Tag: big data

Edward Snowden: How to make facts

On Saturday, I just had enough time to post a link to the interview Joe Rogan did with Edward Snowden:

http://fun.freezine.org/activity/p/20376/

This is a deep link to a segment where Snowden was explaining how important evidence is in establishing facts (i.e., in journalism, in courts, etc.). I myself contrasted this with the way science works (the scientific method cannot prove anything, scientific theories are simply descriptions of phenomena that have not yet been refuted by testing hypotheses). IMHO it would be nice if more people took the skeptical attitude inherent in the scientific approach.

Other People’s Alexa

We were able to navigate around a complete stranger’s private life without his knowledge, and the immoral, almost voyeuristic nature of what we were doing got our hair standing on end. The alarms, Spotify commands, and public transport inquiries included in the data revealed a lot about the victims’ personal habits, their jobs, and their taste in music. Using these files, it was fairly easy to identify the person involved and his female companion. Weather queries, first names, and even someone’s last name enabled us to quickly zero in on his circle of friends. Public data from Facebook and Twitter rounded out the picture.

https://gizmodo.com/the-amazon-alexa-eavesdropping-nightmare-came-true-1831231490