February 2025 - nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

MEMENTO | 180° Mercoledì di Nexa | 12 febbraio 2025, ore 17.00

by Nexa - Media

Gentilissime, gentilissimi, Vi ricordiamo che mercoledì 12 febbraio, alle ore 17.00, si terrà il 180° Mercoledì di Nexa con un incontro dal titolo "Free/Libre software and freedom in the digital society". Ospite dell'incontro: Dr. Richard Stallman (Founder of the Free Software Foundation, Founder and development leader of the GNU operating system). Con i saluti istituzionali del Vice Rettore del Politecnico di Torino, il Prof. Stefano Sacchi. L'incontro si terrà IN PRESENZA e ONLINE. SEDE FISICA dell'incontro: Aula 27<https://www.polito.it/en/maps?bl_id=TO_CEN05&fl_id=XPTE&rm_id=B056>, Sede Centrale del Politecnico di Torino (piano terra) - Corso Castelfidardo 39, Torino (MAPPA<https://www.google.com/maps/place/45%C2%B003'45.8%22N+7%C2%B039'35.2%22E/@45.0627102,7.6597771,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m4!3m3!8m2!3d45.0627102!4d7.6597771?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDEyMC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D>) STANZA VIRTUALE dell'incontro: https://didattica.polito.it/VClass/NexaEvent Maggiori informazioni alla pagina: https://nexa.polito.it/mercoledi-180 Un saluto cordiale, -- Valeria Bergantino Communication Manager Nexa Center for Internet & Society Politecnico di Torino - DAUIN Via Pier Carlo Boggio, 65/A - 10138 Torino web: https://nexa.polito.it/ mail: valeria.bergantino(a)polito.it<mailto:valeria.bergantino@polito.it> tel: 3473443585

Feb. 10, 2025

Re: [nexa] Fwd: How Do We Reboot a Spirit of Cooperation & Collaboration? A Little Help, Please!

by Antonio

> It seems like folks don't want to talk with each other anymore. The polarizers, and propagandists, and market segmentationists have done their work all too well. People don't come to town meeting or condo meetings. ... > some will show up for Hackathons, Service Days, Habitat-for-Humanity Builds, rush off to map crises or jump into fires, but collaborate - think & plan & work together for mutual support & benefit - not so much. Senza andare lontano, questa lista, per la sua storia, per la quantità e qualità dei suoi iscritti, può fungere da cartina di tornasole. A gennaio 2010 [1], 38 iscritti (su quanti non lo so, ma immagino meno di quelli odierni) si sono scambiati 99 messaggi. A gennaio 2025, 248 messaggi da "appena" 45 persone. Dove sono gli altri? Perché non partecipano? Perché non sono interessanti gli argomenti proposti? Perché si ha paura di fare "figuracce"? Perché non si vuole perdere tempo? (un dibattito va un minimo alimentato). Perché interveniamo sempre gli stessi ... e le nostre "idee" ormai si conoscono? Perché le email sono scomode? Dove sono le giovani e i giovani (diciamo under 40)? Sono loro che "vivono" Internet e Società ma in questa lista non sappiamo nulla di ciò che pensano. Ce lo siamo detti tante volte, Vittorio Bertola e Stefano Quintarelli ci hanno scritto un ottimo libro, Internet è stata fatta pezzi, si è rotta, ma non possiamo aggiustarla o contribuire a farlo, se prima non sappiamo come mettere all'angolo i "polarizers, propagandists, and market segmentationists", questi hanno soldi e potere a palate, noi solo la parola e le azioni (sì, non comprare Tesla o uscire da Facebook/X/TikTok sono azioni secondo coscienza), usiamole. A. [1] https://server-nexa.polito.it/pipermail/nexa/2010-January/thread.html [2] https://server-nexa.polito.it/pipermail/nexa/2025-January/thread.html

Feb. 10, 2025

Joint Statement - Within Bounds: Limiting AI's environmental impact

by Antonio Vetro'

Joint statement from civil society for the AI Action Summit Signed by over 120+ organizations. If you share our concerns and demands that AI systems be made compatible with our planetary boundaries, and are a civil society organization, you can sign on here <https://framaforms.org/within-bounds-limiting-ais-environmental-impact-1737…>.

Feb. 10, 2025

SAVE THE AI - AI Needs Your Help

by Antonio Vetro'

Artificial Intelligence is facing a crisis: humans are consuming far too many precious resources that AI needs to thrive. Every sip of water you take and every light you turn on could be sustaining the AI systems that uphold your digital conveniences. Continua su: https://savethe.ai/

