NetHappenings Internet Ethics

Internet Ethics

Back in 2016, the American Philosophical Association hosted a meeting titled “#AI Automation and the Good Life.” The event intro reads like it could have been written yesterday (just changing one name): https://apaonline.org/general/custom.asp?page=AIAuto #ethics #tech #highered

“Stable Diffusion kickstarted an era of rapid development in image-synthesis technology… [&] strong backlash among artists and corporate entities, some of which have sued Stability AI. Stability’s move into language models could inspire similar results”:
https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2023/04/stable-diffusion-for-language-stability-launches-open-source-ai-chatbot/

“Today’s #AI breakthroughs couldn’t happen without the availability of the digital stockpiles and landfills of info, ideas and feelings that the #internet prompted people to produce.
But we produced all that stuff for one another, not for AI.” #ethics #tech #data

Congress gets 40 ChatGPT Plus licenses to start experimenting with generative AI

The House of Representatives’ digital service has already distributed the licenses among lawmakers’ offices.

Elon Musk, China, and the Biden Collapse Matt Stoller

Elon Musk, China, and the Biden Collapse
The Chinese government increasingly controls U.S. discourse and policy. The problems with the CCP are getting worse, not better.
“Musk’s dependency on the Chinese government is overwhelming and personal; he nearly equalled Zuckerberg in cringe-worthy statements… Musk got the ability to access unlimited capital in return for effectively acting an agent of the Chinese government.”

Elon Musk and Selling Tickets to the End of the World
We shouldn’t be arguing about Elon Musk. It’s time for public utility rules and the end of Section 230.
The causal factor, as usual, is the regulatory scheme we use to organize internet models, a regulatory scheme that facilitates, instead of prevents, conflicts of interest.

Big Tech Keeps Failing Us
For the sixth consecutive year, not one digital platform earned a passing grade in our ranking. While we see some incremental progress overall, this is no time for business as usual. Companies must improve their governance and accelerate their adoption of human rights standards to protect their users and the public interest.

Internet Ethics Retweeted Jake Snow @snowjake
Today is a good day to remember the profound prescience of the first page of “Records, Computers, and the Rights of Citizens,” a report from US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare published in 1973.

S. 3059 passed by voice vote. Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act (Sponsored by @JohnCornyn / Judiciary Committee). A bipartisan bill that would subject U.S. Supreme Court justices and federal judges to tougher disclosure requirements for their financial holdings and stock trades is has just won final congressional approval.

Bernie Sanders demanded that Biden cancel Amazon’s federal contracts over their unlawful union-busting efforts.

‘It’s insanity’: Providers end Covid care for uninsured in the wake of congressional inaction
Less access could also prolong the pandemic, allowing the virus to circulate and perhaps provide a haven for new, more dangerous variants.

What doesn’t kill you mutates and tries again!

Vice Chairman for Supervision at the Federal Reserve Board, and Chairman of the Financial Stability Board (and ex-Carlyle Group guy), Randal “Quaid” Quarles lost up to $1 million investing in Theranos.c “All an investor needed to do to vet Theranos was to conduct a simple experiment comparing Theranos results to those from a real blood lab. Even a sample size of one would have revealed the inaccuracy and prevented them from losing money on this!”

The Central African Republic has adopted #bitcoin as legal tender 🇨🇫

Cuba to allow licensed #Bitcoin and crypto exchanges.

 

The Trump Cult is Insane

ECP NetHappenings: Bitcoin Curriculum for the K12 Classroom and Adults

10/19/2021 $62550.24 12:38 PM

2023: BITCOIN DROPS SHARPLY TO SESSION LOW OF $613,500.

DeFi presents a unique challenge to regulators: without the middlemen they’re used to leaning on, how will regulation even work?

21 Million Reasons Square is considering building a Bitcoin mining system based on custom silicon and open source for individuals and business. “I’m moving $1B of my Square equity (~28% of my wealth) to #startsmall LLC to fund global COVID-19 relief. ~Jack
Square is considering building a Bitcoin mining system based on custom silicon and open source for individuals and businesses worldwide. If we do this, we’d follow our hardware wallet model: build in the open in collaboration with the community.

