“Echo woke up due to a word in background conversation sounding like ‘Alexa’. Then, the subsequent conversation was heard as a ‘send message’ request. At which point, Alexa said out loud ‘To whom?’ At which point, the background conversation was interpreted as a name in the customer’s contact list. Alexa then asked out loud, ‘[contact name], right?’ Alexa then interpreted background conversation as ‘right’.”
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/may/24/amazon-alexa-recorded-conversation
― lana del boy (ledge), Friday, 25 May 2018 08:05 (five years ago) link
couldn't afford a car so she woke up due to a word in background conversation sounding like 'alexa'
― difficult listening hour, Friday, 25 May 2018 08:21 (five years ago) link
Karl Malone not otm imo re. grandma / grandkid interaction these days. my kids play jackbox over twitch with my mom. People in their 70s can be pretty tech-savvy.and tbh my kids call grandparents out of their own volition more than weekly, in addition to our weekly calls. My daughter came out to my mother before she did to me!
― droit au butt (Euler), Friday, 25 May 2018 09:27 (five years ago) link
and this isn’t unusual in my experience but I know ilx is not home for happy families so I’ll stop posting
― droit au butt (Euler), Friday, 25 May 2018 09:28 (five years ago) link
my coworkers at the end of the aisle got the alexa business starter pack and are wiring up some alerts and notifications from internal application statistics because someone higher up thought it sounded interesting
tbh having a few more flashing lights that are responsive when app infrastucture is crashing isn't a horrible idea
― (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ (mh), Friday, 25 May 2018 13:33 (five years ago) link
xpost
no, you're totally right, euler. the % of ilx posts that i regret immediately upon posting has slightly dropped over the years, but it's still up there. i was just projecting my weird family bullshit (which isn't even necessarily true in my own family! my niece and nephew love texting with my mom, for example). and even if it were true, it's not like the amazon spot is the first consumer device capable of reminding people of the difficulty they have communicating with their own family. sometimes i just post too much :o
― obviously DLC (Karl Malone), Friday, 25 May 2018 15:17 (five years ago) link
I use all kinds of digital communication things with my parents, who are definitely old enough to be grandparents now
my friends use facetime with their parents so they can video chat with their two year old all the time
― (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻ (mh), Friday, 25 May 2018 15:26 (five years ago) link
my association with these kinds of home listening devices to amazon is apparently already outdated
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/05/report-google-home-overtook-amazon-echo-in-total-shipments-last-quarter/
― obviously DLC (Karl Malone), Friday, 25 May 2018 16:43 (five years ago) link
Amazon echo returned after it announced unprompted in silent middle of the night "here are some Santana songs" & cranked Black Magic Woman.— Philip Gourevitch (@PGourevitch) May 23, 2017
― ciderpress, Friday, 25 May 2018 20:32 (five years ago) link
i do that sometimes
― brimstead, Friday, 25 May 2018 21:11 (five years ago) link
"Amazon echo returned after it announced unprompted in silent middle of the night "here are some Santana songs" & cranked Black Magic Woman."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tfI9tTzlI0
― Arch Bacon (rushomancy), Saturday, 26 May 2018 00:32 (five years ago) link
personally i'm down with santana abraxas but if my amazon echo isn't hip enough to know "black magic woman" is a fleetwood mac song it has no place in my home
― Arch Bacon (rushomancy), Saturday, 26 May 2018 00:33 (five years ago) link
A Washington-based advocacy group that claims to be a voice for tech startups is actually a sock puppet for Google, according to a new report that itself is funded by a rival. https://t.co/25QAYcFtom by @ddayen— Jon Schwarz (@schwarz) May 31, 2018
― the ignatius rock of ignorance (Dr Morbius), Thursday, 31 May 2018 19:49 (five years ago) link
frequent Trump-suer, the Attorney-General of Washington, is suing Google and Facebook on a small scale for destroying Western democracy on a major scale
― we used to get our kicks reading surfing MAGAzines (sic), Monday, 4 June 2018 22:19 (five years ago) link
I feel like we need an opposite thread to this so we can congratulate Microsoft on saving open source
― El Tomboto, Monday, 4 June 2018 22:21 (five years ago) link
Is that what they’ve done
― valorous wokelord (silby), Monday, 4 June 2018 22:32 (five years ago) link
I can’t tell but what a clusterfuck
― El Tomboto, Monday, 4 June 2018 22:45 (five years ago) link
Fucking cognitive dissonance playing hell with me right now.
― Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 7 June 2018 02:57 (five years ago) link
Due to Facebook and Google not complying with WA electoral law on political ad disclosure, the state passed a rule clarifying that this applies to digital ads.
It "takes effect" today (the law has been in effect since 1972). As of today, Google will no longer take ads aimed at influencing ballot measures or elections....... in Washington State only.
― we used to get our kicks reading surfing MAGAzines (sic), Thursday, 7 June 2018 17:28 (five years ago) link
yay democracy is saved
― and TOWERS MONACO as 'seaman' (bizarro gazzara), Thursday, 7 June 2018 17:31 (five years ago) link
Fuck Google, still the worst ever
― Joe Gargan (dandydonweiner), Wednesday, 15 August 2018 02:10 (five years ago) link
Google still the worst ever, even Trump thinks so
― Joe Gargan (dandydonweiner), Thursday, 30 August 2018 19:31 (five years ago) link
― we used to get our kicks reading surfing MAGAzines (sic), Friday, June 8, 2018 3:28 AM (three months ago)
― and TOWERS MONACO as 'seaman' (bizarro gazzara), Friday, June 8, 2018 3:31 AM (three months ago)
...records from the state Public Disclosure Commission and local candidates show that despite the company's self-imposed ad ban, Google has in fact sold more than $6,000 in political ads aimed at Washington's elections since it announced the ban on June 7.The majority of those ads were purchased by Republican State Senator Joe Fain of south King County, who has reported spending $5,000 on Google ads since July. ...Republican State Representative Vicki Kraft['s] campaign finance disclosures say she bought a total of $933.74 worth of Google ads since July....Unlike Google, Facebook made clear it would continue selling Washington state political ads despite the lawsuit and the newly clarified state regulations.Public Disclosure Commission records indicate that so far this year, Washington state campaigns have spent more than $90,000 on Facebook ads.
The majority of those ads were purchased by Republican State Senator Joe Fain of south King County, who has reported spending $5,000 on Google ads since July.
...Republican State Representative Vicki Kraft['s] campaign finance disclosures say she bought a total of $933.74 worth of Google ads since July.
...Unlike Google, Facebook made clear it would continue selling Washington state political ads despite the lawsuit and the newly clarified state regulations.
Public Disclosure Commission records indicate that so far this year, Washington state campaigns have spent more than $90,000 on Facebook ads.
― Gibing The Amethyst (sic), Thursday, 20 September 2018 21:20 (five years ago) link
And today both Google and Facebook are going to the state capital to lobby for their ability to undermine democracy to be legalised.
― Betting Eighty Hams (sic), Wednesday, 26 September 2018 18:17 (five years ago) link
want to read an epic thread about how bad it apparently was to work on google+?
Now that Google+ has been shuttered, I should air my dirty laundry on how awful the project and exec team was.I'm still pissed about the bait and switch they pulled by telling me I'd be working on Chrome, then putting me on this god forsaken piece of shit on day one.— Morgan (@morganknutson) October 9, 2018
it seems to have picked up traction on twitter and it's really juicy and all that shit. however, i guess i'm the lone dissenter who thinks "fuck google, but also fuck THIS GUY"
― 1-800-CALL-ATT (Karl Malone), Monday, 15 October 2018 05:20 (five years ago) link
it's depressing as living fuck to read through. poor guy who had to get paid only $115K per year + $100K in stock, and there were dumb people that he had to work with, and people that didn't appreciate him
fuck off morgan
― 1-800-CALL-ATT (Karl Malone), Monday, 15 October 2018 05:21 (five years ago) link
i'm sick of reading 100-post essays on twitter. get a website.
― adam the (abanana), Monday, 15 October 2018 07:52 (five years ago) link
you are not the lone "also fuck this guy," there are at least two of us
― louise ck (milo z), Monday, 15 October 2018 08:32 (five years ago) link
You didn't stop working while your grandmother was dying, not because you'd get fired because of it but because your Google project was so important to you? My sympathy is minimal.
