We Found 650,000 Ways Advertisers Label You

If you spend any time online, you probably have some idea that the digital ad industry is constantly collecting data about you, including a lot of personal information, and sorting you into specialized categories so you’re more likely to buy the things they advertise to you. But in a rare look at just how deep—and weird—the rabbit hole of targeted advertising gets, Investigative Data Journalist Jon Keegan and Visualizations Engineer Joel Eastwood of the The Markup analyzed a database of 650,000 of these audience segments, newly unearthed on the website of Microsoft’s ad platform Xandr. The trove of data indicates that advertisers could also target people based on sensitive information like being “heavy purchasers” of pregnancy test kits, having an interest in brain tumors, being prone to depression, visiting places of worship, or feeling “easily deflated” or that they “get a raw deal out of life.”

Subjects: Big Data, Civil Liberties, Competitive Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Data Mining, E-Commerce, Health, Privacy

Georgia’s indictment of Trump is a confirmation of states’ rights, a favorite cause of Republicans since Reagan

Prof. Stefanie Lindquist elucidates a critical fact respective to the Trump indictment. All U.S. citizens are actually citizens of two separate governments: They are citizens of the United States as well as citizens of the state in which they live. And they are subject to two systems of law as a result.

Subjects: Criminal Law, Legal Research, United States Law

Can you trust AI? Here’s why you shouldn’t

Security expert Bruce Schneier and data scientist Nathan Sanders believe that people who come to rely on AIs will have to trust them implicitly to navigate daily life. That means they will need to be sure the AIs aren’t secretly working for someone else. Across the internet, devices and services that seem to work for you already secretly work against you. Smart TVs spy on you. Phone apps collect and sell your data. Many apps and websites manipulate you through dark patterns, design elements that deliberately mislead, coerce or deceive website visitors. This is surveillance capitalism, and AI is shaping up to be part of it.

Subjects: AI, Big Data, Civil Liberties, Cyberlaw, Human Rights, Legal Research, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 19, 2023

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: National Archives will make its AI use case inventory public; Data Breaches and Lawyers: Highlights from IBM’s 2023 Report; Microsoft limits use of AI Services in upcoming Services Agreement update; and Two Women Accuse Tile of Marketing Its Devices as Stalking Aids.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cyberlaw, Cybersecurity, Government Resources, KM, Legal Research

AI in Banking and Finance, August 15, 2023

This semi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, government and regulatory documents and industry white papers as well as academic papers on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and as available, indicate links to alternate free versions. Five highlights from this week: AI in the financial industry: Machine learning in banking; Machine Learning Boosts Profits – Banking Giant’s Deep Dive; Banks embracing the AI future need to pay attention to its risks; and the S.E.C.’s Chief Is Worried About A.I.

Subjects: AI, AI in Banking and Finance, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Government Resources, Legal Research

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 12, 2023

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Zoom Contradicts Its Own Policy About Training AI On Your Data; ‘Hypnotized’ ChatGPT, Bard Generate Malicious Code, Bad Advice; SEC charges big banks with doing business through messaging apps without keeping records; and White House announces cybersecurity plan to protect nation’s public schools.

Subjects: AI, Communications, Cryptocurrency, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Education, Financial System, Government Resources, Legal Research, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, August 6, 2023

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Canon warns of Wi-Fi security risks when discarding inkjet printers; New Attack Impacts Major AI Chatbots; U.S. Hunts Chinese Malware That Could Disrupt American Military Operations; and New Attack Impacts Major AI Chatbots.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, KM, Privacy

LLRX July 2023 Issue

Articles and Columns for July 2023 Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAO) 2023 – As stated by Ethereum, “a DAO is a collectively-owned, blockchain-governed organization working towards a shared mission.” Marcus P. Zillman features resources on how DAOs can impact business operations, identifies challenges to participation, and delivers a diverse bibliography of NFT resources that includes governance, regulation, …

Subjects: KM