eXtensions - Wednesday 15 January 2025
By Graham K. Rogers
Users have seen some updates recently that cover bugs and security fixes; but there are also some changes that upset the status quo. While AI and other new technologies are developed, the ways in which they are used can cause problems; but all technology has that problem. There is some good TV on Netflix and AppleTV+. Some media and tech executives have been ensuring they are safe in the near future. Meta has added to that, and to risks, by removing fact-checking.
Last week we had a surprise release of iOS and iPadOS updates (18.2.1) which brought interim fixes for bugs and security concerns. There were no releases for macOS or watchOS. I updated the iPhone and the iPad Pro right away, but when it came to the iPad mini, I was surprised to see that the device appeared to be downloading a version of iOS and not iPadOS. I checked later and it did install iPadOS. The device has been working normally since. I suspect it may have accessed the wrong icon in a library somehow although I have no way to confirm that. Even though the screenshots were taken at slightly different moments in the install process, the iPad mini should not be showing an iOS download.
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The next full update to iOS is expected at the end of January (or early February) and will include further enhancements to Apple Intelligence. As I noted last time, I see how the writing tools could be helpful for some users, but I am concerned in terms of the ethics when it comes to academic writing. The purpose of writing an essay, a thesis or a journal article is not only to demonstrate that the student (or academic) can analyze a problem and produce a solution, but to demonstrate that ability in a cogently-argued paper. AI is not the answer.
It may, however, be an answer to a number of problems that require the handling of massive amounts of data and organizing that in such a way that the sorting can provide a more accurate result in some cases. I had already mentioned a couple of project proposals by computer engineering students that I helped with: developing the proposal presentations and guiding the students during the evolution of the written proposal. Two that I particularly remember, involved x-ray images. These are usually examined by experts in major hospitals. Many patients are in rural hospitals and the doctors there, often dealing with a wide range of medical problems, may not have the expertise to make a firm diagnosis with the x-rays they have to work with.
One project was based on diagnosing patients with Covid-19; the other was for those who potentially were lung cancer patients. Artificial Intelligence was trained with thousands of images: clear positives down through to plates which showed no cancer, in the expectation that the AI would learn when to sound the alarm. I was interested to see a report in the Guardian (Nicola Davies) about a study in Germany working on breast cancer. It was found that AI "increases the chance of the disease being detected". Some of the scans were examined by 2 independent experts, but one of these used AI assistance for about half of the total number. In this group, some screens that had been passed were flagged by the AI and were found to be in need of further scrutiny, finding more cancers. The full report was published in Nature Medicine (Eismann, Bunk (Nature), et al).
On a less positive note, the police in Las Vegas report that AI was used to plan an attack at the Trump Hotel there last week using a Cybertruck.
Dallin Grimm (Tom's Hardware) writes that "specific prompts submitted to ChatGPT" had been used in the planning and the information returned was "crucial in planning the explosion". These included, "the specific firing speed a firearm would need in order to ignite his chosen explosive." There is some doubt on whether any of the 17 ChatGTP prompts were flagged as suspicious. However, I am not sure that the first part of the sentence, beginning "Matthew Livelsberger, the man who blew up the Cybertruck shortly after killing himself. . ." works. It seems more likely that the truck blew up shortly (or almost immediately) after he killed himself.
In the other car bomb attack, in New Orleans, it is now reported that the bomber used Meta Ray-Ban glasses to examine and record scenes in the city a couple of months before he carried out the attack (Matt Growcoot, PetaPixel). This may bring out the worst of the political do-gooders who think they have some expertise in technology and therefore need to inject some restrictions into the use of such devices. A red light is displayed when the glasses are recording video, but that would be fairly normal in such a tourist-related area and there are probably hundreds of people walking down those streets taking videos with smartphones. I daresay anyone walking down the street wearing Vision Pro may have received some more attention.
I was going to leave television comments until next time, but Netflix caught me out with a short Swedish series that I almost missed: The Breakthrough. There has been a lot of good north-European TV on Netflix, although I would like more British series of course. This is based on a true story of a murder investigation that was solved after some 16 years, by the innovative use of DNA and genealogy. The subtitles are clear and the scripting is reasonably paced with some slow moments. I have seen a murder investigation from the inside (1978) and can confirm that there are some desperately slow moments along with much frustration. The ends of the first 3 episodes had enough tension that I forced myself to keep watching and consumed the whole of the series in one evening. Comments on social media are positive. I have borrowed an image from the "Heaven of Horror" site that outlines the story behind the solving of the murders (Nadja Houmoller)
Over on AppleTV, David Snow (Cult of Mac) outlines a new series, Prime, that is on its way and expected 22 January. A student has apparently found the secret of a pattern in prime numbers that could unlock every computer and unravel digital security worldwide. This reminded me of the 1992 movie Sneakers with River Phoenix, Robert Redford and Ben Kingsley. They also had a key to unlock all and, in the same way Edward Brooks becomes the target of secret organizations all out to control the system. MacWorld have conveniently put out a list of all that is expected on Apple TV in the near future, although I notice that neither Foundation nor Invasion are mentioned. I hope they have not been defeated by economics.
