“Look, NSA has platoons of lawyers and their entire job is figuring out how to stay within the law and maximize collection by exploiting every loophole,”
Interesting how agencies, corporations and alike have the collective maturity of children. A grown up will say to a kid "you can't play with fire with your friend" and the kid immediately will think "he didn't say I can't play with fire with my other friend".
>> Does anyone honestly believe the Germans aren't regularly trying to figure out ways to listen to American officials' communications?
Your statement seems to equate "it's usual to spy" with "it's alright to spy". Spying on close allies only pays off if you are not caught. It's risky to do it and I expect each Nation State weights that in when deciding to do it or not. If the Germans do try to spy on US and they get caught, there will be fallout on relations.
The US got caught spying on several allies. They took the risk. There will be repercussions on diplomatic relations. There will be repercussions on public image and trust.
Apparently from the leaked memo, the intelligence gained didn't really pay off this time around, and since they got caught, all they did was break the trust.
I agree. While reading the article I can't help but, sort of, empathize with modern AI programs. Me and Watson are very similar, Watson can win Jeopardy but has no understanding why, I can recognize a handwritten 'a' and I too have no understanding why.
When I look at my daughter developing, from baby to infant to child. Hasn't that been a constant, intensive training? As she recognizes stuff, I give feedback. After a while she starts correlating stuff, and signals for me to give feedback. By the time she's an adult, she will have full control of her intelligence, but also no understanding.
Maybe what we are missing is just the algorithm for information storage and retrieval. If we can master Genetic Algorithms, why not Celular Databases? Or Chemical Procedures?
We also have a cronic underdog syndrome perpetuated by countless broad opinions such as this. That only helps to undermine any kind of effort to change the culture of low self-esteem into a culture of excellence.
Feel free to demand more, but please do not undervalue every thing.
Not all psychologists see eye-to-eye on the tests issue.
In the case mentioned in the article, even a professional that truly trusts the tests should have taken into consideration:
1) make his own assesment and check against the test score,
2) realize that the test is supposedly validated against a sample, and if the candidate falls out of that sample (non-native english speaker), the test should probably be disregarded.
Carefull when disregarding a whole field based on preconceptions. All fields have different branches and disagreements. True some fields like psychology have a harder time producing great professionals, in my assesment. I think it's because of it being a young field and it's hard to agree on what the standards are to measure good/bad practice.
The State is the one that must have no expectations of privacy and in fact be held to rigorous transparency an independent audit, not the other way around.
Like in software, security that relies on closed source is in fact more vulnerable.
> You still see absorb the advertisement passively.
Good thing I have control of my software and can opt out.
I'm already assaulted at the senses all day long in different forms. The whole concept of advertising I find abhorrent. A service should only offer itself to me when I want it, otherwise they are just imposing themselves and I will dislike them for that.
Any way that I can opt-out of ads I will make use of.
Services that rely on just this business model should adapt or fail, simply. If the service is relevant it will come again from a different source with a more acceptable model.
As long as there isn't such a thing as PrinterSockets for the browser, Java Applets are the only way we can provide printing services for our clients, because a browser can only send documents for printing and not byte streams, which is what we need in order to use termic printers for adhesive labels.
Currently it's the best way to serve labels for thermic printers that our clients need.
There is no direct input to the printer as a byte buffer, the browser will always print a markup document. Unless HTML5 comes up with Printer Sockets, we are stuck with Applets in order to be granted hardware access to the client machine.
>> anyone using Instagram should have known that a change was coming and accepted that risk from the outset
The ability to perceive a business agenda should not be pre-requisite to use any kind of service that is being offered. Even if the service is free to the user and it implies that the business must get revenue somehow, most people don't get that, and it doesn't mean it's alright to take advantage of them.
Lots of people are ignorant, have low education or are plain naive. They are easy to manipulate, fool and con. Doing so is fine then?
The burden would be on the maker to ensure that.
Otherwise, it maybe could allow for safer driving, but it sure would allow reckless facebook/driving.