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by Guido Vetere Jan. 9, 2025

Jan. 9, 2025

> Caro ingegnosissimo (technikòtate) Theuth, una cosa è la capacità di > generare ciò che riguarda l'arte (techne), un'altra giudicare se coloro che > la useranno ne avranno utilità oppure danno. E così ora tu, per ben volere > nei confronti delle lettere di cui sei il padre, hai detto il contrario di > quello che può provocare. Perché essa produrrà oblio nelle anime di coloro > che imparano: essi fidandosi della scrittura senza cura della memoria, > richiameranno alla memoria dall'esterno, attraverso segni estranei, e non > più dall'interno, da se stessi: tu non hai scoperto un farmaco per la > memoria ma per far ricordare. A coloro che imparano dai una apparenza di > sapienza e non la verità; grazie a te essi, avendo udito molto senza > insegnamento, crederanno di essere molto dotti senza per lo più esserlo; > sarà difficile stare con loro, presuntuosi di sapienza (doxòsophoi) > piuttosto che sapienti. > (Platone, Fedro) Nonostante questo monito rivolto da Thamus (a.k.a. Ammon, Re d'Egitto) al tecnocrate Theuth, inventore della scrittura, sono stati vergati e poi stampati centinaia di milioni di libri, e ancora oggi se ne pubblicano più di due milioni all'anno. Ammon sbagliava? Il punto non è questo. Il punto è che il Re avrebbe fatto comunque bene a finanziare il progetto di una biblioteca a prova di incendio, visto che oggi ci piacerebbe molto avere ancora quella di Alessandria. Un po' di senso pratico, insomma ... Cordialità G.

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"Le multinazionali del tech hanno ficcato il naso nell'AI Act. Forse un po' troppo"
by maurizio lana Jan. 9, 2025

Jan. 9, 2025

leggo oggi 8 gennaio su Wired questo articolo: Le multinazionali del tech hanno ficcato il naso nell'AI Act. Forse un po' troppo https://www.wired.it/article/ai-act-lobby-big-tech-microsoft-ibm/ che rimanda a questo report: Uncovering Big Tech’s hidden network. Undisclosed affiliations distort Digital Market Act’s public workshops https://www.somo.nl/uncovering-big-techs-hidden-network/ abstract: > > In March 2024, the European Commission set up a series of public > workshops to test Big Tech companies’ compliance with the Digital > Markets Act (DMA). These workshops were meant to gather the input from > impacted business and end users. Research by CEO, LobbyControl and > SOMO now shows that 1 in 5 workshop participants had a direct > connection with Big Tech, most of them undisclosed. > > Gatekeeper companies like Alphabet, Amazon, and Meta were able to > complement their own legal and lobbying teams’ influence through a > vast and undisclosed network of law firms, lobby consultants, trade > associations and think tanks. Given the clear asymmetry of resources > between Big Tech and regulators, the European Commission must > strengthen its conflict of interest safeguards before its next DMA > workshops. > qui in in lista si è già discusso di vari aspetti controversi dell'AI Act, ma questo non era ancora comparso Maurizio ------------------------------------------------------------------------ erano anni felici, ma nessuno se n'era accorto daniele luchetti, anni felici ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maurizio Lana - 347 7370925

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My New Book ‘Waiting for Robots’ Out Now from University of Chicago Press
by Antonio Casilli Jan. 9, 2025

