### Issue 1829 - Thursday 20th April, 2023

## In Today's Issue

- Google wants copyright law relaxed so it can train AI models without legal issues
- FBI, AFP & other cops beg Meta again to stop plans to enable end-to-end encryption on Messenger & Instagram
- Sony invests in Raspberry Pi, Tailscale improves free tier, CSIRO has a new STEM program for school kids
- The Washington Post takes a look at the collection of websites Google scrapes to train its AI
- Cheap KEF speakers, Polk subwoofer, Kingston SSD, Apple AirTags, cashback at The Good Guys & Sony online stores

## The News

### Google wants copyright law relaxed so it can train AI models without legal issues

In a submission to the Attorney-General's Copyright Enforcement Review, Google said it wants the government to modify copyright laws so it can train AI models without the inconvenient hassle of obtaining permission from the owner of that information. In an attempt to shame and/or scare the government into doing what it wants, Google says that "the lack of such copyright flexibilities means that investment in and development of AI and machine-learning technologies is happening and will continue to happen overseas". Meanwhile, Elon Musk is suing Microsoft, claiming its AI stuff was "trained illegally using Twitter data" and Reddit is planning to charge for access to its API for the purposes of training AI.

### FBI, AFP & other cops beg Meta again to stop plans to enable end-to-end encryption on Messenger & Instagram

Another day, another dummy spit by law enforcement begging Meta to not make end-to-end encryption (E2EE) default in Messenger and Instagram. The Virtual Global Taskforce, a group of 15 agencies, including the FBI and AFP, argues that if E2EE is used on Meta's platforms, they are "blindfolding themselves to child sexual abuse". Meta seems unmoved by the claim, saying that "we don't think people want us reading their private messages" and will make E2EE default "sometime in 2023". Sorry coppers, I much prefer my communications being secure and private over your need to catch the dumbest of people using Facebook to do crimes. Maybe do some old fashioned investigation and police work instead of mass surveillance of the community?

### Sony invests in Raspberry Pi, Tailscale improves free tier, CSIRO has a new STEM program for school kids

- Raspberry Pi has received a "strategic investment" of an undisclosed amount from Sony. In a press release, Eben Upton, CEO of Raspberry Pi Ltd, said that "this transaction will allow us to expand our partnership, bringing Sony Semiconductor Solutions' line of AI products to the Raspberry Pi ecosystem, and helping our users to build exciting new machine-learning applications at the edge". I'm not sure if AI solutions are a thing Raspberry Pi's customers were asking for, but you're gonna get it anyways.
- Popular VPN/remote access platform Tailscale announced some positive changes to their plan structure. The free tier now gets 3 free users instead of only 1, the paid plans "now include three free users, and bill you only for additional users who actively exchange data over Tailscale", and there's no longer limits on how many subnet routers or admin accounts you can have in your plan. I love Tailscale, one of the most useful tech things I've used the last year or so. Makes sharing servers and network access incredibly easy.
- CSIRO is kicking off a new program called STEM Together that "helps curious Year 5 to 10 students strengthen their confidence, capability and connection with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)" and "aims to boost representation for student groups that have traditionally had lower participation rates in STEM, including students from regional areas, girls, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and those from less advantaged areas". Visit CSIRO's website for more info.

## Something I Saw On The Internet

### Washington Post takes a look at what websites Google scrapes to train its AI

The Washington Post took a look at Google's C4 data set, "a massive snapshot of the contents of 15 million websites that have been used to instruct some high-profile English-language AIs, called large language models, including Google's T5 and Facebook's LLaMA". The top 3 sources of data are patents.google.com (did not expect that), Wikipedia and Scribd. Unfortunately, they also scraped sites like Stormfront, Kiwifarms and 4chan. There's shitloads of data in there that is copyright too and I bet Google did not get permission from the owners of that content to use in their AI model training. Google certainly didn't ask me for permission if they could use thesizzle.com.au or decryption.net.au in their AI model! My message to Google is fuck you, pay me.

## Bargains

- 10% cashback at The Good Guys (uncapped, but with exclusions like consoles, Apple, Miele, etc) via ShopBack
- KEF Q150 or Q350 passive bookshelf speakers - $549/$799 from Amazon
- Kingston KC3000 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD - $225.47 from Amazon Germany
- Polk Audio PSW10E 10" Powered Subwoofer - $289.16 from Amazon
- 12% cashback from Sony (uncapped, but not eligible on PlayStation stuff) via Cashrewards
- Apple AirTags 4-Pack - $139 from ggtech365's eBay store

## Image Of The Day

The Westinghouse Atom Smasher was a 5 million volt Van de Graaff electrostatic nuclear accelerator operated by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation at their Research Laboratories in Forest Hills, Pennsylvania. It was instrumental in the development in practical applications of nuclear science for energy production. In particular, it was used in 1940 to discover the photofission of uranium and thorium, and was most cited for certain nuclear physics measurements. The Westinghouse Atom Smasher was able to make precise measurements of nuclear reactions for the research in nuclear power. It was the first industrial Van de Graaff generator in the world, and marked the beginning of nuclear research for civilian applications. Built in 1937, it was a 65-foot-tall (20 m) pear-shaped tower. It went dormant in 1958. In 1985, it was named an Electrical Engineering Milestone by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. (Pat Gavin)

## The End

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