Notices by Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me), page 4
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Tuesday, 12-Sep-2023 02:53:22 JST 
Per Axbom
Regarding Power concentration.
When power is with a few, their own needs and concerns will naturally be top of mind and prioritized. The more their needs are prioritized, the more power they gain. Three million AI engineers is 0.0004% of the world's population.
The dominant actors in the AI space right now are primarily US-based. And the computing power required to build and maintain many of these tools is huge, ensuring that the power of influence will continue to rest with a few big tech actors. -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Tuesday, 12-Sep-2023 02:53:20 JST
Per Axbom
Regarding Invisible decision-making.
The more complex the algorithms become, the harder they are to understand. As more people are involved, time passes, integrations with other systems are made and documentation is faulty, the further they deviate from human understanding. Many companies will hide proprietary code and evade scrutiny, sometimes themselves losing understanding of the full picture of how the code works. Decoding and understanding how decisions are made will be open to infinitely fewer beings.
And it doesn't stop there. This also affects autonomy. By obscuring decision-making processes (how, when, why decisions are made, what options are available and what personal data is shared) it is increasingly difficult for individuals to make properly informed choices in their own best interest. -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Tuesday, 12-Sep-2023 02:53:18 JST
Per Axbom
Regarding Bias and injustice.
One inherent property of AI is its ability to act as an accelerator of other harms. By being trained on large amounts of data (often unsupervised) – that inevitably contains biases, abandoned values and prejudiced commentary – these will be reproduced in any output. It is likely that this will even happen unnoticeably (especially when not actively monitored) since many biases are subtle and embedded in common language. And at other times it will happen quite clearly, with bots spewing toxic, misogynistic and racist content.
Because of systemic issues and the fact that bias becomes embedded in these tools, these biases will have dire consequences for people who are already disempowered. Scoring systems are often used by automated decision-making tools and these scores can for example affect job opportunities, welfare/housing eligibility and judicial outcomes. -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Tuesday, 12-Sep-2023 02:53:17 JST
Per Axbom
Regarding Content moderator trauma.
In order for us to avoid seeing traumatitizing content when using many of these tools (such as physical violence, self-harm, child abuse, killings and torture) this content needs to be filtered out. In order for it to be filtered out, someone has to watch it. As it stands, the workers who perform this filtering are often exploited and suffer PTSD without adequate care for their wellbeing. Many of them have no idea what they are getting themselves into when they start the job. -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Tuesday, 12-Sep-2023 02:53:15 JST
Per Axbom
Regarding Data / Privacy breaches
There are several ways personal data makes its way into the AI tools. First, since the tools are often trained on data available online and in an unsupervised manner, personal data will actually make its way into the workings of the tools themselves. Data may have been inadvertently published online or may have been published for a specific purpose, rarely one that supports feeding an AI system and its plethora of outputs. Second, personal data is actually entered into the tools by everyday users through negligent or inconsiderate use – data that at times is also stored and used by the tools. Third, when many data points from many different sources are linked together in one tool they can reveal details of an individuals’ life that any single piece of information could not. -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Monday, 11-Sep-2023 15:14:17 JST
Per Axbom
Water required by data centers is increasing considerably with the advent of generative AI. Large language models trained on vast amounts of data need substantial cooling.
While some may argue that water can be reused, it is often pulled from water supplies in times of significant heatwaves, when residents are in need of it as well, and supplies diminsh faster.
In July of 2022, Microsoft pumped in about 11.5 million gallons of water to its cluster of Iowa data centers, according to the West Des Moines Water Works. That’s around 6% of all the water used in the district, which also supplies drinking water to residents.
Meanwhile, the energy required is of course not recycled – and it’s to be expected that energy use is growing as well. The companies behind the tools are just not disclosing how much their AI investments are costing us when it comes to their carbon footprint.
”In its latest environmental report, Microsoft disclosed that its global water consumption spiked 34% from 2021 to 2022 (to nearly 1.7 billion gallons, or more than 2,500 Olympic-sized swimming pools), a sharp increase compared to previous years that outside researchers tie to its AI research.”
https://fortune.com/2023/09/09/ai-chatgpt-usage-fuels-spike-in-microsoft-water-consumption/ -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Wednesday, 06-Sep-2023 22:29:13 JST
Per Axbom
“According to Mozilla research, popular global brands — including BMW, Ford, Toyota, Tesla, Kia, and Subaru — can collect deeply personal data such as sexual activity, immigration status, race, facial expressions, weight, health and genetic information, and where you drive.
Researchers found data is being gathered by sensors, microphones, cameras, and the phones and devices drivers connect to their cars, as well as by car apps, company websites, dealerships, and vehicle telematics.
Brands can then share or sell this data to third parties. Car brands can also take much of this data and use it to develop inferences about a driver’s intelligence, abilities, characteristics, preferences, and more.”
https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/blog/privacy-nightmare-on-wheels-every-car-brand-reviewed-by-mozilla-including-ford-volkswagen-and-toyota-flunks-privacy-test/ -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Tuesday, 05-Sep-2023 06:03:40 JST
Per Axbom
Heads up, because this will start happening more regularly in the next six months:
If a person sends a bot (will be marketed as an ”AI assistant”) to participate in their place at an online meeting you are hosting, your safest option is to kick it out. That bot will be recording everything and using it for things that meeting participants have not consented to. -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Saturday, 02-Sep-2023 21:47:47 JST
Per Axbom
AI won't steal your job.
A person using AI to fake your skills will.
Then the AI will cause them to make a devastating mistake.
And they won't know how fix it.
That's when you get your job back.
