Indigenous War, How to Extend your life by 10 Years, Taj Mahal’s Malware Problem & Other Unbelievable World Headlines with Ethical Concerns.
Introduction
The World Ethical Data Forum is the world’s leading platform for impartial and balanced exploration of the urgent ethical and practical questions around the use and future of data.
From the methods and techniques that generate the granular data used by scientists, statisticians and developers to the narratives composed by the media and governments which define them, the Forum examines the opportunities and problems arising from the development of technologies that continue to open unprecedented possibilities for knowledge and influence.
Ranging over areas including mass data and data-analytics, their use and safeguards, privacy and data rights, the commercial use of data by marketing, media institutions and big business, as well as the importance of limits or lack of limits to access for security agencies and government, fake news, deep fakes, the recent impressive innovations in artificial intelligence, and the benefits, pitfalls and future of blockchain technology, each year the forum gathers the most brilliant and influential minds from around the world to address the implications of data and knowledge technologies in all of their complexity.
Encouraging technological and intellectual innovation and collaboration between the worlds of research, business, media, government and investment, and emphasizing the quality and integrity of the human lives they ground, the World Ethical Data Forum invites participants to enter and define perhaps the most crucial discussion of our time.
This article is the second part of April 2019’s global news highlights. Those here at WEDF would like you to be aware of major ethical issues that are affecting us all. We are calling ALL for an open discussion of what the best practices moving forward should be. To better prepare ourselves for this discussion here are the remaining news lines to catch up on. Thank you for reading and working with us.
Global Headlines Involving Ethical Concerns
In an open call to push for regulatory standards across the EU in relation to Cryptocurrencies, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire recently quoted “I will propose to my European partners that we set up a single regulatory framework on crypto-assets inspired by the French experience … Our model is the right one.”
Vive Le Crypto!
On April 11th, French Parliament adopted a new set of rules for France’s cryptocurrency users. Main points of the legislation are as follows:
- Licensing for Crypto Service Providers (optional) — custodial services, brokers and dealers offering the “purchase or sale of digital assets against legal tender or other digital assets,” and crypto exchange operators. Remittance, asset management, advisory, and underwriting functions are also included.
- Additional KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements for ICOs and brokers
- Limits types of funds (and percentage of fund) that can invest in Cryptocurrencies
- Increased AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers) oversight
In ‘fluffy news’ A recent Harvard study has shown 5 simple habits can extend your life by 10 or more years.
Extend your life by 10 or more years
Harvard has released a study stating there’s a short list healthy conscientious folks will want to engage in. This data may come as no surprise to anyone who has thought about their health.
- Maintain a healthy diet
- Exercise daily
- Keep a healthy weight
- Limit alcohol intake
- Do not smoke
Various and rigorous studies over the years have proven health benefits of the above mentioned; finally this study has correlated past data and shows individuals attempting these five particular lifestyle choices have a significantly longer lifespan.
We all know companies like to save money, and it’s been said ‘IT’ is generally viewed as a black hole of resources spent with no return. Fortunately, this story is not about a huge leak of customers data, however, it easily could have been for customers trying to vacation.
Symantec Identifies Data Security Leak Potential with over 1000 Hotels
Symantec recently completed a study that found that more than 1000 out of 1500 hotels (67% total) were potentially leaking guests personal data through the reservation emails the hotels were sending to the guests. Symantec contacted the hotels and most indicated that they were in the process of fixing it. That said, how much would a data breach cost a company in lost revenue and marketing to regain the public trust? As for individuals, the most effective trick for staying safe on public WiFi is the use of a VPN which will encrypt your data.
Build a better mousetrap and the world will build a better mouse… at Samsung.
Samsung Galaxy S10’s Fingerprint Scanner Fooled by a 3D Printer
Samsung Galaxy S10 Fingerprint scanner added ultrasound technology to read the grooves on a fingerprint to make it more secure. Mimicking ideas from most every spy movie, Imgur user darkshark, took a photo of a fingerprint, used 3D modeling software and, with a little trial and error, used a 3D printer to reproduce a likeness that was able to fool the sensor. As most phones already have the owners fingerprints on it, this does not bode well for the security of a device once it leaves its owners presence.
April showers bring May’s malware? Well, this April we’ve announced we’ve found more malware… a lot of it.
New Malware Framework: The Taj Mahal
A new malware framework has been discovered by Kaspersky security researchers. The malware has been dubbed ‘The Taj Mahal’, as it contains over 80 modules to plugin enhancing the frameworks adaptability. The framework, which appears to have been deployed since 2014, was discovered on a computer belonging to the embassy of an unnamed Central Asian country. While noted that the framework is very sophisticated and certainly not a “one man job”, it lacks the characterizations of any known nation-state hacker group.
EU’s Copyright Reform; although an excellent idea on paper, we are anxiously waiting to see the overall effects on the world wide web.
