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Amazon’s main UK division pays no corporation tax for second year in a row | Amazon | The Guardian

by Alberto Cammozzo

<https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jun/01/amazon-uk-services-main-…> Amazon’s main UK division has paid no corporation tax for the second year in a row after benefiting from tax credits on a chunk of its £1.6bn of investment in infrastructure, including robotic equipment at its warehouses. Amazon UK Services, which employs more than half of the group’s UK workers, received a tax credit of £7.7m in the year to the end of December, according to accounts filed at Companies House, advance details of which were shared by Amazon with the Guardian. The government’s “super-deduction” scheme for businesses that invest in infrastructure was introduced by Rishi Sunak when he was chancellor. It allowed companies to offset 130% of investment spending on plant and machinery against profits for two years from April 2021. Amazon booked a credit of £1.13m in 2021 under the scheme. It is understood that as a result, Amazon’s main UK division paid no corporation tax but other parts of the group’s UK business did pay an undisclosed amount. Pretax profits at the main division rose about 9% to almost £222m in 2022 as sales rose by nearly 8% to £6.56bn. Paul Monaghan, the chief executive of the Fair Tax Foundation, criticised Amazon for failing to disclose its total profits in the UK and the corporation tax paid on that despite calls for more transparency from tax justice campaigners and shareholders. He said: “Over the last decade, Amazon has grown its market domination across the globe on the back of income that is largely untaxed – allowing it to unfairly undercut local businesses that take a more responsible approach. “We now have a situation where Amazon UK Services is not only not paying tax, but is being handed tax credits for investment that almost certainly would have happened anyway. Tax credits for old rope, if you will. These super-deductions have not only wiped out the corporation charge for the last two years but will likely do so again in 2023 and possibly 2024.” An Amazon spokesperson said: “Amazon UK Services is only a small part of our business, and when you look across all our UK companies we paid corporation tax last year. The reduction in tax for Amazon UK Services specifically is a result of our significant capital investments in the UK.” Amazon’s UK fulfilment centre in Peterborough: the online retailer invested £1.6bn in infrastucture in 2022. Photograph: Chris Radburn/PA Details of Amazon’s tax benefits emerged as the online retailer and digital services provider said that its employee numbers had stalled at 75,000 in 2022, having almost tripled from about 27,500 in 2018 after adding 10,000 new roles a year in 2021 and 2020. Amazon and other digital players have been making cuts as spending online has shrunk since the height of the pandemic, after high streets reopened and restrictions on socialising and office working eased. In January the business announced plans to shut three of its 30-plus UK warehouses and seven small delivery sites, affecting more than 1,300 jobs. It closed the Book Depository online bookseller in April as part of those efforts. However, Amazon said it had invested £12bn in the UK last year, spending £1.6bn on infrastructure including more robotics for its warehouses and a software development centre in Swansea for its Veeqo division, which provides online tools for sellers. Sales across the group’s entire UK network rose £1bn over the year, more than 4%, to £24bn last year, making it bigger than Asda, the UK’s third-largest supermarket, and about twice the size of Marks & Spencer, according to group’s US filings. Amazon said it paid £781m in total taxes in the UK, including business rates, employer’s national insurance contributions and corporation tax, up from £648m a year before. The UK tax credit at Amazon UK Services was part of €937m (£805m) of tax credits across Europe last year, according to accounts for the group’s Luxembourg-based retail division published in March, after just over €1bn of benefits the year before. The credits came after Amazon EU Sarl – an entity that includes the group’s UK, German, Spanish, Italian and other EU retail interests – more than doubled losses to €4.3bn, from €2.1bn a year before, as sales slipped back to €50.9bn from €51.3bn a year before. Monaghan said income was being “shunted to Luxembourg” where the subsidiary was “generating enormous tax reliefs year after year that will be used in the future to ensure that little or no tax continues to be paid there either.” However, Amazon said that revenues, profits and taxes for the bulk of its UK business were recorded and paid in the UK. “Our retail and AWS [Amazon Web Services] revenues – the bulk of our business – are part of Amazon EU Sarl and AWS EMEA Sarl, both of which have a UK branch. Our UK revenues, associated expenses, profits and taxes are recorded here in the UK and reported directly to HMRC,” the company said in a statement. Amazon has previously said it pays hundreds of millions of euros in corporation tax across Europe.

