Vort3x | Cybersalon | June 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
BOOK LAUNCH! 2nd July 6pm ALERT! London!
Cybersalon Press is hosting a new event with King’s College London, where the editors of “All Tomorrow’s Futures” will be joined by contributing academics Prof Claire Steeves (Population Sciences, Longevity), Dr Christine Aicardi and Dr Elizabeth Black (Dept of Informatics and AI Ethics) and Dr Gabrielle Samuel (Dept of Social Medicine).
This is the second book of foresight from think-thank Cybersalon.Org, following the success of ’22 Ideas about the future’ published in 2022, also edited by Stephen Oram and Benjamin Greenaway
Free but places limited so please book here
More about launch event and book synopsis here
PODCAST ALERT!
Listen to our first Podcast with contributing experts who co-authored the chapter on AI in Crime and Police, Trevor Burke, UK leading King’s Counsel (KC) specializing in murders and Jayen Parmar (College of Policing UK, Deputy Head)
We reveal decisions on AI use in the Court of Law, replacing witnesses, challenges in purely digital policing, risks of IT system glitches and deliver experts’ recommendations for handling future Horizon-like software disasters)
Newspeak House Event
Coder? UX guru? Join us on Wedn 19th June at 6pm to build tools for pre-election efforts for progressive alliance
Wikipedian? Election Night editathon (our 5th GE!) with Ed Hands and senior Wiki editors on hand to edit new pages for freshly elected MPs
Email [email protected] for details or RSVP here
NEWS
Google Names Distributor of $100 Million Under Online News Act
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Under a deal Google has signed, the Canadian Journalism Collective will distribute the $100 million the tech giant promised to Canadian news companies in order to be exempt from the Online News Act, Mickey Djuric reports at CBC News. A federally incorporated non-profit organization, CJC was created in May 2024 for this purpose by a group of independent publishers and broadcasters. About 1,500 outlets responded to Google’s open call earlier this year for applications from those wishing to receive compensation.
Samsung Demands Customer Data from Independent Repair Shops
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According to a leaked contract, Samsung requires independent repair shops to provide daily upload of the names, contact information, phone numbers, IMEI numbers, warranty status and complaints of every customer who gets their phone repaired, Jason Koebler reports at 404 Media. The shops are also required to immediately disassemble phone customers bring that have been repaired with third-party parts and notify Samsung. They are not authorized to perform board-level repairs that require soldering.
Support Websites Include Invasive Tracking
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Data governance and protection expert Stef Elliott has found more than 50 websites set up by police, charities, and universities to offer help to people for issues such as addiction and mental illness that are incorporating tracking technologies that collect and share visitors’ sensitive data with companies like Google and Meta, for use by advertisers, Sebastian Klovig Skelton reports at Computer Weekly. Two problems may result: first, the data is highly sensitive and open to abuse, and second, knowing it’s being shared may deter people from seeking the help they need.
Fake Russian Influencers Populate Chinese Social Media
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Feeding off pro-Russian nationalist sentiment, fake Russian influencers are rising in popularity in Douyin, the Chinese version of Tiktok. Caiwei Chen reports at Rest of World. Also popular: Russian military content,
France Tests AI Surveillance in Olympic Preparation
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In preparation for the summer Olympics, French police gave rail company SNCF and the transport operator RATP authorization to access and analyze images from more than 100 cameras at four train stations near a pop concert and a football match to test AI-supported surveillance capabilities, DW reports. Police intend to use body scanners but not facial recognition during the Olympics, and the International Olympic Committee intends to use AI to protect athletes from online harassment.
FEATURES & ANALYSIS
Big Tech Mines Science Fiction Dystopias
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In this posting at Blood in the Machine, Brian Merchant argues that Big Tech’s penchant for building dystopias foreseen in science fiction is “aspirational branding”, not a mistake born of incomprehension or a failure to finish the book or film. In an earlier piece at Scientific American, Cory Doctorow discusses the ideology driving today’s billionaires and its relationship with the political leanings of science fiction’s earliest editors and writers. At Vector, Mary Branscombe reviews All Tomorrow’s Futures (published by Cybersalon Press).
The Hidden World of OnlyFans Chatters
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In this article at Wired, Brendan I. Koerner recounts her undercover experience exploring the world of OnlyFans “chatters”, contractors who assist popular creators by DMing with their subscribers as if they were the creators themselves. Most chatters are based in countries like Venezuela and the Philippines, where they are low-paid and forced to work long hours. Koerner finds an operation that may soon be the subject of a planned lawsuit alleging bait-and-switch tactics.
Toxic Surveillance Business Model Poisons AI’s Future
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In this speech (shown in German), Meredith Whittaker accepts the 2024 Helmut Schmidt Future Prize and discusses the future of AI, which, she reminds, is a marketing term covering myriad dissimilar technologies. At the heart of many of today’s systems, however, is the “toxic surveillance business model” that the Clinton administration allowed to develop. There is, she says, still time to dismantle the business model and find a better way. In an article at the New York Times, Julia Angwin notes that a year after researchers sent an open letter demanding a pause on development fearing AI systems would become too powerful, even though the pause never happened the question now is whether AI systems are too stupid and unreliable to be useful. In an article at 404 Media, Jason Koebler recounts the results of Google’s decision to pay Reddit $60 million a year to use its users’ postings to train its AI chatbot: a recommendation to add glue to make sauce stick on a pizza. Finally, at Rest of World Irene Solomon, head of global policy for the repository Hugging Face, discusses the state of today’s AI.
Google AI Threatens News Publishers’ Revenues
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In this article at the New York Times, Nico Grant and Keith Robertson study the fate of publishers’ revenues now that Google is incorporating AI-generated answers into its search results and keeping traffic on its own site rather than sending it onwards. The News/Media Alliance has written a letter to the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission asking them to investigate Google’s “misappropriation” of news content and block the rollout of AI Overview.
Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection
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On this YouTube page the Computers, Privacy, and Data Protection conference is posting video clips of this year’s conference panels. Particularly recommended are “Computing Using Physics”, which in part explores the history of analog computing; “AI and the Monopoly Threat”, in which panelists focus on the power structures that are not dislodged by regulation; and “Privacy and Surveillance in the Quantum Age: Developments in Quantum Sensing Technologies and their Implications”.
DIARY
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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.
World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow: A WorldCon for Our Futures
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August 18-12, Stephen, Ben and Eva from Cybersalon Press team will be there, do connect!
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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. Connect to Cybersalon.org as we will be sending a small team
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August 8-11, 2024
Las Vegas, Nevada, USA
Def Con is the world’s largest hacker conference.
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September 6-8, 2024
Nairobi, Kenya and online
State of the Map 2024 will bring together passionate mappers, data enthusiasts, technologists, and community members from all corners of the globe to celebrate the spirit of collaboration and open mapping. Building on the valuable lessons and experiences from the previous events, SotM is committed to making this edition even more accessible to everyone who wishes to partake in this grand celebration of open mapping, sharing passionate voices with the entire community.
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December 15-19, 2024 and online
Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
The 19th IGF, “Building Our Multistakeholder Digital Future”, will focus on four main themes: harnessing innovation and balancing risks in the digital space; enhancing the digital contribution to peace, development, and sustainability; advancing human rights and inclusion in the digital age; and improving digital governance for the Internet We Want.
