@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

funnymonkey

@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone

Personal Acc't. Speaking only for myself. Privacy, Misinformation, AdTech, Education, Open Source, Content, and Standards. Education is a social justice issue.

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douglevin, to ukteachers

US School Shooter Emergency Plans Exposed in a Highly Sensitive Database Leak https://www.wired.com/story/us-school-shooter-emergency-plans-leak/ @PogoWasRight @brett @funnymonkey

funnymonkey,
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

@PogoWasRight @douglevin @brett

Raptor clearly takes the security of their users very seriously: https://www.rapid7.com/blog/post/2023/04/11/raptor-technologies-volunteer-management-client-side-security-controls-fixed/

funnymonkey, to random
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

Pesto and mushrooms, with olive oil and sea salt on the crust.

The pesto is from our garden, and was frozen back in September.

The sauce had conserva with tomatoes and garlic from the garden as well.

funnymonkey, to random
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

Mainstream press need to stop calling swatting "a prank".

Swatting is assault and harassment.

funnymonkey, to random
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

Twitter is a clear and obvious national security risk.

funnymonkey, to random
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

As we read this story about the billionaire owner of Business Insider using his position to engage in behavior that certainly looks like protecting another billionaire, we need to remember that the same billionaire owns Politico - ie, the chilling effect of top-down interference is likely in place across both publications.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/media/2024/01/08/neri-oxman-ackman-axel-springer-business-insider/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzA0NjkwMDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzA2MDcyMzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MDQ2OTAwMDAsImp0aSI6ImYwNmMxNDFkLWI4ZDktNDcyNy1hODFjLTdkMjM2OGQ1NTFlZiIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9zdHlsZS9tZWRpYS8yMDI0LzAxLzA4L25lcmktb3htYW4tYWNrbWFuLWF4ZWwtc3ByaW5nZXItYnVzaW5lc3MtaW5zaWRlci8ifQ.M3PXDfKYBZKs_SyyVuzKysighQcIrdqEhPob7GIGgCs

SwiftOnSecurity, to random

We really really need to evangelize active PII data purging as mandated risk-reduction.

https://infosec.exchange/@vcsjones/111717833173313022

funnymonkey,
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

@SwiftOnSecurity Right now, like literally this very second, EdTech folks are making the case that they "need" to retain student data, including a range of sensitive information directly tied to PII or easily re-identifiable, in order to train AI models.

Of course, these models don't exist yet, and the goals of this work is vague to the point of laughable, but they still claim that they "need" to retain the data.

It's a mess.

funnymonkey, to random
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

Earlier today, I was drafting a longer piece of writing going into why EdTech continues to fail to live up to its promise, and how the AI hype is another chapter in a long and messy book.

(the tl;dr version: the people controlling funding, and the people getting funding, are largely the same cohort, and don't understand how the tech or education work)

But I stopped, for a couple reasons:

1/x

funnymonkey,
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

I stopped writing the piece because:

  1. The reason EdTech fails to live up to its promise are well known, but no one cares enough to change (and people are making good money milking this broken system);
  2. I truly love and believe in the power of a well-designed system that includes technology to make profound improvements in people's lives, and it is beyond depressing to see people without ethics and vision get more funding to perpetuate the same mistakes

2/x

funnymonkey,
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

In private conversations, people acknowledge the shortcomings, the lack of basic technical knowledge, and the complete lack of ethics running throughout swaths of EdTech.

(and yes, - if that's your counter to this, please see yourself out)

But we need to stop settling.

So much of EdTech is a well funded plausible deniability machine.

"See - look - we're doing something!"

3/x

funnymonkey,
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

At some point, maybe I'll write the post.

But today is not that day.

It's exhausting. I'd love to see other people step up as well.

But for the present - whenever you see someone - from a researcher, to an edtech company, etc, etc - say they need to get student data for AI, or for really any other reason: ask questions.

Chances are very good that they have no idea what they are talking about.

They might have a superficial set of talking points - but they can't go deeper.

