internet

Microsoft President: Democracy Is At Stake. Regulate Big Tech — from npr.org by Aarti Shahani

Excerpts:

Regulate us. That’s the unexpected message from one of the country’s leading tech executives. Microsoft President Brad Smith argues that governments need to put some “guardrails” around engineers and the tech titans they serve.

If public leaders don’t, he says, the Internet giants will cannibalize the very fabric of this country.

“We need to work together; we need to work with governments to protect, frankly, something that is far more important than technology: democracy. It was here before us. It needs to be here and healthy after us,” Smith says.

“Almost no technology has gone so entirely unregulated, for so long, as digital technology,” Smith says.

Is virtual reality the future of online learning?

On 09/13/2019, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, 3D, A/V -- audio/visual, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, colleges, communications, community colleges, corporate / business world, corporate universities / corporate training, digital learning, digital storytelling, distance education, education, education technology, elearning, emerging technologies, higher education, homeschooling/homeschoolers, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, internet, IT in HE, K-12 related, law schools, learning, learning ecosystem, Learning from the Living [Class] Room, learning hubs & pods & microschooling, learning spaces, online learning, platforms, universities, vendors, virtual field trips, virtual K-12 schools, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, virtual tutoring, vision/possibilities, web-based collaboration, XR - extended reality, by Daniel Christian

Is virtual reality the future of online learning? — from builtin.com by Stephen Gossett; with thanks to Dane Lancaster for his tweet on this (see below)
Education is driving the future of VR more than any other industry outside of gaming. Here’s why virtual reality gets such high marks for tutoring, STEM development, field trips and distance education.

Education is driving the future of VR more than any other industry outside of gaming. Here’s why virtual reality gets such high marks for tutoring, STEM development, field trips and distance education. @xrmarin @cinjo @virtualgirlny @mrmadsen1 https://t.co/6BvRxV9ea5

— dane lancaster (@danelancaster) September 13, 2019

The Age of AI: How Will In-house Law Departments Run in 10 Years? [Colombo]

On 09/07/2019, in 21st century, analytics, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, bots, Cost of legal services - including access, emerging technologies, ideas, innovation, internet, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, society, by Daniel Christian

The Age of AI: How Will In-house Law Departments Run in 10 Years? — from accdocket.com by Elizabeth Colombo

Excerpt:

2029 may feel far away right now, but all of this makes me wonder what in-house law might look like in 10 years. What will in-house law be like in an age of artificial intelligence (AI)? This article will look at how in-house law may be different in 10 years, focusing largely on anticipated changes to contract review and negotiation, and the workplace.

Also see:
A Primer on Using Artificial Intelligence in the Legal Profession — from jolt.law.harvard.edu by Lauri Donahue (2018)

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

How Are Lawyers Using AI?
Lawyers are already using AI to do things like reviewing documents during litigation and due diligence, analyzing contracts to determine whether they meet pre-determined criteria, performing legal research, and predicting case outcomes.

…
Document Review

Analyzing Contracts

Legal Research

Predicting Results
Lawyers are often called upon to predict the future: If I bring this case, how likely is it that I’ll win — and how much will it cost me? Should I settle this case (or take a plea), or take my chances at trial? More experienced lawyers are often better at making accurate predictions, because they have more years of data to work with.

However, no lawyer has complete knowledge of all the relevant data.

Because AI can access more of the relevant data, it can be better than lawyers at predicting the outcomes of legal disputes and proceedings, and thus helping clients make decisions. For example, a London law firm used data on the outcomes of 600 cases over 12 months to create a model for the viability of personal injury cases. Indeed, trained on 200 years of Supreme Court records, an AI is already better than many human experts at predicting SCOTUS decisions.

What to expect at IFA 2019, Europe’s colossal tech show [Levenson]

On 09/03/2019, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, communications, corporate / business world, emerging technologies, Europe, global / globalization, innovation, internet, mobile technologies, technologies for your home, technology (general), vendors, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

What to expect at IFA 2019, Europe’s colossal tech show — from digitaltrends.com by Josh Levenson

Excerpt:

This week, the world’s leading manufacturers will take to the stage at IFA 2019 in Berlin, Germany, to showcase their latest innovations. Here’s what you need to know about this year’s show, including when it’s set to start, how long it will run for, where it’s held, the schedule, and all the devices we’re expecting to see unveiled by the likes of LG, Sony, Samsung, and more.

Reflections on “Uh-oh: Silicon Valley is building a Chinese-style social credit system” [Elgan]

On 08/27/2019, in 24x7x365 access, A/V -- audio/visual, Amazon, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, corporate / business world, dangers of the status quo, Daniel S. Christian, data related items, emerging technologies, ethics, face-to-face, Facebook / Meta Platforms, future, game-changing environment, generational differences, Google, hearts -- matters of the heart, intelligent systems, internet, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, Microsoft, morals/values, platforms, policy, political science, privacy, society, surviving, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, trends, United States, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Uh-oh: Silicon Valley is building a Chinese-style social credit system — from fastcompany.com by Mike Elgan
In China, scoring citizens’ behavior is official government policy. U.S. companies are increasingly doing something similar, outside the law.

