December 2023 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

Bando Conferenza INDL-MEA "Prospettive del lavoro digitale dal Medio Oriente e dall'Africa" (Cairo, Egitto 28 maggio 2024)
by Antonio Casilli Dec. 3, 2023

Dec. 3, 2023

Gentili tutte e tutti, sono lieto di presentare il bando della nostra nuova iniziativa, la sezione Medio Oriente e Africa dell'International Network on Digital Work (INDL-MEA). (Questo evento è organizzato in modo indipendente rispetto al convegno annuale INDL-7, il cui bando sarà diffuso nel 2024.) La versione PDF del bando è disponibile qui, in inglese, francese e arabo 👉 [ https://mea-indl-1.sciencesconf.org/data/pages/_INDL_MEA_1_CfP_EngFrAr.pdf | https://mea-indl-1.sciencesconf.org/data/pages/_INDL_MEA_1_CfP_EngFrAr.pdf ] Saremmo grati se poteste diffonderlo 'tra i vostri contatti. Per ulteriori informazioni, l'indirizzo e-mail è: [ mailto:mea-indl-1@sciencesconf.org | mea-indl-1(a)sciencesconf.org ] Cordiali saluti Antonio Casilli [EN/FR] Call for Abstracts – INDL-MEA 1 Conference Cairo, Egypt 28 May 2024 " Digital Labor Perspectives from the Middle East and Africa " 1 st conference of the Middle East & Africa chapter of International Network on Digital Labor ∗ [ https://mea-indl-1.sciencesconf.org/ | https://mea-indl-1.sciencesconf.org ] The [ https://www.indl.network/indl_mea/# | International Network on Digital Labor (INDL) ] and the [ https://business.aucegypt.edu/research/centers/a2k4d | Access to Knoweldge for Development Center (A2K4D) ] at The American University in Cairo’s School of Business are excited to invite you to the inaugural conference of the Middle East and Africa (MEA) chapter of INDL titled "Digital Labor Perspectives from the Middle East and Africa." Organized in collaboration with the [ https://www.ilo.org/ | International Labour Organization (ILO) ] , the [ https://diplab.eu/ | Digital Platform Labor (DiPLab) ] research initiative, the [ https://www.weizenbaum-institut.de/ | Weizenbaum Institut Berlin ] , and the [ https://ufe.edu.eg/?lang=fr | Université française d'Égypte ] , this conference will be held on May 28 , 2024, in Cairo, Egypt. 1 Rationale Digital labor is at the heart of our evolving economies. To address the specific challenges and developments in the Middle East and Africa, we are launching a dedicated chapter of INDL. This conference provides a unique platform to present research related to the MEA region, ongoing and/or burgeoning. The conference offers opportunities for scholars and practitioners to engage with topics such as platformization, automation, gig economy dynamics, and technology-mediated labor. INDL-MEA will feature three tracks: one in Arabic, one in English, and one in French, reflecting the linguistic diversity of the region. 2 Topics Submissions must be in reference to the MEA region, for instance: in perspective, case studies, or focus. Submission topics may include, but are not limited to: * – Case studies examining platforms, gig economy workers, and online digital labor in MEA * – Exploring algorithmic management practices in work processes, recruiting, and HR in MEA * – Consequences of the shift to digital labor on workers, businesses, economies, and labor markets in MEA * – Effects of remote work and digital labor on employee well-being and productivity in MEA * – Policy responses to the rise of digital labor and automation in MEA, including regulatory measures and government intervention * – Strategies of organizing digital workers and managing geographically distributed