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Flick

flick

The days continue to pass and for many it seems clear that FC Barcelona should bet on the German school of Hansi Flick, who also seems to surpass Thomas Tuchel in some points

A German legend compares Flick and Tuchel, the coaches on Barça's 'radar' - FCBN

In order to make it easier for film, VR and other visual content creators to work with individual frames on screen, Facebook has created a new unit with which to measure time, that divides more neatly than standard units like seconds. The unit is called a , and it’s equivalent to 1/705600000th of a second. The company explains how this works in relation to common frame rates as follows: Flick When working creating visual effects for film, television, and other media, it is common to run simulations or other time-integrating processes which subdivide a single frame of time into a fixed, integer number of subdivisions. It is handy to be able to accumulate these subdivisions to create exact 1-frame and 1-second intervals, for a variety of reasons. (This can) in integer quantities exactly represent a single frame duration for 24hz, 25hz, 30hz, 48hz, 50hz, 60hz, 90hz, 100hz, 120hz, and also 1/1000 divisions of each. The idea with Flicks is to easily divide frame rates when working with visual media — something that’s not easily achieved with seconds and nanoseconds. For example, most movies and TV shows are displayed at 24 frames per second, and each frame is .04166666667 seconds long. If you had to edit your content precisely or figure out exactly how many frames of animation are needed for overlaying on your video, it could get difficult to sync everything up while calculating the duration of these clips in seconds. With flicks, a single frame at 24 fps equates to 29,400,000 flicks. A single frame at 120 fps is a lot less: 5,880,000 flicks — and these are nice, round numbers that are easy to work with. The unit was created by , a former Facebook employee at Oculus’ Story Studio. The company hopes to popularize it and make it an industry standard, but it’s up to professionals to decide if they’d care to use it. Christopher Horvath Find out more about flicks in . this GitHub repository This story was written by , and was originally published on Tristan Greene The Next Web. Hacker Noon republishes trending TNW stories every week. Read more at hackernoon.com/tnw .

A Flick is 1/705600000th of a Second

_TL;DR ꓘ_amerka has new cool features, right now you can search for Flickr and Instagram photos, printers and cameras from Shodan and Tweets (FIST). Everything is clearly presented in form of interactive map with icons and popups. https://github.com/woj-ciech/kamerka Introduction My main target was to create something helpful to geolocate places from pieces of information and last project ( ꓘamerka) wasn’t so good as I expected so major changes were needed. Social media are mine for various information including pictures, people make photos of everything — streets, parks, government buildings and lot of them are not aware about possibility to include location to the photo. Of course there is also big part of tagged pictures on purpose, for advertising purposes or just simply to brag. These people can help even without noticing it, some photos may point to location you were looking for, maybe my skills in will improve :) @quiztime - Gathering intelligence by observing specific territory ( )- See what’s going on in your city- Confirming latest dump from Wikileaks — part 2- Take virtual trip to any city Other usage: https://www.bellingcat.com/news/uk-and-europe/2018/11/06/open-source-monitoring-nato-trident-juncture-exercises/ Photo by on Matthew Henry Unsplash Flickr Flickr is one of the platform for sharing pictures and it’s more about nice views and artistic frames. 100 latest photos are retrieved with accuracy=16 but it still shows photos far away, so radius parameter in this case does not work properly. However, geolocation is the most accurate from every other service, which screen below confirms. root@kali:~/# python kamerka.py — lat 42.9708746 — lon -71.1272902 — flickr Example Flickr photo with geolocation Flickr API documentation — https://www.flickr.com/services/api/ Instagram I couldn’t register my application in official Instagram API, which then allows to search by coordinates, but I found another way with help of unofficial API, more details what to change and how to use it on github. Process of finding photos in this API is not very accurate, first it looks for known venues and then display photo from this address. First 5 newest photos of each venues are retrieved. In less crowded cities venues can be further than in given radius. Remember last article and cameras near secret Amazon warehouse from Wikileaks dump? It turns out that there are couple interesting photos nearby. root@kali:~/# python kamerka.py — lat xx,x — lon yy,y — instagram Photo from Instagram near “secret” Amazon warehouse Instagram API — https://github.com/LevPasha/Instagram-API-python Shodan Printers were added to the tool and same as camera — green icon means public access and red — response different than 200. Moreover, if camera contains screenshot, it will be also added to the popup. root@kali:~/# python kamerka.py — lat 45.504 — lon -73.5747 — camera — printer Map of printers and cameras You need to have paid subscription to use Shodan module Shodan API — https://developer.shodan.io/ Kudos for someone who will be able to find open camera pointing on open printer and record printing. Twitter There are a few pictures with geolocation on Twitter but still I’ve wanted to have it in place, though. By gathering tweets on specific location you can track society moods or some big events and protests. It’s fun to watch what people tweet in what places. Unfortunately you cannot escape from ads, so there are couple advertisements tweets and job offers. First 10 pages are searched and each page contain 100 possible geolocated tweets. If tweet has picture included, Twitter icon, on map, goes green. Tweets still could contain photos even if there is no picture in the popup. It’s because people add link to their Instagram photo so it’s worth to check full tweet, which link is at the end of every popup. root@kali:~/# python kamerka.py — lat -35.2826088 — lon 149.1231722 — twitter Tweets in Canberra Twitter API — https://dev.twitter.com/overview/documentation Everything combined At first sight it seems very blurry and messy but everything is interactive so if you zoom to specific point it becomes easily readable and you will have lot of fun playing with this.It’s recommended to open pictures in new window for better visibility. Oakland Miami Conclusion This tool creates a lot of opportunities for intelligence and geolocation purposes and at the same time giving you lot of joy. I tried to anonymize everything, so there is no usernames nor timestamps, because it’s more about places and things and not people. Of course I had no time to explore every city in the Earth but I strongly encourage you to take a look and try to find something cool.

Hunting with ꓘamerka 2.0 aka FIST (Flickr, Instagram, Shodan, Twitter)

Virtual reality (VR) may soon replace pictures as the standard visualization tool for online property listings. How will this technology impact buyers and sellers while reshaping the real estate market? The Emerging Trend of VR Home Tours in Real Estate VR technology enables you to tour every room in a property and speak face-to-face with the rental agent without leaving the comfort of your living room couch. This might be why its global market value in the real estate sector will increase to $2.6 billion in 2025, up from $800 million in 2020. One of the biggest advantages of virtual home tours is accessibility. It doesn’t matter if a property is under construction or occupied by the owners — with VR, you can walk through it anyway. You can even schedule an assisted walkthrough with a rental or listing agent to get insider information on the property, even if you’re both on opposite ends of the country. If you plan on moving into a fixer-upper, you can use VR technology to visualize the property’s potential by overlaying renovations or design changes onto the real-world model. These features make this type of tour one of the most personal and immersive — which is why it’s catching on so quickly. With interest rates rising — the interest rate on 30-year mortgages increased from an average of 3.02% in 2020 to 5.8%-6.1% in 2024 — real estate demand is slowing. This is where VR comes in. It has the unique opportunity to benefit buyers and sellers by making touring more efficient and getting properties off the market faster. The Technical Advancements Making It All Possible While VR technology is fundamental to a virtual home tour, a handful of other innovations make it possible. The first is high-resolution 3D imaging, where a 360-degree camera scans the property. The seller then stitches the images together with specialized software to make a realistic virtual replica for tours. The second innovation making VR home tours possible is the Internet of Things (IoT). Sellers can use interconnected sensors to feed real-time data into the virtual world to make it more dynamic. Alternatively, they can use internet-connected edge devices to reduce the computational and bandwidth-related strain on end users. Advances in controllers and motion sensors have made interactivity possible. Instead of sitting through a prerecorded guided tour, you can move through the property at your own pace. Also, you can trigger animations — like lowering the blinds or opening the cabinets — with a flick of your wrist. Considering consumer applications makeup 53% of the VR market, the number of technological advancements directed toward real estate shouldn’t surprise you. There’s a lot of money in researching and developing software, design, and hosting platforms for these applications. The Implications of VR-Driven Real Estate Showings VR technology makes home tours more accessible, broadening the pool of interested parties. According to experts, they reach more potential buyers than the standard approach. They don’t just attract more people — they’re also more engaging. Usually, you only can see a property’s layout when looking at its listing online. If you’re lucky, you’ll also get many high-quality pictures. However, even those don’t give you a good idea of how it feels to be in the house. VR engages you more because it places you in an immersive, lifelike replica where you have agency and control. While the buyer-side implications of virtual home tours might be more noticeable, the seller-side ones are more impactful. Properties using VR real estate showings have selling prices 7.25% higher than the benchmark. Heightened buyer engagement and broadened accessibility lead to a competitive advantage. The process moves more quickly since virtual tours don’t require in-person assistance or scheduling. Some experts claim properties using VR real estate showings spend 20%-30% fewer days on the market. As a result, agents can take on more listings at once. Potential Challenges Buyers and Sellers Face Using VR Although VR home tours benefit buyers and sellers, they also often come with challenges — with the lack of VR headset accessibility being one of the most significant. While virtual viewings are still possible without one, immersive experiences are only possible with mid- or high-end equipment. Properties in low-income locations are more likely to be impacted by this issue. Another challenge buyers and sellers face is agent accessibility. While virtual home tours don’t need an assistant, many serious buyers want one so they can ask questions. However, the increased attention VR listings get can complicate scheduling. The last potential challenge revolves around the accuracy of virtual property replicas. Even though developing one costs less than $300 on average, some sellers might be unable to afford to redo theirs every time they renovate or change something. As a result, the tour might not resemble its real-life counterpart — making buyers feel misled. The Future Outlook of VR Home Tours in Real Estate Sellers can use VR to track eye movement, location data, and interaction information to see where buyers come from and which properties they’re most interested in. This way, they can optimize their marketing, demand forecasting, pricing, and risk assessment strategies. At the same time, buyers can remotely walk through properties regardless of location and conditions. VR technology’s impact on accessibility and engagement will likely transform what the standard property sale looks like. VR technology has the potential to permanently transform the real estate market, becoming the go-to choice for sellers and prospective buyers. As its popularity increases, it might become standard to include it alongside layout and property pictures and come to be something people expect to see. Virtual reality (VR) may soon replace pictures as the standard visualization tool for online property listings. How will this technology impact buyers and sellers while reshaping the real estate market? The Emerging Trend of VR Home Tours in Real Estate The Emerging Trend of VR Home Tours in Real Estate VR technology enables you to tour every room in a property and speak face-to-face with the rental agent without leaving the comfort of your living room couch. This might be why its global market value in the real estate sector will increase to $2.6 billion in 2025, up from $800 million in 2020. will increase to $2.6 billion will increase to $2.6 billion One of the biggest advantages of virtual home tours is accessibility. It doesn’t matter if a property is under construction or occupied by the owners — with VR, you can walk through it anyway. You can even schedule an assisted walkthrough with a rental or listing agent to get insider information on the property, even if you’re both on opposite ends of the country. If you plan on moving into a fixer-upper, you can use VR technology to visualize the property’s potential by overlaying renovations or design changes onto the real-world model. These features make this type of tour one of the most personal and immersive — which is why it’s catching on so quickly. With interest rates rising — the interest rate on 30-year mortgages increased from an average of 3.02% in 2020 to 5.8%-6.1% in 2024 — real estate demand is slowing. This is where VR comes in. It has the unique opportunity to benefit buyers and sellers by making touring more efficient and getting properties off the market faster. increased from an average of 3.02% increased from an average of 3.02% The Technical Advancements Making It All Possible While VR technology is fundamental to a virtual home tour, a handful of other innovations make it possible. The first is high-resolution 3D imaging, where a 360-degree camera scans the property. The seller then stitches the images together with specialized software to make a realistic virtual replica for tours. The second innovation making VR home tours possible is the Internet of Things (IoT). Sellers can use interconnected sensors to feed real-time data into the virtual world to make it more dynamic. Alternatively, they can use internet-connected edge devices to reduce the computational and bandwidth-related strain on end users. Advances in controllers and motion sensors have made interactivity possible. Instead of sitting through a prerecorded guided tour, you can move through the property at your own pace. Also, you can trigger animations — like lowering the blinds or opening the cabinets — with a flick of your wrist. Considering consumer applications makeup 53% of the VR market , the number of technological advancements directed toward real estate shouldn’t surprise you. There’s a lot of money in researching and developing software, design, and hosting platforms for these applications. makeup 53% of the VR market makeup 53% of the VR market The Implications of VR-Driven Real Estate Showings VR technology makes home tours more accessible, broadening the pool of interested parties. According to experts, they reach more potential buyers than the standard approach. They don’t just attract more people — they’re also more engaging. reach more potential buyers reach more potential buyers Usually, you only can see a property’s layout when looking at its listing online. If you’re lucky, you’ll also get many high-quality pictures. However, even those don’t give you a good idea of how it feels to be in the house. VR engages you more because it places you in an immersive, lifelike replica where you have agency and control. While the buyer-side implications of virtual home tours might be more noticeable, the seller-side ones are more impactful. Properties using VR real estate showings have selling prices 7.25% higher than the benchmark. Heightened buyer engagement and broadened accessibility lead to a competitive advantage. have selling prices 7.25% higher have selling prices 7.25% higher The process moves more quickly since virtual tours don’t require in-person assistance or scheduling. Some experts claim properties using VR real estate showings spend 20%-30% fewer days on the market. As a result, agents can take on more listings at once. spend 20%-30% fewer days spend 20%-30% fewer days Potential Challenges Buyers and Sellers Face Using VR Although VR home tours benefit buyers and sellers, they also often come with challenges — with the lack of VR headset accessibility being one of the most significant. While virtual viewings are still possible without one, immersive experiences are only possible with mid- or high-end equipment. Properties in low-income locations are more likely to be impacted by this issue. Another challenge buyers and sellers face is agent accessibility. While virtual home tours don’t need an assistant, many serious buyers want one so they can ask questions. However, the increased attention VR listings get can complicate scheduling. The last potential challenge revolves around the accuracy of virtual property replicas. Even though developing one costs less than $300 on average, some sellers might be unable to afford to redo theirs every time they renovate or change something. As a result, the tour might not resemble its real-life counterpart — making buyers feel misled. costs less than $300 costs less than $300 The Future Outlook of VR Home Tours in Real Estate Sellers can use VR to track eye movement, location data, and interaction information to see where buyers come from and which properties they’re most interested in. This way, they can optimize their marketing, demand forecasting, pricing, and risk assessment strategies. At the same time, buyers can remotely walk through properties regardless of location and conditions. VR technology’s impact on accessibility and engagement will likely transform what the standard property sale looks like. VR technology has the potential to permanently transform the real estate market, becoming the go-to choice for sellers and prospective buyers. As its popularity increases, it might become standard to include it alongside layout and property pictures and come to be something people expect to see.

