WEBVTT - Tech News: Tricking AI With Sticky Notes 0:00:04.400 --> 0:00:07.800 Welcome to tech Stuff, a production from I Heart Radio. 0:00:12.080 --> 0:00:15.000 Hey there, and welcome to tech Stuff. I'm your host, 0:00:15.160 --> 0:00:18.160 Jonathan Strickland. I'm an executive producer with I Heart Radio 0:00:18.200 --> 0:00:21.799 and love all things tech. And now it's time for 0:00:21.920 --> 0:00:26.520 the tech news for Tuesday, March nine, twenty twenty one. 0:00:27.000 --> 0:00:30.480 Let's get to it. The New York Times reports that 0:00:30.640 --> 0:00:34.840 White House Press Secretary Jen Saki indicates the United States 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:39.960 will carry out a mix of actions against Russia due 0:00:40.040 --> 0:00:43.640 to the solar winds hack, which continues to be a 0:00:43.720 --> 0:00:47.800 massive security problem for multiple companies and government agencies in 0:00:47.840 --> 0:00:51.559 the United States and beyond. Those actions will be quote 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:56.280 seen and unseen end quote. So I'm guessing some of 0:00:56.280 --> 0:00:58.200 them are going to be, you know, pretty obvious, such 0:00:58.240 --> 0:01:02.680 as sanctions against RuSHA, and others will be on the 0:01:02.720 --> 0:01:07.760 super duper sneaky side, like similar cyber warfare tactics. We 0:01:07.800 --> 0:01:13.440 should remember that infiltration, espionage, and exploitation of computer systems, 0:01:13.760 --> 0:01:17.080 it's something that's pretty much always going on between different 0:01:17.280 --> 0:01:21.520 nation states with different levels of success. The solar winds 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:25.119 hack was pretty darned devastating, so I don't really think 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:28.959 of it as news news that such things are going 0:01:29.000 --> 0:01:32.800 to happen by the US against Russia, because, like I said, 0:01:33.400 --> 0:01:38.200 that stuff is always happening everywhere, everybody's doing it. It's 0:01:38.280 --> 0:01:41.800 one of the reasons why cyber warfare is terrifying. For example, 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:45.119 one story I didn't get to last week, and some 0:01:45.200 --> 0:01:48.440 Twitter followers of mine asked me why I didn't it 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:51.920 was a good question, was that hackers were able to 0:01:52.040 --> 0:01:58.920 exploit some vulnerabilities in a very widely distributed Microsoft product. 0:01:59.240 --> 0:02:03.080 The vulnerableity was with Exchange Server. Now, this is a 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:06.360 product that's an electronic mail and calendar server, and it's 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:11.120 used by tens of thousands of companies and organizations around 0:02:11.160 --> 0:02:14.359 the world. Now, Microsoft first claimed that these attacks were 0:02:14.440 --> 0:02:17.840 quote limited and targeted end quote which is kind of 0:02:17.880 --> 0:02:20.760 similar to the attacks we saw with solar winds. Now. 0:02:20.760 --> 0:02:24.200 With solar winds, a ton of systems were hit, but 0:02:24.280 --> 0:02:28.000 the hackers only followed up on a very small percentage 0:02:28.440 --> 0:02:32.120 of those that were hit for subsequent attacks, because that 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:36.680 first attack was really just getting an end into an organization, 0:02:36.880 --> 0:02:39.160 and then it was the subsequent attacks that did the 0:02:39.200 --> 0:02:43.560 real harm. However, I'm seeing estimations ranging somewhere between twenty 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:47.800 thousand and thirty thousand compromised organizations in the United States alone, 0:02:48.280 --> 0:02:50.240 and then there are thousands more in other parts of 0:02:50.240 --> 0:02:53.160 the world. The working hypothesis right now is that the 0:02:53.200 --> 0:02:56.440 hackers were from a hacker group that's backed by China, 0:02:57.080 --> 0:03:01.760 and that they exploited several zero day vulnerabilities that Microsoft 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:05.519 began to patch starting back on March two. A zero 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:08.800 day vulnerability is one in which those responsible for the 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:11.600 software in question are unaware of the vulnerability, so it 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:14.800 represents a way for hackers to potentially take advantage of 0:03:14.800 --> 0:03:17.760 a flaw and exploit it, as was the case with 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:21.680 these particular four. The vulnerabilities in the Microsoft Exchange server 0:03:21.919 --> 0:03:24.480 gave hackers the chance to create a way to either 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:29.840 spread more malware or spy on infected systems, or potentially both. 