Excerpts (emphasis DSC):

Have you heard about China’s social credit system? It’s a technology-enabled, surveillance-based nationwide program designed to nudge citizens toward better behavior. The ultimate goal is to “allow the trustworthy to roam everywhere under heaven while making it hard for the discredited to take a single step,” according to the Chinese government.

In place since 2014, the social credit system is a work in progress that could evolve by next year into a single, nationwide point system for all Chinese citizens, akin to a financial credit score. It aims to punish for transgressions that can include membership in or support for the Falun Gong or Tibetan Buddhism, failure to pay debts, excessive video gaming, criticizing the government, late payments, failing to sweep the sidewalk in front of your store or house, smoking or playing loud music on trains, jaywalking, and other actions deemed illegal or unacceptable by the Chinese government.
…
IT CAN HAPPEN HERE
Many Westerners are disturbed by what they read about China’s social credit system. But such systems, it turns out, are not unique to China. A parallel system is developing in the United States, in part as the result of Silicon Valley and technology-industry user policies, and in part by surveillance of social media activity by private companies.

Here are some of the elements of America’s growing social credit system.

If current trends hold, it’s possible that in the future a majority of misdemeanors and even some felonies will be punished not by Washington, D.C., but by Silicon Valley. It’s a slippery slope away from democracy and toward corporatocracy.

From DSC:
Who’s to say what gains a citizen points and what subtracts from their score? If one believes a certain thing, is that a plus or a minus? And what might be tied to someone’s score? The ability to obtain food? Medicine/healthcare? Clothing? Social Security payments? Other?

We are giving a huge amount of power to a handful of corporations…trust comes into play…at least for me. Even internally, the big tech co’s seem to be struggling as to the ethical ramifications of what they’re working on (in a variety of areas).

Is the stage being set for a “Person of Interest” Version 2.0?

Gartner: Top Wireless Tech Trends to Watch [Kelly]

On 08/22/2019, in 21st century, emerging technologies, engineering, internet, IT in HE, platforms, robotics, society, tools, trends, United States, by Daniel Christian

Gartner: Top Wireless Tech Trends to Watch — from campustechnology.com by Rhea Kelly

Excerpts:

The research firm identified 10 key wireless trends worth watching as the technology continues to develop over the next five years:

Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) wireless. This is the technology that will allow conventional cars, self-driving cars and the road infrastructure to all share information and status data.
Wireless sensing. This involves using the absorption and reflection of wireless signals as sensor data for radar tracking purposes. As an example, Gartner pointed to wireless sensing as an indoor radar system for robots and drones.

Google brings AI to studying with Socratic — from zdnet.com by Stephanie Condon
Ahead of the new school year, Google is re-launching a mobile learning app it acquired last year.

Excerpt:

Google this week started rolling out a revamped version of a mobile learning app, called Socratic, that the tech giant acquired last year. The updated app, with new machine learning-powered features, coincides with the start of the school year, as well as other Google for Education initiatives.

Socratic aims to help both high school and university students in their studies outside of the classroom. If students need help answering a study question, they can now use the Socratic app to ask a question with their voice, or to take a picture of a question in their study materials. The app will then find relevant material from across the web.

Also see:

The School of Tomorrow Will Revolve Around AI — from datafloq.com
Excerpt:
We live in exponential times, and merely having a digital strategy focused on continuous innovation is no longer enough to thrive in a constantly changing world. To transform an organisation and contribute to building a secure and rewarding networked society, collaboration among employees, customers, business units and even things is increasingly becoming key.Especially with the availability of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, organisations now, more than ever before, need to focus on bringing together the different stakeholders to co-create the future. Big data empowers customers and employees, the Internet of Things will create vast amounts of data and connects all devices, while artificial intelligence creates new human-machine interactions. In today’s world, every organisation is a data organisation, and AI is required to make sense of it all.

Addendum on 8/23/19

Google: Gmail’s new AI spelling, grammar checks help you avoid email blunders — from zdnet.com by Liam Tung
Gmail on G Suite gains new AI-assisted spellcheck and grammar features.

Not easy being a parent these days…

On 08/19/2019, in change, generational differences, internet, K-12 related, parents/guardians, platforms, relationships, society, student-related, technology (general), tools, Uncategorized, youth, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
After reviewing the item below — and after trying to limit the screen time of our youngest daughter these days — I am again reflecting on how difficult it is to raise kids today. I’m not going to get on the technology bashing train, but I’m just going to say that — at least in this area of life — my parents had it much easier! 🙂 It’s not easy to cut off the kids’ access to the Internet these days…as the article below illustrates!

Teen goes viral for tweeting from LG smart fridge after mom confiscates all electronics — from cbsnews.com by Caitlin O’Kane

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

Dorothy said she was boiling rice one night and was too preoccupied by her phone, so the stove burst into flames. “So my mom took all my tech so i’d pay more attention to my surroundings,” she said.

Then she explained that both the DS and Wii allow image share, so she could send images from those devices to Twitter, adding messages.