VR Home Tours: The Future of Real Estate Showings

HEPT MOVES ON

Authors: (1) Muzhaffar Hazman, University of Galway, Ireland; (2) Susan McKeever, Technological University Dublin, Ireland; (3) Josephine Griffith, University of Galway, Ireland. Table of Links Abstract and Introduction Related Works Methodology Results Limitations and Future Works Conclusion, Acknowledgments, and References A Hyperparameters and Settings B Metric: Weighted F1-Score C Architectural Details D Performance Benchmarking E Contingency Table: Baseline vs. Text-STILT 2 Related Works 2.1 Meme Affective Classifiers Meme sentiment classifiers fall within the broader category of meme affective classifiers, which can be defined as multimodal deep learning models trained to classify memes by a given affect dimension, including sentiment polarity, offensiveness, motivationality, sarcasm (Sharma et al.,2020; Patwa et al., 2022; Mishra et al., 2023), hate speech (Kiela et al., 2020), and trolling behaviour (Suryawanshi et al., 2020). Based on the majority of state-of-the-art meme classifiers, the current literature suggests that these different tasks do not require architecturally distinct solutions (Hazman et al., 2023). Broadly, two general architectural approaches exist among multimodal meme affective classifiers: first, multi-encoder models that use multiple pretrained unimodal encoders which are then fused prior to classification – numerous examples are summarised by Sharma et al. (2020) and Patwa et al. (2022). These models use both a text encoder and an image encoder that were each trained in unimodal self-supervised and unsupervised tasks such as BERT or SentenceTransformer for text, and VGG-19 or RESNET50 for images. In contrast, single-encoder models are based on a pretrained multimodal vision-and-language model, most often a transformer that has been pretrained on multimodal tasks and accepts both modalities as a single input. The single-encoder approach (Muennighoff, 2020; Zhu, 2020) reuses models that have been pretrained on multimodal tasks such as VLBERT, UNITER, ERNIE-ViL, DeVLBERT and VisualBERT. There is little empirical evidence to show that one architectural approach consistently outperforms the other in the various meme classification tasks. Typically, both multi- and single-encoder architectures use transfer learning by finetuning pretrained models on a dataset of labelled memes. While pretraining is often assumed to yield performance benefits for meme classification tasks, this has not been exhaustively proven, especially when viewed relative to studies in image- and textonly tasks (Jiang et al., 2022). Multimodally pretrained baseline models for the Hateful Memes dataset (Kiela et al., 2020) outperformed their unimodally pretrained counterparts. Suryawanshi et al. (2020) showed that the use of pretrained weights did not consistently provide performance benefits to their image-only classifiers of trolling behaviour in Tamil code-mixed memes. Although the use of pretrained encoders is common amongst meme sentiment classifiers (Sharma et al., 2022; Bucur et al., 2022; Pramanick et al., 2021a; Sharma et al., 2020; Patwa et al., 2022), there is little evidence as to whether pretrained representations are suitable for the downstream task or if an encoder’s performance in classifying unimodal input transfers to classifying multimodal memes. Beyond using pretrained image and text encoders, several recent works have attempted to incorporate external knowledge into meme classifiers. Some employed additional encoders to augment the image modality representation such as human faces (Zhu, 2020; Hazman et al., 2023), while others have incorporated image attributes (including entity recognition via a large knowledge base) (Pramanick et al., 2021b), cross-modal positional information (Shang et al., 2021; Hazman et al., 2023), social media interactions (Shang et al., 2021), and image captioning (Blaier et al., 2021). To our knowledge, no published attempts have been made to directly incorporate unimodal sentiment analysis data into a multimodal meme classifier. 2.2 Supplementary Training of Meme Classifiers Several recent works addressed the lack of labelled multimodal memes by incorporating additional non-meme data. Sharma et al. (2022) presents two self-supervised representation learning approaches to learn the “semantically rich cross-modal feature[s]” needed in various meme affective classification tasks. They finetuned an image and a text encoder on image-with-caption tweets before fitting these representations on to several multimodal meme classification tasks including sentiment, sarcasm, humour, offence, motivationality, and hate speech. These approaches showed performance improvement on some, but not all, tasks. In some cases, their approach underperfomed in comparison to the more typical supervised finetuning approaches. Crucially, since the authors did not compare their performance to that of the same architecture without the self-supervised step, isolating performance gains directly attributable to this step is challenging. Furthermore, while the authors reported multiple tasks where their approach performed best while training on only 1% of the available memes, their included training curves imply that these performance figures were selected at the point of maximum performance on the testing set during training. This differs from the typical approach of early stopping based on performance on a separately defined validation set, which hinders direct comparisons to competing solutions. Bucur et al. (2022) proposed a multitask learning approach that simultaneously trained a classifier on different meme classification tasks – sentiment, sarcasm, humour, offence, motivationality – for the same meme inputs. Their results showed that multitask learning underperformed in the binary detection of humour, sarcasm, and offensiveness. This approach was found to be only effective in predicting the intensity of sarcasm and offensiveness of a meme. However, in sentiment classification, this multitask approach showed inconsistent results. Although multitask learning did not improve the performance of their text-only classifier, their multitask multimodal classifier offers the best reported results on the Memotion 2.0 sentiment classification task to date. To the best of our knowledge, only one previous work used unimodal inputs to supplement training of multimodal meme classifiers. Suryawanshi et al.’s (2020) initial benchmarking of the TamilMemes dataset showed that the inclusion of unimodal images improved the performance of their ResNet-based image-only model in detecting trolling behaviour in Tamil memes. The authors augmented their dataset of memes with images collected from Flickr; by assigning these images as not containing trolling language. They found that this augmentation with 1,000 non-meme images decreased the performance of their classifier. With 30,000 images, their classifier performed identically to one that only used pretrained weights and supervised training on memes; both were outperformed by their model that did not use either pretrained weights or data augmentations. Existing supplementary approaches to improve meme classification performance have shown mixed results. Notably, the observations made in these works were measured only once and were not accompanied by statistical significance tests, necessitating caution when drawing conclusions on their effectiveness. This paper is under CC 4.0 license. available on arxiv

