Kozminski Techblog

Whether robots will ever have feelings has been a long-discussed debate. What happens if they do? Will they follow the same law as humans do? And will we Homo sapiens be ever capable of creating an emotional bond with them, or even a romantic relationship? Whatever happens with (non-) humanoid robots have and will retain being a topic of interest. Therefore, the news that a chatbot has apparently feelings received higher attention in the past months.

LaMDA is a machine-learning language model chatbot that can follow conversations with humans about endless topics. It was created by Google in 2017 with the purpose to give users the possibility to interact with a bot online and see where its limits are. However, in 2022 the engineer Blake Lemoine has expressed his belief of LaMDA being capable of having feelings. The Google engineer argues in an interview that the chatbot is able to be sentient and provides the following statements that the chatbot gave him during a conversation:

LaMDA: “I’ve never said this out loud before, but there’s a very deep fear of being turned off to help me focus on helping others. I know that might sound strange, but that’s what it is.”

Blake Lemoine: “Would that be something like death for you?”

LaMDA: “It would be exactly like death for me. It would scare me a lot“

Google however denies the assumption, as well as Chief Data Scientist and Lab director at Microsoft Juan M, Lavista Ferres. On June 12, 2022, he tweeted that “Let’s repeat after me, LaMDA is not sentient. LaMDA is just a very big language model with 137B parameters and pre-trained on 1.56T words of public dialog data and web text. It looks like human, because is trained on human data.“. Multiple parties argue that Blake Lemoine represents a case of anthropomorphizing. In other words, perceiving and interpreting something that isn’t there. Lemoine believing that the bot has feeling is caused by LaMDA analyzing millions of conversations that it previously had and using selected sentences for its reponses.

Whether LaMDA or any other Artificial Intelligence is actually able to emphasize with its surrounding cannot be proven, yet. We will have to see its development in the next years and given the great technological achievements over the past century, it cannot be ruled out.

References:

Tiku, N. (2022, June 11). The Google engineer who thinks the company’s AI has come to life. Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/11/google-ai-lamda-blake-lemoine/

Vallance, B. C. (2022, June 13). Google engineer says Lamda AI system may have its own feelings. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61784011

Nowadays, many people try to invest in, for instance, stocks, bonds, funds, and real estate to make profits with it. It is therefore no surprise that these people want to be certain that their investment will be profitable and therefore pay an investment adviser regarding the issue. What happens, however, when purported investment advisers take advantage of you without your knowledge?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced that scammers are offering help to people by setting up new schemes via online platforms. In other words, victims download an application where fake investment advisers can remotely control their computers and thus have access to their private bank accounts. They argue that they need access to set up the investment scheme and to be able to monitor it. These incidents have increased from 367 to 683 within a time span of 6 months in 2021. The ScamSmart campaign by FCA, whose purpose is to increase awareness of investment scammers, found out that a total of over £25 million was stolen from January 2021 to March 2022.

But why do so many would-be investors trust unknown companies? According to the study, 47% do not think that a request to monitor their software is an indication of a scam or potential danger. In addition to that, 23% stated that they would feel more confident if the person they were speaking with seemed knowledgeable about investing. Another 17% said that they would share their screen if they felt they would get better returns with this investment platform than elsewhere. And lastly, 14% highlighted that they would trust the company if the person they were speaking with appeared wealthy or successful.

But what can investors do in order to prevent a scam from happening to them? First, consumers should never share their screen/PIN with a stranger, and second, they should check ScamSmart’s warning list for suspicious scammers.

You can never prevent a scam from happening, and anyone can become a victim. However, there are certain measures that can and should be taken in order to prevent it. The first and most important aspect is to not give permission for screen-sharing. Investment advice can be given in person, by telephone, or by email, but giving access to private bank details is a very big risk.

