- nexa - server-nexa.polito.it

The case of the supersized shebang
by Giacomo Tesio Feb. 25, 2019

Feb. 25, 2019

The array used to hold the shebang line is defined to be 128 bytes in length. That naturally leads to the question of what happens if the line exceeds that length. In current kernels, the line will simply be truncated to fit the buffer, after which execution proceeds as normal. Or, at least, as normal as can be expected given that part of the shebang line is now missing. Recently, Oleg Nesterov decided that this behavior is wrong; it could cause misinterpreted arguments or, should the truncated line happen to be the valid name of an interpreter executable in it own right, run the wrong interpreter entirely. He put together a patch (merged for 5.0-rc1) changing that behavior; the kernel would fail the attempt to find an alternative interpreter entirely in that situation, causing a fallback to the default shell. [...] One might well wonder just how things worked before, since a truncated version of that shebang line is still wrong. It turns out that the Perl interpreter is able to detect this truncation; it rereads the first line itself and sets its arguments properly. As long as the interpreter itself is the correct one, things will work as expected. As of 5.0-rc1, though, the correct interpreter would no longer be invoked, and things went downhill from there. The kernel project's policy on this kind of change is clear, but Linus Torvalds reiterated it in this case anyway: > It doesn't matter if it "corrupted" things by truncating it. > All that matters is "it used to work, now it doesn't" > Yes, maybe it never *should* have worked. And yes, > it's sad that people apparently had cases that depended > on this odd behavior, but there we are. [...] Had that been the end of the story, it would have been just another case of a regression introduced during the merge window, then corrected during the stabilization period. But, as it happens, this change found its way into the 4.20.8, 4.19.21, 4.14.99, and 4.9.156 stable kernel updates, despite the fact that neither the author nor the maintainer who merged it (Andrew Morton) had marked it for stable backporting. [...] Nesterov's patch had been automatically selected for backporting by Sasha Levin's machine-learning system. https://lwn.net/SubscriberLink/779997/11de2bdc8dbc0d69/ Non so davvero se sia più inquietante che la sicurezza informatica dei sistemi Linux dipenda da un software che calcola quali patch distribuire come stabili o... che bug vecchi di 50 anni non vengono corretti solo perché Perl ha imparato a sopravvivere con essi. Giacomo

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Discovery of cameras built into airlines’ seats sparks privacy concerns - The Verge
by J.C. DE MARTIN Feb. 24, 2019

Feb. 24, 2019

https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/22/18235979/camera-airplane-inflight-entert… (Sent from my wireless device; please excuse brevity and typos (if any))

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Microsoft Employees Are Demanding The Company Cancel Its HoloLens Contract With The US Army
by Stefano Zacchiroli Feb. 23, 2019

Feb. 23, 2019

“We did not sign up to develop weapons,” says an employee letter to Microsoft executives published Friday. A group of Microsoft employees is circulating a letter among the company’s over 130,000-person staff demanding that executives cancel a $479 million contract with the US Army. [...] Continua qui: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/carolineodonovan/microsoft-hololens-ar… -- Stefano Zacchiroli . zack(a)upsilon.cc . upsilon.cc/zack . . o . . . o . o Computer Science Professor . CTO Software Heritage . . . . . o . . . o o Former Debian Project Leader & OSI Board Director . . . o o o . . . o . « the first rule of tautology club is the first rule of tautology club »

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Vaccino o non vaccino?
by don Luca Peyron Feb. 23, 2019

Feb. 23, 2019

Una nobile - o per altri non giusta decisione - ma a leggere fino in fondo si scopre che... Buona lettura e buona domenica dl https://www.corriere.it/esteri/19_febbraio_23/vaccini-youtube-mette-bando-v… _________________________ www.universitari.to.it via XX settembre 83, Torino tel. 011 5156239

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Public hacker test on Swiss Post’s e-voting system
by Giacomo Tesio Feb. 22, 2019

Feb. 22, 2019

Public Intrusion Test (PIT) Swiss Post will be carrying out resilience testing, also known as a public intrusion test (PIT), on its e-voting system between 25 February and 24 March 2019. During the test, hackers and other independent IT specialists can challenge the Swiss Post e-voting system with deliberate attacks. [...] Why is Swiss Post performing an intrusion test on its e-voting system? Swiss Post believes that only a transparent e-voting solution can be successful in the long term. By opening it up to an intrusion test, it is exposing its system to the intelligence and skill of sophisticated hackers to identify whether, when and how its e-voting system can be compromised. It will incorporate the results of the intrusion test into the development of its e-voting system. Swiss Post will identify and rectify any vulnerabilities that may be found. Last but not least, the intrusion test should also establish hard facts and thereby contribute to a fact-based discussion of e-voting. Intrusion tests are an established procedure within the IT field and are a standard part of developing many IT systems. https://www.evoting-blog.ch/en/pages/2019/public-hacker-test-on-swiss-post-…

