September 2021 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

Apple Threatened to Boot Facebook From the App Store: WSJ
by Alberto Cammozzo Sept. 18, 2021

Sept. 18, 2021

<https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-threatened-to-kick-facebook-off-app-s…> Apple threatened to kick Facebook off its App Store after a 2019 BBC report <https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-50228549> detailed how human traffickers were using Facebook to sell victims, according to The Wall Street Journal <https://www.businessinsider.com/reviews/out?platform=browser&postSource=bi%…>. The paper viewed company documents that show a Facebook investigation team was tracking down a human trafficking market in the Middle East whose organizers were using Facebook's services. What appeared to be employment agencies were advertising domestic workers that they could supply against their will, per the Journal. The BBC published a sweeping undercover investigation of the practice, prompting Apple to threaten to remove Facebook from its store, the paper said. An internal memo found that Facebook was aware of the practice even before then: A Facebook researcher wrote in a report dated 2019, "was this issue known to Facebook before BBC inquiry and Apple escalation?," per the Journal. Underneath the question reads, "Yes. Throughout 2018 and H1 2019 we conducted the global Understanding Exercise in order to fully understand how domestic servitude manifests no our platform across its entire life cycle: recruitment, facilitation, and exploitation." Apple and Facebook did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Wall Street Journal on Thursday also reported how Facebook's AI content moderators cannot detect most languages <https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-content-moderation-ai-cant-speak-a…> used on the platform, a needed skill if the company is going to monitor content in foreign markets where it has expanded. The paper found that human moderators don't know how to speak the languages used in those markets, leaving a blind spot in the company's efforts to crack down on harmful content. One result was drug cartels and human traffickers using the platform to conduct their business, per The Journal.

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Instagram è pericoloso per la salute mentale delle ragazze. E Facebook lo sa
by don Luca Peyron Sept. 16, 2021

Sept. 16, 2021

Una ricerca interna della società di Menlo Park, rivelata dal Wsj, mostra che la società di Zuckerberg è consapevole che il social delle foto può portare a disturbi alimentari e depressione. Buona lettura dl https://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/instagram-e-pericoloso-la-salute-mentale-ra… _________________________ don Luca Peyron Direttore Ufficio per la Pastorale Universitaria Arcidiocesi di Torino www.universitari.to.it via XX settembre 83, Torino tel. 011 5156239

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IEEE Launches New Standard to Address Ethical Concerns During Systems Design | Business Wire
by Alberto Cammozzo Sept. 16, 2021

Sept. 16, 2021

<https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210915005012/en/IEEE-Launches-New-…> IEEE, the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, and the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE SA) <https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstandards…> today announced the launch of IEEE 7000™-2021 - IEEE Standard Model Process for Addressing Ethical Concerns During System Design <https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fengagesta…> that provides a clear methodology to analyze human and social values relevant for an ethical system engineering effort. “Value-based Engineering (VbE), a methodology providing ways to elicit, conceptualize, prioritize and respect end user values in system design, is at the heart of IEEE 7000-2021 and provides companies with a highly practical approach to master the values based challenges of their digital transformation” IEEE 7000-2021 is recommended for use by organizations that seek to apply broader ethical value criteria and minimize risk, thereby helping to strengthen relationships with their end users and customers. Organizations may apply this first of its kind standard across multiple levels including concept exploration, system requirements definition, or development of new or revised products or services. “Engineers, their managers, and other stakeholders benefit from well-defined processes for considering ethical issues along with the usual concerns of system performance and functionality early in the system life cycle,” said Konstantinos Karachalios, Managing Director of IEEE SA. “End users can be unaware of the ethical considerations regarding the products and services they use; this is why IEEE supported the launch of the IEEE 7000 series of standards including this standard that also complements our Ethics Certification Program for Autonomous and Intelligent Systems (ECPAIS) <https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fstandards…> certification criteria offering. It is only by rigorously prioritizing ethical concerns at the outset of design that manufacturers, engineers, and technologists can responsibly align products and services with results honoring the contextual values of customers, citizens, and society at large.” This standard provides: * a system engineering standard approach integrating human and social values into traditional systems engineering and design. * processes for engineers to translate stakeholder values and ethical considerations into system requirements and design practices. * a systematic, transparent, and traceable approach to address ethically-oriented regulatory obligations in the design of autonomous intelligent systems. “Value-based Engineering (VbE), a methodology providing ways to elicit, conceptualize, prioritize and respect end user values in system design, is at the heart of IEEE 7000-2021 and provides companies with a highly practical approach to master the values based challenges of their digital transformation,” said Dr. Sarah Spiekermann, Chair of The Institute for Information Systems & Society at Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU Vienna) and Vice-Chair of IEEE 7000-2021. "IEEE 7000-2021 test users identified ten issues per person involved in the project, demonstrating that the utilization of value-based Engineering can lead to fewer project risks and exponential innovation. This is a massive improvement relative to current technical roadmap processes." A key part of digital transformation provided by IEEE 7000-2021 comes in addressing risk. Where traditional evaluations of technological risk may focus largely on areas of physical harm, the VbE methodology provides a broader lens to consider also potential value harms associated with product or systems design. This makes the standard unique and deeply important in terms of ease of adoption of applied ethics methodologies in emerging technologies such as AI. The use of this standard could help organizations better earn and keep the trust of end-users and stakeholders by directly addressing ethical concerns upfront, leading to greater market acceptance of their products, services, or systems. For more information, to purchase, or to view a read-only version of the IEEE 7000-2021 Standard, click here <https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fengagesta…>.

