- nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

US District Court of Columbia: No copyright in AI-generated works

by Maurizio Borghi

E' di due giorni fa la sentenza della US District Court di Columbia che conferma la decisione del Copyright Office di negare la registrazione a un'opera creativa interamente realizzata con intelligenza artificiale. A mia conoscenza, è la prima volta che un giudice si pronuncia sulla sussistenza di diritti d'autore in capo a creazioni di AI. La conclusione in senso negativo è abbastanza scontata, ma è interessante leggere la sentenza perché è ben argomentata e ricca di riferimenti alla giurisprudenza: https://ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2022cv1564-24 Il sig. Thaler (parte attrice nella causa) sta conducendo "test cases" in tutto il mondo nel tentativo di trovare un giudice che riconosca un diritto di proprietà intellettuale (copyright o brevetto) su creazioni o invenzioni generate dall'AI. Finora ha sempre perso, ma in UK la corte suprema ha (soprendentemente) accettato di considerare il suo appello contro la sentenza della Appeal Court che aveva negato la brevettabilità a un'invenzione generata dal suo sistema di AI chiamato DABUS. Qui i dettagli: https://www.supremecourt.uk/cases/uksc-2021-0201.html Buona domenica -- _______________ *Maurizio Borghi* Università di Torino https://www.dg.unito.it/persone/maurizio.borghi Co-Director Nexa Center for Internet & Society <https://nexa.polito.it/>

Aug. 20, 2023

Perché la «missione digitale» può essere un nuovo ministero

by don Luca Peyron

Buona lettura dl https://www.avvenire.it/opinioni/pagine/perch-la-missione-digitale-pu-esser… _________________________ 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. 19, 2023

Re: [nexa] From progress to innovation: neoliberalism and the expansion of intellectual property [Was: The Santiago Boys]

by Maurizio Borghi

Molto interessante, grazie! MB On Fri, 18 Aug 2023 at 16:02, Stefano Zacchiroli <zack(a)upsilon.cc> wrote: > On Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 03:57:03PM +0200, J.C. DE MARTIN wrote: > > Lunga recensione di taglio accademico: > > > https://social-epistemology.com/2023/08/16/the-political-sins-of-cybernetic… > > Bellissima recensione, grazie per la segnalazione. (Aggiungo: recensione > con abbastanza pochi "spoilers" sul podcast, quindi potete leggerla > anche senza averlo ascoltato.) > > Grazie a questa lettura ho scoperto la tesi di dottorato dell'autore > della recensione, che è probabilmente di interesse per molti Nexiani, e > che quindi vi segnalo: > > Figueroa Zimmermann, Felipe (2020) > > From progress to innovation : neoliberalism and the expansion of > intellectual property. > > PhD thesis, University of Warwick. > > Abstract: > > Intellectual property law [hereon IP] is a particularly dynamic area > of capitalist development. While the presence of IP in modern societies is > pervasive, scholarly accounts of its explosive growth remain historically > and disciplinarily bounded. This dissertation seeks to craft a more > thorough account of the expansion of IP, by (1) tracing the changes in the > concept of property in modern legal, economic and political discourse; (2) > linking these conceptual changes to the process of expansion of IP; and (3) > investigating the two-way relationship between the process of expansion of > IP and the conceptual shifts in ownership. > > The methodology of this desk-based research involved first surveying > the literature regarding the expansion across disciplinary boundaries, > covering mainly economics, political science and legal theory. Next, the > dominant explanations given in each discipline to account for IP expansion > were identified and contrasted in their strengths and weaknesses to > integrate them by using methods adapted from conceptual history (mainly > Begriffsgeschichte and the Cambridge Historical School). Four results > chapters explore a series of political controversies linked to conceptual > innovation starting in the late 19th century and covering the 20th century. > The approach showcases how the network of concepts to which we owe our > current understanding of IP developed in a context of social, political and > economic turmoil. Our perspective regarding the political significance of > IP is thus illuminated by the consideration of the historical context. > > A key finding is that the expansion of IP was made possible by a > series of conceptual changes that resulted from the ideological efforts of > neoliberals to rethink the conceptual categories of classical liberalism > during the first decades of the 20th century. Building on this, x the work > offers a prognosis of where the concept of property might be headed, as > well as a normative evaluation of these developments. > > Ciao > -- > Stefano Zacchiroli . zack(a)upsilon.cc . https://upsilon.cc/zack _. ^ ._ > Full professor of Computer Science o o o \/|V|\/ > Télécom Paris, Polytechnic Institute of Paris o o o </> <\> > Co-founder & CTO Software Heritage o o o o /\|^|/\ > https://twitter.com/zacchiro . https://mastodon.xyz/@zacchiro '" V "' > _______________________________________________ > nexa mailing list > nexa(a)server-nexa.polito.it > https://server-nexa.polito.it/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/nexa > -- _______________ *Maurizio Borghi* Università di Torino https://www.dg.unito.it/persone/maurizio.borghi Co-Director Nexa Center for Internet & Society <https://nexa.polito.it/> My Webex room: https://unito.webex.com/meet/maurizio.borghi