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:34.160 Microsoft is urging network administrators to apply security fixes right 0:03:34.200 --> 0:03:37.280 away to mitigate the issue, but for systems that are 0:03:37.320 --> 0:03:41.600 already compromised, that's too late. It's like shutting the door, 0:03:41.640 --> 0:03:43.880 but all the windows are open. It doesn't really matter 0:03:43.920 --> 0:03:46.160 at that point. So for those systems, it's going to 0:03:46.200 --> 0:03:50.040 require a more thorough approach to identifying and removing malware. 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.680 In other news, the EU has granted its approval to 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:58.120 Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media that is the parent company 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:02.200 of Bethesda Softworks. Bethesda is the company behind the Elder 0:04:02.280 --> 0:04:06.640 Scrolls series, you know, the one that includes Skyrim, also 0:04:06.680 --> 0:04:09.440 the Fallout series. They're also the current owner of the 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:13.360 Doom franchise. The price tag for Zenni Max comes in 0:04:13.440 --> 0:04:17.040 at a cool seven point five billion dollars a parentsly 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:20.920 some the e use finding states that quote, the commission 0:04:20.960 --> 0:04:26.080 concluded that the proposed acquisition would raise no competition concerns 0:04:26.120 --> 0:04:30.400 given the combined entities, limited market position upstream, and the 0:04:30.400 --> 0:04:34.839 presence of strong downstream competitors in the distribution of video games. 0:04:34.920 --> 0:04:38.360 End quote. From all reports, Microsoft plans to have Bethesda 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:41.760 operate pretty much the way it has been operating, with 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:45.560 a largely handsoff approach, though with this acquisition, we should 0:04:45.560 --> 0:04:48.120 expect to see lots of titles that are in Bethesda's 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:51.800 vast library showing up on the Xbox Game Pass service. 0:04:52.400 --> 0:04:55.720 Based on recent announcements from Microsoft, it really looks like 0:04:56.040 --> 0:04:59.560 the cloud based game service is the key to their 0:04:59.560 --> 0:05:03.320 stratag G moving forward, at least for Xbox and Windows. 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:07.080 Gaming and company representatives say they have no intention of 0:05:07.520 --> 0:05:11.800 turning Bethesda into like an Xbox exclusive or Windows exclusive 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:15.520 games developer. It looks like Panasonic is moving toward an 0:05:15.520 --> 0:05:18.320 acquisition of its own, this one being the supply chain 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:22.640 software company blew Yonder. Panasonic had previously secured a twenty 0:05:22.680 --> 0:05:26.279 percent stake in the company in twenty and while as 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:29.920 of this recording, Panasonic has not acknowledged that it is 0:05:30.000 --> 0:05:33.120 actually moving forward with a full acquisition, that's what it 0:05:33.279 --> 0:05:36.120 looks like is happening. And I always think of Panasonic 0:05:36.279 --> 0:05:39.880 as a consumer electronics company. It's the company that you 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:42.240 know owns this huge booth that's always right in the 0:05:42.279 --> 0:05:44.680 middle of ce s with lots of TVs and stuff. 0:05:44.920 --> 0:05:47.360 But the truth of the matter is that Panasonic has 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:50.800 been diversifying quite a bit and moving further out from 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:54.400 the direct consumer market to become more of a components 0:05:54.520 --> 0:05:58.679 supplier for other companies, and as such, managing supply chains 0:05:58.720 --> 0:06:02.960 becomes much more complicated. It so in that regard, this 0:06:03.000 --> 0:06:05.919 acquisition makes a lot of sense, and it seems like 0:06:06.000 --> 0:06:08.520 Panasonic would be looking at about a six point five 0:06:08.600 --> 0:06:12.680 billion dollar price tag for blue Yonder. And now it's 0:06:12.760 --> 0:06:18.039 time for another COVID related tech topic, which yea, the 0:06:18.080 --> 0:06:21.760 Washington Post published an article stating that research organization I 0:06:21.920 --> 0:06:25.800 p VM tested numerous temperature checking systems, you know, the 0:06:25.839 --> 0:06:27.760 kinds of stuff that you would find in places like 0:06:27.839 --> 0:06:30.680 schools or airports or public venues, that kind of thing 0:06:30.920 --> 0:06:34.760 where they screen people by looking at their skin temperature 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:38.240 before letting them in. The organization says these devices