workforces in MEA * – Intersectional perspectives on digital labor in MEA * – Exploring AI and digital labor through a decolonial lens in MEA * – Challenges posed by Generative AI to human labor in MEA 3 Submissions We invite submissions of anonymized abstracts for papers, case studies, and policy briefs related to these topics. Abstracts, up to 500 words, can be submitted in Arabic, English, or French through our website. You need to create an account to submit. The submission deadline is January 15 , 2024. Selected participants will be notified of acceptance by January 31 , 2024. To submit your propos al register and follow the steps at this URL: [ https://z.imt.fr/zimbra/Call%20for%20Abstracts%20%E2%80%93%20INDL-MEA%201%20Conference%20Cairo,%20Egypt%2028%20May%202024%20%22Digital%20Labor%20Perspectives%20from%20the%20Middle%20East%20and%20Africa%22%201st%20conference%20of%20the%20Middle%20East%20&%20Africa%20chapter%20of%20International%20Network%20on%20Digital%20Labor%20%E2%88%97%20https://mea-indl-1.sciencesconf.org%20The%20International%20Network%20on%20Digital%20Labor%20%28INDL%29%20and%20the%20Access%20to%20Knowledge%20for%20Development%20Center%20%28A2K4D%29%20at%20The%20American%20University%20in%20Cairo%E2%80%99s%20School%20of%20Business%20are%20excited%20to%20invite%20you%20to%20the%20inaugural%20conference%20of%20the%20Middle%20East%20and%20Africa%20%28MEA%29%20chapter%20of%20INDL%20titled%20%E2%80%9DDigital%20Labor%20Perspectives%20from%20the%20Middle%20East%20and%20Africa.%E2%80%9D%20Organized%20in%20collaboration%20with%20the%20International%20Labour%20Organization%20%28ILO%29,%20Digital%20Platform%20Labor%20%28DiPLab%29,%20Weizenbaum%20Institut,%20and%20Universit%C3%A9%20fran%C3%A7aise%20d%E2%80%99Egypte,%20this%20conference%20will%20be%20held%20on%20May%2028,%202024,%20in%20Cairo,%20Egypt.%201%20Rationale%20Digital%20labor%20is%20at%20the%20heart%20of%20our%20evolving%20economies.%20To%20address%20the%20specific%20challenges%20and%20developments%20in%20the%20Middle%20East%20and%20Africa,%20we%20are%20launching%20a%20dedicated%20chapter%20of%20INDL.%20This%20conference%20provides%20a%20unique%20platform%20to%20present%20research%20related%20to%20the%20MEA%20region,%20ongoing%20and/or%20burgeoning.%20The%20conference%20offers%20opportunities%20for%20scholars%20and%20practitioners%20to%20engage%20with%20topics%20such%20as%20platformization,%20automation,%20gig%20economy%20dynamics,%20and%20technology-mediated%20labor.%20INDL-MEA%20will%20feature%20three%20tracks:%20one%20in%20Arabic,%20one%20in%20English,%20and%20one%20in%20French,%20reflecting%20the%20linguistic%20diversity%20of%20the%20region.%202%20Topics%20Submissions%20must%20be%20in%20reference%20to%20the%20MEA%20region,%20for%20instance:%20in%20perspective,%20case%20studies,%20or%20focus.%20Submission%20topics%20may%20include,%20but%20are%20not%20limited%20to:%20%E2%80%93%20Case%20studies%20examining%20platforms,%20gig%20economy%20workers,%20and%20online%20digital%20labor%20in%20MEA%20%E2%80%93%20Exploring%20algorithmic%20management%20practices%20in%20work%20processes,%20recruiting,%20and%20HR%20in%20MEA%20%E2%80%93%20Consequences%20of%20the%20shift%20to%20digital%20labor%20on%20workers,%20businesses,%20economies,%20and%20labor%20markets%20in%20MEA%20%E2%80%93%20Effects%20of%20remote%20work%20and%20digital%20labor%20on%20employee%20well-being%20and%20productivity%20in%20MEA%20%E2%80%93%20Policy%20responses%20to%20the%20rise%20of%20digital%20labor%20and%20automation%20in%20MEA,%20including%20regulatory%20