Olives @olives@qoto.org

ChatGPT probably shouldn't train off private chat sessions with it without someone's approval for that. #privacy

Apparently, there is an opt out (which is better than nothing), but an "opt out" somewhere in the "Settings" is not the same thing as an "opt in" (perhaps with a warning modal).

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/01/final-talks-proposed-un-cybercrime-treaty-eff-calls-delegates-incorporate

I think the best case scenario is to reject it. Also, how on earth did it ever come to be, and how did processes fail as to allow it to be. #privacy

I remember with #chatcontrol that Ylva came up with an "independent" "Center" to review the reports which operates in the same building as Europol, which has people being transferred between the two, where the standards are fairly loose, but it is "not Europol", it is "independent".

Even platforms with "ostensibly paid" mechanics, such as Discord, still have some of the fundamental problems with platformization, and consequently, authoritarianism being ratcheted up, even if it isn't effective or proportionate.

So, it doesn't just seem to be a problem with "surveillance capitalism".

There are anime themed audiobooks now?

https://www.techdirt.com/2024/01/29/snap-breaks-under-pressure-supports-dangerous-kosa-bill-that-will-put-kids-in-danger/ I think @mmasnick might have missed an opportunity here. "Snap snaps under pressure".

His take here is fairly good.

Some points here:

1) I think we know by now that "anonymized" tends to be a joke. Still, it's exposing a larger surface of your life to Google's services.

2) What value does this really add?

3) It looks like another "surprise!" type feature in a place where you don't expect it.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2024/01/27/new-details-free-ai-upgrade-for-google-and-samsung-android-users-leaks/

"There’s understandable excitement that Google is bringing Bard to Messages. A readymade ChatGPT-like UI for a readymade user base of hundreds of millions. “It's an AI assistant,” says Bard, “that can improve your messaging experience… from facilitating communication to enhancing creativity and providing information… it will be your personal AI assistant within your messaging app.”"

"But Bard will also analyze the private content of messages “to understand the context of your conversations, your tone, and your interests.” It will analyze the sentiment of your messages, “to tailor its responses to your mood and vibe.” And it will “analyze your message history with different contacts to understand your relationship dynamics… to personalize responses based on who you're talking to.”"

"There will be another, less contentious privacy issue with your Messages requests to Bard. These will be sent to the cloud for processing, used for training and maybe seen by humans—albeit anonymized. This data will be stored for 18-months, and will persist for a few days even if you disable the AI, albeit manual deletion is available."

#privacy

"There's talk of 'harmonizing laws', so that might mean less censorship."

Someone said something vaguely to that effect.

To be clear, this is a euphemism for censorship. I know this, because I have read a fair bit of literature from censorship advocates, and this is precisely how they try to word things in a more low profile way (and if you dig around, the censorial intent becomes very evident).

I would be wary of language like that.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemisms_for_Internet_censorship_in_China
Ironically, "harmonization" is also a euphemism used for censorship in China.

Though, the ought points are less important than the more general points made here. But, I would like to see less leakage.

Still, these help to avoid excessive homogeny and context collapse where you have less room for exploration / novelty. And I think that is part of the problem.

#Platformization / Platform Syndrome - The bane of the #OpenWeb?

So-called "#platforms" have risen a fair bit in recent years (i.e. particularly after 2017, and even including Discord, honestly, they are copying some of these negative patterns). These seem to differ a fair bit from previous services which people used to use. For starters, they try to be a one stop shop which covers everything someone might want to do, whereas previously, someone might use one tool for this, a service for this, and a service for that. Even when such platforms existed, they weren't quite so proliferant.

It also seems a lot of the problems which people complain about seems to come from this unholy concentration of services into grand big ones. It also means that you might have inaccurate PR, marketing, media bubbles around particular bigger than life companies. Also, these platform's propensity towards politicisation, including in negative ways. Also, all kinds of contexts which might work more neatly separately have a tendency of collapsing into one, this might involve "algorithms".

Frankly, different services should be logically separated. Instagram shouldn't know anything about your email provider, or your contacts. Google shouldn't only know anything about YouTube (this separation seems to have been undermined during the Google+ hubbub). Facebook shouldn't know anything about Instagram. Threads shouldn't know anything about Instagram. But, questions might have to be asked too about why single companies control so many venues.

Some people like to point to particular things, perhaps, this feature, or that feature, it seems intuitive enough, but imo this is a phantom, a shadow, it is ignoring this phenomena going on in the background. It also tends to lead to proposals which would probably be quite unpleasant for users, and even (bad) ones which aren't really compatible with liberal values.

Is there anything you think I've missed here?

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/jan/26/missouri-republican-dueling-statehouse

"A Missouri Republican’s proposal to reintroduce dueling to solve statehouse differences was branded “utter stupidity” by a leading historian of political violence."

...Guys... Please...

There really is a manga based on George Orwell's 1984, lol.

That character after "1984" is an indicator to tell you that it's a year.

Memes. #kosa

More nonsense to overcome on Monday, I guess. Ugh.

https://www.techdirt.com/2024/01/25/palworld-is-a-great-example-of-the-idea-expression-dichotomy/ Lol.

Though, statistically speaking, I can imagine stranger people buying those (as there is a price barrier), but it doesn't really stand to reason that they're necessarily bad.