Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

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Pentagon to Build Robots With ‘Real’ Brains

Friday, April 12th, 2013

Technology would make robots “truly autonomous”

Paul Joseph Watson
GCN Live.com
April 11, 2013

A Pentagon-funded team of scientists have constructed a machine that functions like a human brain and would enable robots to think independently and act autonomously.

Image: YouTube

Researchers for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) have created a device that “looks and ‘thinks’ like a human brain,” James K. Gimzewski, professor of chemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, told National Defense Magazine.

The program is called “physical intelligence” and is capable, “without being programmed like a traditional robot, of performing actions similar to humans,” making it the first incarnation of a robot that can perform “truly autonomously” without human input.

“What sets this new device apart from any others is that it has nano-scale interconnected wires that perform billions of connections like a human brain, and is capable of remembering information,” writes Sandra I. Erwin. “Each connection is a synthetic synapse. A synapse is what allows a neuron to pass an electric or chemical signal to another cell. Because its structure is so complex, most artificial intelligence projects so far have been unable to replicate it.”

The technology would allow drones to be created that do not need human operators, machines that would be able to learn and navigate through terrain completely of their own accord.

According to Erwin, it is not yet confirmed whether the Pentagon will look to apply the technology to weapons systems.

However, given the fact that the vast majority of DARPA’s work in robotics is geared towards creating an army of battlefield soldiers, it’s not a huge leap to make.

Numerous experts have warned that robots currently being developed in the name of humanitarian assistance will ultimately be used to kill enemy soldiers and accused terrorists.

Noel Sharkey, professor of artificial intelligence and robotics at the University of Sheffield, has repeatedly warned that the robots currently being developed under the auspices of DARPA will eventually be used to kill.

“Of course if it’s used for combat, it would be killing civilians as well as it’s not going to be able to discriminate between civilians and soldiers,” said Sharkey.

Last month, award-winning military writer and former intelligence officer Lt. Col. Douglas Pryer also wrote an essay warning of the threat posed by remorseless “killer robots” that will be used to stalk and slaughter human targets in the near future.

In a 50-page report published last year, Human Rights Watch also warned that artificially intelligent robots let loose on the battlefield would inevitably commit war crimes.

Last year, experts at the prestigious University of Cambridge announced a project to conduct research into the “extinction-level risks” posed to humanity by artificially intelligent robots.

Flying drones that communicate with each other are also being developed for “hunting terrorists” and other “homeland security” purposes, as well as UAVs that could one day snatch humans off the street.

The fact that DARPA’s latest robotic creation looks human is also not going to do anything to dampen fears about the “rise of the machines”.

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Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Infowars.com and Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a host for Infowars Nightly News.

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EU countries may fine Google over changes to privacy policy

Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013

by Zack Whittaker


cnet.com


Google faces a string of fines after the U.K., France, Italy, and Germany complete investigations into the search giant’s revisions to its privacy policy.


Google’s “new” privacy policy, launched a little over a year ago, is still causing headaches in Europe. But a new pan-European investigation into the policy may cause greater troubles for the search giant.

The French data protection authority, the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertes (CNIL), said today that the search giant has failed to respond to its requests to make changes to its controversial privacy policy and has handed the case to European member states to deal with the matter locally.

The U.K., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands were first involved in the examination of the new privacy policy — which merged approximately 60 policies for Google products and services into one single policy.

In doing so, it could open Google to multiple fines at a local level in the coming months and quarters, once each authority has concluded its investigation into its privacy practices.

Speaking to ZDNet, the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office said that an investigation was under way and in its early stages. An ICO spokesperson said the organization would determine whether or not Google’s year-old policy breaches the U.K. Data Protection Act.

Due to the ongoing investigation, the ICO declined to comment further.

The ICO can serve a maximum £500,000 ($758,000) fine against a company that breaches U.K. data and privacy laws. Each data protection authority would have to enact their fines separately, and maximum fines vary by region.

A Google spokesperson in London said in an emailed statement: “Our privacy policy respects European law and allows us to create simpler, more effective services. We have engaged fully with the [data protection authorities] involved throughout this process, and we’ll continue to do so going forward.”

Not ‘in compliance’ with European law?
On March 1, Google’s new privacy policy took effect. The search giant said it would make its products better and enhance the experience for users, while making advertisements more targeted, allowing for more specific and relevant ads for users.

While Google repeatedly said in statements that it takes the privacy of its users seriously, its balance sheets showed that it still rakes in most of its annual profits through serving ads to its users.

But for the European authorities, Google remains a big target with more than 90 percent market share on the continent.

However, European data regulators warned Google to put the changes on ice after they claimed the new policy may breach European data protection laws. Google said the raising of concerns was a “surprise” and remained on course with its March 1 deadline.