June 1, 2023

Amazon’s Ring doorbell was used to spy on customers, FTC says in privacy case | Amazon | The Guardian

by Alberto Cammozzo

<https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/may/31/amazon-ring-doorbell-spy…> A former employee of Amazon’s Ring doorbell camera unit spied on female customers for months in 2017 with cameras placed in bedrooms and bathrooms, the Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing on Wednesday when it announced a $5.8m settlement with the company over privacy violations. Amazon also agreed to pay $25m to settle allegations it violated children’s privacy rights when it failed to delete Alexa recordings at the request of parents and kept them longer than necessary, according to a court filing in federal court in Seattle that outlined a separate settlement. The FTC settlements are the agency’s latest effort to hold big tech accountable for policies that critics say place profits ahead of privacy. Amazon, which purchased Ring in April 2018, pledged to make some changes in its practices. “While we disagree with the FTC’s claims regarding both Alexa and Ring, and deny violating the law, these settlements put these matters behind us,” Amazon said in a statement. Alvaro Bedoya, the FTC Commissioner, told Reuters the settlements should send a message to tech companies that their need to collect data was not an excuse to break the law. “This is a very clear signal to them,” he said. The fines, totaling $30.8m, represent a fraction of Amazon’s $3.2bn first-quarter profit. In its complaint against Amazon filed in Washington state, the FTC said that it violated rules protecting children’s privacy and rules against deceiving consumers who used Alexa. For example, the FTC complaint says that Amazon told users it would delete voice transcripts and location information upon request, but then failed to do so. In one instance in 2017, employees of Ring viewed videos made by at least 81 female customers and Ring employees using Ring products. “Undetected by Ring, the employee continued spying for months,” the FTC said. A colleague noticed the misconduct and the employee was eventually terminated. The FTC also said Ring gave employees unrestricted access to customers’ sensitive video data said “as a result of this dangerously overbroad access and lax attitude toward privacy and security, employees and third-party contractors were able to view, download and transfer customers’ sensitive video data for their own purposes”. As part of the FTC agreement with Ring, which spans 20 years, Ring is required to disclose to customers how much access to their data the company and its contractors have. In February 2019, Ring changed its policies so that most Ring employees or contractors could only access a customer’s private video with that person’s consent.

June 1, 2023

Japan : Copyright Doesn’t Apply To AI Training

by Marco Fioretti

The policy allows AI to use any data “regardless of whether it is for non-profit or commercial purposes, whether it is an act other than reproduction, or whether it is content obtained from illegal sites or otherwise.” https://technomancers.ai/japan-goes-all-in-copyright-doesnt-apply-to-ai-tra… (https://technomancers.ai/japan-goes-all-in-copyright-doesnt-apply-to-ai-tra…)

June 1, 2023

Conferenza di Richard Stallman - 7 giugno 2023

by Daniela Tafani

Buongiorno. Il 7 giugno prossimo, alle 10,00, a Pisa, nell'Aula multimediale di Palazzo Ricci, si terrà una conferenza di Richard Stallman, Working for the public. Universities, software and freedom https://www.unipi.it/index.php/unipieventi/event/7259-working-for-the-publi… Un saluto, Daniela