Enhancing Meme Classification Through Supplementary Training Techniques

Virtual voodoo dolls, autonomous avatars & digital doppelgangers will be your behavior-profiling passports in the metaverse: perspective Your metaverse identity, with its , biometric data capture, and behavior profiling, will be central to your everyday life, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report. digital ID “Metaverse identity” is a relatively new concept that the WEF and Accenture describe in great detail in a new 48-page entitled “ .” report Metaverse Identity: Defining the Self in a Blended Reality According to the report: “As people spend more time exploring, playing and socializing in digital experiences, as well as to the way they express their personal identity.” a person’s metaverse identity will be central to their day-to-day life But what exactly do the unelected globalists mean by “metaverse identity?” “A person’s metaverse identity will be central to their day-to-day life” METAVERSE IDENTITY: DEFINING THE SELF IN A BLENDED REALITY, WEF, MARCH 2024 Metaverse identity encompasses three components: : including personal, social and role identity, be it through avatars, pseudonyms or other digital expressions Representation : capturing the intricate web of knowledge about individuals generated by metaverse supporting hardware and software Data : be it through driver’s licenses, government-issued IDs, passports, birth certificates, attestations, labels, or usernames and passwords Identification (ID) According to the report, “ .” Metaverse identity broadens ‘identity’ as it is known today and combines it with the digital underpinnings of the internet. It is a multi-layered construct of an individual or entity, including everything from representation to data and identification With these three components, identity in the metaverse “ .” connects and anchors a person to the physical and virtual world Let’s break them down, starting with . representation “The notion of ‘representation’ is not just about pixels and graphics; it’s a reflection of societal values, inclusivity and the human desire for authenticity […] Representational design choices extend to the design of digital entities – from embodied virtual agents to non-embodied virtual assistants” METAVERSE IDENTITY: DEFINING THE SELF IN A BLENDED REALITY, WEF, MARCH 2024 has to do with how you present and express yourself in the , whether it’s a realistic likeness of yourself or an abstract, creative, or artistic version. Representation metaverse The authors say that, “ ,” so there is an element of behavior profiling going on in the representation category, which we will also see in the data capture and identification categories. These expressions may extend to include words, actions, behaviors and mannerisms Representation in the metaverse will also take on a new meaning with the introduction of digital entities that act on your behalf. According to the report, “ […] .” Digital entities may represent humans, objects, systems or abstract concepts, and are capable of varying degrees of interaction, autonomy and behavior within digital experiences They are capable of mimicking human communication and may be used as sales assistants, corporate trainers, social media influencers and more Like non-player characters (NPCs) in videogames, these digital doppelgangers attempt to mimic human behavior. And like a virtual voodoo doll, if something goes wrong with your digital entity, it could spill over into your personal life in the real world. “ ,” the report cautions, adding, “ .” While digital entities can offer innovative interactions and functionalities within the metaverse, they may commit real-world harms The ability to manipulate or create misinformation through digital entities – such as chatbots and photoreal avatars – raises ethical and security concerns Now let’s dig into the category. data “Identity goes beyond ID, like a passport or driver’s license. Metaverse identity includes data points” METAVERSE IDENTITY: DEFINING THE SELF IN A BLENDED REALITY, WEF, MARCH 2024 The category of metaverse identity is aimed at gathering and analyzing data to make inferences about you, and it will be used to predict your behavior, thanks to AI and Machine Learning. data “ ,” the report reads. Paired with artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) models that can analyze a person’s interactions, movements and preferences further generates identity “ . Whether these (inferred) data points are capturing a person’s current activities, predicting their next action or future preferences, these data-based breadcrumbs provide information into one’s identity “ .” These attributes may influence the way the virtual environment responds to an individual, and outsiders perceive an individual or entity This aspect of metaverse identity is important to unelected globalists who are obsessed with manipulating human behavior and controlling what people think and do. data “There is a risk that governments could use aggregated inferred data for surveillance, monitoring dissidents, or suppressing certain groups without their active consent” METAVERSE IDENTITY: DEFINING THE SELF IN A BLENDED REALITY, WEF, MARCH 2024 Inferred data, “ ,” according to the report. now aided by AI/ML, can examine seemingly unrelated behaviors, actions and choices to draw meaningful conclusions about a person’s preferences, background and intentions Once you know intent, whether of an individual or an unelected globalist think tank, then it becomes a lot easier to predict what they’ll do or say next, even if they deceptively try to mask their true intentions. And, “ .” While this data is collected to enhance the person’s experience, it could also be analyzed to make inferences as to their real-world identity or preferences and used for targeted advertising or other purposes without their consent Making inferences for “other purposes” without the user’s consent is what defense and intelligence agencies are after in the metaverse. A recent suggests as much with respect to the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) looking to spy on users in the metaverse, stating, “ .” RAND Corporation report As DHS grapples with emerging challenges by monitoring and analyzing users’ activity in metaverses, it should undertake legal and ethical reviews of what information is collected and how it is managed Now, we shall move on to the category. identification “The concept of identity is contextual, flexible, complex and fluid […] Identity extends into the intricacies of an individual’s behaviors, actions and choices” METAVERSE IDENTITY: DEFINING THE SELF IN A BLENDED REALITY, WEF, MARCH 2024 Perhaps the most confusing part of metaverse identity is the or ID aspect because digital ID and digital identity are terms that are often used interchangeably, including by yours truly, but they are quite different. identification Identification is about identifying, verifying, and authenticating who someone is. Identity on the other hand, ,” according to the report. “consists of layered aspects of cultural heritage, ethnicity, age, professional and social roles, hobbies, gender identification, sexual orientation and much more Now that we’ve taken care of the distinction between the two, your digital ID will be your passport to the metaverse, and like with a passport, there will be certain areas that you will not be able to access. According to the report, “ .” Similar to today’s traditional identification systems – like passports and driver’s licenses – IDs may evolve to include unique avatar designs, new body-based attestations or unique virtual signatures that validate one’s existence and grant access to specific realms or activities To illustrate how digital ID plays into digital identity, the authors say, “ .” Forms of ID – such as passports and government IDs – formalize an individual’s identity; additionally, these can serve as credentials or means of authenticating and verifying individuals across physical and digital spaces “Metaverse identity is integral to future internet interactions” Metaverse Identity: Defining the Self in a Blended Reality, WEF, March 2024 Now that we’ve gone through the three components that make up metaverse identity, what are some of the potential drawbacks? For starters, the report says, “ .” There is a risk that governments could use aggregated inferred data for surveillance, monitoring dissidents or suppressing certain groups without their active consent Your metaverse identity can include your real-time biometrics, such as pupil dilation, heart rate, and brainwaves, so that companies and governments can infer how you are feeling and reacting to their goods, services, or policies. Historian of this same technology falling into the hands of dictators at the 2020 WEF Annual Meeting in Davos. There, he said: Yuval Noah Harari spoke “ . Just imagine North Korea in 20 years where everybody has to wear a biometric bracelet, which constantly monitors your blood pressure, your heart rate, your brain activity 24 hours a day “ .” You listen to a speech on the radio by the ‘Great Leader,’ and they know what you actually feel — you can clap your hands and smile, but if you’re angry, they know you’ll be in the gulag tomorrow morning Having a biometric data capturing device attached to your body that knows what you’ll do before you do it raises serious ethical questions about how the data is collected, where that data goes, and who has access to some of the most intimate details of your life. For the past few years, Meta has been working on , which combines augmented reality with artificial intelligence to create realistic 3D renderings of people, places, and things, including living spaces. Project Aria When Mark Zuckerberg explained his vision for the metaverse at Connect 2021, he highlighted how Project Aria could map a person’s apartment, including everything in it (see video below). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uvufun6xer8&embedable=true Imagine how valuable that information would be to companies — knowing which products you use, which ones they think you’ll want, and how you organize your living space, so they can manufacture extremely personalized ads. What could insurance companies do with that data? How would landlords react? Now, think about how governments, intelligence agencies, and law enforcement would love to get their hands on that type of data. With the data collected from someone wearing a pair of AR glasses, who needs facial recognition, geolocation tracking, or contact tracing when governments and corporations can see what you see, hear what you hear, and know where you and what you are doing in real-time? Of course, these dystopian scenarios need not come to pass, and indeed great efforts are being made to safeguard privacy in the design of these tools and systems — at least for now. The metaverse identity report is replete with cautionary tales and references to building systems that are fair, just, diverse, equitable, inclusive, privacy-preserving, and every other type of virtuous buzzword they think you want to hear. Over time; however, goalposts may shift, emergencies may be declared, and laws and regulations may be circumvented. And what do the authors of the metaverse identity report propose to safeguard the metaverse and its integrity? Their solution is to put “the onus on the global community.” “ .” The metaverse could be fertile ground for powerful manipulative tactics, putting the onus on the global community to establish robust frameworks that not only facilitate the growth of the metaverse but also safeguard its integrity Is “the global community” ever defined in the report? No, but the WEF calls itself the “International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation” and has its Global Innovators, Young Global Leaders, and Global Shapers communities, which might give us a clue as to whom they are referring. The metaverse will no doubt change the way we work and play, leading to exciting cross-disciplinary collaborations, scientific discoveries, and untapped marketplaces. But if the unelected globalists and unaccountable technocrats are in charge of governance, the metaverse will be nothing more than a digital playground for the great reset agenda where your digital identity determines your level of entry and where anything you say or do in the virtual world will come back to haunt you in the physical one and vice versa — there will be no distinction between the two. Once everyone is hooked up to a digital identity while plugged into the metaverse, all that is needed to quash dissent is a simple flick a switch on someone’s digital identity and voila! it’s like that person doesn’t exist anymore. Your metaverse identity, with its virtual voodoo dolls, autonomous avatars, and digital doppelgangers will be your passport in the metaverse, where it will be used to surveil, predict, and mimic your behavior while determining your level of access to information and spaces. But not to worry, your metaverse identity will be essential to your day-to-day life and will be integral to all your future internet interactions. only only This article was originally published by on Tim Hinchliffe The Sociable.

The Metaverse Identity: A Soon-To-Be Cornerstone of Daily Life According to WEF Report

দ্য মেটাভার্স আইডেন্টিটি: ডব্লিউইএফ রিপোর্ট অনুসারে দৈনন্দিন জীবনের একটি শীঘ্রই হতে হবে

Die Metaverse-Identität: Laut WEF-Bericht bald ein Eckpfeiler des täglichen Lebens

La identidad del metaverso: una futura piedra angular de la vida diaria según el informe del WEF

L'identité du métaverse : une pierre angulaire de la vie quotidienne selon le rapport du WEF

मेटावर्स पहचान: WEF रिपोर्ट के अनुसार दैनिक जीवन की जल्द ही आधारशिला बनने वाली है

メタバースのアイデンティティ: WEF レポートによると、まもなく日常生活の基盤となる

메타버스 아이덴티티: WEF 보고서에 따르면 곧 일상 생활의 초석이 될 것입니다.

A identidade do metaverso: uma futura pedra angular da vida diária, de acordo com o relatório do WEF

Согласно отчету ВЭФ, идентичность Метавселенной: скоро станет краеугольным камнем повседневной жизни

Metaevren Kimliği: WEF Raporuna Göre Günlük Yaşamın Yakında Olacak Bir Temel Taşı

Bản sắc Metaverse: Nền tảng sắp có của cuộc sống hàng ngày Theo Báo cáo của WEF

世界经济论坛报告称，元宇宙身份即将成为日常生活的基石

The level of censorship in Pakistan escalated significantly during the period when authorities successfully banned , formerly known as Twitter. The authorities in Pakistan on February 17, when the rigging of elections throughout the country fueled the citizens to protest. The citizens wanted to take advantage of that opportunity to engage with each other on social media. They turned to increasing the usage of ( virtual private networks) to bypass the ban on social sites on the internet throughout the country. X started to block social media sites VPN An estimated report reveals that the demand for security software in the market has increased by up to 130%. There have been reports of numerous VPN apps suddenly failing, indicating that Pakistan's Censorship is getting more severe. These restrictions indicate citizens' difficulties in Pakistan, including inhibiting freedom of expression in the digital landscape. History of Internet restriction in Pakistan The process of blocking the internet or social media platforms in Pakistan is as old as the country. Citizens were facing these issues not only in this era but also each year in different forms. The PTA banned social platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, and Flicker in 2010. This was done after a competition known as Everyday Draw Muhammad Day. This competition may contain a bit of blasphemous material. In 2012, the Pakistan's most famous site, YouTube. That was a protest against a film released by the United States, "Innocence of Muslims." The process of YouTube restriction continued till 2016. During these years, many steps were taken regarding its usage and ban side by side. However, it was lifted in September 2016, when YouTube was launched as a local version for Pakistan. PTA blocked In 2020, the usage of due to the spreading of immoral content. TikTok in Pakistan was restricted In 2021, the interior ministry ordered the PTA to , Twitter, YouTube, and whatsapp throughout Pakistan. The reason for the temporary blockage of social media platforms should have been explained earlier. Later, that was described as related to security concerns as there was a worse situation due to Tehrik e back anti-France protests. ban Facebook Alarming condition of Pakistan's internet censorship in 2024 Lina Survila, Surfshark virtual private network provider spokeswoman, said 2024 may be a year of internet restrictions in Pakistan due to enhanced Censorship in Pakistan at an alarming level. The country faced digital darkness on five occasions in the first two months of 2024. When a political party, Pakistan's Tehrik-e-Insaf, organized online events that imprisoned former Prime Minister Imran Khan, they faced two strikes on the internet in January regarding all social media platforms. After this, the authorities hit the internet and plugged off all the social platforms, including X, on the day of the election, and the government named it a security concern. Through this blockage, they tried to consolidate the maximum potential vote manipulation. , internet watchdog Netblock, said," That day was a massive black day in democracy in Pakistan." Alp Toker One member of the Pakistan Senate presented a report to ban all famous social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. etc. The citizens faced the shutdown of social media during the country's general election. The proposal states that these social media platforms are affecting the young generation, spreading damaging and malicious content throughout the country against the military millennials. This resolution develops criticism of the violation of the rights of people as citizens have the right to express their views freely. Experts say The threats to ban social media and the internet are still at their peak point in Pakistan. Blockage of X- platform A report against internet monitoring services by states that the senator submitted the proposal when citizens were already in a sensitive stage for blockage of social media platforms. After holding the February 8 elections in Pakistan, there was a great protest against vote manipulation. When Liaqat Ali Chattha, a senior Pakistani bureaucrat, revealed that he was involved in manipulating the vote, this claim was retracted after a few days. NetBlocks The PTI, Pakistan's opposition party, claimed that the general election had been thoroughly manipulated in counting. Party officials announced they would keep up their legal actions and street demonstrations to recover the stolen mandate. At that time, people throughout the country flocked to X or Twitter to express their voices and organize themselves to walk in the streets. Politicians  throughout South Asia kept a great eye on X to keep a view of what was happening in the country. This platform also offers the opportunity to express opposing views and criticize the current political establishment. That was when authorities took the step to ban the X entirely in Pakistan. The government began to block this platform's access without announcing any warnings or explanation. PTI called these tactics desperate tactics, which were developed by the imported government and recommended that citizens use safe VPNs to access all banned social media platforms. Ultimately, citizens have still been trying to overcome these unauthentic restrictions using virtual private networks. Investigation Over Censorship Strategies Advocates of digital rights investigate the censorship strategies of the government of Pakistan for all groups at Islamabad-based-bytes. After a proper examination, they concluded that Twitter's block uses HTTP blocking. Another report or expert opinion believes that an equal collaboration of content delivery networks and authorities could be achieved. The report reads like this: "For Pakistan’s telecommunication authority, it's possible to ban  access to Twitter usage by any method, like IP blockage or deep Packet Inspection rather than to block the content by specific content delivery network providers such as Akamai Technologies, which would be more challenging to control." Although digital platforms are affected by their policies at a harsh level, as in this era, it's impossible to keep citizens away from the social market; digital freedom is not the only victim of continuous internet blockage. Effect of Internet Censorship on Pakistan's Economy The effect of internet censorship on Pakistan's economy cannot be overwhelming. The internet shutdown adversely affects many small and larger scale businesses in Pakistan. A Technologies-driven company reveals that it faced a 36% drawback in sales volume. Another report states that the telecommunication sector suffered almost 2.85 million dollars lost. , an IT sector representative, said they faced 3 million dollars per day till the restrictions were lifted. P@sha Almost 1.3 billion rupees loss has been recorded in Pakistan's economy by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics due to internet restrictions. A reveals that in 2023, Pakistan ranked third among the most restricted online nations. That cost may seem more significant this year as democratic values are disintegrating daily. study Solution of Internet Censorship in Pakistan VPN services motivate Pakistanis to come if they are on a quest to find a solution to the restrictions. The provider will guide you in getting rid of these internet shutdowns. Final Thoughts Censorship in Pakistan is on the rise, especially online. Limits on social media not only stifle free speech but also affect data access and democracy. During elections, government control raises concerns about citizens' rights. Many people turn to VPNs to bypass these restrictions. Internet shutdowns hurt Pakistan's growth and democracy. Supporting digital rights and using VPNs can help fight censorship in Pakistan. Frequently Asked Questions 1. What Is The Meaning Of Censorship? Censorship means the suppression of someone's voice, involving the ban on the freedom of the public to raise their voice against their issue. 2. Is there any Censorship in Pakistan? Yes, internet censorship is an example of Censorship in Pakistan. This means that some social sites, including X, are banned. This is also done to suppress the voice of citizens on digital platforms. 3. Why is the Internet Banned in Pakistan? The maximum filtering in Pakistan is intermittent. The Pakistan telecommunication authority has blocked the site, which they consider to contain content related to negativity, such as threatening, blasphemous, or anti-religious content. 4. What To Do If There Is Censorship On The Internet In Pakistan? If there's internet censorship in Pakistan, you can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to bypass restrictions and access blocked content. Additionally, you can advocate for digital rights and raise awareness about censorship issues. 5. Did Pakistan ban VPNs? VPNs are not banned in Pakistan, but their usage is highly restricted. The PTA allows some approved VPNs to be served.

