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Source: The Quint

Former US Intelligence contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden said that the privacy of Indians has time and again been compromised by UIDAI’s Aadhaar scheme – a massive mass surveillance system – while speaking via video conference, at the Vox Media Foundation’s annual media festival ‘Talk Journalism 2018’, on 11 August in Jaipur.

Sales of “dumbphones” are on the rise as consumers increasingly seek ways to disconnect from the technology so many of us rely upon for work and everyday life. Handsets that are not connected to the internet and only allow the user to make calls and send texts are becoming increasingly popular, with sales having increased by as much as 5 per cent last year. In contrast, smartphone sales rose by just 2 per cent.

Source: People are buying ‘dumbphones’ so they can disconnect from technology

C3 IoT delivers a complete platform as a service for rapidly developing and operating big data, predictive analytics, AI, and IoT software applications.

Source: AI & IoT Software Platform for Digital Transformation | C3 IoT

ACE CODER pits a STEM savvy female protagonist against her uncle, a tech mogul puppeteer pitching privacy stealing biometric implants.

An urban aquaponics farm in Chicago becomes the victim of ransomware. Mags is summoned from her “temp” job at a coffee shop by its two young entrepreneurs to unlock it. Mags must sort out how to disinfect the computer system which runs the automated greenhouse in time for the owners to make delivery of their first order. In the process Mags uncovers the insidious nature of the ransomware and a possible connection to her uncle, an influential tech mogul. She begins to investigate.

Mags attends a family celebration for her uncle who was just awarded a contract by the United Nations to develop an artificial intelligence to supervise the internet and keep it safe from hackers. Knowing she is a computer prodigy, her uncle attempts to recruit her to work on the project. She agrees believing it will lead her closer to an answer.

Mags becomes the primary developer of the artificial intelligence which is christened “Dyrette.” With much anticipation Dyrette is implemented as the hacking crisis reaches its zenith. To everyone’s delight the hacking stops and data peace is restored. Mags gains instant fame. She is unable, however, to prove to herself that her uncle was responsible for the ransomware. Instead, she discovers he is up to something even more evil. Mags learns her uncle is secretly developing an implantable bio-metric device to connect people directly to her new creation through the “internet of things.” The device is a computer wafer made of tantalum metal.

Mags sees the implications. She knows IoTs are fast becoming the electronic gatekeepers of commerce and travel. Not only does she feel the wafer is dehumanizing she also considers the personal “supervision” the device will bring through IoTs to be the ultimate challenge to privacy and freedom. She resolves to oppose the scheme.

She confronts her uncle. He downplays its impact. Making her choice between family and fighting a web-tethered fate Mags throws a handful of prototype wafers on his desk like so many gold doubloons and marches out of his office in disgust. She slips out of the company facility but not before inserting a “vulnerability” into Dyrette’s code. Mags decides to oppose her uncle at every opportunity.

The first opportunity comes at a convention for futurists, scientists, and researchers convened by the United Nations. The phenomena of Dyrette has unexpectedly kicked off a search for the real purpose of life. Experts come from all over the world to a “Summit of Meaning.” Humanity wants to know, what’s its role in the universe? Mag’s uncle has been asked to weigh in on the question and Mags decides to secretly attend. Her uncle will use the venue to announce the wafers. She will use it to try to stop him.

The premise at the core of ACE CODER is certainly an intriguing one. The central technology in this story – Hayward’s wafers – feels relevant to our increasingly interconnected, “smart” present-day world, and the idea that a villainous figure would exploit such a massive and invasive collection of data feels perfectly believable (as sad as that is). The screenplay also easily hints at the dangers of the wafer technology early on. For instance, Hayward practically salivating at the idea of gaining “real control” on page 30 is appropriately ominous, as he wants to roll out a product users can’t live without. The double meaning in his admission that sheriffs can be bribed (on page 33) is easy to glean as well, and it’s one of the better lines in the story. Speaking of the dialogue, it’s often well-paced here. Those quick exchanges are important in terms of keeping the reader’s (meaning prospective buyer’s) eyes moving down the page and giving the script an energy that can translate to the screen. (Thatsaid, be sure the leads each have distinct voices to help their individual personalities come to life.) Finally, Makanga’s exit is a nice escalation to the conflict that shows how dire a situation this is forour leads, and Paulsen’s involvement in the World Heartbeat program is a clever twist.

-Reviewer

Conceptually, this is a big, bold idea that feels relevant in today’s modern world. It takes into account the many different facets of life that could be impacted by a technological terrorist attack – and the number is staggering. Incorporating Emily and Ben’s aquaponics farm is an effective way of indicating the desperation society feels as the world falls into the hands of hackers and subsequent chaos. There’s a real, authentic feeling of uncertainty. Hacking is a tough subject to capture cinematically, but this does a great job making it feel exciting and kinetic. It’s suspenseful in its anonymity – anyone could be behind an attack, responsible for depleting someone’s life savings and changing their world forever, or shutting off traffic lights and causing irreversible devastation. The prose maintains an intelligence regarding the more technical dialogue revolving around hacking, and it shapes conversations between characters like Mags and Brandon so they appear grounded and accurate in content. The twist that comes near the end of act three (i.e., Hayward tricks Mags into destroying Dyrette) successfully ups the stakes, and changing the atmosphere. It puts Hayward back on top, illuminating him as a super-villain not to be messed with, and allows the cliffhanger at the very end to really leave a significant impression.

 

https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/26/17616140/google-edge-tpu-on-device-ai-machine-learning-devkit

 

 

 

Set in Chicago with a budget under $5 million IOT pits a STEM savvy female protagonist against her uncle, a tech mogul puppeteer pitching privacy stealing biometric implants.