It's feeling like I need a large language model brain to write about safety with large language models. [I certify that I only wish I had such a brain, and I am a human.] So let's freeze the film for a moment and see where we humans are with generative AI safety. First, so that we're all on the same page, a large language model is basically an algorithmic structure called a "neural … [Read more...] about Generative AI: July 2023 freeze frame
regulation
Social media’s next phase: A new social contract?
The "Cambridge Analytica scandal," as seen in so many headlines, is giving way to a more thoughtful – and crucial – international discussion about not only data privacy but an even bigger question: where our social development is at this point in the planet's technological development, the part we call the Internet. Here are a few thoughts on that and, below them, links to coverage that I feel … [Read more...] about Social media’s next phase: A new social contract?
What the Net privacy big picture has to do with parenting
It's no wonder parents and schools aren't sure where their policies start and stop when it comes to online interaction among young people who could be in any home, any school, any community or even country. Governments – whether local, state, or national – aren't sure either. More than ever, "jurisdiction" and "regulation," whether a family's or a national government's, is no longer either/or, no … [Read more...] about What the Net privacy big picture has to do with parenting
The new, revised COPPA
The US Federal Trade Commission's revisions to the COPPA Rule announced today (12/19/12), are aimed at syncing up a rule mandated by a 1998 law with today's technology and with "the way children use the Internet, mobile devices and social networking," the FTC says in its press release. For example, the personal information that services cannot collect from children under 13 without parental … [Read more...] about The new, revised COPPA
The ‘minimum age’ & other unintended consequences of COPPA
It's tough to be the FTC – or anyone else trying to make rules for user-driven (social) media. It's hard enough to make static rules address fast-changing technology. Then there's the problem of changing understanding of consumers – the intended beneficiaries of the rules and the users of user-driven media – as we all adjust to having the data that represents so much of our everyday lives in a … [Read more...] about The ‘minimum age’ & other unintended consequences of COPPA