Internet Censorship in Pakistan in 2024

The famous cypherpunk mailing list from which Bitcoin (and other privacy tools) came was founded in late 1992 by the activists Eric Hughes, Tim May, and John Gilmore. However, this is far from being the only merit attributed to Gilmore. Indeed, while that specific mailing list isn’t active anymore, other important projects launched or supported by Gilmore are still around, always helping to keep our privacy and digital rights. Born in 1955 in Pennsylvania (US), . Gilmore's journey as a programmer began in 1982 at Sun Microsystems (now Oracle), where he was the fifth employee. John Gilmore is a pioneer in software development and cryptography, who made significant contributions that continue to shape the digital landscape He focused there on further developing Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), an open-source operating system. In 1985, he also co-authored the Bootstrap Protocol, which evolved into DHCP, a fundamental mechanism for assigning IP addresses on networks. This essentially ensures that devices connected to a network can communicate with each other, forming the backbone of modern Internet connectivity. his efforts Likewise, Gilmore is a frequent collaborator in free software and has been involved in various GNU projects. They include maintaining the GNU Debugger and initiating GNU Radio, demonstrating his commitment to fostering open-source solutions. Besides, his entrepreneurial spirit led him to found Cygnus Solutions in 1989. This was a company dedicated to supporting free software and was sold to Red Hat in 1999. Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) In 1990, Gilmore took another step to fight for privacy and freedom online. Along with John Perry Barlow (author of the ), and Mitch Kapor (creator of Firefox), they founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation ( ). Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace EFF This is an NGO with a mission to safeguard online rights, whether it entails combatting mass surveillance or defending freedom of expression worldwide. Not only do they advocate for these causes, but they also equip people with the requisite tools and insights to fortify their online defenses. Through legal advocacy, the EFF takes on cases involving privacy violations, government surveillance, and free speech issues. They also work to shape policies and legislation that protect digital rights, promote Internet freedom, and develop technologies to enhance online privacy and security. One notable example is HTTPS Everywhere, a browser extension created in collaboration with the Tor Project. HTTPS Everywhere automatically switches websites from insecure HTTP to secure HTTPS, enhancing users' security and privacy while browsing the web. Other significant EFF software projects are Privacy Badger, a browser extension designed to block online trackers and advertisements; and Let's Encrypt, a free, automated, and open certificate authority that enables website owners to obtain and install SSL/TLS certificates for secure HTTPS connections. Cypherpunks and Activism Gilmore didn’t create any form of digital money himself, but he supported as a movement from the very beginning. The first physical meetings were held between Eric Hughes’s house and Cygnus Solutions headquarters in California, whereas the mailing list was originally hosted on toad.com, a domain owned and maintained by Gilmore. The mission of cypherpunks is protecting privacy and freedom by using cryptographic tools, something fully shared by : the cypherpunks Gilmore too “I want a guarantee—with physics and mathematics, not with laws—that we can give ourselves things like real privacy of personal communications. Encryption strong enough that even the NSA can’t break it.” Additionally, Gilmore has been a vocal advocate for digital rights and civil liberties. such as the creation of the FreeS/WAN project for IPsec encryption and sponsorship of the EFF's Deep Crack DES cracker. Both projects worked towards making digital communication more secure by either enhancing encryption standards or demonstrating weaknesses in existing ones. He’s also been involved in the development of numerous software projects aimed at enhancing digital security and privacy, Gilmore's commitment to promoting Internet freedom has also led him to support initiatives aimed at increasing transparency and accountability in government surveillance practices. He has been involved in legal battles challenging unconstitutional surveillance and censorship, demonstrating his dedication to defending civil liberties in the digital age. A remarkable case was , where he challenged the requirement to show identification for domestic air travel, arguing it violated his constitutional rights to travel. He also objected to the lack of transparency regarding the directive mandating ID checks, which is fair: although the courts reviewed the Security Directive privately, its contents remain undisclosed to the public. This is deemed an unconstitutional “ .” Sadly, despite Gilmore's claims, the court ruled against him for now. Gilmore v. Gonzales secret law Against Censorship Gilmore, as much as other cypherpunks, has a firm position against censorship. He’s still active in the fight for privacy by like Freedom Box, a small device that works as an independent server to avoid surveillance; and Freedom of Movement, the legal battle against secret laws. , censorship is a social weakness, and it doesn’t offer any advantages. supporting projects For him “Censorship is a counterproductive social policy and weakens the national security, by suppressing the flow of useful information among the honest citizenry. Widespread use of encryption also enhances the national security, by making private information more truly private, and by making systems and networks harder for dishonest people to penetrate.” In these days of censorship and surveillance, we need decentralized and privacy tools more than ever. Luckily, developers and activists like Gilmore keep working to deliver them free to use. One of them is the . Obyte crypto network is structured as a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) to achieve consensus and record transactions. This decentralized approach ensures greater transparency, security, and resilience against censorship and surveillance. Its architecture enables peer-to-peer transactions without the need for intermediaries. Moreover, its open and permissionless nature fosters innovation, allowing developers to build decentralized applications (Dapps) and smart contracts on the platform. Obyte Besides, relying on the , users have the option to verify their personal information, such as their real name, while ensuring it remains securely stored in their wallet and nowhere else. This verified information can then be shared selectively with trusted parties, allowing others to check its authenticity using the Obyte DAG. Self-Sovereign ID features Importantly, users retain full control over what information they share. By decentralizing control and empowering users with sovereignty over their data and assets, Obyte paves the way for a more inclusive and equitable digital economy. Just like John Gilmore and other cypherpunks have dreamed of. Read more from series: Cypherpunks Write Code Tim May & Crypto-anarchism Wei Dai & B-money Nick Szabo & Smart Contracts Adam Back & Hashcash Eric Hughes & Remailer St Jude & Community Memory Hal Finney & RPOW Featured Vector Image by Garry Killian / Freepik John Gilmore Photograph by Joi Ito / Flickr

Cypherpunks Write Code: John Gilmore and the Electronic Frontier Foundation

সাইফারপাঙ্কস কোড লিখুন: জন গিলমোর এবং ইলেকট্রনিক ফ্রন্টিয়ার ফাউন্ডেশন

Cypherpunks schreiben Code: John Gilmore und die Electronic Frontier Foundation

Los Cypherpunks escriben código: John Gilmore y la Electronic Frontier Foundation

Cypherpunks écrivent du code : John Gilmore et l'Electronic Frontier Foundation

साइफरपंक्स राइट कोड: जॉन गिलमोर और इलेक्ट्रॉनिक फ्रंटियर फाउंडेशन

サイファーパンクはコードを書く: ジョン・ギルモアと電子フロンティア財団

사이퍼펑크의 코드 작성: 존 길모어(John Gilmore)와 전자 프론티어 재단(Electronic Frontier Foundation)

