Where AI in a smartphone could be used to do really nice things (my personal favorite is to have Downton Abbey's Carson live in my smartphone and manage all those IoT things I own), the main actors in the market only want to use AI compute to offload their spying and will bending onto the devices you own and charge, while governments, domestic or foreign--and plenty of other crooks for that matter--want to use it to ensure you're behaving like a proper citizen and pay the dues they believe should belong to them.
I don't want Alexa nor a Bundestrojaner on my AI servant. I keep thinking that in old Rome a merchant selling servants that remain loyal to him and not their new master would have been accorded the most gruesome death imaginable: A clean sweep lion would have been considered completely inadequate!
And I fail to understand how any decent nation on Earth could permit a vendor to lock down a very personal computer and make it act against the vested interests of its owner.
"And I fail to understand how any decent nation on Earth could permit a vendor to lock down a very personal computer and make it act against the vested interests of its owner."
You must be joking. See the Snowden "Happy Dance" slide.
It would be absolutely unimaginable for governments not to force corporations to embed spyware into products like CPUs and operating systems. When people can cheat they do, especially when they can pretend it's for the greater good.
It's Huawei, the hair on the back of your neck should be standing on end regardless. Both the company and its founder have very close ties to the Communist Party and the PLA; their innovations are undoubtedly being used in military or mass surveillance applications.
Thats not a big deal if you live outside China though. Ironically, buying "foreign made" is probably best wherever you live, as your local government doesn't have the jurisdiction to squeeze the smartphone manufacturer.
As far as persobal privacy is concerned, I'd be more worried about my employer buying data from Google or Facebook than Huawei or the PLA.
I sort of agree with you on this. I'm a lot more concerned about what Facebook and Google are collecting without my consent. Google/Alphabet especially has its tendrils spread out all over the place via a plethora of deployed devices and services that make the company's data gathering a challenge to evade. Like take Anandtech for instance. It uses elements of Google's code provided via Google servers. Did anyone at one of these little, understaffed sites actually review the free candy they're getting from the windowless van Alphabet has parked down by the river?
I would take you seriously except you're ignoring the much greater threat from your own Government while you concentrate on the boogieman that you learnt about from Government propaganda.
Before newspapers and such, one would have to see something or have it communicated by a trusted party who had seen it. Then we grew to trust the written word, until the era of dominating yellow journalism, clickbait nonsense, and too-obvious propaganda. More recently, the safest way has been "pics or it didn't happen". And now we come to a situation where even if one sees the video or hears the voice, it still might not have happened. With advances like these, things have come full circle! Will the next generation have to be taught that unless one sees it oneself, or it is communicated by a trusted party, it cannot be trusted?
Trusted party is the worst. There were times where someone told me something, and I accepted it because they obviously thought it was true, but then it turned out they hadn't seen something correctly or missed some sarcasm when hearing what someone was saying. At least when I see a stupid Facebook headline with a doctored image I can say, "Oh, I know that's probably faked."
>Then we grew to trust the written word, until the era of dominating yellow journalism, clickbait nonsense, and too-obvious propaganda
While I think you're broadly correct, I don't think there has ever been a time when the "news" has been trustworthy. It's always been used to spread false narratives to serve the interests of the elite.
What has happened however is that the web has allowed people to see that they were full of crap whereas before they had no other frame of reference.
The era of digital pictures and video as reliable evidence/history is dead, but most people just don't know it yet. Ironically, going back to film might be prudent for investigators and such.
Whenever I see giddiness over AI and all that extra 5G bandwidth, I all I can think "great, now my apps can burn even *more* battery and bandwidth constantly tracking me in the background." And then I could rant for days on how basically every non FOSS Android app seems to do this, when they have no reason to run in the background, and Google is perfectly content giving me 0 control over the process... But I try to restrain myself :/
I'd like to see some articles on progress of new battery tech for portables. The energy issue is always slow to progress, but would be nice to see some new tech on the near horizon.
MicroLED displays, a native "dark mode," and more aggressive background process culling will easily give you all day battery life on current batteries. Beyond that, is it really a big deal?
I think battery breakthroughs are more exciting for cars, wearable tech, robotics, and even laptops.
That last thing that gets me excited is the idea of wearing something made by or supported by Google that monitors my biometrics. Those creeps already gather far too much information.
I don't see heartbeat measurement as a big problem. Certainly a far lesser one than what we already have for years now: user-facing video recording, sound recording, OSes and apps with unhindered internet access by design.
Great to see coverage like this - sites reporting on cutting-edge tech desperately need more and deeper commentary on both the intentions behind, possibilities of, and sociocultural ramifications of the technologies reported on. The evolution of society isn't determined by technology, but technology affects it in big ways nonetheless. As such, critical reporting and commentary is a necessity. More, please, but also thank you for this.