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UN calls for moratorium on AI that threatens human rights | Business and Economy News | Al Jazeera
by Alberto Cammozzo Sept. 16, 2021

Sept. 16, 2021

<https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/9/15/warning-of-risk-un-rights-chief…> The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday called for a moratorium on the sale and use of artificial intelligence (AI) systems that threaten human rights until adequate safeguards are in place to ensure the technology will not be abused. “We cannot afford to continue playing catch-up regarding AI – allowing its use with limited or no boundaries or oversight, and dealing with the almost inevitable human rights consequences after the fact,” Bachelet said in a press release <https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/media.aspx?IsMediaPage=true>. The UN human rights office released a report <https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session48/Documents/A…> on Wednesday warning of the risks of AI technologies, and emphasising that while AI can serve as a force for good, it can also cause catastrophic effects if used irresponsibly. “The complexity of the data environment, algorithms and models underlying the development and operation of AI systems, as well as intentional secrecy of government and private actors are factors undermining meaningful ways for the public to understand the effects of AI systems on human rights and society,” the report states. Bachelet, who is the UN’s human rights chief, stressed that AI applications that do not comply with international human rights law must be banned. “The power of AI to serve people is undeniable, but so is AI’s ability to feed human rights violations at an enormous scale with virtually no visibility. Action is needed now to put human rights guardrails on the use of AI, for the good of all of us,” Bachelet stressed. AI’s abilities to conduct profiling and automate decision-making – as well as its other uses – threaten myriad human rights. It can affect the “rights to health, education, freedom of movement, freedom of peaceful assembly and association, and freedom of expression,” the UN human rights office warned. “AI systems are used to determine who gets public services, decide who has a chance to be recruited for a job, and of course they affect what information people see and can share online,” the high commissioner said. The report expresses deep concern over some countries and the private sector adopting AI applications without first studying the myriad risks of the technology. There have already been some dangerous blunders, the UN office said, noting cases where individuals were denied social security benefits or arrested because of flawed facial recognition. AI systems often collect, share, merge and analyse data in opaque ways. The information that AI collects can be compromised, out of date and even discriminatory. “The risk of discrimination linked to AI-driven decisions – decisions that can change, define or damage human lives – is all too real,” Bachelet said. “This is why there needs to be systematic assessment and monitoring of the effects of AI systems to identify and mitigate human rights risks.”

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Francesca Bria martedì 21/9 ore 18 alle Ogr di Torino dialoga con me e col pubblico sul rapporto tra tecnologia e democrazia
by Masera Anna Sept. 16, 2021

Sept. 16, 2021

Ciao a tutti, vi segnalo questo appuntamento https://ogrtorino.it/events/ogr-public-program-rassegna-scintille-innovazio… Anna Masera Inviato da iPhone ________________________________ Il presente messaggio (inclusi gli allegati) contiene informazioni riservate esclusivamente al destinatario/ai destinatari indicato/i nel messaggio, ed è protetto dalla legge. La diffusione, distribuzione e/o la copia del contenuto del presente messaggio da parte di qualsiasi soggetto diverso dal destinatario è severamente vietata ai sensi dell’art. 616 c.p. e delle vigenti normative in materia di protezione dei dati personali. Se non siete i destinatari del presente messaggio, vi preghiamo di distruggerlo e di darcene immediata comunicazione inviando un messaggio di ritorno all’indirizzo e-mail del mittente. This message (including any attachments) contains confidential information intended only for the recipient(s) named above, and is protected by law. Any disclosure, distribution and/or copying of this message by any subject different from the named recipient(s) is strictly prohibited according to art. 616 c.p. and to the applicable data protection laws. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete this message and inform us immediately about the deletion by sending a message to the sender’s e-mail address. ________________________________