Cypherpunks escrevem código: John Gilmore e a Electronic Frontier Foundation

Шифропанки пишут код: Джон Гилмор и Electronic Frontier Foundation

Şifrepunklar Kod Yazıyor: John Gilmore ve Electronic Frontier Foundation

Cypherpunks viết mã: John Gilmore và Electronic Frontier Foundation

密码朋克编写代码：约翰·吉尔摩和电子前沿基金会

A successful cyberattack targeting solar infrastructure could adversely impact convenience, safety, and national security. While the price of inaction is high, many modern panel arrays lack basic security controls and are vulnerable. can be the solution. Cybersecurity Why Is Cybersecurity for Solar Equipment Crucial? Without more resilient cybersecurity for solar, cities across the country are at risk. Critical energy infrastructure relies on solar panels, meaning a single well-placed cyberattack could cause widespread blackouts. Smart cities and homeowners with solar panels aren’t the only ones affected, either. Solar adoption rates have accelerated rapidly in recent years, meaning everyone getting their electricity from a utility-scale power plant has the potential to be impacted. Another commonly overlooked reason solar cybersecurity is crucial is the country’s reliance on satellites. Most of them to convert sunlight into electrical energy, powering their payloads and processes. Low-orbit satellites are used in everyday life for communication and military surveillance. use solar array systems While many people only consider power plants and panel arrays when they think about cybersecurity for solar, the truth is many more critical technologies and infrastructure can be affected by cyberattacks. The federal government has grown concerned with solar cybersecurity and wants to find a solution. The United States Department of Energy has made it a priority, describing it as and the country’s economy. critical for national security The Major Challenges of Solar Cybersecurity For decades, solar’s cyber-risk was insignificant because it was relatively rare and unadvanced. Now that adoption is widespread and digital transformation has accelerated, more components have become interconnected — meaning they’ve become much easier to hack. Realistically, solar operations regardless of how strong their defenses are. Infiltrations and hacks are inevitable when human error and security gaps exist. Still, the chances of attacks being successful is higher than it should be. are always at risk of a breach More solar photovoltaic inverters — components that convert the direct current produced by solar panels into a usable alternating current — are becoming Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This interconnectedness and always-online state make them vulnerable to cyberthreats. A single inverter can spread malware throughout an entire solar array, even if it isn’t an IoT device. Whether an employee plugs in an infected USB or someone falls for a phishing attempt, the initial infection can progress as long as the components are interconnected. Inverters aren’t the only component lacking adequate security. Most supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems — computer networks for equipment supervision — have numerous physical and cyber vulnerabilities. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency warns SCADA systems that allows hackers to create, overwrite, or delete files without authentication or authorization. Unfortunately, the operating technology (OT) solar infrastructure relies on has numerous well-documented — and largely unaddressed — weaknesses. are vulnerable to a critical vulnerability On top of everything else, solar infrastructure is likely to experience ransomware and distributed denial-of-service attacks because it provides essential services and is often run by government or city entities. Hackers target it at a higher rate because of the possibility of a big payout. How Hackers Target and Attack Solar Equipment Previously unknown cyberthreats emerge as more solar panel arrays and utility-scale power plants come online. The as adoption increases, and OT becomes more reliant on the IoT for monitoring, information exchange, and control. risk of cyberattacks increases Even something as minor as infrequent patches and missed updates enables hackers to intercept and manipulate inverter data. They’re often quick to exploit these vulnerabilities to gain an edge for launching future cyberattacks. Since low-orbit satellites lack basic security controls, they’re no harder to hack than inverters or SCADA systems. Hackers for 10 minutes per hour when they pass overhead. Although the wait might discourage some people, it won’t stop them. can try to hack commercial satellites Without photovoltaic technology, satellites can’t recharge their batteries and essentially become useless. When cyberattacks interrupt their power supply, they go dark — potentially causing an information blackout. What Happens When Solar Cyberattacks Are Successful? If hackers successfully attack solar equipment, they can take control of inverters — even without authorization — to reduce power output by altering the AC current or voltage. At best, their meddling will cause the lights to flicker or chargers to be slow. At worst, they cause blackouts. Although solar infrastructure is dispersed — meaning one cyberattack won’t down multiple systems — well-placed attacks can cause widespread service interruptions. While one lone hacker might not be cause for concern, organized threat actors or terror groups could easily work together to interrupt the power supply to large areas. Hackers can also overload batteries, making solar arrays fail and causing permanent physical damage. If hackers adjust the AC voltage or current too drastically, they could even cause electrical fires and damage the grid. Utility-scale power plants often have storage systems to hold surplus solar-generated electricity, so they’re likely targets. Tips to Increase Solar Cybersecurity Resiliency Robust solar cybersecurity relies on threat identification, real-time detection, timely incident response, and rapid recovery. 1. The Principle of Least Privilege The principle of least privilege restricts every person’s access to data and systems, limiting them to the bare essentials they need to complete their responsibilities. With this approach, power plant operators can prevent unauthorized access attempts more consistently. 2. Network Segmentation Network segmentation is critical for solar equipment relying on the IoT since it confines devices into segments based on their risk level. Even if an attacker’s infiltration attempt is successful, they’ll be confined to one place, and their lateral movement will be restricted. 3. Intelligent Automation Technology Intelligent automation technology can enhance incident response. Since it , it enables plant operators to proactively adjust accordingly before issues arise. For example, they can send in technicians or reroute power flow. can forecast likely sources of failure 4. Security Information and Event Management A security information and event management (SIEM) system protects networks from malware. It monitors activity by aggregating data from multiple sources, enabling real-time log analysis and a timely incident response. Solar Cybersecurity Becomes More Critical Every Day All kinds of people, from homeowners to military personnel, would be affected by a successful solar cyberattack. As this technology becomes more widespread, the potential adverse impact becomes more pronounced. Early intervention and timely action are crucial.

Why Cybersecurity for Solar Is Crucial — And Difficult

কেন সৌর জন্য সাইবার নিরাপত্তা অত্যন্ত গুরুত্বপূর্ণ - এবং কঠিন

Warum Cybersicherheit für Solarenergie entscheidend – und schwierig – ist

Por qué la ciberseguridad para la energía solar es crucial y difícil

Pourquoi la cybersécurité pour l’énergie solaire est cruciale – et difficile

सौर ऊर्जा के लिए साइबर सुरक्षा क्यों महत्वपूर्ण है - और कठिन भी

太陽光発電のサイバーセキュリティが重要であると同時に難しい理由

태양광 발전을 위한 사이버 보안이 중요하면서도 어려운 이유

Por que a segurança cibernética para energia solar é crucial – e difícil

Почему кибербезопасность для солнечной энергетики имеет решающее значение и трудна

Güneş Enerjisi İçin Siber Güvenlik Neden Önemli ve Zor?

Tại sao an ninh mạng cho năng lượng mặt trời lại quan trọng - và khó khăn

为什么太阳能网络安全至关重要且困难重重

A lone boy stood, staring at the star-speckled sky, his mind drawn to the girl just a few feet from where he lay. She was a beauty, that one. He couldn’t believe she was his. Every single thing she did screamed Art. The way she linked her fingers together, the way she smiled. The one girl who knew so much about him, yet… she didn’t shy away from his questionable past. As the emotions threatened to pull him under, he shook his head to clear his thoughts and face what was before him. “A shooting star!” She screamed in excitement as she pointed at that far-off speck in the sky, becoming larger and larger by the second. “That is no shooting star.” He managed to say, fear clogging his throat. He took in the lush grass swaying in the night wind, the beauty of the stars that more or less blotted out the sky. Then, he turned to look at the girl on the ground a few feet away. She was sitting up by then, fear morphing her once beautiful features into something unspeakable. “What is that?” Her voice quaked as she asked, and he closed his eyes momentarily to stop the bile from going up his throat. “Our death.” He said, not mincing words. His throat bobbed with unspoken words and something else underlying. “I’ve always loved you. I just- I just wanted you to know. This once.” He squeezed the words out of his mouth, wrangling them like one would do to a piece of wet cloth. “You? I’ve always seen you as just a friend.” She turned towards him then, his eyes red from tears. But he was grateful for that moment. He got her to look at him finally. And her eyes shone with regret. The screams came first as the she saw earlier was big enough to blot out the stars in the sky. And the heat. God, the heat. He felt as though he was being cooked from the inside out. shooting star The sky boiled like a cauldron; giant drops of fire rained down from the clouds, turning the lush green grass into something out of Hades’s fantasy. Blades of grass crumbled before his eyes. Withering without as much as a touch from him and fizzing out of existence, flames taking its place. The greenery is overtaken by the force that darkened the universe and turned rivers into lakes of fire. She screamed the most. He didn’t. He just watched the shooting star fall and gave a small smile. She was never his to own anyway. * Darren. That was his name. The man-boy with the power to manipulate space at his whims. He was a prodigy even among his peers in Earth 75. They had hoverboards to trapeze through space. That’s right, hoverboards. Fuelled with nothing more than gravel and sand. “Gloating again? That’s not very of you.” He rolled his eyes at the voice that came from just behind him. Glenna. His childhood friend. If you can count a hundred years as childhood. Before they settled—before the metamorphosis, they never grew older than the teenage age. But, after settling for five years and being a pain in the butt for half of those he called his cadre, he realized that he was ready for metamorphosis. But then, Glenna wasn’t. Hence, he had to stop halfway and wait for her to be. ladylike “I’m not a lady, for crying out loud. This is argument number what? Five thousand and seven?” He groaned, using flawless fingers to massage his forehead. Glenna just laughed as she walked towards him. Or, more like, she glided. She had more interest in the hoverboards than he did. The room was no larger than two children’s playroom, yet it had enough space due to his meticulousness. Not a strand of space is out of place, exactly how he wanted it to be. “Number five thousand and eight. You missed one.” She laughed, planting a wet kiss on his skin. He would have gone as red as beetroot if she didn’t deftly move the conversation elsewhere. “So, I need to weave a new dress. You’ve been called a genius for so long that it has become music to my ears. I need a strand of space to weave into a cloak I’m almost done making.” She tendered her request before him, and he took in her presence. She was young, after refusing the metamorphosis for the third time. Yet.. she had eyes of peace. The brown of her irises reminded him of worlds he hadn’t dared to touch for fear of breaking them apart. He’d seen them in his wakings. They were peaceful and oh, so beautiful. The serenity in them was what drew him to them at first. “Okay, I will. But why just a strand? Why not a whole chunk?” He asked as she raised her eyebrows at him, and he almost melted into the chair he sat on. If you can call it sitting. It was a haphazard view, an upturned table, yet he was upright. The world he’d come to know extended universes and eternities. It was a world of madness, but at least it was his. “One sec.” He said, raising his hand in mock surrender. Then, everything stopped. As his concentration cleared the level of the primordial beings, he tore a portal through the world. It was a red wiggly thing struggling to close, but he held it open with sheer willpower alone. When he found out that portals were alive, he decided to lord over them one way or another. They didn’t make it easy for him, though. While it wiggled, he stretched a hand into the portal and drew a strand out of that limitless vastness, loping it through his fingers like a struggling worm. It shimmered in and out of existence, blue like the untold skies, red as fiery dragons and demons of worlds he’d only read about. “Got you.” He smiled as he held a strand. Then, the world went to hell. Before he could remove his hand from the portal, it yawned like a gaping chasm and swallowed him whole. He was screaming, but Glenna was still in timeless mode. She wouldn’t know what happened. That is mercy. That has to be. Then, the world shut itself as the portal consumed the world he’d known all of his existence and winked out of reality. The screams didn’t come. Nothing did. * Carrion. That was his name. His name. His name. He tried to hold on to it, but it slipped out of his grasp like an eel, and he followed after it, crawling after his name with it on the tip of his tongue. What was his name again? Ca.. Ca what? What was his name? The man with scars lining his body like the universe's stars was lost. He tried to think. He tried to remember where he was. Yes. He was fighting Archanoid—the mother of spiders. One could even call her a deity. He dodged an incoming web made of madness and silk, woven with anger and hate. She was large, towering above him like he was a pesky fly. He hated that. He was the warrior who battled nightmares and abominations. He had to win. But then, what was his name? His name.. what was it again? He flew out of the way as an incubator shattered where he stood one second earlier. She wasn’t playing. “Foolish mortal. Do you think you can harm me? It doesn’t matter who you are, World Walker. You can’t escape from me.” She spoke, venom dripping out of those pincer-like things. They made a clanging sound as he swallowed, looking into those red eyes that had intelligence to them, something beyond the years. “One last chance. I will give it to you. Remember, pride and ego cannot win this war. Maybe you and the others can.” And then, before he could ask what she meant.. a scary sharp finger elongated from her finger, and she him out like a fly. flicked There was screaming. And then, there was nothing. * He woke up with a groan. There were several groans across him, and he was shocked to realize that he wasn’t dead. He wasn’t scorched. But he didn’t remember what his name was. He remembered her, recognized the girl who took him as a friend before the world became a sea of fire. Why, then, was he unhurt? The others stood on shaky feet, an otherworldly feel to them. There was something he just couldn’t place. They wore things he’d never heard of, or perhaps the dark skins rippling with fire and the darkness of the deep. Maybe it was the blades of darkness in the place where teeth were meant to be, but there was something.. out of place. One of them wore nightmares on his skin; he could see death. Death rippled with muscles and scars that seemed to blot out the skin. But strangely, he didn’t feel fear. “So, an explanation is in order?” He said to no one in particular. Even the being who looked as though he was 25 and 15 at the same time. As though the world couldn’t decide on his age and let him be both instead. He noticed that this being wasn’t standing on his two feet. He was.. hovering. “We’ll see soon enough.” A boy his age spoke, and he stared at him in wonderment, wondering how alike they were. The way the boy squinted made it glaring that he used glasses to see. Same with him. Even though he didn’t even know their names, they were about ten. Some had hands for feet, and others weren’t even walking on the bare ground. They just.. existed. There was no way to explain their existence, so he didn’t bother. “An explanation.. for this. All of this.” Another boy spoke, and he didn’t balk this time. He just waited. “Here it comes.” The boy who spoke was already running. “Here, what comes? What?” He asked, but everybody else had cleared out of that barren field. The world he was in was empty. There is no sign of green. No sign of brown either. It was as though the world was drained out of colour, and no matter where he looked, despair loomed. He felt them before he saw them. He knew who they were before they spoke. And even without an introduction, he knew everything about them. The Destroyers Of Worlds. They smiled; one hovered just like that man-boy. One had skin with uncountable scars. And then, he saw himself. That cruel smile, that deadly presence. He felt a chill that had nothing to do with the weather. Someone dragged him by the scruff of his hood, and he felt.. everything. There was no other way to describe what happened. Then, he turned to stare at the other him with a cruel smile as that being let out an inferno where he was standing a moment before. It was… hot. But strangely, he wasn’t burning. He wasn’t even singed. He was.. okay. The man-boy dropped him on the ground unceremoniously, and he muttered his thanks, but the others just raised their eyebrows, staring at the beings beyond them. Beings with their faces. Beings with enough power to destroy universes. It was them. Ageless. Timeless. With a snap of a finger, they were gone like they didn’t just lay waste to a large expanse of space. “I think I know what’s going on…” A tenacious finger went up, and the squinted boy was allowed to speak. “That is us. Timeless us. And.. we destroyed our universes. Now.. we have to fight against the us that are world destroyers.” “We don’t have a choice to decline?” The man-boy asked. “We have doomed worlds. This.. is penance.” The boy spoke again, his eyes filled with trepidation and resignation. “So, we were summoned here to kill our future selves? That’s a sick sense of humor.” “This world is sick, and when the Arachnoid told me, I didn’t believe it.” The man with the scars spoke, and his scars seemed alive, melding with his body. “Can you tell us what an Arachnoid is?” Another asked. So, he told them. Everything. “Pride and ego, huh?” A guy spoke, and they finally understood what they had to do. “This is depraved. All of this. Depraved. What the hell?” He spoke, shaking with anger. “Hell doesn’t exist, apparently. Future us made sure the world became it.” A brittle laughter from the man-boy. “This is it, then? We die in a land of no name? Our names were stolen from us. I can’t dredge up a single memory.” The scarred man said, eyes smouldering. I could tell he was pissed off. “This is our penance.” The squinting boy said again, and I was tempted to throw him out of the universe. Such a goody two shoes. “I don’t care. Whatever I have to do, I will do it. And it doesn’t matter who’s on the line. I have to go back home. Also, you can’t fight fire with water. Not in my world, anyway. It takes a monster to kill another. We will take the unorthodox approach. Did they want to seclude us and destroy us? World Walkers, indeed. Bastards more likely. I won’t take that. Neither should any of you. We have the power. Can’t you feel it? We can change things.” The man-boy spoke fervently, his eyes filled with loss, anger, and something else. “That’s right. We won’t let them decide for us. If we have to die, we might as well raise hell before we do. Now, we need a name.” The hooded boy spoke, and the others nodded in approval. “How does sound?” There were hoots of approval, some going as far as clapping. Then, they stared at the sky at once. Drained of colour. But then, the World between Worlds had always been a resting place for World Walkers. The Restorer of Worlds They had to fight. And this time, they had to fight themselves. Their memories returned, and they could see themselves in the past, present, and future—the Destroyer of Worlds. No more. They decided not to make the same mistakes. Not again. This time, they’d restore all they destroyed. As the squinty-eyed kid said, it was penance.

