December 2019 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

Uber’s “Academic Research” Program: How to Use Famous Economists to Spread Corporate Narratives -
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 5, 2019

Dec. 5, 2019

Uber’s “Academic Research” Program: How to Use Famous Economists to Spread Corporate Narratives Posted on December 5, 2019 by Hubert Horan Uber’s employees co-authored academic papers with brand name scholars that were then used to back the company’s PR and lobbying strategy. Published in respected journals, those articles are based on proprietary data and non-replicable analysis. Moreover, they all don’t discuss the subsidies that make it possible for Uber to pursue market dominance despite its endless losses. https://promarket.org/ubers-academic-research-program-how-to-use-famous-eco… (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

1 0

‘Short window’ to stop AI taking control of society, warns ex-Google employee
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 5, 2019

Dec. 5, 2019

Short window’ to stop AI taking control of society, warns ex-Google employee Meredith Whittaker warns we are becoming lab animals in a giant tech experiment https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/short-window-to-stop-ai-taki… (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

1 0

Optimal solid state neurons
by Giacomo Tesio Dec. 5, 2019

Dec. 5, 2019

Scusate, ho dimenticato di aggiungere l'oggetto della mail... Giacomo On 05/12/2019, Giacomo Tesio <giacomo(a)tesio.it> wrote: > Bioelectronic medicine is driving the need for neuromorphic > microcircuits that integrate raw nervous stimuli and respond > identically to biological neurons. However, designing such circuits > remains a challenge. Here we estimate the parameters of highly > nonlinear conductance models and derive the ab initio equations of > intracellular currents and membrane voltages embodied in analog > solid-state electronics. By configuring individual ion channels of > solid-state neurons with parameters estimated from large-scale > assimilation of electrophysiological recordings, we successfully > transfer the complete dynamics of hippocampal and respiratory neurons > in silico. The solid-state neurons are found to respond nearly > identically to biological neurons under stimulation by a wide range of > current injection protocols. The optimization of nonlinear models > demonstrates a powerful method for programming analog electronic > circuits. This approach offers a route for repairing diseased > biocircuits and emulating their function with biomedical implants that > can adapt to biofeedback. > > Continua su https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-13177-3 > > Ne scrive anche Enrica Battifoglia per Ansa: > http://www.ansa.it/canale_scienza_tecnica/notizie/biotech/2019/12/04/-primo… > > Certamente un ambito di ricerca enormemente interessante dal punto di > vista medico, che magari fra qualche decennio porterà ad una forte > mitigazione dei sintomi delle malattie neurodegenerative. > > Eppure apre anche a scenari inquietanti. > > > Giacomo >

1 0

(no subject)
by Giacomo Tesio Dec. 5, 2019

Dec. 5, 2019

Bioelectronic medicine is driving the need for neuromorphic microcircuits that integrate raw nervous stimuli and respond identically to biological neurons. However, designing such circuits remains a challenge. Here we estimate the parameters of highly nonlinear conductance models and derive the ab initio equations of intracellular currents and membrane voltages embodied in analog solid-state electronics. By configuring individual ion channels of solid-state neurons with parameters estimated from large-scale assimilation of electrophysiological recordings, we successfully transfer the complete dynamics of hippocampal and respiratory neurons in silico. The solid-state neurons are found to respond nearly identically to biological neurons under stimulation by a wide range of current injection protocols. The optimization of nonlinear models demonstrates a powerful method for programming analog electronic circuits. This approach offers a route for repairing diseased biocircuits and emulating their function with biomedical implants that can adapt to biofeedback. Continua su https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-13177-3 Ne scrive anche Enrica Battifoglia per Ansa: http://www.ansa.it/canale_scienza_tecnica/notizie/biotech/2019/12/04/-primo… Certamente un ambito di ricerca enormemente interessante dal punto di vista medico, che magari fra qualche decennio porterà ad una forte mitigazione dei sintomi delle malattie neurodegenerative. Eppure apre anche a scenari inquietanti. Giacomo

1 0

The future internet regulation - Aral Balkan at the European Parliament - With Slides - La Quadrature du Net
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 4, 2019

Dec. 4, 2019

Circa 17’ molto ben spesi: https://video.lqdn.fr/videos/watch/861c07f7-7e9b-4e64-9765-cf1de592c8a0 (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