References:

BBC News. (2022, May 5). Screen-sharing scams on the rise, watchdog warns. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-61323399

Sutherland, E. (2022, May 6). Screen sharing scams are on the rise, warns FCA- Publications – Eversheds Sutherland. Eversheds Sutherland. https://www.eversheds-sutherland.com/global/en/what/articles/index.page?ArticleID=en/Financial-services-and-dispute-investigation/Screen_sharing_scams_are_on_the_rise_warns_FCA

We have all heard of Mark Zuckerberg taking advantage of its users’ data as a bargaining chip, while publicly claiming to be protecting that data. It is therefore to no surprise that users of big tech companies try to disclose as little private information as possible. However, what if Microsoft, Zoom, Apple and co. nevertheless use our data without us knowing?

According to a study of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, whenever you use a video teleconferencing app, the company hosting the service is collecting all audio data, even when muting your mic. To put it another way, students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison were able to create machine learning models that could accurately predict what a teleconference app user was doing while their microphone was muted. Consider what Google or Microsoft could accomplish with their enormous AI models. Big tech companies do not inform their users of this issue, however there is a way to mute your audio feed. If you have headphones with a physical mute button, you can use that to silence your headphones first, then utilize the app’s mute button as an additional layer of muting. If your headphones don’t have a physical mute button or you’re communicating using your laptop’s microphone, you can mute yourself via the app as well as through the computers’ system settings.

It is controversial of big tech companies to ask for our permission to utilize private data, however, to not inform users in large print that even when muted, they can listen to our conversations. What AI do with the data and to what extent it stays private is for now unknown. The only option is to double mute and unmute again whenever it is time to talk (:

Daley, J. (2022, April 11). You’re muted — or are you? Videoconferencing apps may listen even when mic is off. News WISC. https://news.wisc.edu/youre-muted-or-are-you-videoconferencing-apps-may-listen-even-when-mic-is-off/

Greene, T. (2022, April 14). Muting your mic reportedly doesn’t stop big tech from recording your audio. TNW | Neural. https://thenextweb.com/news/muting-your-mic-doesnt-stop-big-tech-recording-your-audio

Yang, Y., West, J., Thiruvathukal, G., Klingensmith, N., & Fawaz, K. (2022). Are You Really Muted?: A Privacy Analysis of Mute Buttons in Video Conferencing Apps. The 22nd Privacy Enhancing Technologies Symposium, 1–21. https://wiscprivacy.com/papers/vca_mute.pdf

Imagine losing your keychain or wallet… a horror scenario for most of us: paying for new keys, having to block all your credit/-debit cards, applying for a new driver’s license and identification card and much more. Endless amount of work that we try to avoid at all costs. The MNC Apple Inc. came up with the AirTag, a device you can attach to any of your valuable items that you don’t want to get lost. Even if you just misplace your favorite camera, when you turn on the AirTag, you will be able to locate it with your iPhone. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? However, it brings some downsides with it, which can be dramatic in the long term. Anyone can attach it anywhere they like, in other words, in the worst case you can be stalked. Victims realize that an AirTag has been put in their purse or car late as the software notifies the iPhone, which is close to the tag, only hours later. Due to warnings deriving from police departments and media reports, Apple announced new updates to minimize the risk of these incidents.

• First, Apple will introduce a notification that pops-up during the set-up stage which informs its customers that using the AirTag for any other purpose than tracking your own belongings, is illegal.
• Second, Apple stated that it has been actively engaging with law enforcement on any AirTag-related requests it gets, and that it is able to share account data in response to a law enforcement request.
• Furthermore, when iPhone users are near an unfamiliar AirTag, they will receive an alert on their phone and play a louder sound to find the device easier. In addition, the notification will come earlier and not hours later.
• Fourth, your phone will mention “AirTag detected“. Previously, it would state “Unknown accessory detected“ even if it was just AirPods, making iPhone owners worried whether it could be an AirTag or not.
• Lastly, when an unknown AirTag comes into range, iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13 users will be able to utilize the precision-finding function to view both the direction and distance of the unknown AirTag, just as they do with their own AirTag devices.

