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Showing posts with label NSA Surveillance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NSA Surveillance. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 17, 2024

WATCH OUT FOR AN AI TYRANNY & NSA Spying

John R. Houk, Blog Editor

April 17, 2024

 

Whenever I look into the rise of a potential Artificial Intelligence (AI) tyranny as either a controlling tool of ONE-World Globalists or AI-sentience, I typically run into naysayers who claim it ain’t possible.

 

I’ve witnessed too many dark-side leaps and bounds to give credence to AI-Tyranny naysayers. Below are a series of posts I ran into that only serves my belief to WATCH OUT FOR AN AI TYRANNY & NSA SPYING!

 

JRH 4/17/24

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When it comes to AI, be afraid, be very afraid

Our Op-Ed in the NY Post: AI is beginning to look like HAL 9000 in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” a computer that overtakes its human masters’ ability to control it and turns against humanity.

Tech Giants Push Broken Programs - Zuckerberg Photo (LI Photo)

 

Posted by William A. Jacobson 

April 15, 2024 at 08:30pm

Legal Insurrection

 

Artificial Intelligence and the use of algorithms in unseen ways is a hot media topic now, but we’ve been on the case for a long time, including almost a year ago how ‘Diversity in Recruiting’ at LinkedIn Implements Feature Allowing Recruiters to Find People by Their Demographics.

 

You may remember our online event in July 2023, regarding Discrimination By Algorithm – the “ultimate showdown between equity and equality is going to take place at a technological level” IVIDEO at link], where we explored how bias was built in to achieve de facto racial and other quotas.

 

This “discrimination by algorithm” problem was the subject of an Op-Ed by Kemberlee and me in The NY Post last month, Google’s Gemini AI Is Just The Tip Of The ‘Discrimination By Algorithm’ Bias Problem:

 

Everyone is laughing at the Google Gemini AI rollout. But it’s no joke.

 

The problem is more nefarious than historically inaccurate generated images.

 

The manipulation of AI is just one aspect of broader “discrimination by algorithm” being built into corporate America, and it could cost you job opportunities and more.

 

NY-Post-Kansas-AI-Censorship (LI Screengrab)

 

A few days ago we had another Op-ed at the NY Post relating to AI, The plight of a Kansas newspaper shows the new face of censorship via AI:

 

As more tech behemoths look to Artificial Intelligence to automate tasks, it becomes more apparent that AI is not ready for prime time and poses a threat to human autonomy.

 

No one can forget the ridiculous fiasco in which Google’s prized AI bot, Gemini, kept spitting out images of black Vikings, female Popes, and changing the ethnicity of every founding father to a person of color.

 

Now, the Kansas Reflector, a non-profit news operation, is fighting a losing war with Facebook’s AI bot.

 

Facebook flagged an article about climate change as a security threat, and then blocked the domains of any publication that tried to share or repost the article.

 

Users who attempted to post the article received auto-generated messages explaining that the content posed a security risk, without further explanation.

 

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and Threads is unrepentant, and says it has no idea why the Kansas Reflector’s innocuous post was blacklisted by its AI bot, but attributed the problem to likely “machine learning error.”

 

Of course there is zero accountability for these errors that result in immeasurable damage to brands and their reputations.

 

The promise of AI, we hear over and over again, is that it’s a tool to help humans do better, automating tasks to free up worker time for other things. But instead, AI looks far more like HAL 9000 in “2001: A Space Odyssey,” a computer that overtakes its human masters’ ability to control it and turns against humanity.

 

***

 

At the Equal Protection Project (Equalprotect.org), we’ve been screaming about the dangers of AI for over a year, and how bias in the name of anti-bias is being programmed into systems. Behind the scenes and out of sight, AI and social media algorithms can be used to determine what you are allowed to post, what you will be able to read, and ultimately what you will think.

 

Despite the promises of simplifying workflows and managing tasks, there’s far too much evidence of AI destruction to be ignored.

 

When it comes to AI, be afraid, be very afraid.

 

Click the link above for the rest of the Op-ed.

 

They gave us almost a full page spread for it in the print newspaper, which was nice.