Sometime after finding her DS, it was taken again, so Dorothy started tweeting from yet another connected device: her fridge. “My mom uses it to google recipes for baking so I just googled Twitter,” she told CBS News.

A single platform to install, use & manage the abundance of legal tech products available

On 08/17/2019, in innovation, internet, law schools, legal technologies, legislatures / government / legal, tools, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Big Law ‘App Store’ Reynen Court Officially Launches, Announces Elevate Partnership — from law.com by Krishnan Nair and Zach Warren
Reynen Court’s aim is to provide law firms with a single platform to install, use and manage the abundance of legal tech products available to firms from various vendors.

Excerpt:

The company has now launched the platform, with Elevate agreeing to make three of its technologies available on Reynen Court’s legal tech app. These three products include a legal AI and document analytics platform called ContraxSuite; legal project management app, Cael Project; and a billing app called Cael BillPrep.

Elevate VP of software products Sharath Beedu said in a statement: “In essence, it’s a private, curated ‘app store’ where products are pre-packaged for easy installation within each firm’s respective IT environment. This enables firms to try new systems without using third-party cloud environments, which is prohibited by many of their clients.”

Also see:

Elevate Teams Up With Reynen Court For Launch — from by Krishnan Nair
As part of the link-up, Elevate will launch three of its legal tech products on Reynen Court’s app.

New Michigan court program could let you resolve legal disputes for free online [Keith]

On 08/16/2019, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, Cost of legal services - including access, ideas, internet, law schools, legislatures / government / legal, Michigan, society, by Daniel Christian

New Michigan court program could let you resolve legal disputes for free online — from freep.com by Emma Keith

Excerpts:

If you’ve got an issue with your landlord, a friend who owes you money or a serious problem with your neighbors, you may not have to take it to court.

Thanks to a new tool from the Michigan court system, some Michiganders can now solve civil disputes and small claims cases online.

MI Resolve offers users in certain Michigan counties a chance to go through an online resolution and mediation process whether or not their case has gotten to court.

The program is meant to increase equitable access to legal resources and respond to Michigan residents’ goals for their state courts, said Bridget McCormack, chief justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.
…
The program is meant to resolve small claims, contract disputes, neighborhood disputes, and small landlord/tenant matters. It won’t handle an eviction but will handle rent or maintenance issues.

Also see:

This online learning thing…it just keeps getting bigger.

On 08/14/2019, in 21st century, 24x7x365 access, internet, K-12 related, online learning, online media, online tutoring, student-related, teachers, teaching online, web-based collaboration, youth, by Daniel Christian

Disrupting Education. The Rise Of K-12 Online And The Entrepreneurial Opportunities — from forbes.com by Bernhard Schroeder

Excerpt:

Online learning, once reserved for higher education, is now a growing trend among K-12 students nationwide. Over 2.7 million students across the United States are taking part in digital learning, and many students in grades K-12 are getting a high-quality education online through a full-time online public school.

Also related/see:

Is Online Learning the Electric Car of Higher Ed? — from insidehighered.com by Joshua Kim
Will colleges and universities follow the same path as GM and VW?

Online learning has the potential to be both high quality and significantly less expensive than its residential counterpart.

Report: Smart-city IoT isn’t smart enough yet [Gold]

On 07/31/2019, in internet, platforms, society, the downsides of how people use tech, tools, trends, vendors, by Daniel Christian

Report: Smart-city IoT isn’t smart enough yet — from networkworld.com by Jon Gold
A report from Forrester Research details vulnerabilities affecting smart-city internet of things (IoT) infrastructure and offers some methods of mitigation.

5 Years Since Starbucks Offered to Help Baristas Attend College, How Many Have Graduated? — from edsurge.com by Rebecca Koenig

Excerpts:

…nearly 3,000 Starbucks employees who have earned bachelor’s degrees online through the company-university partnership program.

The arrangement was possible logistically because Humberstone took her courses in business and environmental sustainability entirely online. And it was feasible financially because Starbucks and Arizona State University covered most of her tuition bill.

Top 10 Digital Transformation Trends For 2020 –from forbes.com by Daniel Newman

Excerpt (emphasis DSC):

A faster WiFi for a faster world: Although WiFi 6 and 5G are completely different technologies, both will be bringing us much faster processing and wireless connection speeds in 2020. 5G and WiFi 6 working in concert will create the perfect end-to-end combination of ultra-fast connectivity for home and office. Expect download speeds up to 3x faster than were achievable with WiFi 5, but that isn’t the best measure of the new standard’s value. The real value of WiFi 6 will be its ability to extend faster data speeds to far more devices than WiFi 5 was able to manage.

Learning Ecosystems

Microsoft President: Democracy Is At Stake. Regulate Big Tech [Shahani]

What to expect at IFA 2019, Europe’s colossal tech show [Levenson]

Gartner: Top Wireless Tech Trends to Watch [Kelly]

A single platform to install, use & manage the abundance of legal tech products available

New Michigan court program could let you resolve legal disputes for free online [Keith]

Report: Smart-city IoT isn’t smart enough yet [Gold]

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