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Articolo su come la tecnologia cambia il settore postale
by Luigi Scorca Feb. 21, 2019

Feb. 21, 2019

Cari amici nexiani, vi segnalo un mio articolo appena pubblicato sul volume "*New Business and Regulatory Strategies in the Postal Sector*" (ed. Springer, lo trovate qui https://www.springer.com/us/book/9783030029364) dal titolo "*The Transformation of Postal Services in Light of Technological Developments and Users’ Needs*". In breve, analizzo come lo sviluppo tecnologico sta cambiando il processo di produzione dei servizi postali in due modi: sia attraverso l'integrazione verticale con le piattaforme e-commerce (Amazon, E-Bay, etc), sia attraverso la disintegrazione dei processi produttivi in segmenti amorfi, con la nascita di piattaforme per la gestione degli armadietti elettronici (i *lockers*), ed i servizi di consegna ultimo-miglio, anche in modalità *crowdsourced *(alla UBER, per intenderci). L'articolo è in inglese, e segue la presentazione fatta durante il NEXA Lunch Seminar del 28 Febbraio 2018 (https://nexa.polito.it/lunch-58) Per chi ha piacere di saperne di più mi scriva in privato ed invierò del materiale in merito. Buona serata, Luigi -- Luigi Scorca Mob: +39 347 85 22 221 Mail: luigi.scorca(a)gmail.com

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A philosopher argues that an AI can’t be an artist...
by Enrico Nardelli Feb. 21, 2019

Feb. 21, 2019

... Creativity is, and always will be, a human endeavor https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612913/a-philosopher-argues-that-an-ai-c… Creativity is among the most mysterious and impressive achievements of human existence. But what is it? Creativity is not just novelty. A toddler at the piano may hit a novel sequence of notes, but they’re not, in any meaningful sense, creative. Also, creativity is bounded by history: what counts as creative inspiration in one period or place might be disregarded as ridiculous, stupid, or crazy in another. A community has to accept ideas as good for them to count as creative. -- EN ===================================================================== Prof. Enrico Nardelli Dipartimento di Matematica - Universita' di Roma "Tor Vergata" Via della Ricerca Scientifica snc - 00133 Roma tel: +39 06 7259.4204 fax: +39 06 7259.4699 mobile: +39 335 590.2331 e-mail: nardelli(a)mat.uniroma2.it home page: http://www.mat.uniroma2.it/~nardelli blog: http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/blog/enardelli/ http://link-and-think.blogspot.it/ ===================================================================== --

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Cronache romane
by don Luca Peyron Feb. 21, 2019

Feb. 21, 2019

L’incertezza ci salverà Oggi le Ai sono sviluppate o in una modalità *market-driven* o *state-driven*. Dobbiamo pensare altre modalità. Per esempio sviluppando algoritmi di verifica indipendenti che sappiano certificare queste quattro capacità delle macchine. Oppure è possibile ipotizzare enti terzi indipendenti, che attraverso la scrittura di algoritmi dedicati siano in grado di valutare l’idoneità delle Ai alla convivenza con l’uomo. Solo rispettando queste indicazioni l’innovazione potrà essere guidata verso un autentico sviluppo umano. Il resto dell'articolo seguendo il link http://www.osservatoreromano.va/it/news/lincertezza-ci-salvera?fbclid=IwAR1… Buona lettura dl _________________________ www.universitari.to.it via XX settembre 83, Torino tel. 011 5156239

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Learning Analytics - Yet another tool for "scientific" discrimination?
by Diego Latella Feb. 21, 2019

