Vort3x | Cybersalon | April 15, 2024
Vort3x, published on the 15th of each month, aims to pick out significant developments in the intersection of computers, freedom, privacy, and security for friends near and far. The views expressed in these stories do not necessarily reflect those of Cybersalon, either individually or collectively.
Prepared by Wendy M. Grossman.
Contents: Cybersalon events | News | Features | Diary
Cybersalon Events
Cybersalon Press – new book “All Tomorrow’s Futures” is out, with a VR and In-Person launch at EasterCon in Telford, at British Science Fiction Association Fest
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Cybersalon Events: Tue 23rd April 6.30pm Newspeak House
Need to build new apps for campaigning? Come to “No Code App Workshop” run by Andy Twelves
Join us for an evening of learning how to use no code app builders, like appsheet.com and sheet2site.com.
NEWS
Too busy to Text? AirChat launch causes hot debates
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Solution looking for a problem? Maybe, but the new social media tool where you leave voice message rather than type has been well received by tech tribes. The bar is admittedly low, as the misadventures of Twitter and somewhat dissipated energy of Mastodon has left tech community scrambling for a new online hang out.
They are so desperate that they will jump at anything but AirChat may just make the grade.
It has created a new category of Conversational Networks, following up from Clubhouse but fresh and feeling different. Generation Alpha fell in love with podcasts and AirChat breezes into this space offering more meaningful, deeply social audio. You get the warmth of people’s voices and surprising depth of emotional messaging. The jury is out but we score it as ‘promising’.
Buggy Electronic Logging Devices Open US Trucks to Hacking
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Researchers at Colorado University have found that bugs in the electronic logging devices required in US commercial trucks could let more than 14 million heavy-duty rigs be hijacked to manipulate data, spread malware between vehicles, and even take control of the truck, Jessica Lyons reports at The Register. The logging systems primarily track driving hours, but also log data on engine operation, distances driven, and vehicle movement – but are not required to have tested safety controls built in. At the Plutopia podcast, Karen Levy, who has studied ELDs in trucking, discusses other safety issues they have introduced.
Discord Server Members Upload Child Abuse Imagery to Get Rivals’ Servers Shut Down
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Members of hacking and fraud-focused Discord servers are uploading child abuse imagery to rivals’ servers in order to get them shut down, Joseph Cox reports at 404 Media. Vendors have long sold banning services that leverage content moderation systems on social media, but the move to criminal imagery is new.
Nearly Half of UK Families with Children Are Digitally Excluded
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A new report finds that 45% of UK families with children lack sufficient online skills or access to devices, data, and broadband to participate in today’s digital society, Clea Skopeliti reports at the Guardian. Lack of access follows and exacerbates other types of exclusion, such as low socioeconomic backgrounds, being members of an ethnic minority, living outside of London, and disability. Researchers based their assessment on benchmarks created by a series of focus groups tasked with developing a “minimum digital living standard”.
Amazon Fresh Abandons “Just Walk Out”
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Amazon Fresh has begun removing its “Just Walk Out” checkout system, which users activated by scanning a QR code on entry to the store, in favor of Dash Carts, in which user check out as they shop via a scanner and screen embedded in the shopping cart, Maxwell Zeff reports at Gizmodo. At Gizmodo, Ron Amadeo reports that although “Just Walk Out” seemed automated, it relied on more than 1,000 workers in India who manually reviewed transactions and labeled images.
SpaceX Builds Network of Spy Satellites for US Intelligence Agency
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Under a classified $1.8 billion contract with the National Reconaissance Offfice, a US intelligence agency, SpaceX is building a network of hundreds of spy satellites, Joey Roulette and Marisa Taylor report at Reuters. The programme shows both Elon Musk’s increasing involvement in US intelligence and military projects, and also the Pentagon’s level of investement in low-earth orbiting satellite systems.
FEATURES & ANALYSIS
Jon Stewart Tackles AI and FTC Chair Lina Khan
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In this pair of YouTube clips from The Daily Show, Jon Stewart exposes downsides of generative AI and interviews FTC chair Lina Khan about the FTC’s suit against Amazon and AI’s early consolidation. At Gizmodo, Maxwell Zeff reports that during the run of his now-cancelled show The Problem with Jon Stewart, Apple, which commissioned the series, blocked him from tackling both these stories.