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FWD: Re[2]: Facebook Says Its Rules Apply to All. Company Documents Reveal a Secret Elite That’s Exempt.
by Marco Fioretti Sept. 16, 2021

Sept. 16, 2021

Rimando in lista la risposta mandata per mio errore solo a Giovanni: On Tue, Sep 14, 2021 at 13:29, 380° <g380(a)biscuolo.net> wrote: La soluzione tecnologica (software) sarebbe semplicissima: 1. rendere le piattaforme interoperabili (ma davvero, mica come è successo fino ad oggi) in modo tale che ciascun utente vi si connetta col software che sceglie in autonomia anziché attraverso l'interfaccia web o la app imposta CON LA FORZA [1] ... ESATTO! Sono anni che dico che basterebbe questo, anziche' menate antitrust assolutamente fuori tema, per ridurre il problema a un decimo, al massimo, di quello che e' oggi. Vedi https://stop.zona-m.net/2021/05/should-digital-protocols-be-legally-enforce… https://stop.zona-m.net/2019/11/adversarial-interoperability.-of-course./ come ulteriore prova che basterebbe questo (anche se il "prontamente terrorizzato" mi mancava, quando / a chi e' successo? E che bisogno c'era, considerando che Facebook basta disattivare certe API finche' gli si permette legalmente di farlo), ricordo che io e tanti altri ci connettevamo esattamente "col software che ognuno si scriveva in autonomia", E in mezza giornata, NOVE anni fa: https://www.techrepublic.com/blog/linux-and-open-source/ how-to-access-facebook-from-the-command-line/ ma pochi mesi dopo quel post smise di essere possibile, esattamente perche' Facebook "spense" quelle API. GRAZIE proprio, da una parte ai politici che credevano come oggi che "antitrust" fosse un concetto pertinente al caso, e dall'altra a tutti i soloni e fanatici FOSS che promettevano sfracelli "real soon now" grazie ad approcci altrettanto fuori target come freedombox, diaspora e compagnia bella. PS: nei miei due post sopra e in quelli linkati da li' c'e' gia' spiegazioni in abbondanza di queste affermazioni, quindi se vi va di discuterne, prima per favore leggete li'. Giusto per risparmiare tempo. Marco -- Help me to continue my digital awareness blogging: https://stop.zona-m.net/christmas-2020-fundraising/

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9/11, the Coup that Failed. The Role of the Memesphere
by Antonio Iacono Sept. 16, 2021

Sept. 16, 2021

Riporto la conclusione di questo articolo: https://thesenecaeffect.blogspot.com/2021/09/911-coup-that-failed-role-of-m… ... The possibility of horizontal meme spreading caused the development of a large number of "conspiracy theories" about the 9/11 attacks spreading over the Web mainly by person-to-person communication. These memes could be demonized, ridiculed, dismissed, and contrasted in many ways, but could never be completely eliminated. The result was that the polls consistently showed that a significant minority of the US population believed that the attacks were a false flag (*), while a majority kept thinking that the government knew about the attack plans but chose not to stop the attackers. So the government could not obtain the kind of blanketing communication that was possible with the traditional media. It may be argued that the impossibility of obtaining a 100% consensus is the main reason that prevented the taking over of the government by a populist leader. Now, 20 years after the 9/11 attacks, the media are still tightly controlled by the government, but the memetic conflict has become harsher. The media are engaged in an all-out attack against the Internet communication sphere. The dissent is now branded as "fake news" and actively suppressed on social media. But the Internet is vast and there are many channels of communication that the government seems to be unable to close. The virtual battle is raging. It could lead to a return to a pyramidal communication network if the government manages to take control of the memesphere. Or that may turn out to be impossible and the fluid nature of the memesphere may remain alive, leading to a fragmentation of the social sphere. We are already seeing that. As always, we live in interesting times (in the sense of the ancient Chinese malediction).

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PRO-VAX NO-PASS
by Antonio Iacono Sept. 16, 2021