measures%20and%20government%20intervention%20%E2%80%93%20Strategies%20of%20organizing%20digital%20workers%20and%20managing%20geographically%20distributed%20workforces%20in%20MEA%20%E2%80%93%20Intersectional%20perspectives%20on%20digital%20labor%20in%20MEA%20%E2%80%93%20Exploring%20AI%20and%20digital%20labor%20through%20a%20decolonial%20lens%20in%20MEA%20%E2%80%93%20Challenges%20posed%20by%20Generative%20AI%20to%20human%20labor%20in%20MEA%201%20%203%20Submissions%20We%20invite%20submissions%20of%20anonymized%20abstracts%20for%20papers,%20case%20studies,%20and%20policy%20briefs%20related%20to%20these%20topics.%20Abstracts,%20up%20to%20500%20words,%20can%20be%20submitted%20in%20Arabic,%20English,%20or%20French%20through%20our%20website.%20You%20need%20to%20create%20an%20account%20to%20submit.%20The%20submission%20deadline%20is%20January%2015,%202024.%20Selected%20participants%20will%20be%20notified%20of%20acceptance%20by%20January%2031,%202024.%20To%20submit%20your%20proposal%20register%20and%20follow%20the%20steps%20at%20this%20URL:%20https://mea-indl-1.sciencesconf.org/.%204%20Important%20Dates%20%E2%80%93%20Deadline%20for%20submissions:%20January%2015,%202024%20%E2%80%93%20Acceptance%20notification:%20January%2031,%202024%20%E2%80%93%20Registration%20opens:%20TBA%20%E2%80%93%20INDL-MEA%20conference%20date:%20May%2028,%202024%20We%20are%20enthusiastic%20about%20the%20prospect%20of%20your%20valuable%20contributions.%20Together,%20let%E2%80%99s%20foster%20a%20thought-provoking%20dialogue%20and%20contribute%20to%20shaping%20the%20future%20of%20digital%20labor%20in%20the%20Middle%20East%20and%20Africa.%205%20Special%20Opportunity%20Our%20conference%20is%20co-located%20with%20Conf-IRM.%20We%20encourage%20you%20to%20consider%20also%20participating%20in%20the%20Conference%20on%20Information%20Resource%20Management%20%28Conf-IRM%29,%20taking%20place%20at%20the%20same%20time%20as%20our%20event%20at%20the%20American%20University%20in%20Cairo%20%2826-28%20May,%202024%29.%20It%20offers%20a%20unique%20chance%20for%20continued%20networking%20and%20knowledge%20exchange.%20Please%20note%20that%20registration%20for%20Conf-IRM%20is%20separate.%206%20INDL%20Conferences%20INDL,%20the%20International%20Network%20on%20Digital%20Labor,%20is%20an%20initiative%20founded%20in%202019%20by%20researchers%20from%20different%20countries.%20Its%20mission%20is%20to%20foster%20collaboration%20to%20advance%20our%20understanding%20of%20the%20nexus%20between%20emerging%20transformations%20of%20labour%20and%20digital%20technologies.%20INDL%20conferences%20welcome%20academics%20at%20all%20levels%20-%20includ-%20ing%20early%20career%20researchers%20-%20and%20stakeholders%20such%20as%20union%20leaders,%20policymakers,%20artists%20and%20journalists.%207%20Contact%20If%20you%20have%20any%20questions%20or%20requests,%20please%20do%20not%20hesitate%20to%20contact%20us%20at%20the%20following%20email%20address:%20mea-%20indl-1@sciencesconf.org.%20Acknowledgements%20%E2%80%93%20INDL%20-%20International%20Network%20on%20Digital%20Labor%20%E2%80%93%20Access%20to%20Knowledge%20for%20Development%20Center%20%28A2K4D%29%20at%20The%20American%20University%20in%20Cairo%20%E2%80%93%20Universit%C3%A9%20Fran%C3%A7aise%20d%E2%80%99Egypte%20%E2%80%93%20ILO%20-%20International%20Labor%20Office%20%E2%80%93%20Weizenbaum%20Institut%20%E2%80%93%20DiPLab%20-%20Digital%20Platform%20Labor | https://mea-indl-1.sciencesconf.org/ ] . 