Aug. 18, 2023

From progress to innovation: neoliberalism and the expansion of intellectual property [Was: The Santiago Boys]

by Stefano Zacchiroli

On Wed, Aug 16, 2023 at 03:57:03PM +0200, J.C. DE MARTIN wrote: > Lunga recensione di taglio accademico: > https://social-epistemology.com/2023/08/16/the-political-sins-of-cybernetic… Bellissima recensione, grazie per la segnalazione. (Aggiungo: recensione con abbastanza pochi "spoilers" sul podcast, quindi potete leggerla anche senza averlo ascoltato.) Grazie a questa lettura ho scoperto la tesi di dottorato dell'autore della recensione, che è probabilmente di interesse per molti Nexiani, e che quindi vi segnalo: Figueroa Zimmermann, Felipe (2020) From progress to innovation : neoliberalism and the expansion of intellectual property. PhD thesis, University of Warwick. Abstract: Intellectual property law [hereon IP] is a particularly dynamic area of capitalist development. While the presence of IP in modern societies is pervasive, scholarly accounts of its explosive growth remain historically and disciplinarily bounded. This dissertation seeks to craft a more thorough account of the expansion of IP, by (1) tracing the changes in the concept of property in modern legal, economic and political discourse; (2) linking these conceptual changes to the process of expansion of IP; and (3) investigating the two-way relationship between the process of expansion of IP and the conceptual shifts in ownership. The methodology of this desk-based research involved first surveying the literature regarding the expansion across disciplinary boundaries, covering mainly economics, political science and legal theory. Next, the dominant explanations given in each discipline to account for IP expansion were identified and contrasted in their strengths and weaknesses to integrate them by using methods adapted from conceptual history (mainly Begriffsgeschichte and the Cambridge Historical School). Four results chapters explore a series of political controversies linked to conceptual innovation starting in the late 19th century and covering the 20th century. The approach showcases how the network of concepts to which we owe our current understanding of IP developed in a context of social, political and economic turmoil. Our perspective regarding the political significance of IP is thus illuminated by the consideration of the historical context. A key finding is that the expansion of IP was made possible by a series of conceptual changes that resulted from the ideological efforts of neoliberals to rethink the conceptual categories of classical liberalism during the first decades of the 20th century. Building on this, x the work offers a prognosis of where the concept of property might be headed, as well as a normative evaluation of these developments. Ciao -- Stefano Zacchiroli . zack(a)upsilon.cc . https://upsilon.cc/zack _. ^ ._ Full professor of Computer Science o o o \/|V|\/ Télécom Paris, Polytechnic Institute of Paris o o o </> <\> Co-founder & CTO Software Heritage o o o o /\|^|/\ https://twitter.com/zacchiro . https://mastodon.xyz/@zacchiro '" V "'