+1. So much of the advances in recent years have been used (squandered) on making it easier for AppleAmazonGoogleFacebook and others to "microtarget" us, rather than making us more productive, innovative or better at participating in democratic processes. If my smartphone measures my heart rate, pupillary dilation and can detect minor changes in vocalization, it's not far from being somebody's lie detector. 1984 was far too optimistic on what's possible.
Just think of how much of that microtargeting would have never happened if people had been willing to pay for their E-Mail, or social services. We the people have had as much a hand in our own demise by our desires for "frugal" things as anything the big boys have done.
My main concern with AI on consumer devices is that it is an unbelievably powerful tool when it comes to indexing and modelling behavioural patterns. It's like paying for the most advanced spying device and carrying it around 24/7 voluntarily.
And what does AI actually do for you at the moment, apart from some buggy gimmicks and replacing some user inputs with automatic setting adjustments just so you can be even more lazy and ignorant about what your device is doing? I can understand why it might be important to have AI passively analysing complex systems in a scientific or applied engineering setting, but to have active AI spy on individuals constantly and report back to a server seems unnecessary and evil.
"It's like paying for the most advanced spying device and carrying it around 24/7 voluntarily."
Not "like".
"And what does AI actually do for you at the moment, apart from some buggy gimmicks and replacing some user inputs with automatic setting adjustments just so you can be even more lazy and ignorant about what your device is doing?"
It works against your interests. That's really groovy, man! At least, that's what all the propaganda tells us.
POWERFUL new tech! MUST have it! (Even if it does nothing for me or actively works against my interests.)
I made one out of two pieces of electric tape for my laptop's webcam. Just make sure to position the inner piece correctly, and the lens stays clean. Started doing that after yet another security problem with Adobe Flash (allowed remote webcam activation by third party) over ten years ago.
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abufrejoval - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
I could not agree more!Where AI in a smartphone could be used to do really nice things (my personal favorite is to have Downton Abbey's Carson live in my smartphone and manage all those IoT things I own), the main actors in the market only want to use AI compute to offload their spying and will bending onto the devices you own and charge, while governments, domestic or foreign--and plenty of other crooks for that matter--want to use it to ensure you're behaving like a proper citizen and pay the dues they believe should belong to them.
I don't want Alexa nor a Bundestrojaner on my AI servant. I keep thinking that in old Rome a merchant selling servants that remain loyal to him and not their new master would have been accorded the most gruesome death imaginable: A clean sweep lion would have been considered completely inadequate!
And I fail to understand how any decent nation on Earth could permit a vendor to lock down a very personal computer and make it act against the vested interests of its owner.
Oxford Guy - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
"And I fail to understand how any decent nation on Earth could permit a vendor to lock down a very personal computer and make it act against the vested interests of its owner."You must be joking. See the Snowden "Happy Dance" slide.
It would be absolutely unimaginable for governments not to force corporations to embed spyware into products like CPUs and operating systems. When people can cheat they do, especially when they can pretend it's for the greater good.
r3loaded - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
It's Huawei, the hair on the back of your neck should be standing on end regardless. Both the company and its founder have very close ties to the Communist Party and the PLA; their innovations are undoubtedly being used in military or mass surveillance applications.brucethemoose - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
Thats not a big deal if you live outside China though. Ironically, buying "foreign made" is probably best wherever you live, as your local government doesn't have the jurisdiction to squeeze the smartphone manufacturer.As far as persobal privacy is concerned, I'd be more worried about my employer buying data from Google or Facebook than Huawei or the PLA.
PeachNCream - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
I sort of agree with you on this. I'm a lot more concerned about what Facebook and Google are collecting without my consent. Google/Alphabet especially has its tendrils spread out all over the place via a plethora of deployed devices and services that make the company's data gathering a challenge to evade. Like take Anandtech for instance. It uses elements of Google's code provided via Google servers. Did anyone at one of these little, understaffed sites actually review the free candy they're getting from the windowless van Alphabet has parked down by the river?sheh - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
It's not just Google and Facebook.This site also includes:
Twitter
Cloudfront
Parsely
Quantserve
Scorecardresearch
Diji1 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
As far as I'm aware, Cloudfront has nothing to do with controlling it's users via advertising and therefore shouldn't be on this list.Diji1 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
I would take you seriously except you're ignoring the much greater threat from your own Government while you concentrate on the boogieman that you learnt about from Government propaganda.Carmen00 - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
Before newspapers and such, one would have to see something or have it communicated by a trusted party who had seen it. Then we grew to trust the written word, until the era of dominating yellow journalism, clickbait nonsense, and too-obvious propaganda. More recently, the safest way has been "pics or it didn't happen". And now we come to a situation where even if one sees the video or hears the voice, it still might not have happened. With advances like these, things have come full circle! Will the next generation have to be taught that unless one sees it oneself, or it is communicated by a trusted party, it cannot be trusted?mkozakewich - Saturday, September 7, 2019 - link
Trusted party is the worst. There were times where someone told me something, and I accepted it because they obviously thought it was true, but then it turned out they hadn't seen something correctly or missed some sarcasm when hearing what someone was saying. At least when I see a stupid Facebook headline with a doctored image I can say, "Oh, I know that's probably faked."Diji1 - Friday, September 13, 2019 - link
>Then we grew to trust the written word, until the era of dominating yellow journalism, clickbait nonsense, and too-obvious propagandaWhile I think you're broadly correct, I don't think there has ever been a time when the "news" has been trustworthy. It's always been used to spread false narratives to serve the interests of the elite.