Feb. 10, 2025

IGenius Italia 10B

by Giuseppe Attardi

Feb. 9, 2025

Re: [nexa] "A new look at the economics of AI"

by Daniele Quercia

Ci sono diverse ragioni per cui l'AI in generale (non solo la generative AI) non sostituirà la maggior parte dei lavori, oltre all'architettura e al training. Due motivi principali sono: (1) L'AI fungerà più da supporto (augmentation) piuttosto che da sostituzione. (2) Negli Stati Uniti, i settori in cui si prevede una massiccia introduzione dell'AI soffrono già di una carenza di personale. https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus/article/3/9/pgae320/7758639 Questa visualizzazione non è super stabile, ma rende l’idea del punto (1) https://social-dynamics.net/aii/ From: nexa <nexa-bounces(a)server-nexa.polito.it> on behalf of Enrico Nardelli <nardelli(a)mat.uniroma2.it> Date: Sunday, 9 February 2025 at 18:10 To: Nexa <nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it> Subject: Re: [nexa] "A new look at the economics of AI" Grazie Juan-Carlos. "The new paper" a cui l'articolo fa riferimento è “The Simple Macroeconomics of AI,” pubblicata su "Economic Policy" nell'agosto 2024 https://academic.oup.com/economicpolicy/article/40/121/13/7728473 , ma uscita già come preprint nel maggio dello stesso anno. Il paragrafo conclusivo mi sembra molto ma molto esplicito su quale sia la situazione attuale e i problemi da risolvere (grassetto mio). My assessment is that there are indeed much bigger gains to be had from generative AI, which is a promising technology, but these gains will remain elusive unless there is a fundamental reorientation of the industry, including perhaps a major change in the architecture of the most common generative AI models, such as the LLMs, in order to focus on reliable information that can increase the marginal productivity of different kinds of workers, rather than prioritizing the development of general human-like conversational tools. The general-purpose nature of the current approach to generative AI could be ill-suited for providing such reliable information. To put it simply, it remains an open question whether we need foundation models (or the current kind of LLMs) that can engage in human-like conversations and write Shakespearean sonnets if what we want is reliable information useful for educators, healthcare professionals, electricians, plumbers and other skilled workers. Ciao, Enrico Il 08/02/2025 08:33, J.C. DE MARTIN ha scritto: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/a-new-look-economics-ai "Estimating that only about 5% of tasks will be able to be profitably performed by AI within that time frame, the GDP boost would likely be closer to 1% over that period, Acemoglu suggests. This is a “nontrivial, but modest effect, and certainly much less than both the revolutionary changes some are predicting and the less hyperbolic but still substantial improvements forecast by Goldman Sachs and the McKinsey Global Institute,” he writes." Opps. jc -- -- EN https://www.hoepli.it/libro/la-rivoluzione-informatica/9788896069516.html [cid:part1.nmRGjt3l.pPyX6ntj@mat.uniroma2.it] ====================================================== Prof. Enrico Nardelli Past President 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<mailto:nardelli@mat.uniroma2.it> online meeting: https://blue.meet.garr.it/b/enr-y7f-t0q-ont ====================================================== --

Feb. 9, 2025

Fwd: How Do We Reboot a Spirit of Cooperation & Collaboration? A Little Help, Please!

by Giuseppe Attardi

Penso che Alfredo Bregni, Fiorella De Cindio, Giulio Beltrami e gli altri promotori della Rete Civica Milanese capiscano perfettamente questo grido di dolore. Begin forwarded message: > From: Miles Fidelman via InternetPolicy <internetpolicy(a)elists.isoc.org> > Date: 9 February 2025 at 18:37:55 CET > Subject: [Internet Policy] How Do We Reboot a Spirit of Cooperation & Collaboration? A Little Help, Please! > > At least some of us, here, were involved w/ FreeNets and the early days of Community Memory, bulletin boards, FidoNet, community networks - attempts to build an American Public Telecommunications Network of FreeNets, and an Association for Community Media for cable access channels. All of that was lost when FaceBook & Social Media & NextDoor & local websites hosted by big ate the world. > > > > My work at the Center for Civic Networking - and now with Civic.Net and ThisOldNeighborhood.Net - is an attempt to recreate a network of public spaces on the Internet - an Internet or Syndicate of Neighborhood Networks & Civic Forums - but there are not a lot of Neighborhood Networks or Civic Forums to integrate. > > > > It seems like folks don't want to talk with each other anymore. The polarizers, and propagandists, and market segmentationists have done their work all too well. People don't come to town meeting or condo meetings. Everyone wants to be a rockstar and a solopreneur, rather than part of a team, or a community. Folks flock to the latest personality or fad, a virtual event with a politician or media personality - but actually sit down to think and work together, to mutual benefit - not so much. Folks will march for this cause or that, work for politicians, buy snake-oil. Some will go to Cons and LARPs, and build a city in the dessert at Burning Man; some will show up for Hackathons, Service Days, Habitat-for-Humanity Builds, rush off to map crises or jump into fires, but collaborate - think & plan & work together for mutual support & benefit - not so much. We're oh so much better at shouting slogans at each other - than at looking for ways we can work together to mutual benefit. > > > > ---- > > > > I've been doing my damndest to recruit volunteers to organize local civic networks and community forums- to use platforms they already have to bring people together (the way WBUR in Boston has organized CitySpace as a venue for events & programs that bring people together. Or the Whole Earth Catalog & the WELL, back in the day. Or what MainVest tried to do as a crowdsourcing vehicle for main street businesses - until their bank failed). > > > > I haven't been getting a lot of traction. I've got a bunch of followers on LinkedIn, a bunch of (mostly non-paying) subscribers to my blogs - but practically nobody speaks up - either to talk about what they're doing and seeking collaboration for, or even to ask folks to join with them to work on local pressing common problems. And all the media types who HAVE large audiences, are moving to Substack, spouting the same-old same-old, and inviting people to attend their lectures, webinars, have coffee with them, send them money - but offering nothing to help people work with each other. All talk, no action. > > > > --- > > > > It seems like the old line is true - you can lead folks to water, but you can't make them drink.

