So, I just adopted these two little criminals. Say hello to Miso & Shoyu! And prepare yourselves for way too many kitten pictures in the coming months 👀
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Ted
@tedted@hachyderm.io
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A little pinch of randomness here and there and poof, your data is now protected. Magic! ✨
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Joined January 18, 2023
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@tedted@hachyderm.io
And I even forgot to mention the post here! It's about the decision by the U.S. government to ban noise infusion for the U.S. Census and other statistical products. tl;dr: this is very bad.
➡️ https://desfontain.es/blog/banning-noise.html 🥲
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@zackwhittaker@mastodon.social
@zackwhittaker@mastodon.social this is, sadly, a misunderstanding. DINUM -- one particular agency within the government -- is making the switch. 200-250 computers total. A good step but very far from "all government".
This piece reminded me of how proud I am of my ex-colleagues for pressuring Google into dropping project Maven, and glad I could play a small role in that.
Our efforts didn't stop the DoD from doing war crimes. But it made a meaningful difference in who's carrying the blame for it, and a clear proof that labor organizing can stop these things (in case Palantir workers decide to grow a conscience...).
That has to count for something.
This piece about the UK liver transplant matching algorithm, by @randomwalker@mastodon.social and @sayashk@mastodon.social, is well worth a read. Excellent example that algorithms that make real-world decisions aren't inherently problematic, but they can certainly be horrifyingly bad if not designed (and tested, and transparently published, and audited) carefully.
https://www.aisnakeoil.com/p/does-the-uks-liver-transplant-matching