NY Post LI Full Page Screengrab

 

We are going to keep on the AI trail.

 

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[Blog Editor: The below video is what was mentioned in the above Legal Insurrection post.]

 

Youtube VIDEO: Discrimination by Algorithm

Posted by Legal Insurrection

Posted on Jul 25, 2023

 

NO DESCRIPTION

 

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NSA “Just Days Away From Taking Over The Internet” Warns Ed Snowden

NSA Internet Control & Surveillance (Activist Post Photo)

 

Authored by Tom Mitchelhill via CoinTelegraph.com

APRIL 16, 2024

Activist Post

 

The United States National Security Agency (NSA) is only days away from “taking over the internet” with a massive expansion of its surveillance powers, according to NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.

 

In an April 16 post to X, Snowden drew attention to a thread originally posted by Elizabeth Goitein — the co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice — that warned of a new bill that could see the U.S. government surveillance powers amplified to new levels.

 

The bill in question reforms and extends a part of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) known as Section 702.

 

Currently, the NSA can force internet service providers such as Google and Verizon to hand over sensitive data concerning NSA targets.

 

However, Goitein claims that through an “innocuous change” to the definition of “electronic communications surveillance provider” in the FISA 702 bill, the U.S. government could go far beyond its current scope and force nearly every company and individual that provides any internet-related service to assist with NSA surveillance.

 

“That sweeps in an enormous range of U.S. businesses that provide wifi to their customers and therefore have access to equipment on which communications transit. Barber shops, laundromats, fitness centers, hardware stores, dentist’s offices.”

 

Additionally, the people forced to hand over data would be unable to discuss the information provided due to hefty gag order penalties and conditions outlined in the bill, added Goitein.

 

The bill initially received heavy pushback from privacy-conscious Republicans but passed through the U.S. House of Representatives on April 13.

 

Part of the pushback saw the bills’ proposed spying powers time-frame cut from five years to two years, as well as some minor amendments to the service providers included under the surveillance measures.

 

However, according to Goitein, the amendment did very little to reduce the scope of surveillance granted to the NSA.

 

In her view, the amendment could even see service providers such as cleaners, plumbers and IT service providers that have access to laptops and routers inside people’s homes be forced to provide information and serve as “surrogate spies,” claimed Goitein.

 

The bill has seen strong pushback from both sides of the political aisle, with several government representatives claiming the bill violates citizen’s constitutional rights.

 

Democratic Senator Ron Wyden described the bill as “terrifying” and said he would do everything in his power to prevent it from being passed through the Senate.

 

“This bill represents one of the most dramatic and terrifying expansions of government surveillance authority in history.”

 

Republican Congressperson Anna Paulina Luna, who voted against the bill in the House of Representatives, said Section 702 was an “irresponsible extension” of the NSA’s powers. Luna added that if government agencies wanted access to data, they must be forced to apply for a warrant.

 

The bill is slated for a vote on April 19 in the U.S. Senate.

 

Sourced from ZeroHedge

 

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FISA Exchanges Real Liberty for Phantom Security

 

By Ron Paul, MD - The Ron Paul Institute

April 16, 2024

LewRockwell.com

 

House Speaker Mike Johnson betrayed liberty and the Constitution by making a full-court press to get a “clean” reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance (FISA) Act through the House.

 

Section 702 authorizes warrantless surveillance of foreign citizens. When the FISA Act was passed, surveillance state boosters promised that 702 warrantless surveillances would never be used against American citizens. However, intelligence agencies have used a loophole in 702, allowing them to subject to warrantless surveillance any American who communicated with a non-US citizen who was a 702 target. Intelligence agencies could then also conduct warrantless surveillance on any Americans who communicated with the new American target. This Section 702 loophole has been used so often to subject Americans to warrantless wiretapping that it has been referred to as the surveillance state’s crown jewel.

 

A bipartisan coalition of Republican and Democratic House members worked to add a warrant requirement to the FISA bill. Speaker Johnson agreed to allow a vote on the House floor on an amendment requiring federal officials to get a warrant before subjecting any American to surveillance. However, he publicly opposed the amendment, as did President Biden. Prominent deep state operatives, such as former Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo, also lobbied against the amendment.