4/x

funnymonkey,
@funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

And to be clear: when researchers and edtech folks talk about training AI models for education, they are talking about taking data from kids in the unfounded hope that if they collect enough data they (the researcher/edtech person) might be able to spot a pattern that Changes Everything (tm)

Please, don't buy this line. It's the veneer that people use to justify an ongoing data grab.

"For the children" - of course, because it always is, except the kids get nothing and the adults get rich.

5/x

dave, to random
@dave@social.lightbeamapps.com avatar

deleted_by_author

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    funnymonkey,
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    @dave Put a camera on it so the mask wearer can violate the privacy of everyone else, and it's 3000% more disruptive.

    funnymonkey, to random
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    The 23andMe data shitshow (which is waiting to happen with every direct to consumer DNA service) highlights that we are only as secure as our least secure contact.

    https://techcrunch.com/2024/01/03/23andme-tells-victims-its-their-fault-that-their-data-was-breached/

    funnymonkey,
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    If someone gave you a DNA kit for the holidays, give yourself the gift of privacy and throw it straight into the trash.

    funnymonkey, to random
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    Two related questions:

    Best/favorite browser for security and privacy research?

    And for those with an answer to the first question: favorite browser for personal browsing?

    funnymonkey,
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    My answers to these questions:

    1. De-tuned Firefox (and/or specifically configured profiles, depending on the work)

    2. FF with uBlock, Tor, and the Mullvad/Tor Browser, depending on what I'm doing, paired with regularly clearing cookies and history

    funnymonkey,
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    @anathema_device Do you have a link to the Yandex info? I currently start with DDG for search, but a Yandex partnership would be new info to me, and a dealbreaker.

    I have also used Startpage in the past.

    funnymonkey,
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    @anathema_device Oof. Thank you.

    I'll read up on this more.

    I'm probably switching to Startpage for search in the short term while I research options more fully.

    Thank you for the question, and the info!

    funnymonkey, to random
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    Russia has been supporting Europe's far right for years now - this is a continuation of that strategy, and one of the reasons for the investment.

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/30/france-russia-interference-far-right/

    funnymonkey, to random
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    Schoolchildren should take a page from the NY Times and sue any edtech company that steals student work to train AI models.

    And let's be clear: edtech vultures are circling. Unethical folks are even trying to spin this as research.

    It's another form of theft.

    funnymonkey, to random
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    To the good people at @404mediaco - please, rather that listen to, engage with, write about HPMOR - put your feet up, have a drink, take a nap, or really, do anything besides exposing yourself to more EA absurdity*

    *until 2024 lands and the EA lot continues their ongoing quest of AI-fueled ridiculousness

    (and yes - just listened to the podcast :) )

    funnymonkey, to random
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    Crazy idea here.

    For the companies who are complaining that they can't find workers with the skills they need for jobs that the employer says are open and critical:

    Train new staff.

    funnymonkey,
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    @jmyarlett Both/and!

    funnymonkey, to random
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    Plainclothes cop searches middle school classroom to try and find a book.

    This happened in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

    https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/southern_berkshires/great-barrington-gender-queer-book-police-ban-classroom-du-bois-middle-school-aclu-rights/article_14ba4abc-9eb9-11ee-83c9-0b3ff1c1b9dd.html

    douglevin, to ukteachers

    FlipperZero strikes again: "Student caused several iPhones to crash, turn off in cyber hack at Arlington high school: police" (and its not even XMas yet - expect mayhem when school is back in session in Jan...) https://www.fox5dc.com/news/student-caused-several-iphones-to-crash-shut-off-cybersecurity-breach-at-arlington-high-school-police-say @PogoWasRight @brett @funnymonkey @mkeierleber

    funnymonkey,
    @funnymonkey@freeradical.zone avatar

    @douglevin @PogoWasRight @brett @mkeierleber

    Are the folks with Flippers "causing problems" or showing poor design in inconvenient ways?

    (My .02 - a little column A, a little column b)

    And is turning off a phone really a "cyber hack"?

    And I'm old enough to remember when school admins had their hair on fire because they wanted phones inaccessible during school hours.

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