The very first issue of the student-created SO magazine is now online for you to read:
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Happy reading, Feel free to download and share!
It’s semester break, so the readings will be rather short these coming weeks. And, sometimes, a bit late in the day.
A durch court has haltet facial recognition usage, after its algorithm turns out to be biased in its selection (via wired):
The case demonstrates how privacy regulations and human rights laws can rein in government use of automation. It’s among several recent examples of European regulations limiting government programs that turn algorithms and artificial intelligence on citizens. In the US, however, such guardrails generally are lacking.
Teens are grouping up on instagram to avoid personalized data tracking (via cnet);
But unlike many of Instagram’s users, Mosley and her high school friends in Maryland had figured out a way to fool tracking by the Facebook-owned social network. On the first visit, her Explore tab showed images of Kobe Bryant. Then on a refresh, cooking guides, and after another refresh, animals.
And the news that kept everyone occupied all week. And will keep us occupied for the foreseeable future. Bye for now.
In today’s weekend reading: Games as simulated experiences, offering agency in the face of uncontrollable circumstances. We need to talk about this more.
"Plague Inc. is a game, not a scientific model." https://t.co/6iJttDz493
— Jess Morrissette (@decafjedi) January 27, 2020
And hopefully on a deeper level than this article on Quartz (although props to Jane Li for bringing attention to this):
On China’s Twitter-like Weibo platform, many joked darkly about the similarities between the games and the real situation. “The best way to get rid of fear is to face the fear itself,” wrote 17173, a Chinese game news site, commenting on Plague Inc.’s sudden rise in popularity. Some users said that in order to have a more immersive experience, they chose China as the origin country that exports the virus to other regions in the game.
Regarding sustainability and materiality of digital media, Low Tech Magazine reports on their solar powered website:
A website that goes off-line in evening could be an interesting option for a local online publication with low anticipated traffic after midnight. However, since Low-tech Magazine’s readership is almost equally divided between Europe and the USA this is not an attractive option. If the website goes down every night, our American readers could only access it during the morning.
And finally, the thing I am reading right now:Rodrigo Ochigame on The long history of algorithmic fairness.
Take care, and hug a British person.
Finally normal people! Talks, Talks, Talks and social interaction. Plus TSCHUNK, naturally. 36c3 has landed and disappeared again. Presenting some leftovers here.
Die Bewerbungszeiträume für den zweiten Jahrgang MA Spiel und Objekt mit Studienbeginn im Oktober 2020 sind nun festgelegt:
Beginn des Bewerbungszeitraumes: 16. März 2020
Ende des Bewerbungszeitraumes: 18. Mai 2020 – 13:00 Uhr
Über die Einladung zur Zulassungsprüfung wird am 25. Mai 2020 informiert.
Die Zulassungsprüfung findet am 13. und 14. Juni 2020 statt.
Weitere Informationen zum Ablauf der Bewerbung können der Bewerbungsseite unter spielundobjekt.de/bewerbung entnommen werden.
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Let’s compile some reading in preparation for next week’s lectures on AI! First up, a thorough and well researched overview on the origins of AI and artistic approaches to it (in German) by Pit Noack (@maschinennah) for heise.de:
Ein künstliches neuronales Netz, so die Mathematikerin Hannah Fry in ihrem Buch “Hello World“, kann man sich “als eine riesige mathematische Struktur vorstellen, mit jeder Menge Schaltern und Reglern. Man speist ein Bild an einem Ende ein, es fließt durch eine Struktur, und am anderen Ende kommt eine Vermutung heraus, was dieses Bild enthält. Eine Wahrscheinlichkeit für jede Kategorie: Hund oder nicht Hund.”
Next up, the always awesome @AINowInstitute has published an extensive report on New York’s Automated Decision System Task Force (link to PDF):
📢🚨
— Ben Green (@benzevgreen) December 4, 2019
A new report about the New York City Automated Decision System Task Force just dropped! If you're at all interested in the role and governance of algorithms in cities, you're going to want to read this. @AINowInstitute https://t.co/Evea8J3rI2 pic.twitter.com/RxMCBeXoQG
The wonderful people from MOTIF Institute are well worth following on twitter for their insights on AI and digital culture. Much love for their speculative approach to envisioning possible future scenarios (at Das ist Netzpolitik conference. in German):
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If you are interested in the design aspects of AI, Chip Huyen (@chipro) wrote an extensive document on Machine Learning Systems Design:
In academic settings, people care more about training whereas in production, people care more about serving. Candidates who have only learned about machine learning but haven’t deployed a system in the real world often make the mistake of focusing entirely on training: getting the model to do well on some benchmark task without thinking of how it would be used.
And finally, here’s a fun thing to play if you have a couple of minutes: AI Dungeon 2 by Nick Walton and the BYU PCCL Lab:
at last i can play AI dungeon 2 pic.twitter.com/5SBLojlM97
— Knives out (chives out) (@vqnerdballs) December 8, 2019
Enjoy!
Rainer Rehak has been working on the subject of “Computer Science and Society” for about ten years. He studied computer science and philosophy in Berlin, Hong Kong and Beijing. During his studies he worked at the Chair of Computer Science in Education and Society by Wolfgang Coy. He is currently doing his doctorate at the Weizenbaum Institute for the networked society and teaching at the HTW-Berlin in the fields of data protection and data security, computer science and society as well as networks. Rainer also works as an IT security / privacy advisor and Unix server administrator.
Where: Ladenlokal, Zinnowitzer str. 7, 10115 Berlin
When: Monday, 09.12.19. – 19:00 Uhr