aren't 0:06:38.240 --> 0:06:41.960 always reliable. In fact, reporter Drew Harrowell word did it 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:46.960 as quote, the tools are dangerously ineffective end quote. Making 0:06:47.000 --> 0:06:50.320 matters worse is that some administrators are using these devices 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:53.320 in ways that they weren't intended, such as to measure 0:06:53.360 --> 0:06:57.440 the body temperatures of multiple people at one time. All 0:06:57.480 --> 0:07:00.599 of this is super bad news, as lots of places 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:03.200 are using these sorts of devices as part of their 0:07:03.279 --> 0:07:07.840 reopening strategies. While COVID is still running rampant throughout the world. 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:11.280 Here in the United States, several states have eased up 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:15.160 on restrictions, and the use of tempt checking devices plays 0:07:15.200 --> 0:07:18.200 a part in the messaging that hey, y'all, it's all okay, 0:07:18.280 --> 0:07:21.000 there's a vaccine now, though most of you can't get 0:07:21.040 --> 0:07:24.920 it yet. And besides, we're totally checking temperatures to see 0:07:24.920 --> 0:07:27.800 if anyone's got a fever, so we're all over it now. 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:32.160 This report shows that the tech being used isn't always reliable, 0:07:32.240 --> 0:07:35.239 so it could miss people who actually do have a fever, 0:07:35.840 --> 0:07:38.160 or have false positives of people who don't have a 0:07:38.200 --> 0:07:40.760 fever showing up as if they do. It kind of 0:07:40.800 --> 0:07:44.880 creates the illusion of safety, which might make people feel 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:47.320 at ease, but it also opens up the very real 0:07:47.360 --> 0:07:50.800 possibility of actual COVID transmission. Think of it like this, 0:07:51.320 --> 0:07:53.960 You've tested negative for COVID. You've taken a test, it's 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:56.320 come at negative. You're good to go. But you need 0:07:56.360 --> 0:07:59.160 to go to a public space that does tempt checks 0:07:59.360 --> 0:08:02.480 and you pa us that check no problem because like 0:08:02.520 --> 0:08:05.080 I said, it came back negative. You're you're healthy. So 0:08:05.120 --> 0:08:08.520 once you are inside this public venue, you think, hey, 0:08:08.600 --> 0:08:11.600 everyone else here also had to pass that same test 0:08:11.640 --> 0:08:13.760 I did, Like they had to get screened before they 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:17.000 came in. So maybe you're not quite as careful as 0:08:17.000 --> 0:08:19.080 you normally would be. You feel like you're in a 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:22.320 safe space. Maybe you don't keep as much distance between 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:24.680 you and everyone else as you should. Maybe you don't 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:27.720 wash your hands as frequently. You can see how an 0:08:27.800 --> 0:08:31.000 unreliable piece of technology could feed into a perception that 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:34.280 you're safe, when in fact you might not be. Now, 0:08:34.320 --> 0:08:36.800 I don't say this to send anyone into a panic, 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:40.520 but rather to remind everyone we're not outll the woods yet. 0:08:40.640 --> 0:08:43.480 We still need to take personal responsibility for our own 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:47.120 health as well as show consideration for our fellow human beings. 0:08:47.480 --> 0:08:51.920 Stay home, if you can, wear masks, practice social distancing, 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:55.319 wash your hands. It's no time to throw caution to 0:08:55.400 --> 0:08:58.520 the wind, though That's what I see way too often 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:00.880 on the rare occasions where I do have to leave 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:05.800 my house. Ours Technica reported on SpaceX's plans for the 0:09:05.920 --> 0:09:09.920 spaceport that it's currently building out in Texas. The company 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:12.560 had to file its plans with the Texas government and 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:16.280 so they are publicly available on the Army Corps of 0:09:16.320 --> 0:09:20.120 Engineers site. It's also available for comments from the public. 0:09:20.640 --> 0:09:23.840 The full spaceport is going to have two landing pads, 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:26.800 one of those is already built, and it will also 0:09:26.840 --> 0:09:30.680 have two launch pads for suborbital missions, meaning they won't 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:35.160 go all the way out into space like not orbital 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:40.200 space anyway, and then two other launch pads for orbital missions. 