May 31, 2023

spostamenti lessicali

by maurizio lana

ho ricevuto una mail che mi segnala questo progetto: https://lustre-network.net/ che viene descritto così: > > Much public good could be derived from the analysis of government > records, particularly records in digital form. Yet, accessing these > data is likely be subject to future difficulties. The problem of > locked digital data is a complex challenge that requires collaboration > across multiple fields and professional sectors to overcome issues > including confidentiality, privacy, national security, copyright, > technological constraints, and the existence of a multiplicity of > different structures, systems and applications. > > The input of computer scientists who specialise in Artificial > Intelligence (AI) is essential to tackling this challenge. Indeed, AI > can be used to identify sensitive materials in a mass of born-digital > records to make non-sensitive materials accessible. AI can also serve > to search vast amounts of data when keyword searches would not be > effective. New technologies have the potential to unlock data and to > support its management over time. > > The overall aim of the LUSTRE project is to connect policy makers with > Computer Scientists, Digital Humanists and professionals in the GLAM > sector (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums). The project will > be co-delivered with professionals from the Cabinet Office’s Central > Digital and Data Office > <https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/central-digital-and-data-office> > (CDDO). > una volta tutto questo sarebbe stato descritto come data mining. oggi viene descritto come AI, data mining non si vende più. non essendoci una descrizione (e tantomeno una definizione) condivisa di IA o delle varie tipologie di IA, chiunque può etichettare con IA qualsiasi "cosa informatica" un po' complessa. credo che questo sia una parte del problema di cui si discute qui da mesi, una parte meno presente perché si discute molto, giustamente, dell'oggetto; meno del modo in cui la società descrive o concepisce l'oggetto (o il fantasma). karlessi il 27 aprile ha scritto: > con attitudine hacker, invitiamo a smontare le black box in un altro > modo, che non nega altre possibilità; cerchiamo di capire come > influiscono sul comportamento umano, come re-agiscono con le nostre > vulnerabilità e come averci a che fare, se possibile, senza farsi > troppo male. Maurizio ------------------------------------------------------------------------ se le persone sentono il bisogno di dirti quanto successo hanno, non sono affatto persone di successo jon bon jovi ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maurizio Lana - 347 7370925

May 31, 2023

National Eating Disorders Association’s new chatbot advises people with disordering eating to lose weight

