
$30 million. Amount Apple spends for Amazon services. Source: Apple Insider
1 million. Number of robotaxis Elon Musk promises in 2020. Source: Engadget
48 percent. Percentage of Canadians who would be broke if they had to come up with more than $200. Source: BNN Bloomberg
90 minutes. Length of time it took The Weather Channel to recover rom a ransomeware attack. Source: ZDNet
33 percent. Percentage of companies using open source to reduce costs. Source: Enterprisers Project
23 million, Number of people in the US using 123456 as a password. Source: Slashdot
40 million. Number of cyber attacks on Ecuador since forcing Wikileaks’ founder out of the UK Ecuador embassy. Source: The Inquirer
28 percent. Number of US drivers who ignore the road due to mobile phone use. Source: CNet
50 percent. Amount of alcohol 10 percent of Australian drinkers imbibe. Source: Online Library Wiley
Stephen E Arnold, April 24, 2019
December 26, 2018
I read “Welcome to Dystopia : China Introduces AI Powered Tracking Uniform in Schools.” The article explains that “China has started to introduce school uniforms which track pupils all the time.”
The “all” is problematic. A student equipped with the new uniform has to take it off, presumably for normal body maintenance and the inevitable cleaning process.
The overstatement, I assume, is designed to make the point that China is going to keep social order using smart software and other tools.
The new uniform “comes with two chips embedded in the shoulder areas and works with an AI-powered school entrance system, which is equipped with facial recognition cameras.”
Combined with other monitoring gizmos, the question, “Where’s Wong? can be answered in a jiffy. The write up explains:
The entrance system, powered by facial recognition camera, can capture a 20-second-long video of each pupil going in or coming out of the school. The footage will be uploaded onto an app in real time for teachers and parents to watch.An alarm will go off if the school gate detects any pupil who leaves the school without permission,
The article suggests that location and identification takes seconds.
One presumes the search results will be objective and ad free.
Stephen E Arnold, December 26, 2018
June 22, 2018
Text-based social media tools, such as Twitter and Facebook remain the kings of social media in English-speaking countries like the United States and Great Britain. However, this is not the case around the world, where visual social media tools are overtaking them. We learned more from a recent ZD Net story, “What’s Driving Middle East’s Rush to Social Media?”
According to the story, Facebook is very popular in Saudi Arabia and UAE, but Snapchat, Instagram and the like are absolutely exploding.
“However, in some Middle East countries, Facebook use has dropped substantially, by up to -20 percent, since 2013. Reasons for this decline aren’t clear but may include privacy concerns and preferences to use newer and more visually orientated social networks.”
The Middle East is not the only place where visual social media is really gaining traction. The marketing world is already hip to this trend. Many wise ad agencies and brand-centric marketers are touting the power of visual social media to construct a company’s narrative and brand. This is not just a blip on a radar, but a global phenomenon that is poised to leave text-based social media in the dust. Keep your eyes peeled as this trend catches on across other nations and businesses.
Patrick Roland, June 22, 2018
June 21, 2018
Maybe it has to do with a need for innovation and maybe it has to do with a need for Bing market share, but no matter what the motivation for Microsoft to kick its voice search program in to high gear was, we like it. Big changes are coming for the company and we discovered exactly what from a recent ZdNet story, “Microsoft Moves Toward Consolidating Its Many Speech Services.”
According to the story:
“Microsoft has some ambitious goals for its coming unified Speech Service, which falls under its Microsoft Cognitive Services umbrella.
“The new unified Speech Service “unites several Azure speech services that were previously available separately: Bing Speech (comprising speech recognition and text to speech), Custom Speech, and Speech Translation. Like its precursors, the Speech service is powered by the technologies used in other Microsoft products.”
Still skeptical? Microsoft recently reported a 346 percent increase in voice search in regards to hotel searches using its products. Flight searches were nearly as high. That is obviously a big huge arrow pointing toward the future and its interesting to see Microsoft grabbing the bull by the horns so quickly. Time will tell if it pans out, but we know Microsoft continues to plug away despite Google, without a mobile phone success, and in Amazon’s backyard.