Members of the Article 29 Working Party, a group of data protection officials from each of the member states, charged France’s CNIL with investigating the search giant to determine whether or not Google had fallen foul of EU data and privacy laws.

The outcome was initially expected in September of last year, but was revealed in mid-October. The EU body found that Google’s new privacy policy may not be “in compliance” with European data and privacy law and that “irregularities were found.”

The authority fell short of ruling on whether the new policy was outright in breach of its laws, however.

The 27 European authorities “unanimously adopted the findings of the audit” and gave Google three to four months to comply with the CNIL’s recommendations, a buffer that expired in mid-March.

On March 19, Google was invited to a meeting headed by the CNIL and the data protection authorities of the six other European member states, but “no changes have been seen since,” the French authority said.

This story originally appeared as “Google faces EU state fines over privacy policy merger” on ZDNet.

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Nanny Bloomberg: Drone Panopticon Inevitable

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

Kurt Nimmo
GCN Live.com
March 22, 2013

New York is the surveillance capital of America.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is more concerned about citizens deciding to buy Big Gulps than the prospect of a high-tech Big Brother state violating their privacy with drones.

Bloomberg dismissed wanton violations of the Fourth Amendment as inevitable during his weekly WOR radio program.

“We’re just going into a different world, uncharted,” he said. “Like it or not, what people can do – or governments can do – is different and you can to some extent control [it], but you can’t keep the tides from coming in. We’re going to have more visibility and less privacy. I don’t see how you stop that. It’s not a question whether I think it’s good or bad, I just don’t see how you can stop that because we’re going to have them.”

Bloomberg then said he opposes legislative remedies to a high-tech panopticon state where citizen-subjects are under constant surveillance. He characterized opposition as counterproductive demagoguery.

“Everybody wants their privacy but I don’t know how you’re going to maintain it,” he continued. “This is something that society really has to think about, and not by writing a quick piece of legislation. These are long-term, serious problems. Whether we have the discipline to approach problems that way, I don’t know. I mean, Everybody demagogues on all these things; there’s some serious issues before you write legislation.”

Bloomberg’s response is predictable considering the New York City government has embraced drone technology. New Yorkers reported random sightings of unidentified drones after NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly expressed his desire to add the technology to the “arsenal of surveillance tools [that] could come in handy during future mass protests in the Big Apple,” RT reported in January.

The NYPD has long served as a political Gestapo and “has spied on people up and down the eastern seaboard, not because they’re engaged in wrongdoing, but because of their religion, national origin and their political associations,” the ACLU reported last year. NYPD undercover cops “have infiltrated progressive political groups nationwide and compiled files on people engaged in political advocacy. The police department conducted similar spying in the run up to the 2004 Republican National Convention in Manhattan.”

Finally, Bloomberg’s dismissal of the privacy rights of millions of New York citizens is quite natural considering his complicity in widespread expansion of surveillance technology in the city. “New York City has expanded the surveillance network that is mentioned in many newspapers and at many internet pages as Domain Awareness System, and was recently described by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg,” writes Alex White of Security Blog.

Bloomberg plans to integrate all facets of surveillance into a sprawling Big Brother network:

This system will operate the existing network of CCTV cameras in the New York City, which is also paired with hi-tech developments from Microsoft Corporation that is meant to create a common tech infrastructure, which will support the full integration of advanced security technologies. The Police Department of New York currently works with more than 3,000 CCTV cameras, and that is only in lower Manhattan, so with this expansion of security measures, those cameras may end up upgraded with license plate readers and facial recognition software, to create much more intelligent and integrated surveillance system of the city.

After it is successfully implemented, Bloomberg, his bureaucratic cronies and legion of cops will not only have the ability to enhance their lucrative revenue generation schemes victimizing citizens, but also keep tabs on enemies of the national security state – for instance, a fledgling Occupy movement that incubated in New York and died a premature death there.

Nanny Bloomberg’s high-tech panopticon – an integrated system that will eventually become an all-seeing technological eye – has nothing to do with terrorists in faraway caves or those trained on U.S. military bases.

It is about the real enemies of the state and its financial class overlords – you and me.

Video: Congress grapples with the “subjective harm living in a society where you feel you’re under surveillance.”

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Best Billy Corgan Interview Ever

Friday, March 22nd, 2013

Smashing Pumpkins founder examines the transformative power of alternative media towards a total paradigm shift.

GCN Live.com
March 22, 2013

In this must see interview, Smashing Pumpkins founder and frontman Billy Corgan examines the power of the alternative media and citizen journalists, who are wielding truth as a truly transformative weapon in the age of information-warfare.