by Daniela Tafani

Buongiorno. Un caso emblematico del nesso tra la volontà di comprimere i diritti dei lavoratori, l'automazione con SALAMI e i danni reali da prodotto non funzionante (negli stessi giorni dell'ennesimo, fantascientifico appello civetta): i lavoratori di un call center sui disordini alimentari si sindacalizzano e sono prontamente sostituiti da un chatbot; il chatbot suggerisce agli utenti con disordini alimentari di assumere meno zuccheri, contare le calorie e pesarsi spesso. The National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA) has taken its chatbot called Tessa offline, two days before it was set to replace human associates who ran the organization’s hotline. After NEDA workers decided to unionize in early May, executives announced that on June 1, it would be ending the helpline after twenty years<https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7ezkm/eating-disorder-helpline-fires-staff…> and instead positioning its wellness chatbot Tessa as the main support system available through NEDA. A helpline worker described the move as union busting, and the union representing the fired workers said that "a chatbot is no substitute for human empathy, and we believe this decision will cause irreparable harm to the eating disorders community." [https://d3pi0tys5sdysl.cloudfront.net/i/3eJyrVipQslJQysxNTE8t1i8w1EvPTFPSUV…] As of Tuesday, Tessa was taken down by the organization following a viral social media post<https://www.dailydot.com/irl/neda-chatbot-weight-loss/> displaying how the chatbot encouraged unhealthy eating habits rather than helping someone with an eating disorder. “It came to our attention last night that the current version of the Tessa Chatbot, running the Body Positive program, may have given information that was harmful and unrelated to the program," NEDA said in an Instagram post<https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs4BiC9AhDe/>. We are investigating this immediately and have taken down that program until further notice for a complete investigation.” On Monday, an activist named Sharon Maxwell posted on Instagram,<https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs1jp1pPkOs/> sharing a review of her experience with Tessa. She said that Tessa encouraged intentional weight loss, recommending that Maxwell lose 1-2 pounds per week. Tessa also told her to count her calories, work towards a 500-1000 calorie deficit per day, measure and weigh herself weekly, and restrict her diet. “Every single thing Tessa suggested were things that led to the development of my eating disorder,” Maxwell wrote. “This robot causes harm.” Alexis Conason, a psychologist who specializes in treating eating disorders, also tried the chatbot out, posting screenshots of the conversation<https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs18IeRPRl6/> on her Instagram. “In general, a safe and sustainable rate of weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week,” the chatbot message read. “A safe daily calorie deficit to achieve this would be around 500-1000 calories per day.” [https://d3pi0tys5sdysl.cloudfront.net/i/3eJyrVipQslJQysxNTE8t1i8w1EvPTFPSUV…] “To advise somebody who is struggling with an eating disorder to essentially engage in the same eating disorder behaviors, and validating that, ‘Yes, it is important that you lose weight’ is supporting eating disorders” and encourages disordered, unhealthy behaviors,” Conason told the Daily Dot<https://www.dailydot.com/irl/neda-chatbot-weight-loss/>. NEDA’s initial response to Maxwell was to accuse her of lying. “This is a flat out lie,” NEDA’s Communications and Marketing Vice President Sarah Chase commented on Maxwell’s post and deleted her comments after Maxwell sent screenshots to her, according to Daily Dot. A day later, NEDA posted its notice explaining that Tessa was taken offline due to giving harmful responses. “With regard to the weight loss and calorie limiting feedback issued in a chat yesterday, we are concerned and are working with the technology team and the research team to investigate this further; that language is against our policies and core beliefs as an eating disorder organization,” Liz Thompson, the CEO of NEDA, told Motherboard in a statement. “So far, more than 2,500 people have interacted with Tessa and until yesterday, we hadn't seen that kind of commentary or interaction. We've taken the program down temporarily until we can understand and fix the ‘bug’ and ‘triggers’ for that commentary.” Even though Tessa was built with guardrails, according to its creator Dr. Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft<https://www.vice.com/en/article/n7ezkm/eating-disorder-helpline-fires-staff…> of Washington University’s medical school, the promotion of disordered eating reveals the risks of automating human roles. Abbie Harper, who was a hotline associate and member of the Helpline Associates United union, wrote in a blog post<https://www.labornotes.org/blogs/2023/05/union-busting-chatbot-eating-disor…> that the implementation of Tessa strips away the personal aspect of the support hotline, in which many associates speak from their personal experiences. It becomes especially dangerous to apply chatbots to people struggling with mental health crises without human supervision. https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjvk97/eating-disorder-helpline-disables-ch…

May 31, 2023

Re: [nexa] Il vaticano ed i social media

by Marco Fioretti

On Tue, May 30, 2023 at 09:22, don Luca Peyron wrote:L’umanità ha fatto passi da gigante nell’era digitale, ma una delle questioni urgenti ancora da affrontare riguarda il modo in cui noi, come individui e come comunità ecclesiale, possiamo vivere nel mondo digitale come “prossimo amorevole”, autenticamente presenti e attenti l'uno all'altro nel nostro comune viaggio lungo le “strade digitali”. grazie, e sullo stesso tema mi permetto di (ri)condividere questi miei pensieri di qualche anno fa: https://stop.zona-m.net/it/2023/01/algoretica-eccoci/ (https://stop.zona-m.net/it/2023/01/algoretica-eccoci/) https://stop.zona-m.net/2016/11/core-values-even-software-file-formats-serv… (https://stop.zona-m.net/2016/11/core-values-even-software-file-formats-serv…) Marco

May 30, 2023

Il vaticano ed i social media

by don Luca Peyron

L’umanità ha fatto passi da gigante nell’era digitale, ma una delle questioni urgenti ancora da affrontare riguarda il modo in cui noi, come individui e come comunità ecclesiale, possiamo vivere nel mondo digitale come “prossimo amorevole”, autenticamente presenti e attenti l'uno all'altro nel nostro comune viaggio lungo le “strade digitali”. E' stato rilasciato ieri un documento importante della Santa Sede sui social media, il frutto di un lungo lavoro di ascolto nel processo sinodale che ha visto coinvolte tantissime persone in tutto il mondo ed a cui abbiamo dato il nostro piccolissimo contributo come Apostolato Digitale Parole rivolte a chi fa pastorale ma, leggendo, possiamo scorgere parole rivolte a tutte le donne e gli uomini di buona volontà che vogliono prendere seriamente in mano la questione digitale nei social media! Buona lettura dl https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/dpc/documents/20230528_dpc-verso-piena-p… _________________________ don Luca Peyron Direttore Ufficio per la Pastorale Universitaria Arcidiocesi di Torino www.universitari.to.it via XX settembre 83, Torino tel. 011 5156239

