Computers Are Making Decisions for Us, and Not Always Good Ones.

GREAT POWER

Algorithms are powerful tools. With these mathematical instructions for solving problems or completing tasks, you can receive potential dates from match-making services, movie recommendations from Netflix, and the ads most likely to entice you from online advertisers.

While algorithms can save us time and make decision-making more convenient, our use of them comes at a cost, especially when human lives are at stake. For example, when algorithms are used to decide who is hired or which person is given a loan, human beings are reduced to data points, and human judgement is stripped from what should be case-by-case decisions. Facebook’s struggle with fake news demonstrates that algorithms don’t always have the discernment a human would.

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Worse yet, algorithms can reinforce racist or classist stereotypes and create problems for disadvantaged populations that are already worse off than the general population. Take the Harvard study that found that when people Googled a name linked with black people, the search engine was more likely to show the search ads selling access to criminal records. Justin Reich, executive director at the MIT Teaching Systems Lab, suggested that algorithms will inevitably benefit the people who design them — namely, educated white and Asian men.

“Most people in positions of privilege will find these new tools convenient, safe, and useful,” Reich said in a survey for a Pew Research study. “The harms of new technology will be most experienced by those already disadvantaged in society, where advertising algorithms offer bail bondsman ads that assume readers are criminals, loan applications that penalize people for proxies so correlated with race that they effectively penalize people based on race, and similar issues.”

Algorithms have the potential to widen the gap between those with power and those without it. Those who understand how these algorithms work — and how to most effectively use them — will stand to benefit from them. However, those who have less education and fewer resources will be left further and further behind, said Ryan Hayes, owner of Fit to Tweet.

“Twenty years ago we talked about the ‘digital divide’ being people who had access to a computer at home vs. those that didn’t,” Hayes said for the Pew study. “Ten years from now, though, the life of someone whose capabilities and perception of the world is augmented by sensors and processed with powerful AI and connected to vast amounts of data is going to be vastly different from that of those who don’t have access to those tools or knowledge of how to utilize them. And that divide will be self-perpetuating, where those with fewer capabilities will be more vulnerable in many ways to those with more.”

GREAT RESPONSIBILITY

While the potential consequences of algorithms are becoming more widely recognized, the use of this tool remains widespread. Many leaders, including former president Obama, are calling for greater oversight and transparency of algorithms that impact the daily lives of citizens. In order for the risks of algorithms to be minimized, they must be made understandable for both users and expert assessors, suggested Ben Shneiderman, professor of computer science at the University of Maryland.

“When well-designed, algorithms amplify human abilities, but they must be comprehensible, predictable, and controllable,” Shneiderman commented in the Pew survey. “This means they must be designed to be transparent so that users can understand the impacts of their use and they must be subject to continuing evaluation so that critics can assess bias and errors.”

If we can harness the power of algorithms without allowing them to perpetuate injustices or dehumanize users, we could all benefit from these technological wonders, said Jonathan Grudin, principal researcher at Microsoft.

“The algorithms are not in control; people create and adjust them. However, positive effects for one person can be negative for another, and tracing causes and effects can be difficult, so we will have to continually work to understand and adjust the balance,” Grudin said in the Pew survey. “I’m optimistic that a general trend toward positive outcomes will prevail, given the tremendous potential upside to technology use.”

New Memory Storage Tech Is 1,000 Times Faster at Processing Information

POWERFUL MEMORY

Whether it’s our phone, tablet, or laptop, we’ve all come across problems with our hardware’s ability to store information or the time it takes to access that information. As technology continues to break limits of computer storage in access speed and capacity, we are getting to wield more powerful tools than ever before. The latest computing tool is the 3D XPoint, a new-generation memory technology that Intel and Micron Technology have kept under wraps since 2012.

The 3D XPoint is a solid-state drive that is getting buzz for its breakneck speeds in accessing memory. The technology is the marriage of RAM and flash storage, as it’s four times denser than traditional RAM. Conveniently, it can hold information even when it’s turned off, unlike other volatile storage sources. When compared to other forms of information storage, like NAND and DRAM, 3D XPoint is almost 1,000 times faster at reading and writing information.