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:45.440 So far, they the facility already has one suborbital launch pad, 0:09:45.840 --> 0:09:49.600 and it's building its first orbital launch pad. Ours Tannica 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.520 points out that the design of the complex is pretty 0:09:52.640 --> 0:09:57.040 darn compact. Stuff tends to be pretty close together, partly 0:09:57.080 --> 0:10:01.080 because SpaceX has to adhere to certain event restrictions. It 0:10:01.120 --> 0:10:04.000 doesn't own that many acres of land in this part 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:07.240 of Texas, and there are restrictions like you, they have 0:10:07.320 --> 0:10:10.640 to have stormwater ponds in order to help prevent flooding, 0:10:10.679 --> 0:10:12.480 for example, so some of that space has to be 0:10:12.720 --> 0:10:15.880 set aside for that. SpaceX has to get approval from 0:10:15.880 --> 0:10:18.360 the Army Corps of Engineers, also has to pass an 0:10:18.440 --> 0:10:22.160 environmental impact assessment from the f a A, and SpaceX 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:24.640 founder Elon Musk has also indicated that he would very 0:10:24.720 --> 0:10:28.720 much like to conquer I'm sorry, I mean incorporate the 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:33.320 nearby community of Boca Chica Village, which consists of several 0:10:33.360 --> 0:10:36.360 dozen homes, and he wants to boost that up to 0:10:36.480 --> 0:10:40.280 a small city that supports the spaceport. In fact, he 0:10:40.320 --> 0:10:44.120 wants to take that community and turn into a city 0:10:44.200 --> 0:10:48.440 called Star based Texas. Now, I can't decide if that 0:10:48.520 --> 0:10:52.480 sounds cool or corny. There have been reports that SpaceX 0:10:52.520 --> 0:10:54.640 has been a bit pushy with the residents of Boca 0:10:54.679 --> 0:10:57.960 Chica Village, attempting to convince some homeowners to pick up 0:10:57.960 --> 0:11:00.640 stakes and move, and that sounds, you know, not great. 0:11:01.840 --> 0:11:05.040 Tech Crunch reports that it has received confirmation from Apple 0:11:05.160 --> 0:11:09.400 the company is discontinuing it's iMac Pro line of computers. 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:12.800 The iMac Pro is an all in one computer with 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.240 the computer and display built into a single form factor. 0:11:15.559 --> 0:11:20.520 It was first produced back in December. The standard Imax 0:11:20.559 --> 0:11:24.240 seems to be sticking around, but apparently that standard iMac 0:11:24.280 --> 0:11:26.040 was kind of the go to model for people who 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:28.800 are kind of looking at that style of computer, whereas 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:31.880 those who were more interested in a computer that had 0:11:32.040 --> 0:11:36.040 more capability than the standard iMac. We're gravitating towards the 0:11:36.440 --> 0:11:39.560 Mac Pro. Now, if you still really want one, you 0:11:39.600 --> 0:11:42.559 can order one of the remaining models that are currently 0:11:42.559 --> 0:11:45.839 in Apple stock. It'll set you back a cool five 0:11:45.880 --> 0:11:49.400 thousand dollars. And a couple of other quick stories. The 0:11:49.400 --> 0:11:52.800 Guardian has a fun article titled Typographic Attack, Pen and 0:11:52.840 --> 0:11:56.319 paper fool AI into thinking Apple is an iPod now. 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:59.360 As the headline indicates, the article is about an image 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:03.440 recognition AI system called clip which should be able to 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:07.400 figure out basic stuff by examining pictures. However, if you 0:12:07.440 --> 0:12:11.800 were to handwright say the word iPod on a sticky note, 0:12:12.120 --> 0:12:14.400 and then you were to slap that sticky note on 0:12:14.559 --> 0:12:17.800 an apple, as in the fruit, and then you took 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:20.720 a photo of that and fed it to Clip, that 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:23.920 text could be enough to convince Clip that, sure enough, 0:12:24.040 --> 0:12:26.719 that piece of fruit is in fact an m P 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:30.520 three player from Apple Now. According to the Guardian, a 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:34.920 different test involved just typing up dollar signs on top 0:12:35.000 --> 0:12:38.079 of a picture of a dog, so like just putting 0:12:38.080 --> 0:12:40.559 a text box there and putting in dollar signs, then 0:12:40.640 --> 0:12:43.960 feeding that image to Clip, and it was enough for 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:49.040 Clip to misidentify it