Obscurantism: othering others II...

---

A quick follow up on yesterday re the Google AI project Gemini. It isn't only grossly racist, surprise surprise it is also a lefty twat censorship monster. 

It is patently a danger to freedom of speech and most definitely a censorship mis/disinformation beast: look at the Twitter thread from Texas Lindsay. It is also obvious that this is not a bug but a feature.

"Google’s Gemini AI isn’t just bias, it’s broken. Its responses are extremely offensive & arguably slanderous at times. Today, I tested it using it the exact same prompt each time, only changing names & these were the results." [sic]

That is the most obvious one but ALL are just as biased. Apologies if you do not follow politics across the pond.

Google's AI principles say that [2023 PDF] AI should avoid creating or reinforcing unfair bias, also not to deceive users or misrepresent facts. Gemini itself says it is unable to generate responses that are biased or unfair...not working out too well, certainly the bias and censorship is a clear and present danger to any fair-minded person.

Othering others...

---

"The nightmare feeling caused by the disappearance of objective truth." 

Othering others, "WTF?!" would be a normal reaction. But oh my fucking GOD this is worse: Google are very, very dangerous, evil fuckwits. "Don't be evil" has become 'we are the definition of evil and fuck you whitey'. They are far more than Big Brother [quote above from this link, added 1600hrs] ever was, they have literal global cover, immense power. Their Gemini/AI is really scary. [Link to Twitter]

Andrew Torba on Twitter was all over it yesterday.

Ominous observations: oulier obit?...

---

Copied and pasted from Guido with no further comment [edit: except the update]:  



"10 Problems With The NHS's New Coronavirus App:"



"The NHS has bizarrely rejected the decentralised, secure and intelligently designed Apple-Google contact tracing framework in favour of a centralised approach. The decentralised approach is being taken by Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Estonia, Spain, and Ireland. It means all recent contacts will be anonymously, securely stored on your device and never centrally accessible. Guido has compiled some of the disastrous consequences the UK’s nationalised centralised NHS approach will have:



Privacy: There will be a centralised database of recent contacts of those who are infected. They claim it will be anonymised – we all know meta-data interrelates and could be connected to individuals, creating a huge honey pot for hackers.

Self-reporting: The app will work from self-reported symptoms, rather than based on a test result. This opens it to misuse by people who don’t want to go to work or kids who want to skip class.

Travel and visitors: The UK’s app won’t work when you travel overseas, unlike the decentralised apps that work together. Foreigners’ apps won’t work in the UK.
 

Northern Irish border: Ireland is using a decentralised app, which won’t interact with the UK’s centralised app, raising practical issues on the border.

Battery: The Apple-Google framework will always run in the background limiting battery usage. People could just switch off the UK’s app if they think it’s draining battery.

Legal: The proposal could break privacy laws by unnecessarily infringing on privacy, leaving it stuck in courts.

Mission creep: There is no law to prevent the Government from repurposing the app on your phone or the data they have for other purposes. It risks being misused and expanded in future.

Background: The app won’t be able to run fully in the background on iPhones or newer Androids because they aren’t using the Apple-Google framework. If two locked devices cross paths they won’t be able to send out a signal, they can only receive a signal from an unlocked device.

Non-app users: Apple and Google are planning to build their framework into the operating system, meaning even if you don’t have the app installed you can opt-in later and have the data available.

Usability: The NHS has a poor track record in IT projects, it’s likely the custom-designed app won’t work particularly well at first. Many people could just lose faith and give up, rendering the whole project useless.



The Government claims a centralised system is necessary for data about the outbreak, however it would still be possible to gather anonymised data from a decentralised app. Matthew Lesh of the Adam Smith Institute tells Guido:

"If a contact tracing app is going to work it must be downloaded by the clear majority of people. An app that unnecessarily centralises data, is clunky to use and drains your battery is unlikely to be particularly appealing. We need to change to a decentralised approach before it’s too late. Lives are on the line.”

It’s not too late"



Update: it's actually worse: we were told three weeks ago on UnHerd that the phone has to be unlocked for the NHS app to work and if any other app is running in the foreground the NHS app won't work, d'oh. And today: [The Register] UK finds itself almost alone with centralized virus contact-tracing; plus we all should have known at least two weeks ago app... 

Ominous observations: oulier obit?...