Remember to request a higher salary. -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Saturday, 02-Sep-2023 20:37:02 JST
Per Axbom
I will be expecting Nobel Prize winners to boycott the award ceremony (on December 10) after the committee’s bizarre decision to invite Russia’s ambassador, along with the ambassadors of Belarus and Iran. This year’s event is now already ill-fated.
Boycotts have been announced by a several party leaders in Sweden. The only one announcing that she will take part is Ebba Busch, Leader of the Christian Democrats and Minister for Energy, Business and Industry. No final decisions have been communicated from Magdalena Andersson (Social Democrats), or prime minister Ulf Kristersson (Moderate party). Johan Pehrson (Liberal Party) has – on X – vaguely suggested he may not attend. -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Sunday, 06-Aug-2023 16:59:11 JST
Per Axbom
@kashhill So bizarre to see this happening all around. My latest post is about exactly this, misattribution of authors and non-existent books.
https://axbom.com/ux-authors-wonderland/ -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Monday, 31-Jul-2023 08:20:47 JST
Per Axbom
@samuel I found this one when I wrote my post about online resilience:
https://www.freehosting.com/free-hosting.html
My original post:
https://axbom.com/25y/ -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Monday, 24-Jul-2023 21:20:00 JST
Per Axbom
Your friendly reminder to download your Twitter (X) archive as long as it's still possible. (And as long as you're still interested in keeping the content you produced there)
https://twitter.com/settings/download_your_data -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Friday, 23-Jun-2023 03:36:53 JST
Per Axbom
A common argument I come across when talking about ethics in AI is that it's just a tool, and like any tool it can be used for good or for evil. One familiar declaration is this one: "It's really no different from a hammer". I was compelled to make a poster to address these claims. Steal it, share it, print it and use it where you see fit.
https://axbom.com/hammer-ai/
#AiEthics #DigitalEthics -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Friday, 23-Jun-2023 03:36:52 JST
Per Axbom
Poster: If a hammer was like AI.
#AiEthics -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Tuesday, 06-Jun-2023 01:25:52 JST
Per Axbom
More and more coming across "podcasts" that can only be listened to on a specific platform, not in my podcatcher (any app for listening to podcasts via RSS feeds).
If a podcast doesn't disclose its RSS feed, is it really a podcast, or just an audio show that happens to be published on a specific platform?
In my mind podcasting is about the listener experience and mode of consumption as much as the production experience. If I can't listen to it like I do 99% of all podcasts, then for all intents and purposes it is not a podcast.
I know most people don't think about RSS feeds at all when listening but I had to mention it here as it's the mode of distribution that makes everything I just mentioned possible, with regards to freedom of listening where I want. Not where someone else wants.
#podcast #podcasting -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Saturday, 06-May-2023 19:52:28 JST
Per Axbom
@fyrfli Yes, it would appear populist homophobia has kept many politicians in power.
https://www.fordfoundation.org/news-and-stories/videos/queer-african-history-must-be-told-and-documented-featuring-selly-thiam-of-none-on-record/ -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Saturday, 06-May-2023 18:36:25 JST
Per Axbom
”By donning a second-hand hat, a 74-year-old man is about to become monarch of a small island kingdom”
As expected, the best reporting on today’s coronation comes from @thecontinent
While many mentioned atrocities are well-known, this part of erased African history is rarely talked about:
”While England has records of who lived in what village in 1068, its empire was quick to destroy the histories of those it colonised. These could then be overwritten with Protestant orthodoxy and white exceptionalism, banning things like queer love, once part of Africas cultural fabric.”
https://www.thecontinent.org/
#Coronation -
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Saturday, 22-Apr-2023 19:09:37 JST
Per Axbom
Några anledningar till att jag älskar Akkoma:
• Betydligt mindre resurskrävande än Mastodon om man har många följare och/eller följer många (tycks gälla såväl minne, processorkraft som lagring). Jag körde tidigare Mastodon och den segade ner min server väsentligt. Behöver inte sidekiq till exempel och lagrar inte ‘extern’ media lokalt. Färre beroenden.
• Mer community-driven utveckling (Mastodon är mycket mer en one-man show)
• Större flexibilitet (fler filformat, länkning av text, formattering av text)
• Bättre hantering av trådar (man ser svaren i hierarki och man ser - oftast - alla som svarat i en tråd)
• Har en inbyggd fritext-sökmotor… som också kan utökas med Meilisearch eller Elasticsearch - men blir då förstås mer minneskrävande
• Mer frihet (t.ex antal tecken i inlägg/profil, och styrning av frontend-utseende, kan göra listor även med personer man inte följer, m.m.)
• Har haft “quote-boost” hela tiden (inte för att jag använder det så mycket)
• Är en fork av Pleroma som släpptes lite innan Mastodon. Filosofin (mer som ett forum och med ett tänk kring lokala meddelanden) är lite annorlunda än Mastodon känner jag, som tycks hämta mycket inspiration från nuvarande Twitter.
Säkert kan @m lägga till några saker, som var den som först uppmuntrade mig att prova.
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Per Axbom (axbom@axbom.me)'s status on Monday, 17-Apr-2023 19:51:54 JST
Per Axbom
So Twitter now has Community Notes that are used to fact check other tweets. A person used my blog post about the world map to demonstrate how a longer line across Russia represents a distance that is actually shorter than a visibly shorter line across Africa.
In the Community Notes attached to that tweet it is stated that this is false, along with numbers of country/continent width that themselves are incorrect. But the original post actually isn't false. So the tool (Community Notes) designed to provide more trust is actually "debunking" actual truths and instead spreading the misinformation. And of course, Africa is as always a target of reduction.
Here ScafidiTravels shows how the original tweet is correct. Due diligence:
https://twitter.com/ScafidiTravels/status/1647463005024649217?s=20
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