Corgan comments extensively on Alex Jones’ unique position at the tip of the spear of resistance, piercing through the mainstream media’s trance-like shroud which veils reality from the masses while the Wizard of Oz-like controllers operate behind the curtain to manipulate our society and steer our consciousness.

In a conversation that spanned nearly an hour during the iconic alternative rocker’s surprise visit to the Infowars studio, Billy Corgan urges a more spiritual approach to the truth movement that seeks to expose the hardening global tyranny. Instead, that system could be overwhelmed and defeated if only average people would recognize their stake in waking up and connecting with the streaming continuity of humanity. It is our job to reach those people.

Without a doubt, Corgan’s deep and frank conversation is of the utmost importance to everyone who values their future and wants to empower individuals around the world. If we face the challenge, we can embrace a total paradigm shift; otherwise humanity faces capture by a mesmerizing and ultimately empty illusory system where people are reduced to mere spectators.

http://www.smashingpumpkins.com/
http://prisonplanet.tv/

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Congressman Fights To Stop “Flying Robots Endlessly Watching Americans”

Wednesday, March 20th, 2013

Rep. introduces privacy bill aimed at government spy drones

Steve Watson
GCN Live.com
March 20, 2013


A Democratic Congressman is pushing legislation that would see strict privacy measures enacted to protect Americans becoming sitting targets for government “spying robots.”

Democratic U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, who co-Chairs the Bi-Partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, reintroduced legislation he first put forth last year to ensure constitutional protections are maintained in the face of the huge expansion in the use of drones by law enforcement and government agencies.

Markey’s Drone Aircraft Privacy and Transparency Act (DAPTA) would require privacy protection provisions relating to data collection and minimization, disclosure, warrant requirements for law enforcement, and enforcement measures in the licensing and operation of drones.

“As drones increasingly fill our skies, Americans must be afforded a level of privacy and protection from these aerial technologies,” said Rep. Markey.

“My drone privacy bill provides transparency on the domestic use of drone aircraft and adds privacy protections that ensure this technology cannot be used to endlessly watch Americans.” The Congressman added.

The bill would specifically require the Federal Aviation Administration to include a detailed data-collection statement when considering any application for a drone license. The statement would require precise information on what data will be collected and how the party applying for the license would use it.

The bill would also require law enforcement agencies to have judicial warrants before deploying any form of drone for surveillance purposes, and it would ensure the creation of a publicly accessible database of all drone licenses, detailing the times and locations of all legally sanctioned drone flights.

“I look forward to working with my Congressional colleagues on this bi-partisan issue to ensure that strong personal privacy protections and public transparency measures are put in place now, before this technology is literally hovering over our heads.” Rep. Markey wrote in a statement yesterday.

The Congressman received support from privacy groups including the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF).

“Comprehensive legislation is necessary prior to further deployment of drones in the United States,” said Amie Stepanovich, Associate Litigation Counsel for EPIC. “Documents obtained by EPIC under the Freedom of Information Act make clear that there is a real threat to privacy that can no longer be ignored. Congressman Markey’s bill will help address this challenge.” she said.

“Drone surveillance poses a real threat to privacy and civil liberties in the United States. Congressman Markey’s bill adds much-needed transparency to the drone authorization process and mandates important restrictions that will help to protect Americans from unwarranted drone use,” Jennifer Lynch of EFF added.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers also issued a statement on the bill, saying, “The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) supports Congressman Markey’s efforts to safeguard Fourth Amendment interests in the digital age. This bill leaves the door open for law enforcement use of aerial drones while upholding the right of Americans to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. Striking the proper balance between law enforcement interests and privacy interests, this bill is the first step in the right direction towards transparency and accountability in future drone use.”

In a strongly worded letter, Markey wrote to the FAA last year demanding to know what privacy protections the agency was putting in place in anticipation of granting approval for commercial groups to fly drones from 2015 onwards.

In a response, the FAA admitted that surveillance drone operators have zero privacy obligations, prompting Markey and his co-Chair Joe Barton (R-Texas) to complain that the federal agency is greasing the skids for authorities to gather private information on regular Americans.

“FAA does not appear to be prioritizing privacy and transparency measures in its plan to integrate nonmilitary drones into U.S. airspace,” Markey said in a follow up statement.

While many bills and measures aimed at regulating drones are advancing at the city and state levels, privacy advocates are yet to see a significant legislative movement on a national scale.

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Steve Watson is the London based writer and editor for Alex Jones’ Infowars.com, and Prisonplanet.com. He has a Masters Degree in International Relations from the School of Politics at The University of Nottingham, and a Bachelor Of Arts Degree in Literature and Creative Writing from Nottingham Trent University.

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