4 Important Dates – Deadline for submissions: January 15 , 2024 – Acceptance notification: January 31 , 2024 – Registration opens: TBA – INDL-MEA conference date: May 28 , 2024 We look forward to your valuable contributions. Together, let’s foster a thought-provoking dialogue and contribute to shaping the future of digital labor in the Middle East and Africa. 5 Special Opportunity Our conference is co-located with Conf-IRM. We encourage you to consider also participating in the Conference on Information Resource Management (Conf-IRM) , taking place at the same time as our event at the American University in Cairo (26- 28 May, 2024 ). It offers a unique chance for continued networking and knowledge exchange. Please note that registration for Conf-IRM is separate. 6 INDL Conferences INDL, the International Network on Digital Labor , is an initiative founded in 2019 by researchers from different countries. Its mission is to foster collaboration to advance our understanding of the nexus between emerging transformations of labour and digital technologies. INDL conferences welcome academics at all levels - including early career researchers - and stakeholders such as union leaders, policymakers, artists and journalists. 7 Contact If you have any questions or requests, please do not hesitate to contact us at the following email address: [ mailto:mea-indl-1@sciencesconf.org | mea-indl-1(a)sciencesconf.org ] . Appel à contributions (abstracts) - Conférence INDL-MEA 1 Le Caire, Égypte 28 mai 2024 ”Perspectives du travail numérique au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique” 1e conférence du chapitre Afrique et Moyen-Orient (AMO) International Network on Digital Labor (INDL) ∗ https ://mea-indl-1.sciencesconf.org Le International Network on Digital Labor (INDL) et Access to Knoweldge for Development Center (A2K4D) à l’Université Américaine du Caire ont le plaisir de vous inviter à la conférence inaugurale du chapitre Afrique et Moyen-Orient (AMO) de l’INDL intitulée « Digital Labor Perspectives from the Middle East and Africa » (Perspectives du travail numérique au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique). Organisée en collaboration avec l’Organisation Internationale du Travail (ILO - International Labour Organization), l’équipe Digital Platform Labor (DiPLab), le Weizenbaum Institut de Berlin, et l’Université française d’Égypte, cette conférence se tiendra le 28 mai 2024 au Caire, en Égypte. 1 Objet de la conférence Le « digital labour » est au cœur de nos économies en pleine évolution. Pour répondre aux défis et aux développements spécifiques du Moyen-Orient et de l’Afrique, nous lançons un chapitre dédié de l’INDL. Cette conférence offre une plateforme unique pour présenter des recherches liées à la région AMO, qu’elle soit en cours ou en préparation, offrant ainsi aux participant.es des opportunités de s’engager sur des sujets tels que la plateformisation, l’automatisation, la dynamique de l’économie à la demande, et le travail médiatisé par la technologie. INDL-MEA proposera trois « tracks » : un premier en arabe, un second en anglais et un troisième en français, reflétant la diversité linguistique de la région. 