This means the new-generation memory technology will power the next series of computers. The Optane SSD DC P4800X will be Intel’s first foray with the new tech.  The 375 GB solid-state drive comes at a cost of $1520. Intel’s second product to use the technology will come at a much more affordable cost at $44, equipped with a 16 GB memory solution.

ENHANCED EFFICIENCY

This technology isn’t built to entirely replace your computer’s hard drive — rather it’s there to work alongside it. The Optane memory can increase productivity by loading various applications and software at almost 600 percent of original speeds.

Whether you’re a gamer or a professional, the services that you require probably take up a lot of your computing power. With the 3D XPoint technology, we will see far more efficiency in accomplishing whatever we have in mind, whether that’s streaming youtube or developing the next big thing.

FUTURISM - Evolution

THE EVOLUTION OF RETAIL

Last Monday, Amazon announced its new concept store, Amazon Go. The store is powered by sensors, deep learning artificial intelligence (AI), and computer vision, giving customers the ability to browse through the store, take what they want off shelves, and literally go — no need to queue to pay for the items. The only added step to the shopping experience is swiping the free Amazon Go app from their phones once when they enter the store. Their Amazon account automatically gets charged for their purchases when they leave.

The store concept eliminates labor costs incurred by cashiers and is ideal not only for Amazon, but for customers as well. No lines or checkouts? From a shopper’s point of view, it’s the ideal shopping experience, offering a level of convenience that could be game-changing for the retail industry. However, Amazon Go also raises concerns about potential ramifications on employment and the economy.

“With Amazon, it’s not just about reducing labor costs at all — they’ve come up with something disruptive,” says Martin Ford, author of “Rise of the Robots: Technology and the Threat of a Jobless Future,” in an interview at CNBC.

ON THE CUSP OF ECONOMIC CHANGE

Technology can be a catalyst for the creation or destruction of jobs, but historically, it has always ultimately created more opportunities for employment, not less. That’s not stopping many from speaking out against Amazon Go for its potential to increase unemployment, though.

According to Ford, however, the implementation of automation technology is inevitable because it has obvious advantages for both consumers and retailers. “I don’t think we can stop it,” he says. “It’s a part of capitalism, that there’s going to be this continuous drive for more efficiency.”

While many have been focusing on manufacturing and transportation as the industries that will be hardest hit by automation, Amazon Go is an example of how tech that exists right now could replace retail salespersons and cashiers, jobs that had the highest employment numbers in the U.S. in May 2015 according to the Bureau of Labor statistics.

While it’s true that the negative impact of a shift toward automation in this sector could be devastating, studies of potential solutions, such as the implementation of a universal basic income, are already in the works.

Tarih Insanlik ve Millet

 Öncelikle “Millet” kavramı belli bir coğrafyada yaşayan halkların belli bir etnik alan içinde ortak bir kültür geliştirmesi ve ortak bir üretim paylaşım ülküsünü benimsemesidir. Milletlerin karakterini oluşturan ana etkenin Güneş’te olan büyük patlamalardan, Dünya’ya ulaşan dev enerji ışınlarının atmosferle etkileşiminden biyokimyasal enerjiye dönüşmesini ve bu enerjiye maruz kalan bölgedeki halkların bu enerjiye maruz kalan bölgedeki yaşama sürelerinin, bu halkların karakterini belirlemede ana etken olduğunu söyleyelim. Milletlerin karakterini ve bilincini biyokimyasal enerji patlamalarına dayanıklılığı oluşturuyorsa, acaba kültürünü de bünyelerindeki artı biyokimyasal enerjilerini ortak bir üretim şekline odaklamaları ve bu şekilde kendi yönetim geleneklerini oluşturmaları sağlıyor olabilir mi? Biyosfer ve teknosferin etkileşimi ve güneş sistemimizden sağladığımız biyokimyasal enerjinin kullanılması acaba milletlerin karakterini belirleyebilir mi? Ülkelerin ulusal gücü ve bu gücü kullanıp kendilerini siyasi, ekonomik ve askeri açıdan güvence altına alabilmelerini sağlayacak yol ve yöntemler her milletin kendi karakterine göre değişiklikler gösterir.