Tin

Machine Morality

I would argue that humans without empathy (sociopaths etc) are incapable of making moral decisions for themselves - they merely follow rules laid out by others for a “simulated” morality. Similarly, machines will be incapable of moral judgements until they have not just self-awareness, but awareness of others.

Until machines have desires AI will never create art

Life Has Meaning Only Relative To Other Lives

In a universe devoid of God or absolute morality, the only meaning human lives have is relative to one another. For non-believers it therefore only makes sense to consider morality in terms of effect on others.

A planet in a universe in which it is the only body has no speed - the concept of travel only making sense when there is at least one other object to move relative to. It is also impossible to say something is moral or immoral if only one individual is considered, and that individual’s life is ultimately pointless.

Life creates it’s own meaning relative to other lives.

Pictured this way, Individualist ideologies could be considered morally neutral - which has an appeal to many (particularly on the political right) perhaps because you do not need to worry about being immoral? Sit at home on your own, have a gun for protection and require no taxes - the self-sufficiency utopia of many an American / English Individualist. You may not being doing good; but you are not doing bad.

Except that in the real world there is not just one planet in the universe.

Why Verified By Visa is a Scam

A letter I am sending to online merchants who are implementing Verified By Visa (3D Secure). You are welcome to use it yourself. I wonder what the shopping cart drop out rate is for new adopters? Surely that is enough business reason to drop this rubbish alone.

Dear Merchant,

    I’m afraid that your introduction of 3D secure “Verified By Visa” has stopped me from completing my cart - and will stop me completing future carts.

If you are not aware of it’s shortcomings:

- The system puts an extra validation step in the payment process. The inconvenience of this is supposed to be outweighed by the additional security offered, yet the 3D secure system is inherently simple to spoof and has significant vulnerabilities, some of which are already being exploited.

- Because of the supposed “security” improvement, banks and merchants can claim victims of card fraud were definitely present, therefore absolving themselves of responsibility and reducing their “Unauthorized Transaction” chargebacks.

If you would like more information that is not just bank PR, read this Cambridge University Research paper on the system > http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/Papers/fc10vbvsecurecode.pdf or http://antiworm.blogspot.co.uk/2006/02/verified-by-visa-veriphied-phishing.html

The benefits are entirely from the bank / merchant’s perspective, and offer me - the customer - nothing except additional inconvenience and less protection from fraud. I am hugely disappointed in your adoption of this system as I consider you to otherwise be an excellent store, with good products and service.

Good to see BBC News including the ability for those who have read an article to upload their own movies and pictures (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18352281) This means that those actually involved in incidents (such as those happening in Syria) - who are quite likely to come to the BBC site for information - have a method to get their voices heard. I have suggested this before to the Guardian’s editor (who I met some time back) as a legitimate journalistic alternative to Wikileaks - so it is _good_ to see the BBC doing this…

HOWEVER

They _require_ you to leave sensitive details (see http://bbcnewsupload.streamuk.com/ ) or it will not submit - and does the embedded html form _really_ need access to your camera and microphone before you decide to add a webcast? They may not want endless cheap-loan offers, but at the same time the rest of us do not want barriers for those thinking of offering important - often life affecting - information.