2 1

Fwd: Job Vacancy post-doc
by J.C. DE MARTIN Dec. 3, 2019

Dec. 3, 2019

-------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Job Vacancy post-doc Resent-Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2019 17:29:31 +0100 Resent-From: d004620(a)polito.it Date: Tue, 3 Dec 2019 16:27:33 +0000 From: Sapignoli, Maria <sapignoli(a)eth.mpg.de> To: info(a)nexa.polito.it <info(a)nexa.polito.it> To whom it might concern, Can you please circulate the announcement below in your center, to your networks, PhD students, or other individuals or groups who might be interested in applying for these positions? This is a *post-doc vacancy* for the project */AI/ming Toward the Future: Policing, Governance, and Artificial Intelligence *at the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology (Germany). See file attached and link below. Link: https://recruitingapp-5034.de.umantis.com/Jobs/2%3Flang=eng Login | Bewerbermanagement: Max-Planck-Institut für ethnologische Forschung | Haufe Talent Management <https://recruitingapp-5034.de.umantis.com/Jobs/2%3Flang=eng> recruitingapp-5034.de.umantis.com Haufe Talent Management Many thanks in advance. Best wishes, Maria Sapignoli Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology Advokatenweg 36, 06114 Halle (Saale), Germany www.eth.mpg.de/sapignoli <http://www.eth.mpg.de/sapignoli>

2 1

[Legal Design Roundtable] - 1-2 April, UCLouvain
by Monica Palmirani Dec. 3, 2019

Dec. 3, 2019

Sono a segnalare l'iniziativa sul Legal Design che si terrà nei giorni 1-2 Aprile, presso la UCLouvain - Université Catholique de Louvain, dal titolo "Legal Design Roundtable". http://eitlab.eu/ldr2020-cfp/ =========================================== Full professor of Legal Informatics School of Law Coordinator of MSCA-ITN EJD LAST-JD-RIoE Scientific Director of Legal Blockchain Lab Director of the Summer School LEX Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna C.I.R.S.F.I.D. http://www.cirsfid.unibo.it/ Palazzo Dal Monte Gaudenzi - Via Galliera, 3 I - 40121 BOLOGNA (ITALY) Tel +39 051 277217 Fax +39 051 260782 E-mail monica.palmirani(a)unibo.it<mailto:monica.palmirani@unibo.it>