Aug. 18, 2023

US watchdog teases crackdown on data brokers that sell Americans’ personal information

by Daniela Tafani

Washington CNN — The US government plans to rein in the vast data broker industry with new, privacy-focused regulations that aim to safeguard millions of Americans’ personal information from data breaches<https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/29/tech/ftc-kochava-abortion-suit/index.html>, violent criminals and even artificial intelligence chatbots. The coming proposal by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would extend existing regulations that govern credit reports, arrest records and other data<https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/08/tech/abortion-personal-data-lawmaker-investi…> to what the agency describes as the “surveillance industry,” or the sprawling economy of businesses that traffic in increasingly digitized personal information. The potential rules, which are not yet public or final, could bar data brokers from selling certain types of consumer information — including a person’s income or their criminal and payment history — except in specific circumstances, the CFPB said. The push could also see new restrictions on the sale of personal information such as Social Security numbers, names and addresses, which the CFPB said data brokers often buy from the major credit reporting bureaus to create their own profiles on individual consumers. Issued under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the regulations would seek to ensure that data brokers selling that sensitive information do so only for valid financial purposes such as employment background checks or credit decisions, and not for unrelated purposes that may allow third parties to use the data to, for example, train AI algorithms or chatbots, the CFPB said. The announcement follows an agency study into the data broker industry this year that found widespread concerns about how consumer data is being collected, used and shared. The inquiry received numerous submissions from the public warning about the disproportionate risks that unregulated data sharing can have on minorities, seniors, immigrants and victims of domestic violence. “Reports about monetization of sensitive information — everything from the financial details of members of the U.S. military to lists of specific people experiencing dementia — are particularly worrisome when data is powering ‘artificial intelligence’ and other automated decision-making about our lives,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. “The CFPB will be taking steps to ensure that modern-day data brokers in the surveillance industry know that they cannot engage in illegal collection and sharing of our data.” The CFPB’s proposal will first be floated with a group of small businesses for feedback before being publicly unveiled in a formal rulemaking, the agency said. The CFPB isn’t the only US agency clamping down on the massive data industry. Last year, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a sweeping set of regulations<https://edition.cnn.com/2022/08/11/tech/ftc-new-rules-big-data/index.html> that may restrict how all businesses collect and use consumer data, taking aim at what FTC Chair Lina Khan has described as the “persistent tracking and routinized surveillance of individuals.” The agency initiatives reflect how Congress has continually failed to produce a comprehensive, national-level consumer privacy law, despite years of lawmaker negotiations and the rise of privacy regulations overseas that increasingly affect US businesses https://edition.cnn.com/2023/08/15/tech/privacy-rules-data-brokers

Aug. 17, 2023

Re: [nexa] The Santiago Boys

by J.C. DE MARTIN

Lunga recensione di taglio accademico: https://social-epistemology.com/2023/08/16/the-political-sins-of-cybernetic… jc On 23/07/23 08:51, J.C. DE MARTIN wrote: > E' online The Santiago Boys, il nuovo, splendido progetto di Evgeny > Morozov: > https://the-santiago-boys.com/ > Qui sotto l'annuncio. > > Inoltre, oggi "La Lettura" dedica quattro pagine (!) all'iniziativa e > ieri il Guardian da pubblicato un articolo a uno dei protagonisti > della storia, Stafford Beer: > https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/22/stafford-beer-chile-allende-t… > > Bravo, Evgeny! > > juan carlos > / > > //The podcast that took 2+ years and 200+ interviews to produce is > finally online!// > // > //You can listen to it on the main podcasting platforms (including > Spotify and Apple Podcasts). // > // > //The website of the Santiago Boys offers plenty of extra materials > for those of you who want to dig deeper: footnotes, backgrounders, > sources, videos, a glossary, and so much else. // > // > //And we are also publishing the interviews with the many people we > interviewed (check out, for example, this interview with Brian Eno > where he talks about Stafford Beer and his own fascination with > cybernetics). // > // > //Many thanks to dozens of people who worked on this ambitious > project; you can see all their names here. // > // > //I hope you take a break from the Barbenheimer hyper and spend some > time with the Santiago Boys instead! // > // > //Evgeny Morozov/