Jan. 9, 2025

Waiting for Robots is Here My new book out now from University of Chicago Press Dear all, I’m thrilled to announce the release of my new book, [ https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/W/bo239039613.html | Waiting for Robots: The Hidden Hands of Automation ] , now available from the University of Chicago Press! This book has traveled an incredible journey, starting with its French initial publication and expanding to readers worldwide through six editions editions in Spanish, Arabic, and more. Now, this updated and expanded English edition lands at a crucial moment in the global conversation about artificial intelligence and labor. The journal [ https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu1541 | Science ] has already given it a stellar review. This updated edition addresses key issues, including: * The rise of generative AI and large language models * The pandemic’s lasting impact on labor markets and on supply chains * Emerging worker movements against AI and platform exploitation This book is also perfectly suitable for academic courses on digital labor, technology studies, sociology, and political economy. [ https://press.uchicago.edu/books/textadoption/requestHandler.html?path=/boo… | Request An Instructor Copy for Course Use ] Critical Acclaim for Waiting for Robots “Waiting for Robots makes a substantial contribution to the discourse on digital labor and platform capitalism… Casilli’s incisive analysis of the hidden human costs of AI, combined with his clear and engaging prose, establishes the book as essential reading for those seeking to understand the ethical and social dimensions of technology.” — Science BQ_BEGIN “Casilli’s pioneering book, now updated and available for the first time in English, completely upends the celebratory myths about AI. Through a quite remarkable range of international fieldwork, Casilli shows how exploited human workers, usually in the Global South, not only train AI, but often literally do the exhausting work branded as ‘artificial’ intelligence.” — Nick Couldry, London School of Economics BQ_END BQ_BEGIN “Disturbing…. Artificial intelligence, according to its advocates, holds out the promise of an end to mind-numbing, exploitative work. Casilli vehemently disagrees. He argues that it has merely changed the type of labor and the structure of the exploitation, and he has a mountain of research to support his case.” — Kirkus Reviews BQ_END BQ_BEGIN “With a blend of analysis and a subtly wry sense of humor, he debunks the myth of Al-driven job replacement, exposing how human labor is reconfigured and concealed within digital platforms . Bridging history, media, philosophy, and business, this page-turning work redefines our understanding of digital labor.” — Trebor Scholz, New School BQ_END BQ_BEGIN “Sweeping in its scope and exacting in its analysis, Waiting for Robots stands out as one of the most perceptive and critical accounts of AI in recent times. Casilli reveals the hidden fingerprints of human labor on these technologies, as long as we know where—and how—to look.” — Gabriella Coleman, Harvard University BQ_END Thank you for your support. I encourage you to forward this annoucement to anyone who may be interested. Warm regards, Antonio Casilli -- Antonio A. Casilli Professor, Institut Polytechnique de Paris My new book: Waiting for Robots. The Hired Hands of Automation, University of Chicago Press, 2025. My new documentary: In the Belly of AI, Federation Studios, 2025. *We respect your right to disconnect. My workflow efficiency accounts for the timing of this email. Taking action or responding outside of office hours is not required.*

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In a mirror
by Silvia Crafa Jan. 8, 2025

Jan. 8, 2025

Buondì, nell'augurare a tutti un buon nuovo anno, segnalo questa lecture di Shannon Vallor, che affronta il tema dell'AI con un approccio filosofico che coniuga profondità e concretezza, di cui c'è sempre molto bisogno. Shannon Vallor - Inaugural Lecture 23.10.24 - University of Edinburgh In a mirror, dimly. Why AI can't tell our stories and why we must https://media.ed.ac.uk/media/Shannon+Vallor+-+Inaugural+Lecture+23.10.24+/1… Silvia C.

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Nuovo Community Article "Licenze Creative Commons e Intelligenza Artificiale Generativa: una sinergia per la condivisione della conoscenza"
by Nexa - Media Jan. 7, 2025

Jan. 7, 2025

Gentilissime, gentilissimi, Vi segnaliamo con piacere la pubblicazione di un nuovo articolo della sezione del nostro sito web "Community Articles", dal titolo "Licenze Creative Commons e Intelligenza Artificiale Generativa: una sinergia per la condivisione della conoscenza", a cura dell'Avv. Deborah De Angelis, Fellow del Centro Nexa. L'articolo è consultabile al seguente link: https://nexa.polito.it/licenze-creative-commons-e-intelligenza-artificiale-… Vi ringraziamo per l'attenzione, 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

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Things we learned about LLMs in 2024 [Being critical is a virtue]
by Alberto Cammozzo Jan. 7, 2025