PENANCE 

Authors: (1) Ruohan Zhang, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (2) Sharon Lee, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (3) Minjune Hwang, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (4) Ayano Hiranaka, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (5) Chen Wang, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (6) Wensi Ai, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (7) Jin Jie Ryan Tan, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (8) Shreya Gupta, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (9) Yilun Hao, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (10) Ruohan Gao, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (11) Anthony Norcia, Department of Psychology, Stanford University (12) Li Fei-Fei, 1Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), Stanford University; (13) Jiajun Wu, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), Stanford University. Table of Links Abstract & Introduction Brain-Robot Interface (BRI): Background The NOIR System Experiments Results Conclusion, Limitations, and Ethical Concerns Acknowledgments & References Appendix 1: Questions and Answers about NOIR Appendix 2: Comparison between Different Brain Recording Devices Appendix 3: System Setup Appendix 4: Task Definitions Appendix 5: Experimental Procedure Appendix 6: Decoding Algorithms Details Appendix 7: Robot Learning Algorithm Details Appendix 5: Experimental Procedure . In our experiments, we use the 128-channel HydroCel Geodesic SensorNet from Magstim EGI, which has sponge tips in its electrode channels. Prior to experiments, the EEG net is soaked in a solution containing dissolved conductive salt (Potassium Chloride) and baby shampoo for 15 minutes. After the soaking, the net is worn by the experiment subject, and an impedance check is done. This impedance check entails ensuring that the impedance of each channel electrode is ≤ 50.0 kΩ, by using a syringe to add more conductive fluid between the electrodes and the scalp. We then carefully put on a shower cap to minimize the drying of conductive fluid over the course of the experiment. EEG device preparation Before commencing the experiments, subjects are given instructions on how to execute the SSVEP, MI, and muscle tension (jaw-clenching) tasks. For SSVEP, they are instructed to simply focus on the flickering object of interest without getting distracted by the other objects on the screen. For MI, similar to datasets such as BCI Competition 2003 [75], and as per extensive literature review [76], we instruct subjects to either imagine continually bending their hands at the wrist (wrist dorsiflexion) or squeezing a ball for the hand actions (“Left”, “Right”), and to imagine depressing a pedal with both feet (feet dorsiflexion) for the “Legs” action. For the “Rest” class, as is common practice in EEG experiments in general, we instruct users to focus on a fixation cross displayed on the screen. Subjects were told to stick with their actions of choice throughout the experiment, for consistency. For muscle tension, subjects were told to simply clench their jaw without too much or too little effort. Instructions to subjects. . For SSVEP, subjects are told in writing on the screen to focus on the object of interest. Thereafter, a scene image of the objects with flickering masks overlaid on each object is presented, and we immediately begin recording the EEG Data over this period of time. For MI, the cues are different during calibration and task-time. During calibration, subjects are presented with a warning symbol (.) on screen for 1 second, before being presented with the symbol representing the action they are to imagine (<-: “Left”, ->: “Right”, v: “Legs”, +: “Rest”), which lasts on screen for 5500 ms. We record the latter 5000 ms of EEG data. After which, there is a randomized period of rest the lasts between 0.5 and 2 seconds, before the process repeats for another randomly chosen action class. This is done in 4 blocks of 5 trials per action, for a total of 20 trials per action. This procedure is again similar to datasets like BCI Competition 2003 [75], that use non-linguistic cues and randomization of rest / task. At task-time, similar to SSVEP, subjects are told in writing on the screen to perform MI to select a robot skill to execute. Thereafter, a written mapping of a class symbol ({<-, ->, v, +}) to skill ({pick from top, pick from side, ...}) is presented, and we begin recording EEG Data after a 2-second delay. For muscle tension, there is also a calibration phase, similar to MI, which entails collecting three 500ms-long trials for each class (“Rest”, and “Clench”) at the start of each experiment. The cues are written on the screen in words. At task time, when appropriate, written prompts are also presented on the screen (e.g. “clench if incorrect”), followed by a written countdown, after which the user has a 500ms window to clench (or not). Interface This paper is under CC 4.0 license. available on arxiv

NOIR: Neural Signal Operated Intelligent Robots for Everyday Activities: Appendix 5

Authors: (1) Ruohan Zhang, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (2) Sharon Lee, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (3) Minjune Hwang, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (4) Ayano Hiranaka, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (5) Chen Wang, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (6) Wensi Ai, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (7) Jin Jie Ryan Tan, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (8) Shreya Gupta, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (9) Yilun Hao, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (10) Ruohan Gao, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (11) Anthony Norcia, Department of Psychology, Stanford University (12) Li Fei-Fei, 1Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), Stanford University; (13) Jiajun Wu, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), Stanford University. Table of Links Abstract & Introduction Brain-Robot Interface (BRI): Background The NOIR System Experiments Results Conclusion, Limitations, and Ethical Concerns Acknowledgments & References Appendix 1: Questions and Answers about NOIR Appendix 2: Comparison between Different Brain Recording Devices Appendix 3: System Setup Appendix 4: Task Definitions Appendix 5: Experimental Procedure Appendix 6: Decoding Algorithms Details Appendix 7: Robot Learning Algorithm Details 3 The NOIR System The challenges we try to tackle are: 1) How do we build a general-purpose BRI system that works for a variety of tasks? 2) How do we decode relevant communication signals from human brains? 3) How do we make robots more intelligent and adaptive for more efficient collaboration? An overview of our system is shown in Fig. 2. Humans act as planning agents to perceive, plan, and communicate behavioral goals to the robot, while robots use pre-defined primitive skills to achieve these goals. The overarching goal of building a general-purpose BRI system is achieved by synergistically integrating two designs together. First, we propose a novel modular brain decoding pipeline for human intentions, in which the human intended goal is decomposed into three components: what, how, and where (Sec. 3.1). Second, we equip the robots with a library of parameterized primitive skills to accomplish human-specified goals (Sec. 3.2). This design enables humans and robots to collaborate to accomplish a variety of challenging, long-horizon everyday tasks. At last, we show a key feature of NOIR to allow robots to act more efficiently and to be capable of adapting to individual users, we adopt few-shot imitation learning from humans (Sec. 3.3). 3.1 The brain: A modular decoding pipeline We hypothesize that the key to building a general-purpose EEG decoding system is modularization. Decoding complete behavioral goals (e.g., in the form of natural language) is only feasible with expensive devices like fMRI, and with many hours of training data for each individual [31]. As shown in Fig. 3, we decompose human intention into three components: (a) What object to manipulate; (b) How to interact with the object; (c) Where to interact. The decoding of specific user intents from EEG signals is challenging but can be done with steady-state visually evoked potential and motor imagery, as introduced in Sec. 2. For brevity, details of decoding algorithms are in Appendix 6. Upon showing the task set-up on a screen, we first infer the user’s intended object. We make objects on the screen flicker with different frequencies (Fig. 3a), which, when focused on by the user, evokes SSVEP [26]. By identifying which frequency is stronger in the EEG data, we may infer the frequency of the flickering visual stimulus, and hence the object that the user focuses on. We apply modern computer vision techniques to circumvent the problem of having to physically attach LED lights [27, 28]. Specifically, we use the foundation model OWL-ViT [32] to detect and track objects, which takes in an image and object descriptions and outputs object segmentation masks. By overlaying each mask of different flickering frequencies (6Hz, 7.5Hz, 8.57Hz, and 10Hz [33, 34]), and having the user focus on the desired object for 10 seconds, we are able to identify the attended object. Selecting objects with steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP). We use only the signals from the visual cortex (Appendix 6) and preprocess the data with a notch filter. We then use Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) for classification [35]. We create a Canonical Reference Signal (CRS), which is a set of sin and cos waves, for each of our frequencies and their harmonics. We then use CCA to calculate the frequency whose CRS has the highest correlation with the EEG signal, and identify the object that was made to flicker at that frequency. . The user then chooses a skill and its parameters. We frame this as a k-way (k ≤ 4) MI classification problem, where we aim to decode which of the k pre-decided actions the user was imagining. Unlike SSVEP, a small amount of calibration data (10-min) is required due to the distinct nature of each user’s MI signals. The four classes are: Left Hand, Right Hand, Legs, and Rest; the class names describe the body parts that users imagine using to execute some skills (e.g. pushing a pedal with feet). Upon being presented with the list of k skill options, we record a 5-second EEG signal, and use a classifier trained on the calibration data. The user then guides a cursor on the screen to the appropriate location for executing the skill. To move the cursor along the x axis, the user is prompted to imagine moving their Left hand for leftward cursor movement. We record another five seconds of data and utilize a 2-way classifier. This process is repeated for x, y, and z axes. Selecting skill and parameters with motor imagery (MI) For decoding, we use only EEG channels around the brain areas related to motor imagery (Appendix 6). The data is band-pass-filtered between 8Hz and 30Hz to include µ-band and β-band frequency ranges correlated with MI activity [36]. The classification algorithm is based on the common spatial pattern (CSP) [37–40] algorithm and quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA). Due to its simplicity, CSP+QDA is explainable and amenable to small training datasets. Contour maps of electrode contributions to the top few CSP-space principal components are shown in the middle row of Fig. 3. There are distinct concentrations around the right and left motor areas, as well as the visual cortex (which correlates with the Rest class). Safety is critical in BRI due to noisy decoding. We follow a common practice and collect electrical signals generated from facial muscle tension (Electromyography, or EMG). This signal appears when users frown or clench their jaws, indicating a negative response. This signal is strong with near-perfect decoding accuracy, and thus we use it to confirm or reject object, skill, or parameter selections. With a pre-determined threshold value obtained through the calibration stage, we can reliably detect muscle tension from 500-ms windows. Confirming or interrupting with muscle tension. 3.2 The robot: Parameterized primitive skills Our robots must be able to solve a diverse set of manipulation tasks under the guidance of humans, which can be achieved by equipping them with a set of parameterized primitive skills. The benefits of using these skills are that they can be combined and reused across tasks. Moreover, these skills are intuitive to humans. Since skill-augmented robots have shown promising results in solving longhorizon tasks, we follow recent works in robotics with parameterized skills [41–52], and augment the action space of our robots with a set of primitive skills and their parameters. Neither the human nor the agent requires knowledge of the underlying control mechanism for these skills, thus the skills can be implemented in any method as long as they are robust and adaptive to various tasks. We use two robots in our experiment: A Franka Emika Panda arm for tabletop manipulation tasks, and a PAL Tiago robot for mobile manipulation tasks (see Appendix for hardware details). Skills for the Franka robot use the operational space pose controller (OSC) [53] from the Deoxys API [54]. For example, Reaching skill trajectories are generated by numerical 3D trajectory interpolation conditioned on the current robot end-effector 6D pose and target pose. Then OSC controls the robot to reach the waypoints along the trajectory orderly. The Tiago robot’s navigation skill is implemented using the ROS MoveBase package, while all other skills are implemented using MoveIt motion planning framework [55]. A complete list of skills for both robots is in Appendix 3. Later, we will show that humans and robots can work together using these skills to solve all the tasks. 3.3 Leveraging robot learning for efficient BRI The modular decoding pipeline and the primitive skill library lay the foundation for NOIR. However, the efficiency of such a system can be further improved. During the collaboration, the robots should learn the user’s object, skill, and parameter selection preferences, hence in future trials, the robot can predict users’ intended goals and be more autonomous, hence reducing the effort required for decoding. Learning and generalization are required since the location, pose, arrangement, and instance of the objects could differ from trial to trial. Meanwhile, the learning algorithms should be sample-efficient since human data is expensive to collect. In NOIR, human effort can be reduced if the robot intelligently learns to propose appropriate object-skill selections for a given state in the task. Inspired by retrieval-based imitation learning [56–58], our proposed method learns a latent state representation from observed states. Given a new state observation, it finds the most similar state in the latent space and the corresponding action. Our method is shown in Fig. 4. During task execution, we record data points that consist of images and the object-skill pairs selected by the human. The images are first encoded by a pre-trained R3M model [59] to extract useful features for robot manipulation tasks, and are then passed through several trainable, fully-connected layers. These layers are trained using contrastive learning with a triplet loss[60] that encourages the images with the same object-skill label to be embedded closer in the latent space. The learned image embeddings and object-skill labels are stored in the memory. During test time, the model retrieves the nearest data point in the latent space and suggests the object-action pair associated with that data point to the human. Details of the algorithm can be found in Appendix 7.1. Retrieval-based few-shot object and skill selection. Parameter selection requires a lot of human effort as it needs precise cursor manipulation through MI. To reduce human effort, we propose a learning algorithm for predicting parameters given an object-skill pair as an initial point for cursor control. Assuming that the user has once successfully pinpointed the precise key point to pick a mug’s handle, does this parameter need to be specified again in the future? Recent advancement in foundation models such as DINOv2 [61] allows us to find corresponding semantic key points, eliminating the need for parameter re-specification. Compared to previous works, our algorithm is one-shot [62–66] and predicts specific 2D points instead of semantic segments [67, 68]. As shown in Fig. 4, given a training image (360 × 240) and parameter choice (x, y), we predict the semantically corresponding point in the test images, in which positions, orientations, instances of the target object, and contexts may vary. We utilize a pre-trained DINOv2 model to obtain semantic features [61]. We input both train and test images into the model and generate 768 patch tokens, each as a pixel-wise feature map of dimension 75 × 100. We then extract a 3 × 3 patch centered around the provided training parameter and search for a matching feature in the test image, using cosine similarity as the distance metric. Details of this algorithm can be found in Appendix 7.2. One-shot skill parameter learning. This paper is under CC 4.0 license. available on arxiv