2 Thèmes de la conférence Les communications proposées doivent faire référence à la région Afrique - Moyen Orient, par exemple en termes de perspective, d’études de cas ou d’orientation. Les sujets peuvent inclure, mais ne sont pas limités à : * — Etudes de cas : plateformes, travailleurs de l’économie à la demande et travail numérique en ligne dans la région AMO. * — Pratiques de gestion algorithmique dans les processus de travail, le recrutement et les RH dans la région AMO. * — Conséquences du «digital labour» sur travailleurs, entreprises, économies et marchés du travail en AMO. * — Effets du travail distanciel et de plateforme sur bien-être et productivité des employés en AMO. * — Réponses politiques à l’essor du travail de plateforme et de l’automatisation en AMO, mesures réglementaires et interventions gouvernementales. — Stratégies d’organisation des travailleur.euses et de gestion des effectifs géographiquement répartis dans la région AMO. * — Perspectives intersectionnelles sur le « digital labour » dans l’AMO. * — L’intelligence artificielle et le « digital labour » au prisme décolonial dans l’AMO. — Défis posés par l’IA générative au travail humain dans l’AMO. 3 Soumissions Nous vous invitons à soumettre des résumés anonymes d’articles, d’études de cas et de notes d’orientation sur ces sujets. Les résumés, d’une longueur maximale de 500 mots, peuvent être soumis en arabe, en anglais ou en français via notre site web. Il faut se créer un compte pour pouvoir soumettre. La date limite de soumission est fixée au 15 janvier 2024 . Les participants sélectionnés seront informés de leur acceptation au plus tard le 31 janvier 2024 . Pour soumettre une proposition [ https://mea-indl-1.sciencesconf.org/ | s’inscrire et suivre les étapes ] [ https://mea-indl-1.sciencesconf.org/ | . ] 4 Dates importantes — Date limite de soumission : 15 janvier 2024 — Notification d’acceptation : 31 janvier 2024 — Ouverture des inscriptions : (date à confirmer) — Date de la conférence INDL-MEA : 28 mai 2024 Nous sommes enthousiastes à l’idée de recevoir vos précieuses contributions. Ensemble, encourageons un dialogue stimulant et contribuons à façonner l’avenir du travail numérique au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique. 5 Opportunité spéciale Notre conférence se tient en parallèle avec Conf-IRM. Nous vous encourageons à participer à la Conférence sur la gestion des ressources d’information (Conf-IRM) , qui aura lieu en même temps que notre événement à l’Université américaine du Caire (26- 28 mai 2024 ). Elle offre une occasion unique de poursuivre le travail en réseau et l’échange de connaissances. Veuillez noter que l’inscription à Conf-IRM est séparée. 6 Les conférences INDL [ https://www.indl.network/ | INDL, le réseau international sur le travail numérique ] , est une initiative fondé en 2019 à l’initiative de chercheur.euses de différents pays. Sa mission est d’organiser des conférences internationales et de favoriser la collaboration pour faire progresser notre compréhension du lien entre les transformations émergentes du travail et les technologies numériques. Les conférences de l’INDL accueillent des universitaires de tous niveaux - y compris des chercheurs en début de carrière - et d’autres parties prenantes telles que des dirigeants syndicaux, des décideurs politiques, des artistes et des journalistes. 7 Contact Si vous avez des questions ou des demandes, n’hésitez pas à nous contacter à l’adresse électronique suivante : mea-indl-1(a)sciencesconf.org . -- Antonio A. Casilli Professor, Telecom Paris | Institut Polytechnique de Paris (Until Oct. 2024) Invited professor, Center for Internet & Society, Paris (CNRS) Associate researcher, Weizenbaum Institute for the Networked Society, Berlin Faculty Fellow, Nexa Center for Internet & Society, Turin *We respect your right to disconnect. My workflow efficiency accounts for this email send time. Taking action or responding outside of office hours is not mandatory*