Jan. 7, 2025

Utile sintesi da parte di un tecnico, con molti elementi interessanti e spunti di riflessione senza posizioni ideologiche. Riporto per esteso in calce solo la parte "LLMs need better criticism" non per censurare il resto che merita senz'altro la lettura, ma perché mi pare che risponda a quanto si cerca di fare qui, ed in particolare mi pare attinente al dibattito in corso. <https://simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/31/llms-in-2024/> Things we learned about LLMs in 2024 A /lot/ has happened in the world of Large Language Models over the course of 2024. Here’s a review of things we figured out about the field in the past twelve months, plus my attempt at identifying key themes and pivotal moments. [...] LLMs need better criticism A lot of people /absolutely hate/ this stuff. In some of the spaces I hang out (Mastodon <https://fedi.simonwillison.net/@simon>, Bluesky <https://bsky.app/profile/simonwillison.net>, Lobste.rs <https://lobste.rs/>, even Hacker News <https://news.ycombinator.com/> on occasion) even suggesting that “LLMs are useful” can be enough to kick off a huge fight. I get it. There are plenty of reasons to dislike this technology—the environmental impact, the (lack of) ethics of the training data, the lack of reliability, the negative applications, the potential impact on people’s jobs. LLMs absolutely warrant criticism. We need to be talking through these problems, finding ways to mitigate them and helping people learn how to use these tools responsibly in ways where the positive applications outweigh the negative. I /like/ people who are skeptical of this stuff. The hype has been deafening for more than two years now, and there are enormous quantities of snake oil and misinformation out there. A lot of /very bad/ decisions are being made based on that hype. Being critical is a virtue. If we want people with decision-making authority to make /good decisions/ about how to apply these tools we first need to acknowledge that there ARE good applications, and then help explain how to put those into practice while avoiding the many unintiutive traps. (If you still don’t think there are any good applications at all I’m not sure why you made it to this point in the article!) I think telling people that this whole field is environmentally catastrophic plagiarism machines that constantly make things up is doing those people a disservice, no matter how much truth that represents. There is genuine value to be had here, but getting to that value is unintuitive and needs guidance. Those of us who understand this stuff have a duty to help everyone else figure it out.

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MEMENTO | 179° Mercoledì di Nexa | 8 gennaio 2025, ore 17.00
by Nexa - Media Jan. 7, 2025

Jan. 7, 2025

Gentilissime, gentilissimi, Vi ricordiamo che mercoledì 8 gennaio, alle ore 17.00, si terrà il 179° Mercoledì di Nexa con un incontro dal titolo "Le nuove leggi dello spazio". Ospite dell'incontro: Ugo Pagallo (Trustee del Centro Nexa, Università degli Studi di Torino). L'incontro si terrà IN PRESENZA e ONLINE. SEDE FISICA dell'incontro: Centro Nexa su Internet e Società, Politecnico di Torino, Via Boggio 65/a, Torino (1° piano). Per accedere alla sala si raccomanda di suonare al citofono Portineria e di seguire le indicazioni segnalate lungo il percorso. QUI<https://nexa.polito.it/contatti> maggiori informazioni su come raggiungerci. STANZA VIRTUALE dell'incontro: https://didattica.polito.it/VClass/NexaEvent Maggiori informazioni alla pagina: https://nexa.polito.it/mercoledi-179 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

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Strumenti per il voto
by de petra giulio Jan. 7, 2025

Jan. 7, 2025

Ci sono ancora strumenti digitali molto semplici ed economici il cui utilizzo può ‘generare’ grandi benefici. Ne scrivono qui Beppe Caravita e Fiorella De Cindio Fonte: CRS - Centro per la Riforma dello Stato Contro l'astensionismo. Che i referendum siano votabili da tutti! https://search.app/4N5S5amtvNo1ZPbG7

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Re: [nexa] In a mirror
by alessandro marzocchi Jan. 6, 2025

Jan. 6, 2025

Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2025 06:45:52 +0100 From: Guido Vetere < vetere.guido(a)gmail.com> wrote: se invece di profetizzare la sventura ci volessimo impegnare per evitarla, forse il modo ci sarebbe ----- In concreto ...? Cordiali auguri. Duccio (Alessandro Marzocchi)

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"Net Neutrality Rules Struck Down by Appeals Court"
by J.C. DE MARTIN Jan. 3, 2025

Jan. 3, 2025

Net Neutrality Rules Struck Down by Appeals Court /After nearly two decades of fighting, the battle over regulations that treat broadband providers like utilities came to an end on Thursday./ Jan. 2, 2025Updated 2:51 p.m. ET A federal appeals court struck down the Federal Communications Commission’s landmark net neutrality rules on Thursday, ending a nearly two-decade effort to regulate broadband internet providers like utilities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in Cincinnati, said <https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/25a0002p-06.pdf> that the F.C.C. lacked the authority to reinstate rules that prevented broadband providers from slowing or blocking access to internet content. The decision put an end to the Biden administration’s hallmark tech policy <https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/technology/fcc-net-neutrality-open-inter…>, which had drawn impassioned support from consumer groups and tech giants like Google and fierce protests by telecommunications giants like Comcast and AT&T. < - > https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/02/technology/net-neutrality-rules-fcc.htm

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