August 2020 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

Changing World, Changing Mozilla

by Giacomo Tesio

Over the last while, it has been clear that Mozilla is not structured properly to create these new things — and to build the better internet we all deserve. Today we announced a significant restructuring of Mozilla Corporation. This will strengthen our ability to build and invest in products and services that will give people alternatives to conventional Big Tech. Sadly, the changes also include a significant reduction in our workforce by approximately 250 people. [...] I desperately wish there was some other way to set Mozilla up for long term success in building a better internet. But to go further, we must be organized to be able to think about a different world. To imagine that technology will become embedded in our world even more than it is, and we want that technology to have different characteristics and values than we experience today. So going forward we will be smaller. We’ll also be organizing ourselves very differently, acting more quickly and nimbly. We’ll experiment more. We’ll adjust more quickly. We’ll join with allies outside of our organization more often and more effectively. We’ll meet people where they are. We’ll become great at expressing and building our core values into products and programs that speak to today’s issues. We’ll join and build with all those who seek openness, decency, empowerment and common good in online life. [...] I also realize this vision will feel abstract to many. With this in mind, we have mapped out five specific areas to focus on as we roll out this new structure over the coming months: 1. New focus on product... 2. New mindset... 3. New focus on technology... 4. New focus on community... 5. New focus on economics... We’re fortunate that Firefox and Mozilla retain a high degree of trust in the world. Trust and a feeling of authenticity feel unusual in tech today. But there is a sense that people want more from us. They want to work with us, to build with us. The changes we are making today are hard. But with these changes we believe we’ll be ready to meet these people — and the challenges and opportunities facing the future of the internet — head on. https://blog.mozilla.org/blog/2020/08/11/changing-world-changing-mozilla/ Giacomo

Aug. 11, 2020

Re: [nexa] The Global Internet Is a Mirage - The New York Times

by Giacomo Tesio

On Tue, 11 Aug 2020 09:15:51 +0200 Alberto Cammozzo via nexa <nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it> wrote: > But it’s not productive to pine for a utopian internet that never > really existed. When technologists lament the fracturing of the > internet world, I wonder if what they’re really mourning is the > fracturing of the world, period. Oppure si battono per la sua ri-unificazione. Internet non è un'illusione utopica ma una realtà subottimale. Veicolando in modo (sempre meno) percepibile le nostre comunicazioni, Internet è diventato un bene comune e come tale definisce UNA comunità nel momento in cui questa realizza l'importanza di sottrarlo all'abuso da parte di tutti i suoi membri. E' la tragedia della spazzatura: se non tuteli un bene comune, lo perdi. Internet ci rende consapevoli di essere UNA Comunità, UNA Umanità. Svolge questa funzione meglio del nostro pianeta perché per milioni di anni ci siamo evoluti dando per scontato quest'ultimo. Dunque non mi sorprendo che qualcuno voglia smantellare Internet invece di sottrarlo all'egemonia statunitense per proteggerlo da interessi economici e politici come un bene comune dell'Umanità. In tanti temono un'Umanità che si scoprisse necessariamente unita. Giacomo

Aug. 11, 2020

first ‘FLY AI’ report on the current use and future potential of artificial intelligence in aviation

by don Luca Peyron

The first Fly AI report provides an overview of the many ways that artificial intelligence is already applied in our industry and assesses its potential to transform the sector. https://www.eurocontrol.int/publication/fly-ai-report _________________________ don Luca Peyron Direttore Ufficio per la Pastorale Universitaria Arcidiocesi di Torino www.universitari.to.it via XX settembre 83, Torino tel. 011 5156239

Aug. 11, 2020

The Global Internet Is a Mirage - The New York Times

by Alberto Cammozzo

<https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/10/technology/global-internet.html> The U.S. government’s proposed ban on Chinese apps like TikTok and WeChat plays into technologists’ fears that the internet utopia is crumbling. The worry is that instead of a world brought closer together by the internet, a tech fight between the United States and China threatens to further splinter the digital world along country borders. I share those concerns. But let me explain why a splintered internet isn’t so novel, or necessarily a horrible thing. First, the internet was never as global or interconnected as the ideal. What we mean when we talk about a unified global internet is a history in which the internet was dominated by America, with U.S. companies and U.S. values infusing the world. The exception was China, which operated a parallel internet world. For years, foreign governments at times pushed back at the American-tinged internet. They sometimes had understandable reasons. Germany, for example, has strong norms of personal privacy and strict rules against denial of the Holocaust. That has resulted in conflict with the American internet companies’ standards of personal data collection and free expression. Other times, governments have imposed restrictions on online activity to silence opposition from their own citizens. Whether or not we agree with such tactics, the internet has never been a single global blob where borders didn’t matter. And do we want it to be? I’m an American, and I prefer our relatively freewheeling internet to what exists in Russia or Vietnam. But I also recognize that each country has its own tax codes, labor laws and auto safety regulations. When Ford makes car bumpers, it has to figure out how to alter designs to meet different safety rules in Italy and Nigeria. There are technical reasons that it’s trickier to make country-to-country rules about a website than the strength of car bumpers. But the idea of internet policy changing when you go from Brazil to Argentina is not crazy. That’s not to say that there’s nothing to worry about. I’m concerned that banning apps, writing laws restricting what people can say online or shutting down internet access entirely costs people digital lifelines to the outside world, and that the internet is one more way for authoritarian regimes to exert dominance. But it’s not productive to pine for a utopian internet that never really existed. When technologists lament the fracturing of the internet world, I wonder if what they’re really mourning is the fracturing of the world, period.

