Anonymous ID: 65ad6d July 1, 2018, 2:47 a.m. No.1982196   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2204 >>2207 >>2244 >>2419

Possible notable?

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-30/drones-are-being-taught-to-spot-violence-in-crowds/9920472

 

Eyes in the sky: Drones are being taught to spot violence in crowds

By Victoria Pengilley

Updated Sat at 8:16am

Imagine your every move being watched and analysed by drones designed to predict — and stop — violent behaviour.

It sounds like a scene from Black Mirror, but researchers are trialling a drone surveillance system that does just that — and it could come to a festival near you.

The ominously-named Eye in the Sky program uses artificial intelligence that compares live-streamed drone footage to violent actions such as punching, stabbing, kicking and strangling.

Any movements it deems aggressive are flagged with law authorities.

The program, developed by researchers in India and the UK, will be trialled at two events on Indian university campuses this year — a technology fair and a music festival.

Lead researcher Amarjot Singh from the University of Cambridge hopes the technology will help close gaps in surveillance and lead to a reduction in crime.

"The problem is in public spaces where crowd density is quite large or in developing countries where we don't have enough CCTV cameras," he told Sunday Extra.

"For example, in India there were riots recently and we didn't have enough cameras to monitor everything."

The same technology has been used to locate abandoned bags in busy public areas, and to detect ATM theft, with an accuracy rate of 96 per cent.

In the wake of terrorist attacks in cities like Manchester and Boston, festivals around the world have begun turning to drones to monitor crowds.

In April this year, massive American music festival Coachella equipped security with autonomous drones to bolster their security system and deter so-called "bad behaviour".

And they could be used a lot closer to home.

With thousands of fans set to descend on upcoming festivals like Splendour In The Grass, there has been talk that similar technology could be used to monitor densely populated areas for sexual harassment or assault.

But the research has opened the door to a range of ethical concerns, with some arguing the technology could incorrectly identify movements in crowds.

Toby Walsh, a professor of artificial intelligence at the University of New South Wales and CSIRO's Data61, believes the analysis of live footage may prove unreliable.

"I suspect you have to track how people's hands and limbs move over time to really see accurately whether someone is fighting … as opposed to dancing badly or doing a high five," he says.

The advent of the program has also provoked concerns about privacy.

Mr Walsh argues that as commercial drones become more accessible, the technology could fall into the wrong hands and be misused by police or authoritarian governments.

"I should point out that even if you can't see a person's face, you can recognise them," Mr Walsh adds.

"There are places on the planet like China where they are increasingly becoming surveillance states enabled by artificial intelligence.

"We should be concerned. There's plenty of good that technology could be used for and, like any technology, it can be used for bad."

While the Eye in the Sky program is still in the prototype stage, Mr Singh insists it relies on a sophisticated algorithm that can only recognise certain movements rather than people themselves.

"The drone on its own doesn't take any action, it's just a screening tool," he says.

"If you have a very large crowd, it narrows it down to a few batches so that if the artificial intelligence makes a mistake … law enforcement officials can make an informed decision."

Still, there are fears that the arrival of such technology could change how we view attending public events.

"[In the past] if you went to a political demonstration you couldn't be identified … that expectation is starting to disappear because of technology," Mr Walsh says.

"There are places where we want privacy.

"If you want to be in a public space and someone wants to fly a drone over the top then it's hard to maintain your privacy."

Anonymous ID: 65ad6d July 1, 2018, 2:51 a.m. No.1982206   🗄️.is 🔗kun   >>2209 >>2244 >>2419

Donald Trump's comments prompt US ambassador to Estonia James D Melville to resign

 

Updated about 9 hours ago

U.S. Ambassador to Estonia James D. Melville Jr addresses dignitaries in front of an U.S. Army tank

Photo: Mr Melville is a senior US career diplomat with 33 years of public service. (AP: Vitnija Saldava)

Related Story: Donald Trump may have missed the memo on dodgy presidential pardons

Related Story: Is the US President above the law?

 

The US ambassador to Estonia has resigned over frustrations with President Donald Trump's comments about the European Union and his treatment of Washington's European allies.

 

In a private Facebook message posted on Friday, James D Melville wrote: "For the President to say EU was 'set up to take advantage of the United States, to attack our piggy bank,' or that 'NATO is as bad as NAFTA [the North American Free Trade Agreement]' is not only factually wrong, but proves to me that it's time to go."

 

Mr Melville was referring to Mr Trump's recent comments at news conferences and on social media

Anonymous ID: 65ad6d July 1, 2018, 2:54 a.m. No.1982213   🗄️.is 🔗kun

Attacks will intensify?

Surely this is crap?

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-30/donald-trump-prank-caller-says-he-talked-to-president/9927208

A podcaster says he spoke on the phone to US President Donald Trump on Air Force One for almost four minutes by pretending to be a Democratic senator — and the President did not realise.

 

A voice purportedly belonging to Mr Trump discussed topics including immigration in the phone call with John "Stuttering John" Melendez, who pretended to be Senator Bob Menendez.

 

The recording was included in an episode of Melendez's Stuttering John Podcast.

 

Melendez, a comedian known for his time on the Howard Stern Show, said he was first put through to Mr Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, who asked him what he wanted to talk to the President about.

 

After he told him he wanted to discuss immigration, Melendez said Mr Kushner responded: "OK, cool, I'll tell him."

 

He said he was "shocked" Mr Trump then returned his call — from his plane