 

The case against adding a warrant requirement to FISA consisted of hysterical claims that forcing the surveillance state to obey the Fourth Amendment would make Americans vulnerable to terrorist attacks. Particularity, the claim was made that forcing national security operatives to get a warrant before spying on US citizens would cripple the ability to respond to a “ticking time bomb” situation.

 

Those claims were debunked by the heroic Edward Snowden, who made the American people aware of the extent of warrantless surveillance. Snowden, who worked as a government contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA), posted in a message on X (formally known as Twitter) that the warrant amendment would not stop federal agencies from acting without a warrant in a “ticking time bomb” situation.

 

A vote was held Friday afternoon on the amendment requiring a warrant before Section 702 powers would be used to spy on American citizens. Despite the fearmongering by Mike Pompeo and others, as well as the opposition of both President Biden and Speaker Johnson, the amendment failed to pass by only one vote. The amendment would have passed had Speaker Johnson not cast a rare floor vote (speakers usually do not vote on legislation) against the amendment.

 

When the PATRIOT Act was rushed to the House floor in the fall of 2001 — weeks after 9-11 — and voted upon before members had a chance to read it, only three Republicans voted against it. One conservative representative told me he voted for it even though he agreed with my opposition to the bill. He told me, “I can’t go back home and tell my constituents I voted agent the PATRIOIT Act!”

 

While the failure to pass the warrant amendment was dispiriting, the fact that it failed by only one vote shows how much progress we have made. It should thus inspire us to keep encouraging Congress to refuse to take away real liberty in the name of promises of phantom security.

 

Dr. Ron Paul is a former member of Congress and Distinguished Counselor to the Mises Institute.

 

Copyright © The Ron Paul Institute

 

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Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Obama Says He's Had A Scandal-Free Administration


Well-well. Obama says his Administration has been scandal free for eight years. That is a load of delusion he is trying to feed Americans. Sadly, the Dems probably believe that because they are loyal blind people following delusion blind leaders. The Daily Wire enumerates eleven scandals some of which should have led to an impeachment.

JRH 11/23/16
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Obama Says He's Had A Scandal-Free Administration.
Here Are 11 of His Scandals.

NOVEMBER 22, 2016

President Barack Obama—who isn't going away after he leaves office—just unleashed this massive whopper:





@POTUS: "I'm extremely proud of the fact that over 8 years we have not had the kinds of scandals that have plagued other administrations."


This is demonstrably false. Obama's presidency has been mired with numerous scandals that would be blared on the news 24/7 if he were a Republican. But because he's a Democrat, too many people buy Obama's argument that his presidency has been scandal-free. Here are 11 of Obama's scandals.

1. Operation Fast and Furious. This egregious example of a reckless government endangering lives and then scrambling to cover it up has haunted Obama for years. As Daily Wire has explained, "Operation Fast and Furious involved the Obama administration arming drug cartels and thugs south of the border as a means to undermine the Second Amendment. The program resulted in the death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. One of the Islamic terrorists in the Garland, Texas, attack also used a gun that was obtained through the Fast and Furious program."

The attempt to cover up the fatal program resulted in Obama's first AG being held in contempt of Congress:

Then-Attorney General Eric Holder was held in contempt of Congress for stonewalling investigations into Operation Fast and Furious, and President Barack Obama further stonewalled the investigations by wrongly asserting executive privilege.  On Tuesday, a federal judge threw out Obama's executive privilege assertion on the grounds that the Justice Department "has already publicly revealed the sum and substance of the very material it is now seeking to withhold. Since any harm that would flow from the disclosures sought here would be merely incremental, the records must be produced."

It has also been revealed that Joaquin Guzman, better known as the drug lord "El Chapo," acquired a .50 caliber rifle as a result of Fast and Furious. 

2. Benghazi. The terror attacks in Benghazi, Libya resulted in four brave Americans dying despite the fact that help could have been sent, but wasn't. Requests for security prior to the attack were repeatedly denied, and after the attack Obama and Hillary Clinton falsely blamed it on a video considered offensive to Muslims. During the election, Benghazi became associated with Clinton—and rightly so—but it is also Obama's scandal as well. It is still not known what Obama was doing that night.