― louise ck (milo z), Monday, 15 October 2018 08:34 (five years ago) link
Lol that guy is an incredibly pompous spoiled brat who sucks
― El Tomboto, Monday, 15 October 2018 10:55 (five years ago) link
I can hardly imagine the level of self-regard & precious entitlement required to begin writing that thread. NOBODY CARES WHERE YOU CAME FROM
― El Tomboto, Monday, 15 October 2018 10:56 (five years ago) link
Fuck that guy. I hope everything he touches is destroyed and forgotten.
― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 15 October 2018 18:45 (five years ago) link
posts # ONE HUNDRED FORTY-EIGHT and ONE HUNDRED FORTY-NINE on that thread:
On my way out, Greg tried to chit-chat and shake my hand. It took everything in me not to tell him to go fuck himself. I walked past his extended hand, and said “Nah, man.”— Morgan (@morganknutson) October 15, 2018
He said, “Pfftt, really!?” I turned around and looked him the eye as I backed out of the door. “Yeah, really.”The end -— Morgan (@morganknutson) October 15, 2018
meanwhile, a bystander who witnessed this interaction cough-whispered "FUCK BOTH OF YOUUUUUUU"
― 1-800-CALL-ATT (Karl Malone), Monday, 15 October 2018 19:04 (five years ago) link
it's strange that he thinks that thread makes google look bad and him look good
there isn't even much about google+ being a misguided product in it, it's mostly just complaining about your boss publicly
― iatee, Monday, 15 October 2018 19:21 (five years ago) link
it's the replies that get me. almost universally they praise him for being a wonderful storyteller
― 1-800-CALL-ATT (Karl Malone), Monday, 15 October 2018 19:28 (five years ago) link
i haven't been to california since i was 16 but i am going to try to stay at least 1000 miles away from san francisco for the rest of my life
― 1-800-CALL-ATT (Karl Malone), Monday, 15 October 2018 19:29 (five years ago) link
that thread reads exactly like something I’d expect a guy with this avi to write tbhhttps://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1035062189353185282/GFHibt_J_400x400.jpg
― himalayan mountain hole (bizarro gazzara), Monday, 15 October 2018 19:31 (five years ago) link
Greg: https://i.imgur.com/gqmHkMj.jpgMorgan: “Nah, man"https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1035062189353185282/GFHibt_J_400x400.jpgGreg: “Pfftt, really!?”https://i.imgur.com/gqmHkMj.jpgMorgan: “Yeah, really."https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1035062189353185282/GFHibt_J_400x400.jpg
The end -
― 1-800-CALL-ATT (Karl Malone), Monday, 15 October 2018 19:34 (five years ago) link
Facebook's argument to Washington is that they should be allowed to continue to influence elections without disclosing anything at all about their actions and the money they take for them, because this regulation gives them immunity from any state law anywhere ever.
― My Gig: The Thin Beast (sic), Tuesday, 16 October 2018 19:00 (five years ago) link
That argument only serves their interests as long as elected officials feel like Section 230 works in their favor. What a stupid fucking mess.
― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 16 October 2018 19:16 (five years ago) link
Trends in my FB circle is that people are posting (24hour?) goodbye posts before permanently deleting their account (3 friends in the past 36 hours).
At least with Friendster and MySpace the buzz just faded away, this is more of a toxic amputation. This combined with an nearly 90 day swoon seems pretty real to me. I spent last weekend with my senior-aged folks and even they aren't as attached to the site as much as they were in the past few years.
― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Tuesday, 16 October 2018 20:55 (five years ago) link
ban facebook
― 1-800-CALL-ATT (Karl Malone), Tuesday, 16 October 2018 20:56 (five years ago) link
I had a friend who quit facebook for good about 6 years ago and never looked back
we actually write handwritten letters back and forth now, lol
― frogbs, Tuesday, 16 October 2018 20:57 (five years ago) link
Usu use pigeon post now tbh
― F# A# (∞), Tuesday, 16 October 2018 20:58 (five years ago) link
REDMOND, Wash. — Microsoft said Friday that it would sell the military and intelligence agencies whatever advanced technologies they needed “to build a strong defense,” just months after Google told the Pentagon it would refuse to provide artificial intelligence products that could build more accurate drones or compete with China for next-generation weapons.The announcement, made quietly in a small, town-hall-style meeting with the software giant’s leadership on Thursday, then planned to be published on a blog Friday afternoon, underscores the radically different paths these leading American technology firms are taking as they struggle with their role in creating a new generation of cyberweapons to help, and perhaps someday replace, American warriors.But the divergent paths taken by Google and Microsoft also underscore concerns inside the American defense and intelligence establishments about how the United States will take on a rising China.The Chinese government has, in just the past two years, set goals for dominance in the next decade in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other technologies that it believes will allow its military and intelligence agencies to surpass those of the United States. Pentagon officials have questioned how committed domestic technology companies are to keeping the United States on the leading edge, the way Raytheon, Boeing, IBM and McDonnell Douglas did in the Cold War.Google encountered fierce opposition from young engineers to the company’s participation in “Project Maven,” a program to improve how drones recognize and select their targets. Google declared a few weeks ago it would not bid on a multibillion dollar contract to provide the Pentagon with “cloud services” to store and process vast amounts of data. Amazon, for its part, appears willing to supply its services to the military and intelligence agencies, and it runs the information cloud services that power the Central Intelligence Agency.
The announcement, made quietly in a small, town-hall-style meeting with the software giant’s leadership on Thursday, then planned to be published on a blog Friday afternoon, underscores the radically different paths these leading American technology firms are taking as they struggle with their role in creating a new generation of cyberweapons to help, and perhaps someday replace, American warriors.
But the divergent paths taken by Google and Microsoft also underscore concerns inside the American defense and intelligence establishments about how the United States will take on a rising China.
The Chinese government has, in just the past two years, set goals for dominance in the next decade in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and other technologies that it believes will allow its military and intelligence agencies to surpass those of the United States. Pentagon officials have questioned how committed domestic technology companies are to keeping the United States on the leading edge, the way Raytheon, Boeing, IBM and McDonnell Douglas did in the Cold War.
Google encountered fierce opposition from young engineers to the company’s participation in “Project Maven,” a program to improve how drones recognize and select their targets. Google declared a few weeks ago it would not bid on a multibillion dollar contract to provide the Pentagon with “cloud services” to store and process vast amounts of data. Amazon, for its part, appears willing to supply its services to the military and intelligence agencies, and it runs the information cloud services that power the Central Intelligence Agency.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/us/politics/ai-microsoft-pentagon.html
― Karl Malone, Friday, 26 October 2018 19:50 (five years ago) link
https://www.thecut.com/2018/11/google-walkout-organizers-explain-demands.html
― rob, Thursday, 1 November 2018 15:09 (five years ago) link
Whenever there's a big Google story in the news, I always think of this, the funniest thing ever written about Google, from the New Yorker profile of the writers of "Silicon Valley" https://t.co/RAfCJITMOg pic.twitter.com/y48bNI1NeK— Tom Gara (@tomgara) October 25, 2018
― Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 1 November 2018 18:02 (five years ago) link
I've been thinking about it, and here's my ranking of tech companies by how evil they are:1. Amazon2. Google3. Facebook3. Uber (tied)— Adrian Chen (@AdrianChen) November 13, 2018
― mookieproof, Tuesday, 13 November 2018 19:02 (five years ago) link
BTW, after watching this my vote for most evil is FB.https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/facebook-dilemma/
― Elvis Telecom, Thursday, 15 November 2018 20:02 (five years ago) link
https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-asked-police-in-spain-to-intervene-warehouse-strike-2018-11
Amazon asked police in Spain to intervene in a mass strike at a warehouse on the outskirts of Madrid, according to local reports.Amazon wanted a police presence at the warehouse to ensure that productivity remained high within the fulfilment center, while workers staged their protest outside, according to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial.A source at Spanish union CCOO, which helped coordinate the strikes, told Business Insider that Amazon "wanted to send the police inside the warehouse to push people to work."Amazon strongly denied the claims and called it "the worst kind of misinformation."
Amazon wanted a police presence at the warehouse to ensure that productivity remained high within the fulfilment center, while workers staged their protest outside, according to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial.
A source at Spanish union CCOO, which helped coordinate the strikes, told Business Insider that Amazon "wanted to send the police inside the warehouse to push people to work."
Amazon strongly denied the claims and called it "the worst kind of misinformation."
― j., Saturday, 24 November 2018 01:49 (five years ago) link