Feb. 21, 2019

Hi everybody. I’ve just received the call for papers for the 1st International Symposium Learning Analytics (http://iv.csites.fct.unl.pt/fr/symposia/iv/la-learning-analytics/ <http://iv.csites.fct.unl.pt/fr/symposia/iv/la-learning-analytics/>) I’ve no doubt about the good intentions of the organizers, that emerge also from the description of the symposium which I report (partially) below: Learning Analytics refers to the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data on the progress of learners and the micro and macro contexts of learning environment. It uses the data collected from the digital footprint of the learner and applies bigdata concepts to understand the influencing factors that affects learners whether it is educational policy and strategy, or it relates to the micro level module contents and its delivery. This has potential to support designing data and fact-based policy both for campus based and online delivery. Through Learning Analytics, it is possible to provide tailor-made learning and teaching for a specific group. It can lead to reduce disparity of standard within different systems and optimise the resources required to achieve required standards. Learning Analytics can support the prediction of outcome and guide early intervention to boosting retention rates. It will make significant contribution for quality assurance. When combined with refined visualization tools and suitable interfaces in an e-learning system, the use of Learning Analytics fosters a student-centred approach, supports self-regulated learning, and eventually helps learners (and teachers) along the road to educational success. This research area is witnessing swift developments since several years, and this Symposium aims to gather contributions to allow for exchange and further advancements. Technology Enhanced Learning advocates are invited to submit their original research work involving the use of Learning Analytics in education. However, I have to express strong concern about what could be additional uses (or abuses!) of “Learning Analytics”, and in particular about using it as a tool for potential discrimination. I think it is worth citing here what Ben Buchanan Taylor Miller of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs of the Harvard Kennedy School wrote with reference to (big-data and) machine learning in their report of 2017 titled “Machine Learning for Policymakers. What It Is and Why It Matters”: "On one hand, machine learning has the exciting potential to diminish many of the effects of bias on the day-to-day lives […]. Neutral algorithms could make hiring decisions, approve people for loans, and recommend criminal sentences without the implicit preconceptions that humans bring to the table. Properly implemented, this could lead to a more just society. On the other hand, machine learning is sometimes critiqued as “money laundering for bias.” At its very worst, machine learning can cloak inequity with the imprimatur of science.” [emphasis added by me] Buchanan e Miller then continue describing a few well known cases of discrimination based on AI tools. I hope that the researchers in Learning Analytics will do their best for avoiding that the results of their scientific work, and the related technology, will never be used for discriminatory purposes. Diego Dott. Diego Latella - Senior Researcher CNR-ISTI, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124 Pisa, Italy (http:www.isti.cnr.it) FM&&T Lab. (http://fmt.isti.cnr.it) http://www.isti.cnr.it/People/D.Latella - ph: +390506212982, mob: +39 348 8283101, fax: +390506212040 =================== The quest for a war-free world has a basic purpose: survival. But if in the process we learn how to achieve it by love rather than by fear, by kindness rather than compulsion; if in the process we learn how to combine the essential with the enjoyable, the expedient with the benevolent, the practical with the beautiful, this will be an extra incentive to embark on this great task. Above all, remember your humanity. -- Sir Joseph Rotblat

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When Kids Realize Their Whole Life Is Already Online
by Giacomo Tesio Feb. 21, 2019

Feb. 21, 2019

When Kids Realize Their Whole Life Is Already Online https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2019/02/when-kids-realize-th… Like most other modern kids, Cara grew up immersed in social media. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were all founded before she was born; Instagram has been around since she was a toddler. While many kids may not yet have accounts themselves, their parents, schools, sports teams, and organizations have been curating an online presence for them since birth. The shock of realizing that details about your life—or, in some cases, an entire narrative of it—have been shared online without your consent or knowledge has become a pivotal experience in the lives of many young teens and tweens. Recently a parenting blogger wrote in a Washington Post essay that despite her 14-year-old daughter’s horror at discovering that her mother had shared years of highly personal stories and information about her online, she simply could not stop posting on her blog and social media. The writer claimed that promising her daughter that she would stop posting about her publicly on the internet “would mean shutting down a vital part of myself, which isn’t necessarily good for me or her.” [...] Natalie, now 13, said that in fifth grade she and her friends competed with one another over the amount of information about themselves on the internet. “We thought it was so cool that we had pics of ourselves online,” she said. “We would brag like, ‘I have this many pics of myself on the internet.’ You look yourself up, and it’s like, ‘Whoa, it’s you!’ We were all shocked when we realized we were out there. We were like, ‘Whoa, we’re real people.’” Natalie’s parents are stringent about not posting photos of her to social media, so there are only a handful of photos of her out there, but she yearns for more. “I don’t want to live in a hole and only have two pics of me online. I want to be a person who is a person. I want people to know who I am,” she said. [...] Still, Jane—who, like all the other kids in this story, spoke to me with her parents’ permission—worries. She’s too young to navigate the web on her own, but she feels that a lot of what’s out there on the internet about her is beyond her control. “I don’t really like how people know things about me, and I don’t even know them,” she said. [...] Jaime Putnam, a mom in Georgia, said she has started to be more mindful of the fact that many of her kids’ friends don’t yet know how much information about themselves is out there. Recently she saw on social media that one of her child’s friends got a puppy. She brought it up when she next saw him, and he looked at her, horrified. He had no idea how she had learned that seemingly private information. “It made me realize these kids don’t know what’s being posted all the time,” she said. Now she’s careful about what she reveals. “It kind of feels like you’re maybe crossing a line telling them everything you know about them.”

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