3. The IRS targeted conservative organizations. In 2013, Lois Lerner, who directed the Internal Revenue Service's Exempt Organizations Unit, admitted that Tea Party organizations were targeted under the agency, but blamed it on lower-level employees. Such organizations were heavily scrutinized with invasive questions. Since then, Lerner and IRS commissioner John Koskinen have denied any wrongdoing and have stonewalled congressional efforts to investigate the matter, citing computer crashes for being unable to turn over related emails.

Meanwhile, a federal court concluded in August that conservative groups might still be facing targeted scrutiny from the IRS. It has also been reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) knew about the IRS's targeting of conservative groups as early as 2011.

4. The DOJ seized Associated Press phone records as well as phone and email records from Fox News reporter James Rosen. In the AP's case, the DOJ was investigating a story involving "a CIA operation in Yemen that foiled an al-Qaeda plot in the spring of 2012 to set off a bomb on an airplane headed to the United States," according to the Washington Post. The DOJ seized two months of phone records from the AP without informing the news outlet.

"There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters," Gary Pruitt, president of the AP wrote to Holder at the time. “These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP’s newsgathering operations, and disclose information about AP’s activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know.”

In the Rosen case, the DOJ was investigating a story Rosen did involving North Korea and tracked "his movements and conversations," according to Fox News, including phone numbers belonging to Rosen's parents. The DOJ had listed Rosen as a "co-conspirator" under the Espionage Act in regards to the story—allegedly pressing a source for classified information. Rosen was never charged with a crime.

Fox News executive Michael Clemente called the DOJ's actions against Rosen "downright chilling." "We will unequivocally defend [Rosen’s] right to operate as a member of what up until now has always been a free press," Clemente said in a statement, per the Washington Post.

5. The NSA conducted mass surveillance against American citizens without a warrant. Thanks to leaking from former government contractor Edward Snowden, it was revealed that the National Security Agency had been conducting mass surveillance against American citizens—a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment. In 2015, the NSA eventually ended their bulk data collection of phone records.

6. The Obama administration paid ransom to Iran for hostages, and lied to the American people about it. As the Daily Wire has explained, the Obama administration claimed that they were giving a total of $1.7 billion to Iran to settle a failed arms deal with the previous Iranian regime, and it just happened to coincide with the release of four American hostages. The Obama administration also didn't reveal the details of the agreement to Congress. It was obvious though that it was a ransom deal and the Obama administration lied about it. 

7. Hillary's email scandal. Clinton's use of a private email server that was unapproved and unsecured has been written about extensively, but it is also Obama's scandal as well, since it has been revealed that not only did Obama know about her private email server, he also communicated with her under the use of a pseudonym. If their email exchanges involved classified information, then Obama also would have violated the Espionage Act.

8. The Environmental Protection Agency poisoned a Colorado river. The EPA breached the Gold King mine in the state and "mistakenly dug at the bottom" as well as didn't test for pressure, leading to "three million gallons of toxic mine waste" being dumped into a river, according to The Daily Caller. The EPA has not been held accountable for this.

9. The EPA also broke federal law in promoting a regulation. The Daily Wire reported in 2015 that the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office concluded that the EPA broke the law in using Thunderclap to tout their "Waters of the United States" regulation as well as their use of "hyperlinks to the [Natural Resources Defense Council] and Surfrider Foundation webpages provided in the EPA blog post."

10. The GSA scandal. The General Services Administration was busted in 2012 for spending $823,000 on an extravagantly decadent conference in Las Vegas, and it became a shining example of government waste. Several people in the agency were fired, with one facing an indictment. Despite the scandal, lavish spending still occurred within federal agencies under the Obama administration.

11. The Secret Service scandal. The Secret Service was caught in 2012 engaging with prostitutes during a trip to Cartegena, Columbia, with one Secret Service agent emailing another: "Swagg cologne-check/Pimp gear-check/ Swagg sunglasses-check/Cash fo dem hoes-check." They "also left sensitive government documents unprotected in their Cartagena rooms," according to The Daily Caller.

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