Aug. 11, 2020

Il buon Samaritano e la sharing economy

by don Luca Peyron

Semplice, diretto. Buona lettura dl p.s. anche se confonde il buon samaritano con S. Martino... https://www.avvenire.it/economia/pagine/il-buon-samaritano-e-la-sharing-eco… <https://www.avvenire.it/economia/pagine/il-buon-samaritano-e-la-sharing-eco…> _________________________ don Luca Peyron Direttore Ufficio per la Pastorale Universitaria Arcidiocesi di Torino www.universitari.to.it via XX settembre 83, Torino tel. 011 5156239

Aug. 10, 2020

8 million people, 14 alerts: why some covid-19 apps are staying silent

by Giacomo Tesio

When France launched its app for digital contact tracing, it looked like a possible breakthrough for the virus-ravaged country. After going live in June, StopCovid was downloaded by 2 million people in a short time, and digital affairs minister Cédric O said that “from the first downloads, the app helps avoid contamination, illness, and so deaths.” But officials soon had to walk their enthusiasm back after it emerged that in its first three weeks the app had alerted only 14 people to tell them they might have been exposed to the coronavirus. [...] Part of the criticism may be due to too much hype. [...] On a mathematical level, too, the low level of notifications might be expected [...] However, even with the most optimistic lens, it’s clear there’s a gulf between what was promised and what these apps are delivering. [...] “This is the prime risk for developers: you make one mistake and wipe out somebody’s battery,” says Andrew Eland, who until recently worked as an engineering director at Google and then DeepMind Health. [...] “If you want to know the best way to spend time and money on technology to track and trace coronavirus infections, it would probably be better to focus on making manual contact tracing more efficient,” says Eland. Continua su https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/07/10/1005027/8-million-people-14-ale… Giacomo

Aug. 10, 2020

Re: [nexa] Lo sviluppo gentile

by M. Fioretti

On Sun, Aug 09, 2020 18:28:08 PM +0200, don Luca Peyron wrote: > ... Se continueremo a guardare la tecnologia solamente come > innovazione rischiamo però di non riuscirne a percepire la portata > di trasformazione sociale né di orientarne verso il bene gli > effetti. la mia proposta in proposito, "formattata" secondo la dottrina sociale cattolica ma pienamente applicabile anche al di fuori di essa, e' qui, da tempo: http://mfioretti.com/2013/04/minneapolis-catholics-and-the-openness-revolut… a disposizione per spiegarla e svilupparla/diffonderla ulteriormente. Marco -- M. Fioretti http://mfioretti.com http://stop.zona-m.net Your own civil rights and the quality of your life heavily depend on how software is used *around* you

Aug. 10, 2020

Amazon and Mall Operator Look at Turning Sears, J.C. Penney Stores Into Fulfillment Centers

by Roberto Dolci

Ciao Luigi, Poi aggiungi questo https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-e-commerce-booms-robots-pick-up-human-slack… Quello che manca all’articolo e’ un piccolo insignificante dettaglio. Questi robot li compri ed installi per $50k cadauno, ovvero $5/ora su 6.000 ore lavorate anno , ed in due anni te li ripaghi. Se sei Jeff B. Se sei Jim il magazziniere in carne ed ossa, ed ora prendi $15/ora, la felicita’ di avere uno o piu’ compagni robotici durera’ poco. Ovviamente Sue, Randall, Colin e Bobby da bravi robot non spendono, non comprano, non vanno in vacanza e son pessimi consumatori. Quindi continuare a pagare Jim il magazziere umano serve a mantenere la domanda. Per il resto ci sara’ il reddito di cittadinanza. Happy Monday 😊 Roberto From: nexa <nexa-bounces(a)server-nexa.polito.it> On Behalf Of Luigi Scorca Sent: Monday, August 10, 2020 5:57 AM To: Nexa <nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it> Subject: [nexa] Amazon and Mall Operator Look at Turning Sears, J.C. Penney Stores Into Fulfillment Centers https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-and-giant-mall-operator-look-at-turning… Luigi -- Luigi Scorca Mob: +39 347 85 22 221 Mail: luigi.scorca(a)gmail.com<mailto:luigi.scorca@gmail.com>

Aug. 10, 2020

Classifica dei 500 uomini più ricchi del mondo

by don Luca Peyron

Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg. O anche Amazon, Microsoft, Facebook. Così il podio dei tre uomini più ricchi del mondo, secondo il Bloomberg Billionaires Index, e delle rispettive creature, tutte legate alla Silicon Valley, il colosso della logistica mondiale, il fondatore dell’azienda con i più diffusi software da ufficio, il creatore del social network più popolare nel mondo. La ricchezza mondiale corre online. Tutto noto, quasi gossip da spiaggia... ma numeri interessanti se pensiamo a monopoli, democrazia, libertà. Chi sale, chi scende, chi non c'è più da tempo. Buona lettura dl https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/bezos-gates-zuckerberg-guidano-classifica-5… _________________________ don Luca Peyron Direttore Ufficio per la Pastorale Universitaria Arcidiocesi di Torino www.universitari.to.it via XX settembre 83, Torino tel. 011 5156239

Aug. 10, 2020

Amazon and Mall Operator Look at Turning Sears, J.C. Penney Stores Into Fulfillment Centers

by Luigi Scorca

https://www.wsj.com/articles/amazon-and-giant-mall-operator-look-at-turning… Luigi -- Luigi Scorca Mob: +39 347 85 22 221 Mail: luigi.scorca(a)gmail.com

Aug. 10, 2020