Aug. 16, 2023

Re: [nexa] Twitter/X e la fine della "doppia gratuità"

by Maria Chiara Pievatolo

On 16/08/23 08:57, Antonio Casilli wrote: > Buondì, > > l'edizione di oggi del giornale Libération pubblica un mio editoriale che fa il punto sulla situazione di X (precedentemente noto come Twitter). È una formula analoga a quella già praticato dall'editoria scientifica commerciale, che si sta trasformando in un servizio di analisi dei dati accidentalmente editoriale. Le istituzioni clienti pagano per potervi inserire i loro dati (qui sotto forma di articoli) e pagano di nuovo per riceverne la relativa analisi. Pagano, in altre parole, per far lavorare gratis i loro autori - perché il contenuto dei singoli testi, così come la singola citazione non conta nulla. Conta invece moltissimo, per la valutazione della ricerca, la loro aggregazione, a cui viene attribuito - come dire? - un plusvalore. https://infrastructure.sparcopen.org/landscape-analysis Se funziona con i professori, perché non dovrebbe funzionare con tutti gli altri? Qui, peraltro, la soluzione per uscire dagli oligopoli sarebbe *teoricamente* facile:(*) basterebbe valutare i testi per il loro contenuto e non per il loro contenitore e la relativa bibliometria. Lo sta cercando di fare, in Europa, COARA, a cui ha aderito anche l'AMVUR ancorché a modo suo. https://aisa.sp.unipi.it/dicers-oaths-ore-coara-and-the-italian-national-ag… Anche in questo caso, a sostegno degli interessi degli oligopolisti militano anche altri interessi esterni che meriterebbero di essere illuminati. A presto, MCP (*)Così come è teoricamente facile smantellare il potere dei sacerdoti del tempio di Delfi: basta smettere di consultare e di credere agli oracoli.

Aug. 16, 2023

Bruce Scheneier, AI and microdirectives

by maurizio lana

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2023/07/ai-and-microdirectives.html Bruce Schenier, AI and Microdirectives > Imagine a future in which AIs automatically interpret—and enforce—laws. > All day and every day, you constantly receive highly personalized > instructions for how to comply with the law, sent directly by your > government and law enforcement. You’re told how to cross the street, > how fast to drive on the way to work, and what you’re allowed to say > or do online—if you’re in any situation that might have legal > implications, you’re told exactly what to do, in real time. > Imagine that the computer system formulating these personal legal > directives at mass scale is so complex that no one can explain how it > reasons or works. But if you ignore a directive, the system will know, > and it’ll be used as evidence in the prosecution that’s sure to follow. > ... > The heart of the issue: If you’re accused by a computer, are you > entitled to review that computer’s inner workings and potentially > challenge its accuracy in court? What does cross-examination look like > when the prosecutor’s witness is a computer? How could you possibly > access, analyze, and understand all microdirectives relevant to your > case in order to challenge the AI’s legal interpretation? How could > courts hope to ensure equal application of the law? Like the man from > the country in Franz Kafka’s parable in The Trial, you’d die waiting > for access to the law, because the law is limitless and incomprehensible. Maurizio ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ricorda Signore questi servi disobbedienti alle leggi del branco non dimenticare il loro volto fabrizio de andré, smisurata preghiera ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maurizio Lana - 347 7370925

