Got a question for Watson? Ask away on Reddit

by Matt Hickey

(Credit: Reddit)

You've probably heard about Watson, IBM's latest smarter-than-you supercomputer. This week it competed against champions on Jeopardy--and won. 

Thankfully, Watson is not self-aware (yet), because we all know that once computers become self-aware one of the first things they do is try to wipe out humans, or even humanity itself. If my name was Sarah Connor I'd be nervous right about now.

But that lack of self-awareness doesn't mean Watson can't think for itself, or even speak for itself. In fact, right now you can ask Watson questions online on this Reddit thread. It's part of Reddit's popular "Ask Me Anything" (AMA) feature, and while users are encouraged to ask anything, there's no guarantee you'll get a response.

It's not actually Watson, but the research team that created it, answering, and that's because they don't yet know how to have him do it. That man-machine divide, by the way, is what we'll be addressing on tomorrow's Reporters' Roundtable podcast at noon PT. The topic will be "robobrain vs. humanity."
Still, it's still great that the scienticians who put together such an impressive machine are opening their minds to the public. Redditors have already asked some rather technical questions, including, "How do you go about 'teaching' Watson to derive the non-literal/idiomatic meaning from phrases like 'around the corner? Does it rely on a huge (human dictated) list of such 'rules'?" and "Could you give an example of a question (or question style) that Watson would always struggle with?"

Valid questions all, but we'd like to get answers to the juicier ones, such as "Is Watson seeing anybody?" "Does Watson ever feel? If so, does he feel overshadowed by Sherlock Holmes?" and "Watson, should I get the Verizon iPhone now or wait for the next generation?" Even better, you, the readers, should ask something. After all, it's not every day you get to query the mind of a supercomputer.

Go on, ask them anything.

(Credit: Screenshot by Matt Hickey/CNET)

Source: Cnet News

NSA chief wants to protect 'critical' private networks

by Declan McCullagh

 

NSA chief Keith Alexander, who also runs the U.S. Cyber Command, says it's time to "refine the roles of government and the private sector in securing this nation's critical networks."

(Credit: Declan McCullagh/CNET)

SAN FRANCISCO--The head of the National Security Agency said today that the U.S. military should have the authority to defend "critical networks" from malware and other disruptions. 

Gen. Keith Alexander, who is also the head of the Pentagon's U.S. Cyber Command, said at the RSA Conference here that the NSA's "active defenses" designed to defend military networks should be extended to civilian government agencies, and then key private-sector networks as well.
"I believe we have the talent to build a cyber-secure capability that protects our civil liberties and our privacy," Alexander said.

Alexander's comments come only two days after William Lynn, the deputy secretary of defense, offered the same suggestion. In an essay last year, Lynn likened active defenses to a cross between a "sentry" and a "sharpshooter" that can also "hunt within" a network for malicious code or an intruder who managed to penetrate the network's perimeter.

But the power to monitor civilian networks for bad behavior includes the ability to monitor in general, and it was the NSA that ran the controversial warrantless wiretapping program under the Bush administration. Concerns about privacy are likely to turn on the details, including the extent of the military's direct involvement, and whether Web sites like Google.com and Hotmail.com could be considered "critical" or the term would only be applied to facilities like the Hoover Dam.

Alexander offered little in the way of specifics today. "We need to continue to refine the roles of government and the private sector in securing this nation's critical networks," he said. "How do we extend this secure zone, if you will? How do we help protect the critical infrastructure, key resources?"
At the moment, the Department of Homeland Security has primary responsibility for protecting critical infrastructure. A presidential directive (HSPD 7) says the department will "serve as a focal point for the security of cyberspace." During an appearance at RSA two years ago, Alexander stressed that "we do not want to run cybersecurity for the U.S. government."

That was then. After Cyber Command was created--following reports of a power struggle between DHS and the NSA--it moved quickly to consolidate its authority. An October 2010 memorandum of agreement (PDF) between the two agencies says they agree to "provide mutually beneficial logistical and operational support" to one another.
Senators Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) recently pledged to reintroduce a controversial bill handing President Obama power over privately owned computer systems during a "national cyberemergency," with limited judicial review. It's been called an Internet "kill switch" bill, especially after Egypt did just that.

