Kathy Reid / is on Nostr

Doing a #PhD [@anucybernetics](https://aus.social/@anucybernetics ) in #opensource #voice and #data #bias #FairML. Into #linux, #IoT. Built @SenseBreast. She/her pronouns. Ex @mycroft_ai Linux Australia, Inc. (npub10au…keuh) @deakin @mozilla
Living in Australia on Waddawurrung land but with connections in #Northumberland
#MastoAdmin for fediverse.au

GitHub: https://github.com/KathyReid
Web: https://kathyreid.com.au
Linktree: https://linktr.ee/kathyreid
Pet: Tim Tam the Corgi (npub180n…yxlj)

Last Notes

2024-08-28 15:16:40

Great interview with [@Mer__edith](https://mastodon.world/@Mer__edith ) in @npub1ejm…4j05 from @npub13va…aerq talking @npub1rkw…5q62, #surveillance, #privacy and #sustainability
"Signal is a nonprofit because a for-profit structure leads to a scenario where one of my board members goes to Davos, talks to some guy, comes back excitedly telling me we need an AI strategy for profit. Or another one of my board members comes in, gets really nervous that our revenue model, whatever it is, isn’t bringing in something that meets our goals and says, “Well, maybe we can start collecting metadata. Maybe we can reduce the focus on privacy, because of course our primary objective function, as a traditional for-profit, is revenue and growth.” And privacy in an economy powered by surveillance will necessarily hamper those."
https://www.wired.com/story/meredith-whittaker-signal/

2024-07-12 01:29:36

- reply

they had me at Plasters of Exotic Cuttlefish 🤣🤣🤣

2024-07-12 00:05:38

This is glorious - the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in #Hobart, #Tasmania, launches a new ad campaign celebrating its 1-star reviews
Brilliant
h/t to @npub1nuj…wsv0 for the link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KV_sKDgSqI

2024-06-11 09:55:28

Is anyone I know going to see @npub1vt7…5vdp at the #WheelerCentre in #Melbourne #Naarm on 26th June? 6.30pm to 7.30pm
I have my ticket already, would love to catch up for coffee / bevvies before or after.
https://www.wheelercentre.com/events/surveillance-technology-and-ai-meredith-whittaker-in-conversation/

2024-06-10 05:18:18

So, in Australia, there's no easy way to opt out of #MetaAI's new #enshittification move of training its #AI on all your words and images, a policy which takes effect from 26th June.
Or is there?
I asked Meta AI's chat bot how to do this, and here's how the conversation went:
> Tell me how to opt out of my data being used to train AI
META AI RESPONSE:
To opt out of your data being used to train AI, you can submit a request through the Meta Privacy Center. Here's how:
1. Go to (link unavailable)
2. Click on "Settings" (icon) in the top right corner
3. Click on "Meta's use of AI and machine learning"
4. Scroll down to "Control how your data is used to improve Meta's products and services"
5. Select "Submit a request" under "Use of data for AI and machine learning"
6. Fill out the form with your name, email address, and a brief description of your request (e.g., "Opt out of AI training data usage")
7. Submit the form
Alternatively, you can also send a request via email to mailto:privacy@meta.com with the subject "Opt out of AI training data usage" and include your name and email address.
Please note that you may need to verify your identity to process the request. Meta will review your request and respond to your email address with a decision.
Let me know if you have any further questions or concerns!
> How long does it take Meta to review my request and to respond?
META AI RESPONSE:
Meta aims to review and respond to privacy requests, including opt-out requests for AI training data usage, within a reasonable time frame, typically:
- 30 days from the date of receipt for requests made through the Privacy Center
- 30 days from the date of verification (if required) for requests made via email
Please note that the review process may take longer if:
- The request is complex or requires additional information
- Meta needs to verify your identity or confirm your request
- There are technical issues or high volumes of requests
If you have submitted a request, you can expect an email response from Meta once your request has been reviewed and processed. If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to ask!
---
I have sent the email to privacy@meta.com with the appropriate subject line, requesting to be opted out of training.
I'll let y'all know how the request goes.
I mean, if their own #chatbot tells you how to opt out, it must be true, right?!
More:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-06-10/instagram-facebook-train-meta-ai-tools-no-opt-out-australia/103958308?utm_source=mastodon
(I am adding utm_source=mastodon to links I post so that Mastodon shows up as the source, to encourage folks like the ABC to get on to #Mastodon)