as a piggy bank. The organization 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:52.600 behind clip open AI acknowledges that this type of typographic 0:12:52.640 --> 0:12:56.240 attack can be effective. The model is able to decipher 0:12:56.320 --> 0:12:59.520 text and interpret it, and that is powerful enough to 0:12:59.559 --> 0:13:02.800 push the model towards misidentifying whatever the thing is it's 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.679 looking at. In some ways, you can think of Clip 0:13:05.720 --> 0:13:09.360 as being a sweet summer child, a naive innocent that 0:13:09.440 --> 0:13:12.000 will believe whatever you tell it. If you post a 0:13:12.080 --> 0:13:17.160 video of an ostrich with the sign Santa clause underneath it. Well, hey, 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:19.640 there's a chance that will think that that Ostrich is 0:13:19.920 --> 0:13:23.960 in fact Santa Claus. And honestly, who's to say that 0:13:24.040 --> 0:13:26.760 it's not. I mean, we've all been a bit hasty 0:13:26.800 --> 0:13:30.200 to judge, right. As for clip, while this report is 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:34.760 pretty amusing, it does indicate there's some pretty big opportunities 0:13:34.800 --> 0:13:39.920 for mischief, including stuff that goes well beyond mischief using 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:43.120 this vulnerability. I suspect that a large part of open 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:46.520 aiyes work will be refining this AI model so that 0:13:46.600 --> 0:13:50.920 it weights the text interpretation against other elements in an image. So, 0:13:50.960 --> 0:13:53.600 in other words, they're going to have to teach the 0:13:53.679 --> 0:13:58.600 AI that human beings are liars. And finally, in an 0:13:58.600 --> 0:14:03.000 interview for the Infra Nation, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talked 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:06.360 about how virtual reality is an exciting field that will 0:14:06.400 --> 0:14:10.360 play a bigger part in online social presence in the future. 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:14.920 He spoke about the work going into creating realistic avatars 0:14:14.960 --> 0:14:17.880 to represent users and allow them to interact within a 0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:22.840 virtual space together. So think of something like Ready Player one, 0:14:23.040 --> 0:14:27.080 or maybe a more immersive version of Second Life, which 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:30.160 has its own implications. It really makes me think that 0:14:30.560 --> 0:14:35.240 any big shared virtual space is going to be jarring, 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:40.520 not necessarily because of the technology, but because of how 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:44.360 people can be. Some people just like to push boundaries 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:47.960 or worse, and they can make or break an experience. 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:51.680 They can make an experience truly unbearable. Also, the level 0:14:51.720 --> 0:14:54.280 of VR that Zuckerberg is talking about makes me a 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:58.240 little nervous, not because of it being immersive, but because 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:01.200 of the technology that would be you to make it happen, 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:06.120 technology like eye tracking, for example. Now, Facebook makes nearly 0:15:06.160 --> 0:15:08.800 all of its revenue from advertising, so I can only 0:15:08.840 --> 0:15:12.200 imagine that Zuckerberg is eager to roll out tech that 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:16.520 let's Facebook track where users are looking within a virtual world, 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:21.560 because that's where you're going to see advertising pop up. Right, everyone, 0:15:21.600 --> 0:15:25.400 get ready for the next phase or techno capitalist dystopia. 0:15:25.880 --> 0:15:29.600 But no, seriously, I'm sure it'll be really neat. Well. 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:34.480 That wraps up the news for Tuesday, March nine, twenty one. 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:37.440 If you folks have any suggestions for future topics I 0:15:37.440 --> 0:15:41.040 should tackle in tech Stuff, let me know. Reach out 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:44.480 on Twitter. The handle is tech stuff hs W, and 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:52.360 I'll tell to you again really soon. Tech Stuff is 0:15:52.400 --> 0:15:55.520 an I Heart Radio production. For more podcasts from my 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:59.280 Heart Radio, visit the i heart radio, app, Apple podcasts, 0:15:59.360 --> 0:16:01.360 or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.