OLDaily

Google starts rolling out passkey support for Android and Chrome
Abner Li, 9to5Google, 2022/10/13

I don't know how to code for this yet, and so the implications (for example: how centralized is this system) are as yet unclear to me. However, it seems like a pretty important development as access to online services moves beyond passwords and two-factor authentication (TFA). The idea here is that you authenticate on your own device instead of on the website or service. To be clear: variations of this approach are already in service; on my own phone I use things like Microsoft Authenticator, Google Wallet, or PassWallet to authenticate. These are not only used for websites but also for event tickets and even for entrance into Quebec provincial parks. The desire, though, is to see passkey support replace passwords entirely, and this means making them available to everyone. More code and demos on GitHub.

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AI_Commons
Alek Tarkowski, Zuzanna Warso, Creative Commons, 2022/10/13

This article is a lengthy case study concerning the use of openly licensed photographs for AI facial recognition training datasets to support commercial enterprise. This is just one example of an unexpected, and even unimagined, use of openly licensed content. The study notes that people were surprised and upset when they found their open content was being used in this way. It looks at the issue from a variety of perspectives (or 'lenses'): copyright, privacy rights and research ethics. "New, broadly understood governance mechanisms are needed to account for the risks, mitigate harms, and preserve the commons that is the pool of openly licensed content," argue the authors.

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Lab-Grown Human Cells Form Working Circuits in Rat Brains
Allison Whitten, Quanta Magazine, 2022/10/13

People are worried about AI taking over, but I suspect that what we'll really see in the future is augmented human intelligence. Research like this suggests what it will look like. "By transplanting human brainlike tissue into rats that are just days old... human neurons and other brain cells can grow and integrate themselves into the rat's brain." Could we do this eventually with human brains? Probably. Could we integrate artificial neurons into infant human brains? Probably. It stands to reason that with the right training and development, an augmented intelligence would be developed. All of this, though, is decades in the future and should be subject to intense ethical scrutiny.

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Microsoft launches Designer, its answer to highly valued startup Canva
Jordan Novet, CNBC, 2022/10/13

CNBC is using the word 'launches' differently from the rest of us, because Microsoft's new Designer product isn't actually available yet. There's preview waitlist you can sign up for online. Otherwise, the website gives you a bit of a feel for the product, which to my mind looks a bit like PowerPoint's design suggestions supplemented with an AI text-to-design support. The product would complete (according to the article) with Canva and Adobe's new Express tool.

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University researchers are helping to create a Canadian guide for social connection
Sharon Aschaiek, University Affairs, 2022/10/13

Lift me up then disappoint me. The project sounds like a great initiative. " The GenWell Project... received $761,000 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research to develop the Canadian Social Connection Guidelines, a set of concise, easy-to-use recommendations to help people build stronger social bonds." Now these guidelines aren't available yet, but that's OK, good work takes time. Still, I felt it worth visiting the website, and was met not with information but with slick marketing, complete with a pledge, social media come-ons, fundraising and a merch section. It all felt scammy. There was nothing of actual value. So I don't know.

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