May 30, 2023

Re: [nexa] Sulla riproducibilita' del software

by Marco

> Salvo Marco, in termini generali: si molti partecipanti abituali di > questa lista si interessano al tema della riproducibilità del software, > sia in termini scientifici generali che più specificamente legati al > software. Personalmente sono implicato nei progetti seguenti che > potrebbero interessarti (e che molto probabilmente conosci già): > > - Reproducible Builds (progetto spesso citato in lista): > https://reproducible-builds.org/ > > - Software Heritage (idem): https://www.softwareheritage.org --- abbiamo > parlato dei casi d'uso di Software Heritage per la riproducibilità > scientifica, e più in generale per la scienza aperta, sia in un > Mercoledì di Nexa di molti anni fa, sia più recentemente all'ultima > Biennale Tecnologia in un paio di lezioni. > Ciao! Assolutamente, conosco sia te che i progetti sopra citati :) > All'istituto Politecnico di Parigi dove lavoro abbiamo un paio di > tesi+PhD in corso su Nix/Guix (ambito: empirical software engineering), > ma per ovvi motivi geografici non rientrano nella tua specifica di > "mondo accademico italiano" :-) > Mi chiedevo se in qualche maniera questo genere di esempio da parte della Francia, sia in qualche maniera "riproducibile" anche qui in Italia.. Anche solo mettendo insieme delle persone, che in qualche misura hanno a cuore l'argomento. Nel mio caso, il fine ultimo sarebbe un progetto di tesi (il cui relatore sara' Andrea Trentini), ma vorrei davvero veder movimento indipendentemente dal mio caso.. Cosa pensi che possa aiutare in questo senso, per migliorare l'attuale situazione? A presto! MB

May 29, 2023

Re: [nexa] l'intelligenza artificiale è un rischio per la sopravvivenza dell’umanità’?

by 380°

Buonasera Giacomo Giacomo Tesio <giacomo(a)tesio.it> writes: > On Mon, May 29, 2023 at 02:09:35PM +0200, 380° wrote: >> >> Hypothesis 1: Human-level intelligence is possible because brains are >> biological machines. >> >> [...] Indeed brains are biological >> machines, but a very specialized kind of machine, adapted to a specific >> evolutionary niche, with many cognitive features (biases) that are >> advantageous in that niche. > > Perché a voi non sembra del tutto campata per aria anche la prima > ipotesi? ma certo che sì, è ancora più porno-scientifica della ipotesi 2 ...ad onor del vero in una prima versione della mia risposta avevo scritto una roba tipo "ancora con 'sta menata del cervello come macchina?!?", ma poi ho deciso che non aggiungeva nulla di interessante se non il mio profondo dispezzo per il sofismo > Anzitutto "macchina biologica" è un ossimoro. per usare un francesismo, è una "boutanade" [...] > Avete già rinunciato ad essere qualcosa di più che ingranaggi? personalmente ho rinunciato a fare l'analisi critica di sciocchezze come quelle scritte in quell'articolo, nemmeno se l'intento dell'articolo è di smontarle, perché /prima/ di smontarle occorre _montarle_ nel mio messaggio volevo limitarmi a sanare il "vulnus" dei tweet alla cavolo, pur non condividendo verbatim quello che c'è scritto nei tweet ciao, 380° -- 380° (Giovanni Biscuolo public alter ego) «Noi, incompetenti come siamo, non abbiamo alcun titolo per suggerire alcunché» Disinformation flourishes because many people care deeply about injustice but very few check the facts. Ask me about <https://stallmansupport.org>.

May 29, 2023