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Postprint: Do AI systems have politics? Predictive optimisation as a move away from the rule of law, liberalism and democracy
by maurizio lana Dec. 3, 2023

Dec. 3, 2023

Il 30/11/23 16:24, Daniela Tafani<daniela.tafani(a)unipi.it> ha scritto: > Date: Thu, 30 Nov 2023 15:24:13 +0000 > From: Daniela Tafani<daniela.tafani(a)unipi.it> > Subject: [nexa] Postprint: Do AI systems have politics? Predictive > optimisation as a move away from the rule of law, liberalism and > democracy > > Buon pomeriggio, > > vi sottopongo il postprint di un mio articolo che è stato accettato da > "Ethics & Politics", > > Do AI systems have politics? Predictive optimisation as a move away from > the rule of law, liberalism and democracy. > > Questo è l'abstract: > > In predictive optimisation systems, machine learning is used to predict > future outcomes of interest about individuals, and these predictions are > used to make decisions about them. Despite being based on > pseudoscience, not working and unfixably harmful, predictive > optimisation systems are still used by private companies and by > governments. As they are based on the assimilation of people to things, > predictive optimisation systems have inherent political properties that > cannot be altered by any technical design choice: the initial choice > about whether or not to adopt them is therefore decisive, as Langdon > Winner wrote about inherently political technologies. The adoption of > predictive optimisation systems is incompatible with liberalism and the > rule of law because it results in people not being recognised as > self-determining subjects, not being equal before the law, not being > able to predict which law will be applied to them, all being under > surveillance as ‘suspects’ and being able or unable to exercise their > rights in ways that depend not on their status as citizens, but on their > contingent economic, social, emotional, health or religious status. > Under the rule of law, these systems should simply be banned. > > Qui il testo completo: > https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10229060 > > Vi sarò grata di qualsiasi osservazione. ho letto l'articolo. trovo che raccolga e intrecci in modo molto efficace i fili di questioni di grande rilevanza. due osservazioni, se posso là dove scrivi > Considering all this, one cannot but agree with those who observe that > the use of ML systems for decision-making purposes in areas relevant > to people's lives is tantamount to the creation, through > administrative decisions, of “almost human rights-free zones”.(94) The > development, sale and use of predictive optimisation systems is > exploiting a “legal bubble”,(95) ie, it is taking place in violation > of legally protected rights, betting on a subsequent legal rescue in > the name of the inevitability of technological innovation(96). alla nota 95 citi un articolo di Marco Giraudo et al. sulle legal bubbles. un anno prima, in Giraudo, Marco. «On Legal Bubbles: Some Thoughts on Legal Shockwaves at the Core of the Digital Economy». /Journal of Institutional Economics/ 18, fasc. 4 (agosto 2022): 587–604. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1744137421000473. Giraudo aveva una prospettiva ottimistica perché, scriveva, le legal bubbles alla fine scoppiano, si dissolvono, in quanto l'azione legislativa anche se con passo più lento di quello della tecnologia, attiva e regolamenta. mentre nell'articolo che citi ora Giraudo, Marco, Eduard Fosch-Villaronga, e Gianclaudio Malgieri. «Competing Legal Futures». SSRN Scholarly Paper. Rochester, NY, 1 giugno 2023. https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=4499785. Giraudo et al,. paiono più preoccupati del futuro perché il modello che vede la cooperazione degli stati con le aziende a fini regolativi si basa a loro avviso su un'eccessiva fiducia nella buona volontà degli attori privati: "the EU Commission is adopting an economic primacy approach, showing that a kind of deference to corporate expertise and techno epistemic communities, especially when closely linked to corporate interests, is still very influential and conducive to the repetition of regulatory failures." ritengo che la legislazione sia in termini generali e di principio la risorsa da utilizzare per indirizzare in modo corretto le forze che operano nella società, ma questa cooperazione dei regolatori con i 'regolandi' è un passo nel riconoscimento che le grandi aziende del mondo digitale (che sia hanno strapotenza economica sia sono dativore) si comportano come stati nazionali e gli stati nazionali 'storici' gli riconoscono questa status, nei fatti. Marcus, Gary. «Critical national security questions should not be decided unilaterally by unelected tech leaders». Substack newsletter. /Marcus on AI/ (blog), 28 novembre 2023. https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/critical-national-security-questions?publ… <https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/critical-national-security-questions?publ…>. l'altro tema enorme, presente solo in 2 punti del tuo articolo, sono le prospettive di introduzione di sistemi di IA per gestire la scuola, la formazione, l'educazione: la formazione ha al centro la concezione che l'individuo sia aiutato a scoprire le sue qualità e a svilupparle in modo - appunto - individuale e originale; e che la società si giova di questa proliferazione di diversità. gestirla con sistemi di IA ne è la negazione. forma individui standard, butta fuori quelli irregolari, e per chi comanda non ci saranno più problemi. una distopia realizzata secondo me questo è un campo di azione di contrasto all'IA particolarmente importante. buon w.e. Maurizio ------------------------------------------------------------------------ la Repubblica promuove lo sviluppo della cultura e la ricerca scientifica e tecnica. la Repubblica detta le norme generali sull'istruzione ed istituisce scuole statali per tutti gli ordini e gradi. Costituzione della Repubblica Italiana, art. 9 e 33 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maurizio Lana Università del Piemonte Orientale Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici Piazza Roma 36 - 13100 Vercelli

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Amazon’s Q has ‘severe hallucinations’ and leaks confidential data in public preview, employees warn
by Daniela Tafani Dec. 2, 2023