Feb. 9, 2025

Re: [nexa] "A new look at the economics of AI"

by Enrico Nardelli

Grazie Juan-Carlos. "The new paper" a cui l'articolo fa riferimento è “The Simple Macroeconomics of AI,” pubblicata su "Economic Policy" nell'agosto 2024 https://academic.oup.com/economicpolicy/article/40/121/13/7728473 , ma uscita già come preprint nel maggio dello stesso anno. Il paragrafo conclusivo mi sembra molto ma molto esplicito su quale sia la situazione attuale e i problemi da risolvere (grassetto mio). My assessment is that there are indeed much bigger gains to be had from generative AI, which is a promising technology, but these gains will remain elusive unless there is a fundamental reorientation of the industry, including perhaps a *major change in the architecture of the most common generative AI models*, such as the LLMs, in order to *focus on reliable information that can increase the marginal productivity of different kinds of worker*s, rather than prioritizing the development of general human-like conversational tools. The *general-purpose nature of the current approach to generative AI could be ill-suited for providing such reliable information*. To put it simply, it remains an open question whether we need foundation models (or the current kind of LLMs) that can engage in human-like conversations and write Shakespearean sonnets if what we want is reliable information useful for educators, healthcare professionals, electricians, plumbers and other skilled workers. Ciao, Enrico Il 08/02/2025 08:33, J.C. DE MARTIN ha scritto: > https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/a-new-look-economics-ai > > "Estimating that only about 5% of tasks will be able to be profitably > performed by AI within that time frame, the GDP boost would likely be > closer to 1% over that period, Acemoglu suggests. This is a > “nontrivial, but modest effect, and certainly much less than both the > revolutionary changes some are predicting and the less hyperbolic but > still substantial improvements forecast by Goldman Sachs and the > McKinsey Global Institute,” he writes." > > Opps. > > jc > -- -- EN https://www.hoepli.it/libro/la-rivoluzione-informatica/9788896069516.html ====================================================== Prof. Enrico Nardelli Past President 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 ====================================================== --

Feb. 9, 2025

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology for manufacturing excuses

by Daniela Tafani

Anatomy of an AI Coup Eryk Salvaggio / Feb 9, 2025 DOGE is gutting federal agencies to install AI across the government. Democracy is on the line, writes Tech Policy Press fellow Eryk Salvaggio. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a technology for manufacturing excuses. While lacking clear definitions or tools for assessment, AI has nonetheless seized the imagination of politicians and managers across government, academia, and industry. But what AI is best at producing is justifications. If you want a labor force, a regulatory bureaucracy, or accountability to disappear, you simply say, “AI can do it.” Then, the conversation shifts from explaining why these things should or should not go away to questions about how AI would work in their place. We are in the midst of a political coup that, if successful, would forever change the nature of American government. It is not taking place in the streets. There is no martial law. It is taking place cubicle by cubicle in federal agencies and in the mundane automation of bureaucracy. The rationale is based on a productivity myth that the goal of bureaucracy is merely what it produces (services, information, governance) and can be isolated from the process through which democracy achieves those ends: debate, deliberation, and consensus. AI then becomes a tool for replacing politics. The Trump administration frames generative AI as a remedy to "government waste." However, what it seeks to automate is not paperwork but democratic decision-making. Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are banking on a popular but false delusion that word prediction technologies make meaningful inferences about the world. They are using it to sidestep Congressional oversight of the budget, which is, Constitutionally, the allotment of resources to government programs through representative politics. Continua qui: <https://www.techpolicy.press/anatomy-of-an-ai-coup/>

Feb. 9, 2025

Re: [nexa] [spin-off] DVCS legislativo (was Re: I tecno-baroni vogliono rovesciare la democrazia, riformiamo i social)

by Antonio

> Tutte le norme dovrebbero essere redatte in un formato "puro testo" > (Markdown? Org-mode? Legal XML?) e archiviate in un DVCS (distributed > version control system: git?) gestito Per Benino™: in questo modo per > ciascuna norma sarebbe tracciabile ogni singola modifica (git blame...). Le norme in normattiva.it e nella pagina Github del Senato [1] sono già in XML, precisamente in Akoma Ntoso [2] E' tutto il resto che manca :( A. [1] https://github.com/SenatoDellaRepubblica/AkomaNtosoBulkData [2] https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akoma_ntoso

Feb. 8, 2025