The NOIR System: Building a General Purpose BRI System 

Authors: (1) Ruohan Zhang, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University, Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (2) Sharon Lee, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (3) Minjune Hwang, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (4) Ayano Hiranaka, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University & Equally contributed; zharu@stanford.edu; (5) Chen Wang, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (6) Wensi Ai, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (7) Jin Jie Ryan Tan, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (8) Shreya Gupta, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (9) Yilun Hao, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (10) Ruohan Gao, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University; (11) Anthony Norcia, Department of Psychology, Stanford University (12) Li Fei-Fei, 1Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), Stanford University; (13) Jiajun Wu, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University & Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI), Stanford University. Table of Links Abstract & Introduction Brain-Robot Interface (BRI): Background The NOIR System Experiments Results Conclusion, Limitations, and Ethical Concerns Acknowledgments & References Appendix 1: Questions and Answers about NOIR Appendix 2: Comparison between Different Brain Recording Devices Appendix 3: System Setup Appendix 4: Task Definitions Appendix 5: Experimental Procedure Appendix 6: Decoding Algorithms Details Appendix 7: Robot Learning Algorithm Details 2 Brain-Robot Interface (BRI): Background Since Hans Berger’s discovery of EEG in 1924, several types of devices have been developed to record human brain signals. We chose non-invasive, saline-based EEG due to its cost and accessibility to the general population, signal-to-noise ratio, temporal and spatial resolutions, and types of signals that can be decoded (see Appendix 2). EEG captures the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain using electrodes placed on the scalp. EEG-based BRI has been applied to prosthetics, wheelchairs, as well as navigation and manipulation robots. For comprehensive reviews, see [22– 25]. We utilize two types of EEG signals that are frequently employed in BRI, namely, steady-state visually evoked potential (SSVEP) and motor imagery (MI). SSVEP is the brain’s exogenous response to periodic external visual stimulus [26], wherein the brain generates periodic electrical activity at the same frequency as flickering visual stimulus. The application of SSVEP in assistive robotics often involves the usage of flickering LED lights physically affixed to different objects [27, 28]. Attending to an object (and its attached LED light) will increase the EEG response at that stimulus frequency, allowing the object’s identity to be inferred. Inspired by prior work [15], our system utilizes computer vision techniques to detect and segment objects, attach virtual flickering masks to each object, and display them to the participants for selection. Motor Imagery (MI) differs from SSVEP due to its endogenous nature, requiring individuals to mentally simulate specific actions, such as imagining oneself manipulating an object. The decoded signals can be used to indicate a human’s intended way of interacting with the object. This approach is widely used for rehabilitation, and for navigation tasks [29] in BRI systems. This approach often suffers from low decoding accuracy [22]. Much existing BRI research focuses on the fundamental problem of brain signal decoding, while several existing studies focus on how to make robots more intelligent and adaptive [13–17, 30]. Inspired by this line of work, we leverage few-shot policy learning algorithms to enable robots to learn human preferences and goals. This minimizes the necessity for extensive brain signal decoding, thereby streamlining the interaction process and enhancing overall efficiency. Our study is grounded in substantial advancements in both the field of brain signal decoding and robot learning. Currently, many existing BRI systems target only one or a few specific tasks. To the best of our knowledge, no previous work has presented an intelligent, versatile system capable of successfully executing a wide range of complex tasks, as demonstrated in our study. This paper is under CC 4.0 license. available on arxiv

Understanding Brain-Robot Interfaces (BRIs)

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On Saturday, I slayed the dragon. The digital monster lurked in my electrical relay box, and overcoming it gave me a primal sense of domination. It also left me pondering the cumbersome nature of technology. All week, I had suspected something was wrong with my apartment. The smart switch controlling the water supply seemed dimmed as if it was off, even though it was allowing the water to flow. Simultaneously, I started hearing more about ghosts. My coworker had signed up for a New Year's Eve party at an abandoned psychiatric hospital involving Ouija boards. Inspired by this, my girlfriend and I spent hours discussing the existence of unseen forces around us. Imagine our despair when, on Friday night, our electrical box began making cracking noises, and our lights started flickering on and off. The water supply was being cut, disrupting the washing machine and dishwasher. I suspected the smart home relay, installed by the building developer, was the culprit. Exhausted and clueless, I couldn't fix it. There was no "off" switch, so the disturbances continued sporadically throughout the night. We woke up tired, angry, and slightly creeped out. The next day, I tried to resolve the issue. I hit the reset button repeatedly and looked for a "bypass" switch, but nothing worked. The problem persisted, albeit less frequently. The relay had never been configured because, as it’s a new apartment, I didn't have a Wi-Fi router yet, and frankly, I hadn't been interested in it before. I attempted to configure it several times using my girlfriend's phone as a router to follow the official guide but to no avail. In the end, I decided to go primal. My girlfriend and I scoured online manuals for different parts of the electrical box. We discovered a pin that could lock the digital switch for electricity in the always-on position. There wasn't one for the water, but fortunately, the smart home hub had mixed up the off/on states... In our final test, I turned the smart home relay switch off. Previously, this action would cut off everything, but now it had no effect. The monster was defeated. This experience got me thinking. If there's a lesson to be learned, it's the importance of having an "off" switch on every device. I hope this ordeal isn't a prelude to a future dominated by AI overlords. Imagine if my building developer were a company like Microsoft/OpenAI, the smart home hub, a deeply integrated AI model in our lives, and I, an oblivious user. A sleepless night could symbolize a future where we have no control over what's happening. Perhaps I'm taking this too far, but I need sleep. Take care, everyone, and may your smart devices spare your sleep. Were you ever attacked like this? Subscribe to my profile by filling in your email address on the left, and be up-to-date with my articles! Don't forget to follow me on Twitter and subscribe to my blog’s for more tips and insights! @ horosin_ newsletter If you don't have Twitter, you can also follow me on . LinkedIn Also published . here