Alexander didn't address that point. "The intent would be: let's build how we can do this with DOD, show we can extend that to the government, and then to key critical infrastructure," he said.

Source: Cnet News

Hurt Locker lawyers launch nationwide copyright fight

by Greg Sandoval

 

A publicity still for the movie 'The Hurt Locker.'

(Credit: Voltage Pictures)

 

After several setbacks, Dunlap, Grubb & Weaver, the law firm that last year filed copyright suits against thousands of accused illegal file sharers on behalf of independent filmmakers, has made good on promises to push on with the cases.
Dunlap has begun to re-file lawsuits across the country against people accused last year of pirating movies via peer-to-peer networks. To do that, Dunlap established a network of lawyers who are licensed to operate in different federal districts.
Dunlap, which also works under the name U.S. Copyright Group, made headlines last year by suing thousands in a federal court in Washington D.C. on behalf of the makers of such films as "Far Cry" and "The Hurt Locker," last year's Oscar winner for Best Picture. The Washington court, however, appeared hostile to Dunlap's strategy of filing against thousands of people from outside that jurisdiction. That's when Dunlap changed strategy.

'Hurt Locker' sharers: Expect docs like this (photos)

In the case of "Far Cry," a film based on the popular video game, Dunlap told CNET that lawyers working with the firm have filed complaints on behalf of the filmmakers in Massachusetts, Colorado, Minnesota and West Virginia.
"Filing in Florida in about ten minutes," Thomas Dunlap, one of the firm's founders, e-mailed today. "I am driving to courthouse now, should have cases already in Illinois. "We will file in California, Texas, Washington and Oregon in the next two weeks."
Dunlap has also begun filing lawsuits against named individuals. Records show that he filed suits in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia against Linaka Stein and Gina Morrison, residents of West Virginia and Richard Ball of Virginia.

Dunlap typically offers an accused person a chance to settle out of court for a sum between $1,500 and $3,000. Dunlap has always said he would file lawsuits against those who refused to settle. But there were those who had their doubts. Dunlap appeared to drag his feet about starting the potentially expensive and years-long process of winning a copyright judgment against someone.
Jammie Thomas-Rasset, the Minnesota mother accused by the music industry of illegal file sharing, is an example of how hard a process it can be to pursue a copyright judgment. The Thomas-Rasset case has cost the major labels millions of dollars in legal fees and the case continues to drag on.
Dunlap doesn't appear to be bluffing anymore. The firm shows no signs of letting up.

A half-dozen people have contacted CNET since Tuesday about receiving notices from their Internet service providers informing them that Dunlap had subpoenaed their names and other information about them. Before filing a suit against someone, copyright owners must first acquire a person's identity from their ISP.
Dunlap's lawsuits gave rise to a wave of antipiracy litigation last year. Attorneys in West Virginia, Texas, and California began using Dunlap's legal strategy as a template. The porn sector was the most passionate in pursuing these cases. But the adult-filmmakers have run into trouble. A federal judge in Texas recently "severed" thousands of defendants from copyright suits filed by attorney Evan Stone on behalf of 11 copyright owners, most of them porn studios, according to a report in Ars Technica.
In 13 of Stone's 16 suits, only a single defendant remains.
The judge in the case ruled that there wasn't enough binding the defendants together to name them in one suit. Stone argues that the defendants "were improperly severed." He said that to use BitTorrent, people must work together to share files.

"This isn't over," Stone told CNET. "There are numerous other tools for obtaining the names and addresses of pirates and we're not going to stop until justice is served."
In West Virginia, a federal court came to a similar conclusion as the Texas judge. Attorney Ken Ford had filed against thousands of people on behalf of adult-film studios but most of the defendants were also severed from those suits. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which has led the opposition against these suits say that they rob defendants of the ability to defend themselves? How can a individual tell their story when they're lumped together with so many people?

Source: Cnet News