Aug. 16, 2023

Twitter/X e la fine della "doppia gratuità"

by Antonio Casilli

Buondì, l'edizione di oggi del giornale Libération pubblica un mio editoriale che fa il punto sulla situazione di X (precedentemente noto come Twitter). Buona lettura, ---a --- Libération Idées et Débats, mardi 16 août 2023 Twitter rebaptisé : que cache le «X» de Elon Musk ? Antonio Casilli https://www.liberation.fr/idees-et-debats/tribunes/twitter-rebaptise-que-ca… Le nom du réseau social à l'oiseau bleu a été modifié. Cette décision révèle un nouveau fonctionnement des entreprises du milliardaire, basé sur la collecte de données personnelles par l'intelligence artificielle et l'exploitation de ses utilisateurs, explique le sociologue Antonio Casilli. Au cours de l'été, une controverse a secoué le monde de la technologie, focalisant l'attention sur Elon Musk et sa décision audacieuse de rebaptiser Twitter «X». L'abandon d'une marque établie a été perçu par les détracteurs du magnat comme une démonstration déconcertante d'irrationalité, surtout si on l'interprète comme une tactique pour taquiner l'intelligentsia de la plateforme autrefois vénérée par les journalistes et les commentateurs politiques. Est-ce que Musk est en train de suivre le chemin de l'empereur romain qui a hissé son cheval au rang de consul ? Toutefois, derrière cette apparente excentricité se cachent deux grandes tendances qui semblent dessiner la trajectoire de l'empire du milliardaire d'origine sud-africaine. La première est la transformation des géants de la technologie en conglomérats. Il y a près de dix ans, Google est devenu Alphabet et, plus récemment, Facebook est devenu Meta. Ces évolutions préfiguraient l'émergence de vastes groupements industriels aux modèles d'affaires similaires : des plateformes centralisant la collecte de données pour alimenter des systèmes d'intelligence artificielle (IA). Allant encore plus loin dans cette direction, Musk a pris une mesure radicale en optant tout simplement pour sacrifier la marque Twitter pour «X». «Main-d'oeuvre numérique» La seconde tendance se dessine au sein même des entreprises de Musk : l'émergence de branches diversifiées des médias en ligne (Twitter- X), à l'aérospatiale (Space-X) ou la mobilité (Tesla + Hyperloop-X), entre autres. Au coeur de cette évolution, Musk adopte ce que l'économie appelle «l'intégration verticale». Cette méthode de production implique qu'une société mère supervise chaque étape de la production de son produit phare. Dans le cas de X, une plateforme centrale extrait les données nécessaires pour alimenter l'apprentissage automatique des modèles d'intelligence artificielle. Ces données sont notamment générées par les clients de l'entreprise. X pourrait bien, plus tôt que prévu, faire partie intégrante des Gafam, un acronyme appelé à être redéfini : Maxam (Meta, Alphabet, X, Apple, Microsoft) pourrait bientôt illustrer le paysage technologique occidental. La collecte de données pour l'IA était en cours bien avant l'acquisition et le remaniement de Twitter par Musk. Un exemple emblématique de cette stratégie est la récupération de données auprès des conducteurs de Tesla. Elon Musk a intelligemment profité de la «main-d'oeuvre numérique» gracieusement offerte par ses propres clients pour améliorer les performances de ses véhicules autonomes. En conduisant leurs voitures haut de gamme, ces derniers permettent plus ou moins volontairement à des capteurs d'accumuler des millions d'heures de vidéo ainsi que des quantités massives d'informations liées à leur localisation et à leurs performances. Une approche similaire a été mise en évidence avec le média social anciennement appelé Twitter, où les données des messages des utilisateurs alimentent désormais une nouvelle branche de l'empire de Musk. Cette filière porte le nom assez prévisible de X.AI. Fondée en juillet, elle est destinée à concurrencer OpenAI et son produit phare, ChatGPT, dans lequel Musk avait investi dès l'origine. De manière typiquement muskienne, X.AI a été créée peu après la publication d'une lettre ouverte co-signée par le milliardaire, appelant à un moratoire sur le développement de l'IA pour prévenir le risque d'extinction de l'humanité. Une belle démonstration d'hypocrisie - ou de fausse conscience. Système de double rémunération Cela nous amène à la notion de «digital labor», la contribution non reconnue mais indispensable des utilisateurs à la formation de l'intelligence artificielle. Alors que les autres grandes plateformes numériques ont jusqu'à présent utilisé l'approche de la «double gratuité» (offrir leurs services gratuitement mais sans rémunérer la collecte de données permettant l'amélioration de leurs algorithmes), Musk s'oriente vers un système de double rémunération : les utilisateurs de Blue, la version premium de X, souscrivent à un abonnement payant pour accéder au service. Mais dans le même temps, la plateforme les récompense en leur versant une rémunération en fonction des performances de leur compte. Cette approche va de pair avec les idées avancées sur Internet par certains milieux libertaires de droite, qui proposent de rémunérer les données. En France, en 2018, le think tank Génération libre prônait la rémunération des données personnelles via des mécanismes de libre concurrence. Cependant, il est regrettable de constater que ce marché est loin d'offrir une réelle liberté, principalement en raison de la domination exercée par des géants comme Meta, Amazon et peut-être bientôt X. Cette évolution engendre un déséquilibre notable, avantageant ainsi les acteurs dominants de la technologie. Ce modèle soulève un certain nombre de difficultés. Les utilisateurs ne sont pas maîtres de leurs données personnelles, décidant souverainement de les céder au plus offrant. Dès qu'ils acceptent d'être sur la plateforme, ils sont assimilés à des «travailleurs du clic» exploités, obligés de produire des données qu'ils ne peuvent que monnayer. A cela s'ajoute le fait qu'ils doivent payer pour leur propre contribution. Le passage du modèle «pay per play», courant dans l'industrie des jeux vidéo, au modèle «pay per work» est clairement perceptible. Cette dynamique s'inscrit dans une tendance plus large observée dans nos mondes de travail de plus en plus flexibles. Dans ces contextes, l'emploi formel est devenu plus rare, obligeant souvent les individus à financer leurs propres formations ou reconversions. Bien au- delà de la simple expansion du travail numérique gratuit, nous assistons, sur les plateformes comme dans les entreprises traditionnelles, à la mise en place d'un système où il faut payer pour que nos données soient exploitées. Et avec elles, notre travail. -- Antonio A. Casilli Professor, Telecom Paris | Institut Polytechnique de Paris Member, Interdisciplinary Institute for Innovation (CNRS) Associate Member, LACI-LAP (EHESS) Associate researcher, Weizenbaum-Institut, Berlin Member, Scholarly council UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2) Faculty Fellow, Nexa Center for Internet & Society *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*