Sept. 16, 2021

Il pensiero dicotomico, dominante in questi ultimi tempi, ci porta a dividere la società in due, i PRO e i NO. La nostra, come ci dicono i sociologi, è una società dell'informazione. Proviamo a tracciare un grafico a forma di campana, una campana di Gauss. In questa /distribuzione/ ipotizziamo che nella parte iniziale ci siano i poco o nulla informati, nella parte centrale i mediamente informati e nella parte finale i più informati. Bene, l'informazione /mainstream/ è PRO. Pro-vax, Pro-pass, Pro-TAV, Pro-scienza, Pro /o filo/ governativa (in una democrazia governa chi rappresenta la maggioranza dei cittadini), ecc. Chi si trova ai lati della campana, ovvero i poco da una e i più informati dall'altra, non è infrequente che siano dei NO. Per usare un'iperbole, il /nulla informato/ per eccellenza è chi nega la sfericità della Terra. Nel pensiero dicotomico, però, questa cosa non va bene. Ai PRO è indispensabile che i NO siano tutti da una parte, un NO, per antonomasia deve essere NO a tutto, e, ovviamente, in cima, un NO all'informazione, un NO alla ragione. In questo modo, evitando deliberatamente i NO che si trovano nel lato della campana dei /più informati/, si ha gioco facile. Il PRO-VAX e nel contempo NO-PASS è una creatura mitica, una manticora, un centauro, pericoloso e da isolare/denigrare al pari del terrapiattista. Puoi ussere PRO-scienza, PRO-vax, ecc. ma sei vai al bar e chiedi di sederti fuori perché non hai il PASS, sei subito etichettato e considerato un reietto ("lo vedete quello, quello non ha il PASS, che scemo/ignorante/deficiente"). Quando però capita, che tra i NO, ci sia uno (dieci, mille, ma per il PRO è sempre una minuscola minoranza) che difficilmente può essere incluso tra i /poco informati/ [1] allora il dicotomista va in crisi. Il PRO si arrampica sugli specchi, attacca il NO non tanto per il bagaglio culturale di cui questi è dotato ma, ad esempio, per appartenenza ad una categoria, ad una professione, ecc. Fosse vissuto oggi, Diogene di Sinope, sarebbe stato un NO-PRO-PRO-NO, avrebbe cercato con il lanternino la verità, a costo di mettersi contro tutti (come alla sua epoca fece). Si racconta che Alessandro Magno si avvicinò a Diogene e, colpito per la sua indigenza, gli disse: "Chiedimi quello che vuoi!" Diogene, che stava prendendo il sole, gli rispose: "Spostati e non farmi ombra!" Antonio [1] https://nogreenpassdocenti.wordpress.com/s/

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Sicurezza, sì del Garante della privacy all'uso della body cam
by don Luca Peyron Sept. 15, 2021

Sept. 15, 2021

Decisione importante del Garante, buona lettura dl https://www.rainews.it/dl/rainews/articoli/sicurezza-garante-privacy-body-c… _________________________ don Luca Peyron Direttore Ufficio per la Pastorale Universitaria Arcidiocesi di Torino www.universitari.to.it via XX settembre 83, Torino tel. 011 5156239

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Re: [nexa] Leaning Towards 2050
by Giuseppe Attardi Sept. 15, 2021

Sept. 15, 2021

I am reading this new book by Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan, AI 2041, https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/653310/ai-2041-by-kai-fu-lee-and-c… that touches on similar issues as those that I discussed in my TEDx presentation on Sunday. In particular the issue of pervasive dominance by tech companies that control all aspects of our life, in a quest to maximize their profits; the collapse of the current economic model when all production will be automated and essential goods will become aboundand and costless; what fullfillment goals will have humanity when dispensed from labor. The book presents them as science fiction stories set in 2041, written by Qiufan, followed by an analysis by Lee explaining how technology might indeed lead to those situations and how to possibly avoid those downsides. I propose instead that we will have to counterbalance the forces of multinational companies that pursue growth and profit, with alternate forces of multinational communities that pursue sustainability and equality. This might take the form of Virtual Utopias, governed by laws that follow the ideals and principles of people. They might be thought of an evolution of a Metaverse, where people not just meet or work, but where they live according to their ideals. Each Utopian organization will enforce those ideals through laws that will apply to all its members as well to any other organization that wants to interact with them. For example, an environmentalist Utopia will require all its members to behave in a respectful way to the environment, as well as companies providing products to them. This will have more impact than the current environmental movements, that only aim to ask politicians to act. The current national or international institutions are too week to force a significant change of direction. The Utopias will have the force of the many people they represent, across nations, gender or ethnias. — Beppe > On 10 Sep 2021, at 12:00, nexa-request(a)server-nexa.polito.it wrote: > > From: Giuseppe Attardi <attardi(a)di.unipi.it> > To: Nexa <nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it> > Subject: [nexa] Leaning Toward 2050 > Message-ID: <E919F3E5-A6D8-4312-8688-30225E5AA606(a)di.unipi.it> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Segnalo questo evento, il 12 settembre, sul tema: > > Leaning Toward 2050 > https://www.tedxlungarnomediceo.com <https://www.tedxlungarnomediceo.com/> > > in cui farò un intervento dal titolo: > > Distopia o Utopia: l’Intelligneza Artificiale nel 2050

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