What has happened however is that the web has allowed people to see that they were full of crap whereas before they had no other frame of reference.
brucethemoose - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
The era of digital pictures and video as reliable evidence/history is dead, but most people just don't know it yet. Ironically, going back to film might be prudent for investigators and such.Whenever I see giddiness over AI and all that extra 5G bandwidth, I all I can think "great, now my apps can burn even *more* battery and bandwidth constantly tracking me in the background." And then I could rant for days on how basically every non FOSS Android app seems to do this, when they have no reason to run in the background, and Google is perfectly content giving me 0 control over the process... But I try to restrain myself :/
vortmax2 - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
I'd like to see some articles on progress of new battery tech for portables. The energy issue is always slow to progress, but would be nice to see some new tech on the near horizon.brucethemoose - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
MicroLED displays, a native "dark mode," and more aggressive background process culling will easily give you all day battery life on current batteries. Beyond that, is it really a big deal?I think battery breakthroughs are more exciting for cars, wearable tech, robotics, and even laptops.
PeachNCream - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
That last thing that gets me excited is the idea of wearing something made by or supported by Google that monitors my biometrics. Those creeps already gather far too much information.sheh - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
I don't see heartbeat measurement as a big problem. Certainly a far lesser one than what we already have for years now: user-facing video recording, sound recording, OSes and apps with unhindered internet access by design.Valantar - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
Great to see coverage like this - sites reporting on cutting-edge tech desperately need more and deeper commentary on both the intentions behind, possibilities of, and sociocultural ramifications of the technologies reported on. The evolution of society isn't determined by technology, but technology affects it in big ways nonetheless. As such, critical reporting and commentary is a necessity. More, please, but also thank you for this.catavalon21 - Friday, September 6, 2019 - link
+1eastcoast_pete - Sunday, September 8, 2019 - link
+1. So much of the advances in recent years have been used (squandered) on making it easier for AppleAmazonGoogleFacebook and others to "microtarget" us, rather than making us more productive, innovative or better at participating in democratic processes. If my smartphone measures my heart rate, pupillary dilation and can detect minor changes in vocalization, it's not far from being somebody's lie detector. 1984 was far too optimistic on what's possible.Threska - Monday, September 9, 2019 - link
Just think of how much of that microtargeting would have never happened if people had been willing to pay for their E-Mail, or social services. We the people have had as much a hand in our own demise by our desires for "frugal" things as anything the big boys have done.0siris - Saturday, September 7, 2019 - link
My main concern with AI on consumer devices is that it is an unbelievably powerful tool when it comes to indexing and modelling behavioural patterns. It's like paying for the most advanced spying device and carrying it around 24/7 voluntarily.And what does AI actually do for you at the moment, apart from some buggy gimmicks and replacing some user inputs with automatic setting adjustments just so you can be even more lazy and ignorant about what your device is doing? I can understand why it might be important to have AI passively analysing complex systems in a scientific or applied engineering setting, but to have active AI spy on individuals constantly and report back to a server seems unnecessary and evil.
Oxford Guy - Saturday, September 14, 2019 - link
"It's like paying for the most advanced spying device and carrying it around 24/7 voluntarily."Not "like".
"And what does AI actually do for you at the moment, apart from some buggy gimmicks and replacing some user inputs with automatic setting adjustments just so you can be even more lazy and ignorant about what your device is doing?"
It works against your interests. That's really groovy, man! At least, that's what all the propaganda tells us.
POWERFUL new tech! MUST have it! (Even if it does nothing for me or actively works against my interests.)
stephenbrooks - Saturday, September 7, 2019 - link
I stuck one of those plastic adhesive lens shutters on my phone's front camera. You can get them in cheap packs of 6 online.eastcoast_pete - Sunday, September 8, 2019 - link
I made one out of two pieces of electric tape for my laptop's webcam. Just make sure to position the inner piece correctly, and the lens stays clean. Started doing that after yet another security problem with Adobe Flash (allowed remote webcam activation by third party) over ten years ago.Oxford Guy - Tuesday, September 10, 2019 - link
You literally posted an article about removing people from photos and didn't post the famous before and after of Stalin and his henchman by the river?Really?
keywords for your next search: stalin photo disappear