1 0

How we fixed DRM in Portugal (and so can you)
by Giacomo Tesio Dec. 3, 2019

Dec. 3, 2019

Digital Restrictions Management (originally introduced by the entertainment industry as Digital Rights Management), are technologies that prevent, control, or restrict the use of hardware, software, or other creative works like books, films, music, etc.. They are also known as anti-copy technologies. In 1998 in USA and in 2001 in Europe, these technologies were given legal protection by the lawmakers. Copyright holders convinced the lawmakers that they needed DRM to be protected by the law in order to stop file-sharing without commercial purposes. This legal protection meant that breaking the DRM started to be illegal or a crime. In Portugal, for example, breaking the DRM had a penalty of up to one year in prison, until 2017. Even if you did something legal. In Europe, we have a set of copyright exceptions to guarantee fundamental rights. These are uses of the work we are allowed to do without having to ask permission to the rightholders and authors. Depending on the law in your country, you can make a private copy, use works or parts of works for education and scientific research, quotations for criticism or review. Libraries and other cultural heritage institutions have a set of exceptions that allow them to make available works to the public and to digitally preserve those works, and the press also has a set of exceptions to guarantee the right to information. These exceptions are described in article 5 of the InfoSoc European Directive. When lawmakers gave legal protection to DRM, they didn't really protect these exceptions, which meant that while citizens have these rights, they cannot exercise them, since there is no way to exercise most of them without breaking the DRM. For instance, if you bought a music CD and your country has a private copy exception[^1], you can make a digital copy to listen to its music on your mobile phone. But, if the CD has DRM, while you still have the right to make a copy, you cannot exercise it, since there is no way to make a private copy of a DRMed CD without breaking the DRM, which you are not allowed to do. [...] With the knowledge of how to exercise our rights, we decided to test the law. We got a DVD with DRM and contacted IGAC telling them we wanted to make a private copy, and asked them for the "means" to make such private copy without breaking the DRM. This would be a copyright exception in Portugal, and thus a legal action. The first request we actually made was for the means to legally watch a DVD with DRM on our GNU/Linux laptop, but IGAC didn't understand this request, so we used the private copy exception, which seems to be easier to understand. After pointing IGAC to the law and which exact articles we were trying to exercise, they told us they couldn't give us what we asked since they didn't have those "means", as the rightholders had not deposited them. That is a situation the law didn't foresee, therefore there was no penalty for rightholders that didn't make such a deposit. We made sure to get a written statement from IGAC saying they didn't have those "means" (either to that DVD or anything else), which was important for us to use as a proof that the law at that moment didn't work. [...] During the discussions in the Portuguese Parliament, we pointed out that the law at that time didn't work since IGAC didn't have the "means" needed. We went a step further and claimed that, if they didn't want to change the law as we proposed, they had to at least change it to establish a punishment for the rightholders not handing those "means" over, and that the parliament should invite them to speak, and explain why they didn't do it. Both IGAC and the rightholders were called to the Parliament. Both admitted they didn't have the keys, and the rightholders even added they would never get the keys from the companies that made the DRM systems. # Present your alternative At this point, our feeling was that most members of the parliament knew we were right: the solution the law had didn't and couldn't work. So, they were ready to approve the change in the law. The approved law was proposed by the Left Bloc, with the votes in favour of the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, the Greens Party, and the Persons, animals, and Nature Party and was promulgated by the President of Portugal on 2nd of June of 2017. The law also prohibited DRM in public domain works, in new editions of public domain works, and in works published by public entities or funded by public money. Continua su https://fsfe.org/news/2019/news-20191113-01.en.html Giacomo

1 0

The .Org Fire Sale: How it sold for less than half its valuation
by Giacomo Tesio Dec. 3, 2019

Dec. 3, 2019

Ethos Capital seems on track to complete their takeover of .org early next year. ICANN claims it is powerless to stop the acquisition. ISOC president Andrew Sullivan suggested nothing but a court order would make ISOC change their minds. (To that end, optimists can write to the state DA, who still has to approve the sale.) Sullivan also reported in his latest public letter that the acquisition of PIR (their 990, for reference) was for $1.135B. This seems to be well below the market value of .org, even if the buyer doesn’t reconsider bolder price hikes. Lance Wiggs (investor, consultant, former councillor for InternetNZ) estimates that this undervalues the registry by $1B-10B, depending on how creatively it is managed, and that the investors took almost no risk for a chance at a 5x return. And while there is a range of estimates out there for the true value of .org, the sale price is on the low end under conservative assumptions. How did this happen? Among other things: - No competitive bid. [...] - No public market / sale analysis. [...] - No public story of how the deal came together. [...] - No discussion of alternatives to financing an endowment. [...] Sullivan also shared many conflicting thoughts in an interview with the Register: he thinks not many people care about the sale; public pushback has been strong; the sale would not have happened if there had been public discussion. His presentation of the offer to the ISOC Board also highlighted a need for speed and secrecy, and details were redacted from the board’s minutes. Continua su https://blogs.harvard.edu/sj/2019/12/02/the-dot-org-fire-sale-sold-for-half… Giacomo

1 0

A Different Kind of Transparency
by Giacomo Tesio Dec. 3, 2019

Dec. 3, 2019

Librem 5 Birch Hardware Schematics We are excited to share the hardware schematics for the Librem 5 Birch batch with you today. You may be wondering why anyone would share their hardware schematics with the world? After all making a ground breaking open and freedom respecting phone is expensive and takes a long time. We are doing it because we believe in the freedom to choose hardware and software that treats you like a person and not a commodity to be exploited for profit. We believe that you should have full ownership of your hardware, you shouldn’t have to essentially rent it from a company to be safe. While privacy and security are popular marketing terms these days, when many companies use those words they expect your complete and blind trust and reliance. While we believe you should trust us, we don’t require you to put blind trust in us. By publishing our schematics we give you the ability to verify that trust on your own (or with the help of someone else). Continua su https://puri.sm/posts/a-different-kind-of-transparency/ Giacomo

1 0