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- Issue 23 - Doris Bowman wins the Emmys
Issue 23 - Doris Bowman wins the Emmys
Mr Bates finally beats the Post Office
Jesse Hirsh & Jeanette Herrle
January 18, 2024
Welcome to issue twenty three of the Eco Punks Gazette. 23 you say?
Hey can we ask you a favour? Are you regularly reading and enjoying our Gazette? If so, please forward it, share it, and or refer your friends to sign up (and get rewarded). We need you Rick, Wendy, Jim, Elena, Chris, and Peche! Just like on Romper Room we could use your help!
Table of Contents
Upcoming Events
Jan 23rd at 11am EST - Can We Trust the Internet?
“A trust layer for the internet is emerging,” a report by CIRA and Continuum Loop, argues that pairing technical trust (e.g., encryption and signing) and human trust (e.g., governance) enables a trust layer to emerge. This allows the Internet community to create trustworthy digital ecosystems and rebuild trust in the Internet as a whole.
The report highlights that the Internet currently lacks this trust layer, and while we can build individual systems that have reasonably good security, we lack a shared framework and the set of tools needed to ensure trustworthy systems exist across all aspects of the internet. The report suggests that by harnessing and creating new standards for both technical and human trust, we can create an interoperable, deeply trustworthy Internet to carry us into the next phases of its use.
One of the co-authors Jacques Latour, the CTO of CIRA will be joining us for a deep dive into trust and the Internet.
Algorithmic Injustice: Fujitsu and the British Post Office
Fujitsu is currently in the spotlight due to its involvement in the British Post Office scandal. The scandal, which took place between 1999 and 2015, led to over 900 subpostmasters being wrongly prosecuted for theft, false accounting, and fraud.
The scandal was linked to errors in an IT system called Horizon, which was built by Fujitsu and introduced in 1999 to replace paper-based accounting. Fujitsu's European chief, Paul Patterson, admitted that the company had known that Horizon suffered from bugs since the 1990s and that it had a "moral obligation" to contribute to any redress for the victims. As a result, the UK business minister has written to Fujitsu to demand talks on how much it would pay towards compensating the victims.
The current discussions and demands for compensation are a result of the ongoing public inquiry into the scandal, which has gained greater public attention since the airing of the ITV drama "Mr Bates vs the Post Office". The inquiry has reinforced the devastating impact on the lives of the affected sub-postmasters and their families, leading to calls for Fujitsu to take responsibility and provide compensation.
How did a TV show finally get movement toward real consequences for this miscarriage of justice where countless articles, books, and podcasts did not? As Nish Kumar observed on The Bugle, “Here’s the thing, Toby Jones [Mr. Bates] is a very good actor. And it turned out that’s all we needed.”
OpenAI Joins the Military Industrial Complex
Nothing surprising, but our friends over at OpenAI have made subtle changes to their usage policies that now permits them to work with military and defence organizations.
In a subsequent email, Felix added that OpenAI wanted to pursue certain “national security use cases that align with our mission,” citing a plan to create “cybersecurity tools” with DARPA, and that “the goal with our policy update is to provide clarity and the ability to have these discussions.”
“OpenAI is well aware of the risk and harms that may arise due to the use of their technology and services in military applications,” said Heidy Khlaaf, engineering director at the cybersecurity firm Trail of Bits and an expert on machine learning and autonomous systems safety, citing a 2022 paper she co-authored with OpenAI researchers that specifically flagged the risk of military use. Khlaaf added that the new policy seems to emphasize legality over safety. “There is a distinct difference between the two policies, as the former clearly outlines that weapons development, and military and warfare is disallowed, while the latter emphasizes flexibility and compliance with the law,” she said. “Developing weapons, and carrying out activities related to military and warfare is lawful to various extents. The potential implications for AI safety are significant. Given the well-known instances of bias and hallucination present within Large Language Models (LLMs), and their overall lack of accuracy, their use within military warfare can only lead to imprecise and biased operations that are likely to exacerbate harm and civilian casualties.”
The myth of AI is that it works. It doesn’t—or at least not in the way it’s reputed to, which mainly reflects hype from those who sell it. While it does have tremendous utility, it does not have the ability to think, and this is where the belief in AGI may blind people to the consequences of deploying this technology in situations where human lives are at stake.
Of course we can’t treat OpenAI in isolation, but must recognize that they are part of the larger Microsoft ecosystem.
MS--Open AI's ~parent company--already has massive US military contracts. This is the biz model.
It's also one more alarm re. the current AI paradigm, its reliance on concentrated corp power, & the undemocratic decision making power this gives these (primarily) US-based corps.
— Meredith Whittaker (@mer__edith)
4:41 PM • Jan 13, 2024
Cultivating a Digital-Organic Future
Murley Herrle-Fanning is not your ordinary digital artist or farmer. His life and work embody a rare fusion of the digital and natural worlds, epitomizing the quintessential Gen Z experience. In an era where the boundaries between technology and biology are increasingly blurred, Murley stands as a vibrant testament to the potential and power of this convergence.
Notable Punk: Doris Bowman
Doris Bowman, mother of actor Anthony Anderson, brought a refreshing and unique approach to moderating the 75th Emmy Awards. Known as Mama Doris, she took on the role of a mother figure, stepping in to signal when acceptance speeches were running too long. This approach, while novel, offers a model of moderation that could be beneficial for in-person events, drawing on the wisdom and authority often associated with grandmothers.
Bowman's role at the Emmys was to keep the event moving smoothly, a task typically assigned to a moderator. Instead of using the traditional method of playing off long-winded winners with music, Bowman would heckle from the audience. This added a human touch and a sense of humor to the proceedings, which could be seen as a refreshing change from the norm.
@nowthis Out: Playing people off at award shows. In: Anthony Anderson's mama cutting them off. #WatchThis #Emmys #AnthonyAnderson #AwardShow
Nanas/bubbies/abuelitas/omas, etc., typically command respect and reverence, often associated with wisdom and teaching. Bowman was able to bring a sense of authority and warmth to the proceedings, qualities that could be beneficial in other in-person events. Have we just stumbled on a new second career option for our society’s most under-used talent pool, our elders?!
Also kudos to John Oliver for playing his part in empowering Mama Bowman:
@imdb But now we kinda wanna see if he CAN name them all... #Emmys #JohnOliver @lastweektonighthbo
What do you think?
Cognitive Miser, Negative Asymmetry Bias, and Trump
The intricate dynamics of being a ‘cognitive miser’ and the influence of ‘negative asymmetry bias’ play a crucial role in shaping public opinion and political behaviour, particularly in the context of high-profile political events like Donald Trump running for President this year.
If Dogs Ruled the World
Harriet's post playfully yet insightfully explores the idea of a dog-led world, drawing on canine qualities to envision a society rooted in joy, empathy, and community. It's a delightful reminder of the lessons we can learn from our four-legged friends.
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And that’s another issue! Thank you. You’re so good, you’re the best there is.
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