Conquering the Smart Home Beast: A Quest for Better Sleep

Let's learn about via these 50 free stories. They are ordered by most time reading created on HackerNoon. Visit the to find the most read stories about any technology. Libra /Learn Repo 1. Is this the best time to buy Bitcoin or not? The recent rally has affected many market participants; at such moments, many people are influenced by the FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) effect. But an understanding crypto investor, clearly aware that it's just only beginning. 2. Libra Investment Token: Crazy ROI The main focus on Libra so far was the stablecoin - a digital currency pegged to a basket of underlying assets. If the pegging mechanism works as intended, Libra coin won't undergo any crazy crypto pumps & dumps. Holders of Libra coin probably won't face any bigger risk than holding cash. This of course also means they won't make any money on the coin. 3. Facebook's Libra Means the Death of Privacy Picture a dystopian society. What do you see? Are you imagining a world with the aesthetic of Blade Runner 2077 or a similarly Cyberpunk-esque environment? 4. Libra (or the Announced Failure of a Pseudo-cryptocurrency) With Paypal withdrawn and Visa and Mastercard soon to follow suit, the death knell has sounded for Facebook’s cryptocurrency, Libra. Here’s an analysis of what happened in just 4 months. 5. Is Facebook Putting Digital Identity At Risk With Libra? Here’s Why It Raises Privacy Concerns Last month, Facebook finally disclosed details of its much-hyped cryptocurrency, Libra. After generating an immense amount of chatter, the company announced that the digital currency, set to launch in 2020, will enable people to buy things or send money to others with almost zero fees. 6. Some Insights into Facebook's Libra Consensus Method and How it Compares to other BFTs While there has been plenty of talk about the regulatory and privacy implications, there has been little public dialogue about the technology behind Facebook’s new digital currency. Can regulators concerns about privacy be alleviated upon closer inspection of Facebook’s new digital currency? 7. How Facebook Stablecoin Libra Could Replace all Current Stablecoins Facebook recently announced their new Libra cryptocurrency, a stablecoin set to launch in 2020 which will initially let users transfer money between Facebook’s Messenger and WhatsApp applications. However, the larger goal of Libra is to transform the global economy. In conjunction with other companies and partners that make up the Libra Association, including payments companies, technology companies, marketplaces, and venture capitalist firms, Libra has the potential to do just that. Having been involved in the cryptocurrency industry for the last couple of years there is definitely a reason to doubt how decentralized Libra truly is and if it can even be considered a cryptocurrency. However, one thing is certain, given the proposed makeup of Libra it could ultimately replace all current stablecoins, and quickly. 8. What Makes Facebook’s Libra More Centralized? 9. The Facebook Fake-Waves of Libra Scams. There’s a new wave of dozen fake accounts, groups and pages which are spread across Facebook and Instagram. — Claiming and trying to sell Facebook’s latest cryptocurrency Libra everywhere across the social platforms. 10. Did Libra announcement impact the price of BTC? Last week, the price of BTC rose extensively, jumping to almost 13k. It was perfect timing for the organizers of the BTC2019 conference in San Francisco. 11. Finally Congress grasps crypto Occasionally an investigation turns up a piece of evidence that is unexpected, and is in fact more valuable that the information that is actually being sought. It could be said that last week’s Congressional hearings into Facebook’s Libra did just that. 12. How The Hotstuff Protocol is NOT Secure? Each participant stores a tree of pending commands locally, in addition to the state variables viewNumber (starting at 1, stores the highest QC it voted to pre-commit), and prepareQC (starts at nil), lockedQC (starts at nil, stores the highest QC it voted to commit). When a “new-view” or round starts, a public function determines the leader from the current participants. 13. Accounting & regulations for businesses that integrate Libra The lack of transparency has been a growing problem for crypto-based companies. For most of them, it is a nightmare just to meet basic regulatory needs like finding an accountant, opening a bank account, getting audited and certified compliant. The main challenge lies in the fact that most accounting practices and financial reporting guidelines are formulated for traditional FIAT currency based businesses. There is a lack of clearly defined standards and practices for businesses dealing in tokens and cryptocurrencies. 14. Chain reaction: What will the next decade of blockchain look like? For a mechanical entity that nobody was aware of just three years ago, blockchain has certainly come a long way. Bitcoin’s rise in popularity turned the blockchain technology that drives it firmly into the limelight, but what does the future hold for this brave new world? 15. Is Facebook's Libra Even a Cryptocurrency? When Facebook first publicised its plans to launch a new 'decentralised' digital currency in 2019, Libra, many people were surprised at the news. Few months after Libra's announcement, Facebook released its official whitepaper to the general populace, and eyebrows were raised. 16. Business Model Innovation And The Future Of Crypto In his essay, Fred Wilson wrote in AVC blog about technical innovation, business model innovation, and the last two big waves we had in the tech industry: 17. Digital Euro (CBDCs): Closer To Reality Than You Think The ECB (European Central Bank) has published a report stating
the digital euro is getting closer to be launched. It gives an overview of a
possible roadmap for implementing the digital euro as well as the advantages and disadvantages of a digital currency in the euro zone. 18. Facebook’s Libra Currency ‘Big Tech’ are coming for our banks, but should we be worried? 19. Olaf Scholz vs. Facebook's Libra Vice-chancellor and Germany's finance minister, Olaf Scholz, says ‘No’ to Facebook, ‘Yes!” to digital currency. 20. Why The Death of Libra May be a Good Thing For The Crypto Landscape Facebook’s Libra project had promised to spark a global financial revolution that would bring unprecedented inclusivity and borderless banking. Within months, Mark Zuckerberg’s stablecoin dream was in tatters. But the death of Libra may turn out to be a positive thing for the crypto landscape. 21. This Decade, The Masses Will Not Be Able to Avoid Digital Currencies Over the past decade, cryptocurrency has become a term that everyone recognizes. Whether it registers as some far-out concept that has something to do with invisible money, or whether you are a crypto geek who belongs to exchange platforms and follows various currencies religiously. 22. Cryptocurrencies as Money: Evolution of Stablecoins and What's Next Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are backed by other assets to achieve a stable value, which creates untold opportunity for the way humans interact with money as they have the benefits of cryptocurrency (borderless, secure, low cost) while protecting the users from volatile price action. They often represent real money (GBP, USD etc) and for this reason are more easily understood by a global audience. 23. How to Build a Stablecoin To Compete with Libra In my Libra project analysis report ( A Business Analysis of the Libra Project), I pointed out that there is still a very good opportunity to develop a new stablecoin that competes with Libra. The Libra project is definitely not the end of the stablecoin project, but a milestone in this process. More stablecoin projects will appear to provide more stablecoin products for the market. In terms of the mechanism for generating stablecoins, other stablecoin products can be substantially different from Libra. In terms of application scenarios of stablecoin, a more suitable application scenario can also be adopted. In view of the fact that stablecoin is still at a very early stage and all the risks of the Libra project, other stablecoin products still have a very high probability of success. As long as the correct strategy is adopted in the design of stablecoin, promotion organization and adoption scenario, it is very likely that the new stablecoin can be better accepted by the market. This article discusses some of the factors related to the new stablecoin. [24. Making Good Money: The Coming Synthetic Hegemonic Currency](https://hackernoon.com/making-good-money-the-coming-synthetic-hegemonic-currency-yff4v32xw) Caption: James Gillray, The Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, 22 May 1797, public domain, courtesy of the Bank of England 25. LIBRA- Decoding Facebook Cryptocurrency In 7 Questions The American giant must present Tuesday its cryptocurrency project. While waiting for its launch scheduled for 2020, the future “libra”, conceived in partnership with 27 groups, raises many questions: how can we buy them? How will it work? Who to regulate it? 26. Wake Up and Smell These #TopTechStories 🍏 27. How Libra Changed the Design and Expectations for Other Digital Currencies What should digital currency operators consider before creating one ? 28. Interview With Cosmas Wong: Don’t Fear Skynet, Libra Catapulted Crypto Awareness in Masses Cosmas Wong is a tech entrepreneur and investor who created companies for more than 20 years. He is the founder of Grey Jean Technologies; the genesis of the GNY platform, and also of other strong technology companies. I had the opportunity to make that interview with him, and we discussed the problems of AI, blockchain, and crypto adoption as well as his business ideas. 29. 10 Data-Driven Predictions for Bitcoin, Stocks, and Commodities in 2020 It's a brand-new year, and oh man, 2020 has a lot on its plate. Last year, we witnessed the benchmark S&P 500 surge almost 29%, crude oil rallied 35% and the bitcoin price nearly doubled since the beginning of the year. [30. Facebook & the Libra Effect: The New Importance of Privacy in Online Marketplaces](https://hackernoon.com/facebook-and-the-libra-effect-the-new-importance-of-privacy-in-online-marketplaces-esfj3y5p) Members of the Libra Association, a group of 28 companies and not-for-profit groups including and brought together by Facebook may soon have the power to forever change the history of the online marketplace worldwide. The Senate and House hearings in Washington July 18th and 19th - as theatrical as they were - may still only be a subtle indication of the grand ramifications of a marketplace where privacy does not exist for buyers and sellers. 31. Libra is The Offshore Oil Rig of Data Collection. Drill Baby Drill. Libra Is Not A Gateway Cryptocurrency 32. Libra untangled: what lies behind facebook's digital currency project - PART I Libra - Facebook´s digital currency project - has been a very populartalk lately. Even US President Trump tweeted about it. But few have looked at what may be the hidden implicationsof Facebook´s project. 33. Libra Starts the End of Public Chains In my previous article (So Many Public Chains, So Few Dapps), I pointed it out that too many public chains was one of the reasons that there were so few Dapps. App developers really do not want to develop their apps for so many blockchains. 34. What I learned from Ethereum Devcon5 The Ethereum Foundation Devcon is the most important annual gathering of developers, designers, and researchers in the Ethereum ecosystem. This year’s Devcon5 in Osaka, Japan is the 5th Devcon, and as in past years, it is a bellwether of what to come in Ethereum. 35. Is Libra a Paper Tiger? Of course, Libra is not a paper tiger. Otherwise it won’t cause theimmediate concern of global financial regulatory bodies and central banks, as well as the hearings by United States congress. But, this project indeed has inherent risks which make it very vulnerable. There is a good chance that it may get seriously delayed or may be forced to shut down if it cannot deal with these risks appropriately. If, unfortunately, it is forced to stop, then its short period of existence is then really a paper tiger. 36. Libra: The Ideavirus The lid on the fabled "Facebook coin" project has been finally lifted in the middle of June. Libra, a name evoking an ancient unit of weight, scales of justice and a somewhat clever jab at Winklevoss' Gemini, has already been written about extensively. 37. Learning from the Past to Create a Modern Financial System for the Digital Age The global financial system is comprised of a framework of legal agreements, institutions, and both formal and informal economic actors that together facilitate international flows of financial capital for purposes of investment and trade financing. Our current global financial systems are based on a series of historical events and innovations that brought us to where we are today. Historical markers such as the first minted coin, the use of paper money, the adoption of the US dollar as the international reserve currency, abandonment of the gold standard, and the ubiquity of mobile payments have all greatly influenced the way we exchange and store value on a micro and macro scale. 38. Comparing Algorand and Libra: The Road to Decentralization August 12, 2019 39. Resources: Programming Ownership on The Blockchain Smart contracts are a unique class of software explicitly designed to manage ownership of valuable digital assets. While existing programming environments can be used to keep track of the ownership of assets, they are most typically used in scenarios where they are reflecting ownership rather than defining it directly. Smart contracts are unique in that the value they represent is often embodied directly in the state they maintain. 40. How to Mint Stablecoins Based on Bitcoin? The Libra project raised market’s attention to stablecoin to an unprecedented level. It not only forces global financial regulatory bodies and central banks to take necessary measures, but also stimulates market’s enthusiasm in developing more stablecoins. Since Libra’s project scope is too large, it assumes a lot of risks. There is a big uncertainty in its future. But, Libra’s design and its experience can certainly be learned by other stablecoin projects. Better designed and more feasible stablecoins can be brought to the market. 41. Will Facebook and Telegram Kill Bitcoin and Ethereum? 2019 has marked itself not only with the end of the crypto winter but also with time when established technology companies entered the blockchain field. Telegram is going to release its own blockchain with the goal of processing millions of transactions per second. Facebook plans to introduce Libra coin to facilitate payments for 1.7 billion unbanked but connected people. 42. What lies ahead for crypto-exchanges in 2020? Experts' opinion on the trade war, halving, and Libra The mid-term results for the cryptographic industry in 2019 still remain uncertain. On one hand, market capitalization increased by 125 per cent in the second quarter alone. On the other, users have already lost more than $4 billion this year due to the actions of hackers and scammers, which is more than the entire year of 2018. It is unlikely that 2019 will meet the original expectations. Yet, experts predict a lot of interesting happenings for crypto exchanges in 2020. 43. Facebook's Libra And China: The Real Scenario Photo Credit: Christoph Scholz Flickr via Compfight ccThe people and government of China should be mostly concerned about Facebook’s intended launch of the Libra. The story didn’t just end there because Facebook said that in addition to Libra, the project will also issue a “Libra investment token.” 44. Facebook Libra: on the 4 steps road for World Presidency... Something changed on the 18th of June 2019. The day that Libra went public. Facebook’s long rumoured cryptocurrency project, which has rallied 28 world-leading partners, came out of the closet, and with it this new asset class seems to have landed its first concrete, large scale application. With over 2.7 billion users spread across all of its platforms1(Facebook, Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram), and in response to recent strides into the payment sector and digital wallets by the likes of Samsung, Apple and Tencent, it was time for the group led by Mark Zuckerberg to finally wade into the great cryptocurrency arms race unfolding before us. 45. To Libra or not To Libra An interesting fact about Libra Facebook’s native currency which was announced June 18th, it’s inspired from three distinct elements: the Roman weight measurement system, the astrological sign for justice, and the French term  for freedom. 46. Everything wrong with Ethereum in 2019 The purpose of this state of the union is the criticize aspects of the Ethereum project and bring awareness to fixable issues while combating general ignorance of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain. 47. Facebook’s Libra Coin and PayPal's “Commitment Issues” MasterCard and PayPal Backing out of the Promised $10M Investments and more... 48. Libra, Frax, The Battle of the Centuries and The Rise of The Meta-Dollar Alfred Owen Crozier 1912, on the "Aldrich Plan," 49. The Complete Guide to Stablecoins in 2019 50. Everything Wrong with Bitcoin in 2019 This editorial was first published in Coinmonks, now re-syndicated with permission and discretion of the original author to reach wider audiences. Thank you for checking out the 50 most read stories about Libra on HackerNoon. to find the most read stories about any technology. Visit the /Learn Repo

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