Clip 1 – Jon Stewart On The False Promises of AI | The Daily Show
Clip 2 – Lina Khan – FTC Chair on Amazon Antitrust Lawsuit & AI Oversight | The Daily Show
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In this article at the New York Times, Brett Martin finds a song about himself on Spotify, and follows it to its composer, Matt Farley, who makes a good living by writing and uploading thousands of songs. He also writes more serious songs, makes movies, and has published a manifesto on creativity.
Child Influencers Lack Financial Protection
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In this article at Cosmopolitan, Fortesa Latifi examines the plight of child influencers who are entirely unprotected if their parents choose to keep all the money their work earns before they turn 18. Often, their work is the main source of their family’s income. In August 2023, Illinois became the only state to pass legislation requiring a percentage of the money earned by content provided by children under 16 to be placed in a trust the child can access on turning 18.
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In this article at The Verge, Elizabeth Lopato examines the collapse of the high-quality news site Vice, finding that the problems began with its management’s lack of understanding of how newsrooms work.
DIARY
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April 16-18, 2024
Gladstone, Australia
Everything Open is a conference focused on open technologies, including Linux, open source software, open hardware and open data, and the communities that surround them. The conference provides technical deep-dives as well as updates from industry leaders and experts on a wide array of topics from these areas. Everything Open embodies Linux Australia’s values, providing a space for the community to come together to learn from each other and participate in discussions.
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May 4-5, 2024
Boston, Massachusetts, USA and online
LibrePlanet provides an opportunity for activists, hackers, law professionals, artists, educators, students, developers, policymakers, tinkerers, and anyone looking for technology that respects the users freedom to come together in order to discuss current issues in technology and ethics. For 2024, the theme will be “Cultivating Community”.
Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection
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May 22-24, 2024
Brussels, Belgium
CPDP offers the cutting edge in legal, regulatory, academic and technological development in privacy and data protection. Within an atmosphere of independence and mutual respect, CPDP gathers academics, lawyers, practitioners, policy-makers, industry and civil society from all over the world in Brussels, offering them an arena to exchange ideas and discuss the latest emerging issues and trends.
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May 30-31, 2024
Washington, DC, USA
PLSC is a paper workshop conference whose goal is to provide support for in-progress scholarship related to information privacy law. It assembles a wide array of privacy law scholars, policymakers, and practitioners who engage in scholarship. Scholars from non-law disciplines – including but not limited to surveillance studies, technology studies, feminist and queer studies, information studies, critical race studies, social sciences, humanities, and computer science – are critical participants.
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June 3-6, 2024
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
The seventh annual ACM FAccT conference will bring together researchers and practitioners interested in fairness, accountability, and transparency in socio-technical systems.
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June 12-13, 2024
London, UK and online
TICTeC stands for The Impacts of Civic Technology Conference, and is both an annual conference and a programme of year-round activities through mySociety’s TICTeC Communities and TICTeC Labs projects. The conference brings together those from across the world who build, research, use, and fund civic technology to share research, knowledge, and experiences openly and honestly about its impacts and how to improve them in order to strengthen democracy, public participation, transparency, and accountability across the world.
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June 17-19, 2024
Vilnius, Lithuania
The European Dialogue on Internet Governance (EuroDIG) is an open multi-stakeholder platform to exchange views about the Internet and how it is governed. First organised in 2008 by several organisations, government representatives, and experts, it fosters dialogue and collaboration with the Internet community on public policy for the Internet, culminating in an annual conference that takes place in a different European city every year. EuroDIG ‘Messages’ are prepared and presented to the Internet Governance Forum (IGF).
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July 11-13, 2024
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Since 2006, Netroots Nation has hosted the largest annual conference for progressives, drawing up to 4,000 attendees from around the country and beyond. The annual event brings together diverse voices from around the country and beyond.
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July 12-14, 2024
New York, NY, USA
The 15th HOPE will feature three days and nights of talks, keynotes, and workshops on topics from lockpicking to getting a ham radio license to analyzing Android malware. In the past, HOPE has showcased new movies, had cool live performances, done live radio broadcasts, and much more.
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August 7-10, 2024
Katowice, Poland
Wikimania is the annual conference celebrating all the free knowledge projects hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation with days of conferences, discussions, meetups, training, and workshops. Hundreds of volunteers and Free Knowledge leaders from around the world gather to discuss issues, report on new projects and approaches, and exchange ideas.
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August 8-11, 2024
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Def Con is the world’s largest hacker conference.
