Month: October 2018

The end of household chores? Be careful what you wish for

/ Fiona J McEvoy / Leave a comment

This article by Fiona J McEvoy (YouTheData.com) was originally posted on All Turtles.

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Facebook’s and Google’s new home-based devices are designed to improve the way we live and interact in our personal time. These tech giants, along with vast swathes of smaller AI firms, are looking to upgrade and streamline our domestic experiences including how we share, relax, connect, and shop.

The veritable avalanche of new gizmos vying for a place in our most private spaces constitutes a true home invasion, and while many have voiced concerns about privacy and the security of personal data, fewer have considered what this might mean for the human condition.

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AI needs cooperation, not an arms race

/ Fiona J McEvoy / Leave a comment

This article by Fiona J McEvoy (YouTheData.com) was originally posted on All Turtles.

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Writing in the New York Times recently, venture capitalist Kai-Fu Lee signaled an important, oncoming change in the way we think about artificial intelligence. We are graduating, he cautioned, from an age of discovery and vision into a more practical era of implementation.

Lee is promoting his new book, titled A.I. Superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World Order, and he suggests that this transition from lab to launchpad may naturally privilege Chinese advantages—like data abundance and government investment—above the research capabilities and “freewheeling intellectual environment” of the U.S.

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If internet trolls are cybercriminals, can AI stop them?

/ Fiona J McEvoy / Leave a comment

This article by Fiona J McEvoy (YouTheData.com) was originally posted on All Turtles.

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In May 2017, the WannaCry ransomware attack made international headlines. The breach (which was later linked to North Korea) used leaked NSA tools to target businesses that were running outdated Windows software. WannaCry wreaked havoc by encrypting user data and then demanding  Bitcoin ransom payments. Hackers gave victims 7 days to pay, threatening to delete the files of those who wouldn’t comply.

Though a “kill switch” was ultimately discovered, the attack affected over 200,000 business in 150 countries. It has been estimated that WannaCry caused hundreds of millions – and perhaps even billions – of dollars of damage.

Despite the alarm and headlines associated with it, the WannaCry attack was neither unique nor especially surprising. In today’s connected world we have almost become accustomed to these types of hostile acts. Yahoo. Equifax. Ashley Madison. The list goes on.  Technology has catalyzed big changes to our conception crime, and while the word still attaches itself to physical infringements like theft and assault, “crime” now captures a broad range of clandestine activities, including so-called cybercrimes.

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