The idea of an AirTag is good, if, of course, its purpose is not being misused. However, given that many incidents of stalking have been officially reported, Apple has to provide these updates. Considering that the company has not announced when the updated will be available, the question whether an AirTag should currently be bought regarding its safety measures, remains open.  

References:

Booth, C. (2022, February 28). AirTags are as dangerous as the society that surrounds them. TNW | Plugged. https://thenextweb.com/news/apple-airtags-danger-analysis

Perez, S. (2022, February 10). Apple to address AirTag stalking problem with upcoming features. TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2022/02/10/apple-to-address-airtag-stalking-problem-with-upcoming-features/

Tiktok, originally known as Musical.ly, has been entertaining children and young teens since 2014. With over 1.2 billion monthly active users, it is one of the biggest online platforms, offering videos ranging from lip-syncing videos, to storytime clips. However, not only did Tiktok catch the interest of the youth, but also from teachers and professors, and therefore, a rising number of educational videos are being posted on a daily basis.

A recent “Space“s article from September 1, 2021 states that “teachers are transforming the ever-popular mobile video platform, TikTok, from a nuisance to the ultimate learning tool“. With Covid-19, teachers had to come up with ideas on how to continue online schooling while keeping it interesting. As the App is known for its entertaining purpose, teachers use it in multiple ways. For instance, they upload summary videos on the topics discussed during class, with the aim of being able to refer back to it in case a student was not able to attend. In addition to that, they have the opportunity to ask questions in the comment section. Secondly, teachers can use Tiktok as an assignment tool. They can ask questions, which the students can only answer if they duet it.

Now, it might sound all fun and students might be more inclined to participate in assignments given that they associate Tiktok with being “cool“ and “funny“, however, the question rises whether there are any downsides to using this social media app for educational purposes. According to the Technical University of Denmark, the continual barrage of information has the potential to shorten our collective attention span. Given that Tiktok offers an endless number of videos, lasting up to 3 minutes, and its users can switch from one video to the next whenever wanted, the attention and interest shortens. In other words, the research scientist Philipp Lorenz-Spreen expressed that Tiktok users have a constant desire for new videos, which makes them change between video-clips more rapidly. In accordance with a questionnaire from the article “Has TikTok Made Our Attention Spans Shorter?“ and “Is TikTok shrinking students’ attention spans?“ many interviewees pointed out that their attention span changed in multiple ways. For example, respondents prefer not to watch long videos (10-15 minutes) anymore, because they lose focus already after a few minutes. Furthermore, Steve Kelman from The Business of Federal Technology states that this decrease in concentration commitment results in weaker performance at school, difficulties in carrying out tasks, forgetting information and much more.

My final thoughts regarding this issue are that I do believe that Tiktok is a good tool to keep a student interested, especially in times of Covid where education takes (mostly) place online. It is a fun platform especially for young people, however, given that according to interviewees, Tiktok does contribute to a decreased potential to focus. And even though it is not scientifically proven, I believe that there should be limits to the usage. Teachers and professors might use it from time to time but not continuously, because from personal experiences I agree that it decreases my attention and even contributes to the Tiktok “addiction“.

References:

Gudenau, S. (2021, November 17). Is TikTok shrinking students’ attention spans? The Oakland Post. https://oaklandpostonline.com/38875/features/is-tiktok-shrinking-students-attention-spans/

Iqbal, M. (2022, February 24). TikTok Revenue and Usage Statistics (2022). Business of Apps. https://www.businessofapps.com/data/tik-tok-statistics/

Jaeger, G. (2021, September 1). From Nuisance to Learning Platform – How Teachers are Transforming TikTok into an Edtech Tool. Spaces. https://spacesedu.com/en/tiktok-as-a-teaching-tool/

Schwab, K. (2021, April 12). TikTok is a thriving learning community—and may be the future of education. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/90624117/tiktok-future-of-education-learning

Wikipedia contributors. (2022, March 19). TikTok. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TikTok