Friday, September 28, 2018
Former Google Scientist: Oversight of ‘Unethical’ Company Is ‘Urgently Needed’
In his letter, Poulson described Google’s censored China search project as “unethical” and claimed “greater oversight and accountability” of the company was “urgently needed.”
He also claimed Google would now be clamping down on internal investigations to stop future revelations of a similar nature from reaching the public, and called on the Senate to have a hearing over the matter.
“Senator Thune set the tone for the upcoming hearing by stating that ‘Consumers deserve clear answers and standards on data privacy protection.’ Given the scale and social impact of the technical systems being deployed by Google and other corporations, I would add that greater oversight and accountability of not only data, but also the systems that are designed and deployed based on such data, is urgently needed,” declared Poulson. “Until the beginning of this month, I worked in Google’s Research and Machine Intelligence division as a Senior Research Scientist, where one of my primary responsibilities was improving Google’s search accuracy across a wide variety of languages.”
Poulson continued:
I was compelled to resign my position on August 31, 2018, in the wake of a pattern of unethical and unaccountable decision making from company leadership. This culminated in their refusal to disclose information about Project Dragonfly, a version of Google Search tailored to the censorship and surveillance demands of the Chinese government. Like most of the world, including most Google employees, I learned about this effort on August 1, 2018, from public reporting.
It is notable that Project Dragonfly was well underway at the time the company released its AI Principles. As has been widely understood, by human rights organizations,investigative reporters, Google employees, and the public, Project Dragonfly directly contradicts the AI Principles’ commitment to not “design or deploy” any technology whose purpose “contravenes...
9 Key Moments as Brett Kavanaugh Responds to His Accusers
“This confirmation process has become a national disgrace,” Kavanaugh said in opening remarks. “You have replaced advice and consent with search and destroy.”
“You may defeat me in the final vote,” he said, “but you’ll never get me to quit.”
Kavanaugh’s chief accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, 51, testified earlier in the day. The California research psychologist and college professor was questioned about her allegation that Kavanaugh, 53, sexually assaulted her while drunk when both were teens in high school.
“I’m never going to get my reputation back,” Kavanaugh told the Senate committee. “My life is totally and permanently altered.”
Kavanaugh faced criticism for lacking emotion days ago in a Fox News Channel interview, but the federal appeals judge did not lack anger, frustration, or other emotions in confronting the allegations Thursday afternoon.
A vote by the Judiciary Committee’s 11 Republicans and 10 Democrats on sending the nomination to the full Senate was expected Friday.
Here are nine key moments in the extraordinary hearing examining the character of President Donald Trump’s nominee to the high court.
1. Ford’s Charge ‘Refuted’
Kavanaugh said during his testimony that Ford’s allegation “is not only uncorroborated, it has been refuted.”
“I denied the allegation immediately, categorically, and unequivocally,” he said. “All four people allegedly at the event, including Dr. Ford’s longtime friend Ms. [Leland] Keyser, have said they recall no such event.”
Besides Kavanaugh, Ford said, his classmate Mark Judge was in the room when Kavanaugh attacked her. She said Leland Ingham Keyser and Patrick J. Smyth were the others at the gathering of teens.
However, under penalty of felony, everyone named by Ford said in sworn statements to the committee they did not remember the gathering. Keyser said she didn’t remember knowing Kavanaugh.
Kavanaugh said he doesn’t doubt Ford might have experienced a sexual assault, but stated firmly and repeatedly that it was not by him.
“I was not at the party described by Dr. Ford,” Kavanaugh testified.
At the end of his prepared remarks, Kavanaugh said:
I ask you to judge me by the standard that you would want applied to your father, your brother, or your son. My family and I intend no ill will toward Dr. Ford or her family. But I swear today, under oath, before the Senate and the nation and before my family and God, I am innocent of this charge.
2. ‘Orchestrated Political Hit’
In his opening remarks, Kavanaugh directed anger at some committee Democrats and their political backers:
This whole two-week effort has been a calculated and orchestrated political hit fueled with apparent pent-up anger about President Trump and the 2016 election, fear that has been unfairly stoked about my judicial record, revenge on behalf of the Clintons, and millions of dollars in money from outside, left-wing opposition groups.
He lashed out at an allegation that emerged Wednesday from a woman, Julie Swetnick, who claimed he participated in multiple gang rapes as a high school student.
“The Swetnick thing is a joke,” Kavanaugh said. “That is a farce.”
Kavanaugh said it will become difficult to nominate good people to serve the country because they will fear a similar smear.
He warned, “What goes around comes around,” and added: “I fear for our future.”
Early on, Kavanaugh became emotional when talking about his younger daughter, Liza, and his wife Ashley.
“I intend no ill will to Dr. Ford and her family,” Kavanaugh said, fighting tears. “The other night, Ashley and Liza said their prayers and little Liza—all of 10 years old—said to Ashley, ‘We should pray for the woman.'”
“That’s a lot of wisdom from a 10-year-old,” he added.
3. ‘I Still Like Beer’
Kavanaugh admitted to drinking beer, and, in his youth, perhaps too much.
“I liked beer. I still like beer, but I did not drink beer to...
ICE arrests 83 criminal aliens and immigration violators in 4-day Wisconsin enforcement surge
CHICAGO — Deportation officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) arrested 83 criminal aliens and immigration violators in Wisconsin during a four-day enforcement action, which ended Monday.
During this operation, ERO officers made arrests in the following 14 Wisconsin counties: Brown (9), Dane (20), Door (2), Eau Claire (4), Kewaunee (4), Marathon (6), Milwaukee (15), Oconto (1), Outagamie (3), Racine (1), Rock (5), Taylor (7), Trempealeau (4) and Waukesha (2). Of the 83 arrested, 44 had criminal convictions. Six women and 77 men were arrested.
The 90 Miles Mystery Box: Episode #393
You have come across a mystery box. But what is inside?
It could be literally anything from the serene to the horrific,
from the beautiful to the repugnant,
from the mysterious to the familiar.
If you decide to open it, you could be disappointed,
you could be inspired, you could be appalled.
This is not for the faint of heart or the easily offended.
You have been warned.
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