2024-05-22 13:22:41

Why does #Microsoft want to implement #Recall? It's not about *images*. It's about modelling what workers do on Windows, and then replacing them.
The most expensive part of a computer is the fallible feelings-filled unpredictable meat sack that operates it.
Google has YouTube, Google Photos, Maps, and a bucket load of search data, Google Analytics, advertising, as well as it's #GCP data (e.g. #STT transcriptions). And a bunch of data from Android services. From this data they can model speech, model videos and model advertising systems, and how humans respond to them.
But they can't model what people do on computers.
Amazon has Prime data, and a bucket load of compute. But no operating system data. They can build models based around e-commerce and advertising systems.
But they can't model what people do on computers.
Meta has *waves hands* enough analytics to model human behaviour in the Metaverse.
But they can't model what people do on computers.
Microsoft has GitHub.
Microsoft has LinkedIn.
Microsoft has SharePoint.
Microsoft has Teams.
Microsoft has Dynamics.
Microsoft has O365.
Microsoft has Windows telemetry data.
Microsoft can model what people do on (Windows) computers. Like fill out spreadsheets.Write emails. Synthesize web pages of research. Interact with colleagues on Teams. Create and edit documents.
Microsoft wants #MicrosoftRecall data so they can model what people *do* with operating systems.
Then replace them.
Imagine a CoPilot that doesn't just write buggy code. Imagine one that also does spreadsheets. That creates documents on SharePoint. That communicates with colleages on Teams. That has a customer pipeline on Dynamics.
That's what Recall is about - 360 degree surveillance of the worker, to model their functions, make them fungible, replicable - and replaceable.

2024-05-12 01:37:25

In the most glorious "fuck you" I have seen in a while, you know the book that Cumberland City Council banned because they're homophobic bigots - Holly Duhig's "A focus on Same Sex Parents"? Well, the publisher, BookLife Publishing, have made a PDF version of the book available for free.
Sure be a shame if it was shared far and wide now, wouldn't it?
Every time you ban a book filled with hope and kindness, and care and love, we will resist.
https://www.booklifepublishing.co.uk/a-focus-on/same-sex-parents/
#CumberlandCityCouncil #SameSexParents #BookBans #Bookstodon

2024-05-10 00:12:39

Like many other technologists, I gave my time and expertise for free to #StackOverflow because the content was licensed CC-BY-SA - meaning that it was a public good. It brought me joy to help people figure out why their #ASR code wasn't working, or assist with a #CUDA bug.
Now that a deal has been struck with #OpenAI to scrape all the questions and answers in Stack Overflow, to train #GenerativeAI models, like #LLMs, without attribution to authors (as required under the CC-BY-SA license under which Stack Overflow content is licensed), to be sold back to us (the SA clause requires derivative works to be shared under the same license), I have issued a Data Deletion request to Stack Overflow to disassociate my username from my Stack Overflow username, and am closing my account, just like I did with Reddit, Inc.
https://policies.stackoverflow.co/data-request/
The data I helped create is going to be bundled in an #LLM and sold back to me.
In a single move, Stack Overflow has alienated its community - which is also its main source of competitive advantage, in exchange for token lucre.
Stack Exchange, Stack Overflow's former instantiation, used to fulfill a psychological contract - help others out when you can, for the expectation that others may in turn assist you in the future. Now it's not an exchange, it's #enshittification.
Programmers now join artists and copywriters, whose works have been snaffled up to create #GenAI solutions.
The silver lining I see is that once OpenAI creates LLMs that generate code - like Microsoft has done with Copilot on GitHub - where will they go to get help with the bugs that the generative AI models introduce, particularly, given the recent GitClear report, of the "downward pressure on code quality" caused by these tools?
While this is just one more example of #enshittification, it's also a salient lesson for #DevRel folks - if your community is your source of advantage, don't upset them.

2024-04-21 22:44:06

Periodic reminder that I run the Fediverse AU #Mastodon server for #Australian #NZ #research and #university organisations who don't have a home on Mastodon.
https://fediverse.au
And here's a piece I wrote on why universities are reluctant to run their own Mastodon servers (recently updated with information on referrer tracking and social media platform support)
https://blog.kathyreid.id.au/2023/07/18/why-are-universities-reluctant-to-join-mastodon-and-the-fediverse/
#universities #SocialMedia #HigherEd #Fediverse #FediverseAU

2024-03-29 03:15:11

Excellent piece from Grégory Miras on why new tools that change #accents in real time are harmful and problematic - they erase diversity - and make us less able to appreciate and listen to that diversity.
#linguistics #AccentBias
https://theconversation.com/why-ai-software-softening-accents-is-problematic-197751