| Web | http://ggrill.net |
“To begin with, I am less than persuaded that the democratizing effects of computers outweigh their tendency to centralize and concentrate power,” - David Golumbia.
David was a hell of a critic, a generous mentor, and a true friend.
I will miss him:
https://librarianshipwreck.wordpress.com/2023/09/18/in-memory-of-david-golumbia/
Today was ... interesting. If you followed me for the past months over on the shitbird site, you might have seen a bunch of angry German words, lots of graphs, and the occassional news paper, radio, or TV snippet with yours truely. Let me explain.
In Austria, inflation is way above the EU average. There's no end in sight. This is especially true for basic needs like energy and food.
Our government stated in May that they'd build a food price database together with the big grocery chains. But..
Oppenheimer: We can't launch if the test failed the night before launch.
Oppenheimer's engineer: No no, trust me, the test was wrong, it'll work in prod.
Me: This is the most real thing I have ever seen in a movie.
Stop scrolling!
Sit up straight. Turn your attention toward your breathing. Is it shallow? Are you breathing from the top part of your chest?
Take a couple of minutes to get those lungs moving. Breathe in for four counts and out for six. Make sure you breathe from your abdomen. Really pull that breath in then let it out with a sigh. Let those shoulders drop with the exhale.
After that, stretch, move around a bit, and get the blood flowing.
Feel better? Carry on 😉
Defense contractors are selling new AI tools to track labor organizing.
Claimed capabilities include identifying networks of people on social media & emotion recognition. Generative AI tools akin to ChatGPT are the next step.
The dangers of such tools include the preemptive firing of labor organizers, not hiring people deemed at risk of labor organizing, or divestment from areas perceived as at increased risk of labor disruptions.
New article with Christian Sandvig: https://www.wired.com/story/military-ais-next-frontier-your-work-computer/
In another video, the company also highlights how its tool can identify license plate numbers and protest signs in other contexts like climate justice or German anti-right-wing protests.
Although these tools are improving, techniques like emotion recognition are known to be biased and based on faulty assumptions. Network analysis tools assign risk by association, which means by following/interacting with certain accounts, one may be marked as risky.
In a Youtube video, one company illustrates how anger can be recognized in social media content and used to track an "EMPLOYEE STRIKE." The video also shows how the tool can identify protest signs in images that say, for example, "On Strike."
Defense contractors are selling new AI tools to track labor organizing.
Claimed capabilities include identifying networks of people on social media & emotion recognition. Generative AI tools akin to ChatGPT are the next step.
The dangers of such tools include the preemptive firing of labor organizers, not hiring people deemed at risk of labor organizing, or divestment from areas perceived as at increased risk of labor disruptions.
New article with Christian Sandvig: https://www.wired.com/story/military-ais-next-frontier-your-work-computer/
Registeration now open for (un)Stable Diffusions symposium, free online and in person at Milieux Institute, Concordia University, Tiohtià:ke/Montréal.
Please sign up here:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/unstable-diffusions-tickets-547903402827
Keynote panels announced too:
Dr. Beth Coleman
Dr. Marion Fourcade
Dr. Mona Sloane
Dr. Lucy Suchman
Follow me and the website for more details:
https://machineagencies.milieux.ca/unstable-diffusions/
Librarianshipwreck
Mario Zechner
Turing Incomplete
Computer Facts
Stacy
Fenwick McKelvey