Dec. 2, 2023

Amazon’s Q has ‘severe hallucinations’ and leaks confidential data in public preview, employees warn Some hallucinations could ‘potentially induce cardiac incidents in Legal,’ according to internal documents Zoë Schiff - 2 dic 2023 Three days after Amazon announced its AI chatbot Q, some employees are sounding alarms about accuracy and privacy issues. Q is “experiencing severe hallucinations and leaking confidential data,” including the location of AWS data centers, internal discount programs, and unreleased features, according to leaked documents obtained by Platformer. An employee marked the incident as “sev 2,” meaning an incident bad enough to warrant paging engineers at night and make them work through the weekend to fix it. Q’s early woes come at a time when Amazon is working to fight the perception that Microsoft, Google, and other tech companies have surpassed it in the race to build tools and infrastructure that take advantage of generative artificial intelligence. In September, the company announced it would invest up to $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic. On Tuesday, at its annual Amazon Web Services developer conference, it announced Q — arguably the highest-profile release in the series of new AI initiatives the company unveiled this week. In a statement, Amazon played down the significance of the employee discussions. “Some employees are sharing feedback through internal channels and ticketing systems, which is standard practice at Amazon,” a spokesperson said. “No security issue was identified as a result of that feedback. We appreciate all of the feedback we’ve already received and will continue to tune Q as it transitions from being a product in preview to being generally available.” After publication, the spokesperson sent another statement pushing back on employees’ claims: “Amazon Q has not leaked confidential information.” Q, which is now available in a free preview, was presented as a kind of enterprise-software version of ChatGPT. Initially, it will be able to answer developers’ questions about AWS, edit source code, and cite sources, Amazon executives said onstage this week. It will compete with similar tools from Microsoft and Google but be priced lower than rivals’, at least to start. In unveiling Q, executives promoted it as more secure than consumer-grade tools like ChatGPT. Adam Selipsky, CEO of Amazon Web Services, told the New York Times that companies “had banned these A.I. assistants from the enterprise because of the security and privacy concerns.” In response, the Times reported, “Amazon built Q to be more secure and private than a consumer chatbot.” An internal document about Q’s hallucinations and wrong answers notes that “Amazon Q can hallucinate and return harmful or inappropriate responses. For example, Amazon Q might return out of date security information that could put customer accounts at risk.” The risks outlined in the document are typical of large language models, all of which return incorrect or inappropriate responses at least some of the time. https://www.platformer.news/p/amazons-q-has-severe-hallucinations

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France bans ministers from WhatsApp, Signal; demands French alternatives
by Enrico Nardelli Dec. 1, 2023

Dec. 1, 2023

https://www.politico.eu/article/france-requires-ministers-to-swap-whatsapp-… French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne has banned widely used messaging applications WhatsApp, Telegram and Signal for ministers and their teams due to security vulnerabilities, according to a memo seen by POLITICO. "These digital tools are not devoid of security flaws, and therefore cannot guarantee the security of conversations and information shared via them," reads the document, dated November 22. Borne set a deadline of December 8 for the government to switch to using the French app Olvid instead, which is certified by France's cybersecurity agency ANSSI. Tchap, the government-developed secure messaging and collaboration app, launched in 2019, is also allowed. The news was first reported by French news outlet Le Point. "My team and I have been using it since July 2022. In December, the entire government will be using [Olvid], the world's most secure instant messaging system," French digital minister Jean-Noël Barrot confirmed on X. The government previously ordered civil servants to remove all types of social media platforms, gaming and video-streaming apps — including TikTok, CandyCrush and Netflix — from their work devices over cybersecurity and privacy concerns. -- -- EN https://www.hoepli.it/libro/la-rivoluzione-informatica/9788896069516.html ====================================================== Prof. Enrico Nardelli Presidente di "Informatics Europe" Direttore del Laboratorio Nazionale "Informatica e Scuola" del CINI Dipartimento di Matematica - Università di Roma "Tor Vergata" Via della Ricerca Scientifica snc - 00133 Roma home page: https://www.mat.uniroma2.it/~nardelli blog: https://link-and-think.blogspot.it/ tel: +39 06 7259.4204 fax: +39 06 7259.4699 mobile: +39 335 590.2331 e-mail: nardelli(a)mat.uniroma2.it online meeting: https://blue.meet.garr.it/b/enr-y7f-t0q-ont ====================================================== --

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