Following the decision by the Washington Post to avoid using a cartoon by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist, Ann Telnaes, other tech moguls making sure they are covered, although Elon Musk's interference in European and now Canadian politics has raised some eyebrows. It is also now reported that the Washington Post is to lay off several members of staff in the coming week (Michael Sainato, Guardian).
Several politicians have made comments, although one of the best observations was from Ian Hislop, editor of Private Eye who refers to his interference as "an amazing feat of deception". He is also critical of Musk's "Pedo" insult to Vernon Unsworth that for some reason was deemed not to be defamatory by a Los Angeles court (Julia Carrie Wong (Guardian), about which Hislop says, "We should have got on to him earlier on. . . ."
Facebook too has joined in the tech defensive maneuvers by suddenly removing fact-checking which William Antonelli (Guardian) calls "a desperate play for engagement". Meta "plans to fire its US factcheckers and weaken its ability to moderate disinformation on Facebook, Instagram and Threads" leading to the death of truth on the internet. John Voorhees on MacStories is so incensed that their platform is leaving Instagram and Threads forthwith: "Technology should bring people together not divide and dehumanize them, which is why we're finished with Threads and Instagram."
There is more than just fact-checking to these changes as Ian Carlos Campbell (Engadget) reports. He writes that it "is also pulling the plug on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. That includes removing diversity hiring goals, eliminating the chief diversity officer position and no longer prioritizing minority-owned businesses as vendors". They are "apparently pinning the decision on a shifting legal and policy landscape" [my italics] which foreshadows the shape of things to come. This all sounds rather sinister and with other moves that have been signaled internationally, we may be looking forward to interesting times.
Apple faced off against Epic in several courts over the last couple of years over allegations that the fees it levied for in-app subscription charges were excessive and monopolistic. It is now to face similar allegations in the UK, Charles Martin (AppleInsider) reports. The suit, "led by digital economy specialist and lecturer at King's College Dr. Rachael Kent" alleges that "Apple forces developers to pass on the commission costs to consumers in the form of higher app prices" which of course Apple denies: meritless. The case before the Competition Appeal Tribunal is expected to last for around 7 weeks.
I had noticed after a recent update to watchOS, that instead of seeing the watch face as I wanted, there was a smaller display of the face in a split screen with another app shown. This mainly happened at night and I was able to see the time clearly enough, but I would have been happier with a full screen display of the time. Help on this comes from Zac Hall (9to5Mac) and there appears to have been an unwanted change to the settings of the Apple Watch. He explains that these Live Settings can be avoided by making a change in the Settings app, which he details.
After the most recent update to iOS, I found that the Apple Watch was not reacting when I turned on Focus. I do this at night to avoid being interrupted while asleep, but was rudely awoken by an unimportant text message an hour or so after I had gone to sleep. The next day I checked when I turned it on again with the iPhone. The iPad and the Mac had also turned on Focus, but not the Watch. I restarted the Watch and that fixed it, but these sorts of inconvenience when settings are changed arbitrarily should not be happening.
I also found that at some point in the last months, calendar alarms appeared to have been disabled. I missed a payment recently and after submitting the funds belatedly, saw that there was no reminder when there had been before. I fixed that, but checked others that were important, although all seem to be OK. I am unable to explain this. An update to the eBay app on the iPad last week made it impossible for me to search for cameras. My saved searches were also gone. A further update that arrived here Sunday morning fixed that so I guess I was not the only one affected. These sorts of inconvenience after updates when settings are changed arbitrarily should not be happening.
Graham K. Rogers teaches at the Faculty of Engineering, Mahidol University in Thailand. He wrote in the Bangkok Post, Database supplement on IT subjects. For the last seven years of Database he wrote a column on Apple and Macs. After 3 years writing a column in the Life supplement, he is now no longer associated with the Bangkok Post. He can be followed on X (@extensions_th). The RSS feed for the articles is http://www.extensions.in.th/ext_link.xml - copy and paste into your feed reader.
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