I Invented Autocorrect. Sorry About That; You’re Welcome | WIRED – More than 10 years after the initial release of the iPhone, the state of the art now is much as it was then. Even with recent advances in AI and machine learning, the core problem remains the same: Software doesn’t understand the nuance of human communication. – autocorrect seems to have been poisoned by the data set used in its machine learning. T9 of yesteryear provides a better autocorrect experience. There is no easy fix for smartphone autocorrect woes any time soon
Johann Rupert: the man on a mission to save Europe’s artisanal skills | How To Spend It – Concurrent with his observations about the speed at which new fortunes are made are his fears about the extinction of the middle class. “I don’t know where AI and machines are going to end up. But if we as humanity are going to preserve jobs and culture, we need to be smart.” He recognises that his success is “based upon people with culture and skills. And when their livelihoods are affected by machines, we’ve got to fight back.”
Statement of Principles on Access to Evidence and Encryption | Australian Government – Department of Home Affairs – no privacy, no secure crypto basically – UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and US are making a new push to come after cryptography in consumers hands. Interesting how little coverage that this has received until The Register pushed it
The US-China Cold War is now playing out in Pakistan — Quartz India – Pakistan hopes that China and Saudi Arabia might offer the financial relief that would provide an alternative to the IMF and American pressure. Although this is not the kind of role that China wants, an IMF bailout would lead to a disclosure of the highly secretive terms of CPEC deals, leading to renegotiation or even cancellation and undermining Beijing’s geo-economic goals.
Experts Call for Transparency Around Google’s Chinese-Made Security Keys – Motherboard – I was waiting for this shoe to drop. I would make more sense to do the assembly outside China with a Taiwanese supplier. This the approach that BlackBerry used to do with its devices prior to licensing its name to TCL. Apple has to do a lot of proprietary work and inspections to keep its devices secure and there is no sign that Google has done this
Baidu launches EZDL, an AI model training platform that requires no coding experience | VentureBeat – interesting visual programming approach
Chinese bike-share group Ofo sued for alleged $10m in unpaid bills | Financial Times – Shanghai Phoenix Bicycles, an old and venerable bicycle brand in China, has petitioned a Beijing court over an unpaid supplier contract worth Rmb68m ($9.9m) with a unit of Beijing-based Ofo, according to an exchange filing by Phoenix’s parent company late on Friday.
Ofo previously faced the threat of having 3m of its bicycles immobilised due to a dispute over alleged unpaid debts to a smart-lock producer, which had threatened to “freeze” the locks if it did not receive payment. Ofo said later the dispute had been resolved.
Peak Valley? – AVC – Fred Wilson makes the defence case for Silicon Valley….
Watch the ‘Real’ Magic Leap Whale Take Flight in ‘Helio’ Web Experiment – Road to VR – hype versus reality
With New London Store, Stüssy Flexes Its ‘Tribe’ | News & Analysis, News Bites | BoF – Stüssy’s brand identity is built on a “tribal ethos” that extends from its inner circle to its customers. Their stores function as community hubs where young (and not so young) shoppers gather. This fosters a strong, consistent, and authentic connection with clients. Essentially, wearing a Stüssy item allows customers to feel like they’re participating in something bigger and understand the brand’s unique appeal.. – more related content here.