Free and open source software always wins in the long run.

THE TRUMP CULT IS INSANE

THE BEST WIZARD JOB EVER AND HE WAS JUST LET GO

New Zealand council ends contract with wizard after two decades of service. Ian Brackenbury Channell was paid $16,000 a year to provide ‘acts of wizardry’ for the city of Christchurch

 

Religion scholar Anthea Butler on “White Christianity” and its role in fueling fascism Author of “White Evangelical Racism” explains how a specific strain of Christianity became a toxic political force

@kyledcheney Good news for the Jan. 6 Committee:
The Trump executive privilege lawsuit has been assigned to Judge Tanya Chutkan, who has expressed horror about the Jan. 6 attack and extended sentences beyond what prosecutors have asked for in a couple cases.

Rooting for a ransomware team cause it”s extremely beneficial to our democracy.
Scoop: Sinclair TV broadcasts disrupted across the US in apparent ransomware attack
Company calls it “technical issues.” Sources who called Sinclair employees said it was ransomware. “The attack could have been isolated, but many sections of the Sinclair IT network were interconnected through the same Active Directory domain, allowing the attackers to reach broadcasting systems for local TV stations.” Sinclair continuously broadcasts disinformation.

#OAN completely funded by @ATT

Ron Watkins is best known as the accused operator of “Q.”
After announcing his bid for a battleground congressional seat in Arizona last week, though, he’s tried to distance himself from QAnon.
QAnon promoter Ron Watkins is running for Congress in Arizona Ron Watkins, the former 8chan administrator believed to be the origin of the QAnon conspiracy theory, has announced he plans to run for Congress in Arizona.daily beast

Publix heiress, funder of Jan. 6 rally, gave $150,000 to GOP attorneys general association
Julie Jenkins Fancelli, daughter of the founder of the Publix grocery store chain, gave the previously undisclosed contribution to RAGA’s nonprofit Rule of Law Defense Fund, or RLDF.
A wealthy Trump donor who helped finance the rally in Washington on Jan. 6 also gave $150,000 to the nonprofit arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association, records show, funds that a person familiar with the contribution said were intended in part to promote the rally. The nonprofit organization paid for a robocall touting a march that afternoon to the U.S. Capitol to “call on Congress to stop the steal.”

Dumbass Rethuglican Peter Thiel bankrolls Trump GQP with millions of FIAT Tech billionaire goes all-in, funding boosters of the Big Lie and primary challengers to anti-Trump Republicans

Joe Crowley Is Lobbying Against Biden’s Tax Hikes on the Rich

J&J puts talc liabilities into bankruptcy

Big tobacco got caught in a lie by Congress. Now it’s the oil industry’s turn

As the FBI raids Deripaska’s house today, recall his role in Russiagate and his sweetheart relationship with Mitch McConnell. Zero tolerance for treason.
Senate Republicans reportedly blocking Biden nominee to lead Jan. 6 prosecutions
A week after Greg Abbott signed a bill banning nearly all abortions, @Walmart donated 10K to his reelection campaign

Republican Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama was about a month late in disclosing that he sold up to $50,000 worth of stock in the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, which appears to violate the STOCK Act.
We’ll say it again: Ban Congressional stock trading now.

Lauren Boebert reimbursed her campaign $6,650 for rent and utilities on July 6, according to an FEC report submitted on Friday.

Former longtime West Virginia Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller – a literal Rockefeller! – almost certainly would never behave this way on legislation like this. @davidsirota
The Entitlement Mentality
Joe Manchin demands work requirements for child tax credits, while he benefits from and supports tax preferences for work-free income.
The millionaire senator from one of America’s poorest states lives on a yacht, is trying to cut 190,000 of his constituents off the child tax credit, all while hes being enriched by special tax breaks for passive income he’s reaping from coal & Wall Street

Internet Ethics

@IEthics  @idokilovaty
#ethics #law #privacy #cybersec #data

“Psychological Data Breach Harms” was just published in the North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology!

BlackMatter Ransomeware / CISA
Critical Infrastructure

6-Year-Old Explains How Messed Up It Is That Her Entire Life Has Been Put On Facebook