The EUs Copyright Reform
On April 15, Council of the European Union put forth a new Copyright Directive. EU members now must write the Directive into their national legislation; which is to be completed within 24 months. Debates have began related to the understanding of several Articles written within. The Directive’s goal is to bring more control to the content creators across the internet, rather than the content aggregators that are currently profiting; this will vastly change the way content is shared across the web.
EU Releases Trustworthy AI Ethical Guidelines
The EU has recently taken the first steps towards making Azamovs’ ‘Three Laws of Robotics’ a reality by releasing “Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI” as written by the AI HLEG (AI High-Level Expert Group). A Trustworthy AI must meet 3 criteria in the foundation of being built, 4 principles of ethical autonomy, and 7 requirements, with a robust quality improvement plan. “Ensuring Trustworthy AI is not about ticking boxes, but about continuously identifying and implementing requirements, evaluating solutions, ensuring improved outcomes throughout the AI system’s lifecycle…” As the guidelines are set forth as a living document, they will be updated continuously as needs arise.
New Chinese Giant on the Rise? We found a lot of headlines on a new investment opportunity
New Platform Seeks to Support Smaller Real Estate Agencies in China
Yuancui Information Technology is a new platform designed to help steamline the process of buying and selling real estate with a specific target of small to medium sized property agencies. Besides utilizing the company to develop customer growth and marketing, they aim to include “all related services including authorization, trading and mortgage, business tools and systems, marketing and operation, risk control, recruitment and training, brand marketing, and consulting…” making them a one-stop shop for real estate agent support in China.
More news in the EU….
The Brexit, or Not
After being rejected for the 3rd time, Brexit did not occur on the originally scheduled day of 29 March. The EU has agreed to a new deadline of 31 October. In December 2018, the European Court of Justice ruled that the UK could cancel the Article 50 Brexit process if Parliament voted for it. In March, an online petition calling for Article 50 to be revoked gained over six million signatures. As many sources have stated, and the Torties own members have admitted, lied and used false information to sway the close Brexit vote. The question, now that the original deadline has passed, is what path the UK chooses to take going forward.
Oil drilling upsets around the world
Constitutional Protection for Indigenous People
When the Ecuadorian government opened up 180,000 hectares for potential oil exploration, the Waorani tribe sued to stop the companies from entering their Amazonian ancestral lands. Ecuador’s constitution has protections for indigenous people built into its original document.
Social media giants will always make world news. Hopefully “April showers will bring May flowers.”
Tech Giants work with Samaritans to purge harmful content
Representatives from Facebook, Google, Snapchat and Instagram attended a private gathering, three weeks after being summoned by American government officials. This is the second social media meeting to tackle the increase in self harm images and similar content. In February’s gathering, Instagram announced it was banning graphic self harm images. Social media users everywhere eagerly await the results, as this is the first meeting Samaritans attended. Source.
Conclusion
Ethical problems are seldom straightforward. This is especially the case in a new, vast and rapidly changing area like data, whose full scope and implications are as yet unknown. Answers that appear convincing today might easily be shown to be wrong tomorrow.
The Forum’s approach is not to offer up definitive proclamations. Instead, it seeks to establish a discursive process that identifies the wrong answers and helps prevent the potentially catastrophic errors they might incline us towards. Guided and informed by theorists, journalists, politicians and the creators and users of data technologies, the process is also designed to maximize the chances of delivering the positive outcomes promised by those technologies.
The integrity of the process is key to achieving this aim. The discussion must proceed according to its own lights. Anyone taking to a Forum stage will have a free platform to show why what they are doing is sensible and right. The same opportunity will be granted to anyone holding an intelligent countervailing position. The Forum believes this is the most reasonable and promising approach to a problem that might otherwise appear intractable.
The first World Ethical Data Forum took place in Barcelona in September 2018 and was covered globally by major national news outlets including News.com.au, the Daily Mail, The Guardian, Russia Today, Ruptly, MSNBC, Business Insider, New American, CNN Greece, The Herald, The Courier, and Wall Street Italia.
The event also featured in a documentary by La Kaseta, “Battle of Social Networks”, which looked at three different modern day moments of great social upheaval in which social media has played a significant role: The Occupy Movement, The Arab Spring, and The Catalan Referendum.
It showcased headline speakers including National Inventors Hall of Fame and National Cybersecurity Hall of Fame inductee Dr. Ralph Merkle, scientist, inventor, New York Times bestselling author and advisor to Nasa’s Innovative & Advanced Concepts program Dr. David Brin, famed human rights lawyer and WikiLeaks counsel Jennifer Robinson, and Wikileaks Editor in Chief Julian Assange, the video of which interview the Forum broadcast as it was shown, causing a media frenzy that resulted in 3.8 million views across YouTube alone.
Call to Action
Against the background of the many urgent and related issues in media and politics that continue to dominate the headlines, the next World Ethical Data Forum is currently under development and will be held in London, March 2020.
Until that date, we humbly welcome you to be apart of our dream by discussing world events. We need YOUR help to change the world.
