Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Monday, 15 January 2018

PRIVACY : A Lost Battle

Fighting  a  losing  Battle  ?



Following news appeared in DNA ( 15 Jan ) :




“ Govt asks staff of intel agencies, defence units to ditch Ola , Uber “



To stave off any kind of sabotage from forces inimical to the country, the government has asked the officials of intelligence agencies and defence establishments not to use share or pool facilities of online cab aggregators such as OLA and Uber.

The precautionary measure has been taken to keep the identity of officials and their destination secret so that the information that may be revealed to co-passengers or driver cannot be used to target them or specific locations or dignitaries.

According to sources, the instruction has been issued for officials staying or working at or inside sensitive locations and defence establishments across the country.

In Delhi, specific instructions have been issued against hiring share or pool taxis to reach sensitive locations such as north and south bloc, Rashtrapati Bhawan, key places in Lutyens’ zone and Delhi Cantonment. They have also been directed to avoid commuting by online or mobile app-based cab aggregators.



WHAT  NEXT  ?



Next expect the government to ask its officers not to use in their homes , internet enabled devices ( including Smart phones ) , embedded with AI software such as :


#   Cortana     (  Microsoft  )

#   Bixie         ( Samsung   )

#   Assistant   (  Google   )

#   Siri           (  Apple  )

#   Alexa        (  Amazon  )


=================================


WHY  ?


These devices learn a lot about ,


·         WHO you are ,

·         WHERE you live / work ,

·         WHAT you like / wear ,

·         HOW you dress ,

·         WHERE you take your family for holidays / eat out ,

·         WHO is your boss / are your friends,

·         WHERE you buy and WHAT ,

·         WHERE you studied and WHAT did you study ,

·         WHICH is your bank / WHAT is your bank account ,

·         WHAT is your current salary ,

·         HOW much tax you paid last year ,

·         WHAT properties you own and WHERE ( and , at WHAT price purchased / WHEN )


================================



HOW  ?

·         Through the day , you “ order “ these devices to “ carry out “ your commands or ask them all kinds of questions ( replacement for Google searches )


These devices are transmitting all of these voice-interactions to CLOUD servers of those companies, to find right / wrong answers or just regret and suggest that you subscribe to their , some or other “ paid service “ !



When 100 million device-owners ask 20 questions ( or commands ) daily , the CLOUD compiles 2,000 millionquestions / commands “ , processes these data using AI / Machine Learning , and “ learns “ a lot about you !



Their premise is simple :


The more info you “ reveal “ about yourself , the better the service that you get !



And , before long , you may not even need to “ ASK “ anything by speaking out



These devices will just “ READ “ your unspoken thoughts !


============================



I am tempted to believe that such a scenario is entirely possible !


Those who have any doubt might want to look up ( on BBC web site ) , last  week’s episode of CLICK , where a software geek gave a demo of a computer , embedded with an improvised  ALEXA ( with speech capability )


A person from the audience was invited on the stage / given a stack of playing cards / asked to pick one at RANDOM ( without showing it to either the anchor or the audience ) and requested to just THINK about that card ( - not think aloud ! )


That person did NOT wear any headset , nor was he,  in any way connected to ALEXA by wires or wirelessly – which was some 15 feet away from him  !


Then he asked ALEXA to tell everybody , what card he was “ thinking about “



ALEXA accurately determined and announced a playing card held by that person !

=================================

And , if this was not enough, UIDAI just announced that , starting July , it will introduce one more bio-metric feature of " face recognition "



Obviously , UIDAI has not read about the capability of AI to figure out from your face ( photo ) :


 Whether you are gay or straight

 What are your political views

*   Whether you have a high IQ

*   Whether you are predisposed to criminal behavior

*   Whether you have specific personality traits

Those who have doubts , may want to look up :

Face-reading AI will be able to detect your politics and IQ, professor says

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/12/artificial-intelligence-face-recognition-michal-kosinski


And this will happen whether UIDAI introduces " Face Recognition " or not , since everyone with a smart phone takes a selfie (-including all those " Aadhar Opponents " and the Supreme Court Judges ? )

   ==============================




Tomorrow, when Supreme Court starts final hearing about Aadhar Vs Privacy , will some lawyer “ educate “ the Hon Judges with what to expect next  ?


15  Jan  2018




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