Information Security & Occasional Forays Into Adjacent Realms
Thanks to Def Con 27 Volunteers, Videographers and Presenters for publishing their superlative conference videos via their YouTube Channel for all to see, enjoy and learn.
Thanks to Def Con 27 Volunteers, Videographers and Presenters for publishing their superlative conference videos via their YouTube Channel for all to see, enjoy and learn.
Leonardo Torres y Quevedo’s fascinating Chess Automata, via History of Computers
Well crafted blog entry authored by Professor Herbert Bruderer at the Communications of the ACM blog, detailing the true start of Artificial Intelligence in 1912.
'If one takes chess as a yardstick for artificial intelligence, however, this branch of research begins much earlier, at the latest in 1912 with the chess automaton of the Spaniard Leonardo Torres Quevedo (cf. Fig. 1). In the chess playing Turk (1769) of Wolfgang von Kempelen, a human player was hidden." - via Herbert Bruderer, retired lecturer of Didactics in Computer Science at ETH Zürich
Reportedly, Professor. Bruderer is now retired from his lecturer role in Didactics of Computer Science at ETH Zürich, and recently, he has fulfilled the role of Historian of Technology.
via Adrienne Mayor, writing at Foreign Policy Magazine, comes this outstanding piece on Artificial Intelligence, ancient Greece's Pandora lashup of manufactured bits and the astonishing similarity to so-called 'modern world's AI constructs. Today's Must Read.
"With Pandora’s artificial stance and uncanny grin, the Niobid Painter underscores her manufactured origin and the sense of menace that comes with it. Today, artificial intelligence’s box of wonders and horrors has been opened—a possibility already imagined more than 2,500 years ago." - via Adrienne Mayor, writing at Foreign Policy
A superlative bit of combinatorial scholarship coming out of St. Louis University, where Sean Hartling, Vasit Sagan, Paheding Sidike, Maitiniyazi Maimaitijiang and Joshua Carron have lashed-up geospatial sciences, machine learning, UAVs, and no-small level of intellectual virtuosity to study trees, the natural felling thereof, and power outages. Todays' Must Read for you ICS Boffins and Foresty geeks (while not ignoring the AI, ML, UAv and Network Information Security types as well).
"At SLU, geospatial science meets machine learning. In a study recently published in Sensors, Saint Louis University researchers paired satellite imaging data with machine learning techniques to map local tree species and health. The data generated by the project will help inform best practices for managing healthy green spaces as well as trimming programs to avoid power outages following storms." - via Carrie Bebermeyer, Senior Media Relations Specialist at St. Louis University
via Doug Cameron, reporting for The Wall Street Journal, comes a well-crafted artificial intelligence screed(paywall) that just might have a truly positive impact. Targeting wildfires in Califormia, the DoD will swing it's massive research and development apparatus targeting the devastation left by these fires. Now, if the Department can just develop software looking for incompetent utility companies that are the cause of fires like the 'Campfire'(paywall) wildfire (the deadliest fire in the State of Californias' history)...
Three months hence (at the time of this writing), Chenxi Wang's superlative presentation detailing trust in an artificial intelligence epoch is still highly apropos, I reckon.
via the comic content delivery system known as Randal Munroe at XKCD!
via Ben Coxworth, writing at NewAtlas, comes a fascinating discussion of an AI duel, of sorts. Squarely ensconced in the facial recognition arena, this is a story you won't want to miss. Today's Must Read!
'As concerns over privacy and data security on social networks grow, U of T Engineering researchers led by Professor Parham Aarabi (ECE) and graduate student Avishek Bose (ECE MASc candidate) have created an algorithm to dynamically disrupt facial recognition systems.' posted by Marit Mitchell, University of Toronto, U of T Engineering News
Today's Must Read comes to us from the combined efforts of the authors of this superb paper at arXiv entitled "The Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Forecasting, Prevention, and Mitigation, and written by Miles Brundage, Shahar Avin, Jack Clark, Helen Toner, Peter Eckersley, Ben Garfinkel, Allan Dafoe, Paul Scharre, Thomas Zeitzoff, Bobby Filar, Hyrum Anderson, Heather Roff, Gregory C. Allen, Jacob Steinhardt, Carrick Flynn, Seán Ó hÉigeartaigh, Simon Beard, Haydn Belfield, Sebastian Farquhar, Clare Lyle, Rebecca Crootof, Owain Evans, Michael Page, Joanna Bryson*, Roman Yampolskiy and Dario Amodei (please note the attribution by author within the document. Certainly, Todays' Must Read Targeting Artificial Intelligence Gone Awry.
Interestingly written reportage - crafted by Matt Stroud (Matt is a reporter employed by The Center for Public Integrity) for The Verge, divulges little of the loathing of AI at the United States Department of Defence, but, little is all that's required to grok the problematic view of artificial intelligence and warfighting. Ladies and Gentlemen, We are in a AI Gap!
The Money Quote: "He called for more serious work by the Pentagon, saying, “There might be an artificial intelligence arms race, but we are not yet in it.” America’s adversaries, he said, “understand very well the possible utility of machine learning. I think it’s time we did as well.” - via
Matt Stroud writing at the The Center for Public Integrity) and published at the The Verge
via Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife (VETPAW) - http://vetpaw.org/ and the VETPAW GoFundMe page: https://www.gofundme.com/vetpawsaves
Today's feature post contains two fundamentally related stories that possess an equanamity of import. Yet the latter of the two is closer to my interests in animal welfare and illustrates US Veteran engagements training rangers and fighting poachers on the savannahs and in the forests of Africa. Read On, and see which is the most important to you; in either case, you be the judge!
Via Jean Kumagai, writing at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' Spectrum Magazine, details the utilization of artificial intelligence in the effort to curtail pachyderm poaching. Simply Outstanding.
"AI is usually applied to problems of modern technology, Tambe notes, but this work is different. “We’re using AI to save the natural world—these stunning landscapes and animals that we hope won’t disappear,” he says. “These are important treasures.” - via Jean Kumagai, writing at the IEEE Spectrum Magazine
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"The Story of VETPAW: Ryan Tate has always had two primary passions, and a desire to protect both: his country and animals. As it did for many brave Americans, the call to serve grew louder after the attacks of 9/11.Ryan signed enlistment papers to the U.S. Marine Corps that same year, with a commitment to join “the few, the proud” on his 18th birthday.Several years later, Ryan was exposed to the atrocities of elephant and rhino poaching, and the devastation it was having on East African communities and wildlife alike. He knew he couldn’t sit idly by. All he had to do was consider the men and women he’d served with to see that there is no one better suited to instruct and train park rangers than post-9/11 veterans.Ryan is keenly aware that many U.S. Veterans are un- or underemployed, and would benefit profoundly from the opportunity to serve in another capacity—one that would save lives. With his military experience, he’s able to speak directly to the unique skills that veterans can bring to anti-poaching efforts. He interviewed his colleagues and saw the difficulties and frustrations of men and women who are highly skilled in combat-related areas, but unable to leverage those skills in a conventional civilian setting. They have a continuing dedication to serve others, and Ryan helps them channel it." - via VetPaw
The implications to information security - and the principles thereto - are enormous. As always. you be the judge. Enjoy.