Aug. 16, 2023

Libro open access: "Resistance to the Current: The Dialectics of Hacking"

by J.C. DE MARTIN

Resistance to the Current: The Dialectics of Hacking // ByJohan Söderberg,Maxigas The MIT Press DOI: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/13466.001.0001 <https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/13466.001.0001> ISBN electronic: 9780262372008 Publication date: 2022 https://direct.mit.edu/books/oa-monograph/5494/Resistance-to-the-CurrentThe… *How hacking cultures drive contemporary capitalism and the future of innovation.* In /Resistance to the Current/, Johan Söderberg and Maxigas examine four historical case studies of hacker movements and their roles in shaping the twenty-first-century's network society. Based on decades of field work and analysis, this intervention into current debates situates an exploding variety of hacking practices within the contradictions of capitalism. Depoliticized accounts of computing cultures and collaborative production miss their core driver, write Söderberg and Maxigas: the articulation of critique and its recuperation into innovations. Drawing on accounts of building, developing, and running community wireless networks, 3D printers, hackerspaces, and chat protocols, the authors develop a theoretical framework of critique and recuperation to examine how hackers—who have long held a reputation for being underground rebels—transform their outputs from communal, underground experiments to commercial products that benefit the state and capital. This framework allows a dialectical understanding of contemporary social conflicts around technology and innovation. Hackers' critiques of contemporary norms spur innovation, while recuperation turns these innovations into commodified products and services. Recuperation threatens the autonomy of hacker collectives, harnessing their outputs for the benefit of a capitalist system. With significant practical implications, this sophisticated multidisciplinary account of technology-oriented movements that seek to challenge capitalism will appeal to science and technology readers interested in innovation studies, user studies, cultural studies, and media and communications.

Aug. 14, 2023