Patrick Roland, June 21, 2018
June 20, 2018
Google has eagerly held its stronghold on the market and many of its tough exploits have been documented. Recently, their tactics seem to have reached a new level of seriousness, as we discovered in a recent Business Insider story, “Unlockd is Blaming Google for Going Into Administration.”
According to the story:
“The Unlockd app, which is backed by Rupert Murdoch’s son Lachlan, lets mobile users view ads, content, and offers based on their interests in exchange for rewards. It is only available on Android…“The company said it was planning to go public when Google threatened to ban its service from Google Play.”
This was a big blow to a company that was valued at $180 Million. However, it is appearing that Google is perhaps not the villain many are making them out to be in this scenario. Recently, Google has been giving users an option to turn off advertisements that know too much of their information. So, what once looked like a strong arm tactic to ruin a startup is now beginning to seem like Google turning a corner and helping users protect their information.
Patrick Roland, June 20, 2018
June 19, 2018
About a year ago, some of the biggest names in search declared that visual search was the next big horizon in the industry and that they were pouring great gobs of money into this world. If you are like us, visual search is not exactly part of your everyday life yet. But, that doesn’t mean it isn’t evolving, as we discovered in a fascinating Digital Trends story, “Not Happy With Pinterest Search Results? Refine it With Text and Photo Queries.”
According to the story:
“Pinterest announced the addition of text searches that work within the visual search tool, allowing users to give Pinterest Lens a bit more direction on the intent of the search. According to Pinterest, users make an average of 600 million searches every month.”
That’s an interesting trend and suggests an uptick. However, all these advances still don’t seem to be creeping into our daily life…yet. As reported by IT Pro Portal, retailers are starting to adopt visual search technology. This directly stems from the rise of shopping via cell phone, as opposed to laptops. And, as we all know, phones are custom made for visual search thanks to their cameras. The technology sounds like it is there, our interest is there as shoppers, and we think the storm is on the horizon where visual search overtakes the retail market soon.
Patrick Roland, June 19, 2018
June 18, 2018
It’s early in Harrod’s Creek. I read “Google Places a $550 Million Bet on China’s Second Largest E Commerce Player.” The write up was intriguing. Google is apparently interested in turning Avis into Hertz, at least in the Chinese e commerce arena. Also, I recall that Google wanted China’s political leaders to change. I am not sure Avis knocked Hertz out of the Number One spot in car rentals. Also, it seems to me that China has become focused on remaining distinctly Chinese with the added twist of surveillance, filtering, and other interesting information collection methods.
The CNBC “real” news outfit states:
The two tech companies said they would work together to develop retail infrastructure that can better personalize the shopping experience and reduce friction in a number of markets, including Southeast Asia. For its part, JD.com said it planned to make a selection of items available for sale in places like the U.S. and Europe through Google Shopping — a service that lets users search for products on e-commerce websites and compare prices between different sellers.
During my trips to China, I entertained myself looking for knock offs or counterfeit goods. For example, one of the individuals serving as my “guide” let me know that I could buy watches similar to those on offer at the Zurich airport shops. I took a look, and to my unpracticed eye, these watches looked pretty good. I did not buy one, however. I am happy with my easy to read Timex.
My hunch is that such goods will be filtered from those offered by the new retail team mates.
The timing is particularly Googley. The US and China are engaging in tariff checker games.
Worth monitoring, particularly if one is engaged in certain branded retail sectors.
Stephen E Arnold, June 18, 2018
June 5, 2018
I read “Facebook Gave Device Makers Deep Access to Data on Users and Friends.” The write up mentions Amazon as a company given “access to vast amounts of its users’ personal information.” So the answer appears to be “Yes.” I assume that the NYT report is “real” news. What can Amazon do with that data? Check out the Amazon analysis in this week’s DarkCyber.
Stephen E Arnold, June 5, 2018
