TechLetter #4 - bio-security, privacy-preserving ads systems, and book reading
Welcome to the 4th letter!
Security
Bio-cybersecurity. Interesting paper pointing out the risks of cyberattacks on biotech laboratories that may even lead to the creation of dangerous (i.e. toxic) bio-materials , with even more scenarios of misuses possible. For the moment such a risk is low. I note that the International Committee of Red Cross' report on the humanitarian consequences of cyberoperations (overview here) also considered risks of cyberattacks on biotech labs with sensitive materials like viruses.
Privacy
Advertisements with privacy and no user tracking? My analysis providing a historical perspective on privacy-preserving web advertising. Can it be done? It seems so. Many smart people thought so. Will it be done in practice? This we will see, because there are money at stake, and lots of curious/weird proposals put forward.
Tech policy
The power of technology. “Although there is an emerging consensus about the threat that the Big Tech companies pose to democracy, there is little agreement about how to respond”, Fukuyama’s and others article in Foreign Affairs. Worth noting that such concerns ring a bell at many policymakers’ offices. Expect some proposals (soon)…
Regulating political microtargeting and disinformation. European Union has a plan. My analysis here. The first challenge will be defining what is “political content” exactly. Then inspect appropriate channels of message delivery. I’d say this should look at programmatic advertising like Real-Time Bidding, which was always more relevant in practical uses. At least compared to the in practice niche - but, also in practice louder and “more famous” - social media bots.
Tech “censorship”? Not only Twitter and the U.S. president. Recently a Chinese platform WeChat censored (removed) a post by the Australian prime minister, which turned into a bigger affair. More seriously though, as the limits here are increasingly crossed, one may only wonder how the ‘international’ platforms treat the use of their channels to further foreign or domestic relations.
Other
Who is your expert? “Citizens today have access to a wide range of opinions and advice via traditional media as well as via social media, podcasts and websites. In this cacophony, citizens may risk becoming systematically misinformed. Being presented with so much uncurated content, they may be attracted to ‘charlatans’, i.e. low quality sources of information that are pandering to the audience’s preconceptions”. Interesting paper.
Quantum supremacy with the BosonSampling algorithm was achieved (more accessibly here) by the Chinese group. This means their quantum computing device (computer) performed computations outside the reach of today’s non-quantum (“classical”) computers. Impressive, even though the demonstrated solution to this problemem is of no practical significance.
Blockchain evolution. Ethereum blockchain transitions to the proof-of-stake system. This was the plan for Facebook's Libra coin all along. But this time you'll probably not see Finance Ministers pissed about this in TV interviews because Facebook (or other big players) is not involved.
Cryptocurrency, again. After a lot of controversies Facebook’s cryptocurrency Libra apparently rebranded to Diem. That will help with what, exactly?
The strategic advantage of… book reading? Is the reading of books a necessary ingredient for strategic analysis? They even cite Kissinger to enrich the claim/analysis...
That’s it this time, thanks!
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