Notes from the Electronic Cottage 5/28/15

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Many of us have become accustomed to being on surveillance cameras pretty much everyday in grocery stores, at gas stations, in banks, and in a lot of other places where we might not even notice them. Ever wonder what becomes of the images those cameras capture, and according to what rules those images can be used, and by whom? The answers may be a bit surprising.

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 5/21/15

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Seen the movie Ex Machina? It raises, in a gentle way, big questions about the relationship of humans to the artificial intelligences we are trying to create. People such as Stephen Hawking, Bill Gates, and Elon Musk are warning that we are not thinking deeply enough about creating artificial intelligence agents and that our AI creations could, someday down the road, mean the end of the human race. Might be worth considering that possibility now while there is still time.

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 5/7/15

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

The great promise of possibilities offered by the web are increasingly constrained by governments, including our own. Congress is now considering several bills which have the potential to affect our use of the web – and beyond – in terms of privacy and civil liberties. Here’s where the Protecting Cyber Networks Act and renewal of Section 215 of the Patriot Act stand at the moment.

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 4/30/15

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

Section 215 of the Patriot Act will expire on June 1 unless it is renewed. In the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations about the historically unparalleled level of surveillance of Americans that this part of the Patriot Act has authorized, a lot of people don’t think it should be renewed, at least in its present form. Perhaps that is why Mitch McConnell quietly submitted, with no public announcement, a reauthorization bill that would extend the act as it is for five more years, and then invoked Senate rule 14 to bypass public committee hearings on the bill. Those who have an opinion on S.1035 might want to let their elected representatives know – and pronto!

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Notes from the Electronic Cottage 4/23/15

Producer/Host: Jim Campbell

As important technologies go, personal computers and the Web are pretty recent. While we can’t see or hear, for example, Alexander Graham Bell making the first phone call, we can see and hear Douglas Engelbart giving, back in 1968, what has become known as “The Mother of All Demos” during which he demonstrated the use of new technologies like interacting in real time with a computer using a mouse. We can watch it today at www.youtube.com/watch?t=312&v=yJDv-zdhzMY. Definitely worth a look.

Meanwhile, the personal computer revolution has brought us to a point at which we recognize not only the wonders of digital technology but dangers as well. Two recent books looking at those dangers are also definitely worth look: “Data and Goliath” by Bruce Schneier, and “Future Crimes” by Marc Goodman.

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