---

Copied and pasted from Guido with no further comment [edit: except the update]:  

"10 Problems With The NHS's New Coronavirus App:"

"The NHS has bizarrely rejected the decentralised, secure and intelligently designed Apple-Google contact tracing framework in favour of a centralised approach. The decentralised approach is being taken by Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Estonia, Spain, and Ireland. It means all recent contacts will be anonymously, securely stored on your device and never centrally accessible. Guido has compiled some of the disastrous consequences the UK’s nationalised centralised NHS approach will have:

Privacy: There will be a centralised database of recent contacts of those who are infected. They claim it will be anonymised – we all know meta-data interrelates and could be connected to individuals, creating a huge honey pot for hackers.
Self-reporting: The app will work from self-reported symptoms, rather than based on a test result. This opens it to misuse by people who don’t want to go to work or kids who want to skip class.
Travel and visitors: The UK’s app won’t work when you travel overseas, unlike the decentralised apps that work together. Foreigners’ apps won’t work in the UK.  
Northern Irish border: Ireland is using a decentralised app, which won’t interact with the UK’s centralised app, raising practical issues on the border.
Battery: The Apple-Google framework will always run in the background limiting battery usage. People could just switch off the UK’s app if they think it’s draining battery.
Legal: The proposal could break privacy laws by unnecessarily infringing on privacy, leaving it stuck in courts.
Mission creep: There is no law to prevent the Government from repurposing the app on your phone or the data they have for other purposes. It risks being misused and expanded in future.
Background: The app won’t be able to run fully in the background on iPhones or newer Androids because they aren’t using the Apple-Google framework. If two locked devices cross paths they won’t be able to send out a signal, they can only receive a signal from an unlocked device.
Non-app users: Apple and Google are planning to build their framework into the operating system, meaning even if you don’t have the app installed you can opt-in later and have the data available.
Usability: The NHS has a poor track record in IT projects, it’s likely the custom-designed app won’t work particularly well at first. Many people could just lose faith and give up, rendering the whole project useless.

The Government claims a centralised system is necessary for data about the outbreak, however it would still be possible to gather anonymised data from a decentralised app. Matthew Lesh of the Adam Smith Institute tells Guido:

"If a contact tracing app is going to work it must be downloaded by the clear majority of people. An app that unnecessarily centralises data, is clunky to use and drains your battery is unlikely to be particularly appealing. We need to change to a decentralised approach before it’s too late. Lives are on the line.”

It’s not too late"

Update: it's actually worse: we were told three weeks ago on UnHerd that the phone has to be unlocked for the NHS app to work and if any other app is running in the foreground the NHS app won't work, d'oh. And today: [The Register] UK finds itself almost alone with centralized virus contact-tracing; plus we all should have known at least two weeks ago app... 

Ose: olisbos orgasmic opus...

---

And now for something completely different (or not if you've read Owsblog from the beginning: any excuse to relink back to the good old days on Owsblog: orgasms, olisbos, more orgasms...)



Basically a modern robotic vibrator has been banned from the technology show CES. Actually that's a fib, with this (pictured, available later this year) there are no vibrations: "Osé doesn’t need vibrations to get you there, just completely personalized g-spot and clitoral stimulation that perfectly fits your body."



Lora DiCarlo said it had been invited to display its robotic Ose vibrator at CES, after winning an innovation award. And it's not just any old thing: Lora Haddock Founder and CEO of Lora DiCarlo writes: "You see, we’re doing something that has never been done before - we’re making the world’s first hands-free device for the holy grail of orgasms — the blended orgasm. Our almost entirely female team of engineers is developing...

"...new micro-robotic technology that mimics all of the sensations of a human mouth, tongue, and fingers, for an experience that feels just like a real partner. The product even adjusts to each body's unique physiology for a personal fit that hits all the right spots, leaving the hands free for better uses. We’re talking about truly innovative robotics."

The CES (Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s biggest trade show) organiser the Consumer Technology Association, which granted the award, said it had included the device by mistake and could withdraw any immoral or obscene entry at any time...fair play you may think but 'similar' entries have been at previous shows and Ose certainly ticks the right boxes - or pushes the right buttons - to warrant its place at the event. And this year there's even a vibrating OLED TV, not quite the same pleasure and stimulation but hey-ho... 

Ose: olisbos orgasmic opus...

---

And now for something completely different (or not if you've read Owsblog from the beginning: any excuse to relink back to the good old days on Owsblog: orgasms, olisbos, more orgasms...)

Basically a modern robotic vibrator has been banned from the technology show CES. Actually that's a fib, with this (pictured, available later this year) there are no vibrations: "Osé doesn’t need vibrations to get you there, just completely personalized g-spot and clitoral stimulation that perfectly fits your body."

Lora DiCarlo said it had been invited to display its robotic Ose vibrator at CES, after winning an innovation award. And it's not just any old thing: Lora Haddock Founder and CEO of Lora DiCarlo writes: "You see, we’re doing something that has never been done before - we’re making the world’s first hands-free device for the holy grail of orgasms — the blended orgasm. Our almost entirely female team of engineers is developing...

"...new micro-robotic technology that mimics all of the sensations of a human mouth, tongue, and fingers, for an experience that feels just like a real partner. The product even adjusts to each body's unique physiology for a personal fit that hits all the right spots, leaving the hands free for better uses. We’re talking about truly innovative robotics."

The CES (Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s biggest trade show) organiser the Consumer Technology Association, which granted the award, said it had included the device by mistake and could withdraw any immoral or obscene entry at any time...fair play you may think but 'similar' entries have been at previous shows and Ose certainly ticks the right boxes - or pushes the right buttons - to warrant its place at the event. And this year there's even a vibrating OLED TV, not quite the same pleasure and stimulation but hey-ho...