Privacy Analysis Shows Battery status API as Tracking Tool

Most of the Smartphone nowadays contain a feature which is essential to their usage i.e. battery status. A HTML 5 coded Battery analysis API is found to have major flaws in it which is leaving the privacy vulnerable. The flaws in the battery status API are extremely threatening and need to be resolved at the earliest.

The flaw mainly resides in the battery status API of most of the Smartphone. The set of protocols set in HTML5, which is the current language of the internet. This API unknowingly provides a web browser like Google Chrome and Firefox regarding the sensitive information of the Smartphone. Later on, this API also helps in activating a power saving mode which helps the Smartphone users in making more out of their devices.

How severe is the flaw?

Battery Status API has the capability to extract and pull several pieces of information related to the device’s battery, which includes the battery level, charging times along with discharging time. When this data is combined together it helps in creating a digital fingerprint of the device and it can be used by the potential attackers for tracking the activities of the users on the internet.

Recent studies on battery status

A recent study was conducted by the four researchers from France and Belgium on the battery status API. The research paper has been titled “The leaking battery: A privacy analysis of the HTML5 Battery Status API”. The researchers have concluded that the Battery Status API can serve as a potential tracking identifier when it is used in the hands of the notorious trackers.

The study had showed that HTML5 Battery Status API secretly enables the websites to access the battery state on any device ranging from the mobile device to laptops. Most of this information related to battery is extracted from the devices without the knowledge of the users. This API is extremely dangerous to the protection of the privacy, as no permission is required by the API to send out the details.

This study had even showed that when this API is implemented by Firefox Browser it happens to enable the fingerprinting and tracking of devices in short time intervals. Same results were found by the researchers on other popular web browsers like Chrome and Opera. The only web browser which possesses strong measures of defense against fingerprinting by the Battery Status API is Tor Browser. This particular web browser simply initiates a procedure, which completely disables the API and stops it any fingerprinting attempts.

Private browsing can’t stop Battery Status API

Most of the people nowadays use private browsing in order to maintain their privacy online but Battery Status API can still allow the attackers to track the online activities through battery data. A script used by the Battery Status API can help in tracking the people who had already deleted their browsing data. This script even reinstates the identifier such as cookies without the knowledge of the users. This study is conducted with the hope of identifying the glaring loopholes and flaws in the Battery API and to draw people attention towards its effects.

Google Street View Cars will Soon Measure Pollution

Recently a firm by the name of Aclima, building environmental sensors has teamed up with the web giants Google, and in turn has set out with a novelty…the street car of Google that is equipped with environmental sensors and a load of other new technologies that is capable of accumulating a vast and varied amounts of data directly from the street while this supposed techy piece of automobile shall cruise the asphalt. The greatest implication of this novelty is its radical technological outfit that makes this vastly suitable for some of the mundane street jobs which are yet of greatest value…namely monitoring pollution.

The hardware placed on these vehicles is equipped with sensors that are capable of measuring the components of air like nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) etc.

Though the whole idea is still in its early foetal stage, it can be expected that in near future there will be a time when the atmosphere information will be added even to the Google maps. The joint venture by both the companies has already had their set of trial runs and experiments on the streets of Denver.

Three of the Google vehicles fitted with their new outfit cruised the streets of the city for about a month and gathered information. A remarkable 150 data points was the net accumulation, a result of 750 hours of driving. The soon to be expected new development in this mass project is its shift to a new ground for experimentation and further modification.

San Francisco has been chosen as the new ground for operations, where local scientists are expected to take up quite an important role in developing the whole setup to a finer tuning, thereby making it conducive to this new locale and also increase it potential. A more viable method to utilize this gathered information is also on the agenda to make this even more conducive and productive.

What’s more? 

Usually stationary air pollution sensors are placed across the city that measure and give a feedback of the air pollution in a specific locale. This monitoring setup is a design dedicated at air quality regulation. However, this is barely capable of providing a detailed picture of a community or an urban area, and its exact pollution situation to the people.

The new cars fitted with the new technology are more conducive at mapping and setting up a friendly model of the environment, which is much more specific and easily understandable; thereby opening a new portal for the masses. A quite interesting happening is the already successful use of these street cars to measure gas leaks.

American Business Act on Climate Pledge

Google and twelve other American businesses have already signed the American Business Act on Climate Pledge and thereby committing to a 140 billion dollar in low carbon investments. Google themselves have also decided to power its operations with 100 percent renewable energy.

What is worth noting in all these new developments in the field of tracing the rising pollution levels across the globe is the simple hope for a better morrow where even if the world is not much greener, one will have the option to choose a greener pocket in his or her locality.

Is Artificial Intelligence The Next Step In Advertising?

First Ever Artificially Intelligent Poster Campaign

Artificial intelligence for some is a step into science fiction. The variety of artificial intelligence would perhaps not bring about ruin of humanity but could be used to shape how advertising can be created and directed. Partnership of M&C Saatchi, Clear Channel and Posterscope had recently disclosed what they dubbed as `the world’s first ever artificially intelligent poster campaign’.

Chief innovation officer of M&C Saatchi, David Cox, had defined its significance – that it’s the first time a poster has been let loose to entirely write itself, based on what works, instead of just what a person thinks could work. The basic evidence is that the poster which is based around a fictional instead of an ordinary coffee brand,`Bahio’ could read the reactions of its audience and adjust itself accordingly.

22 ads were created in each generation from its initial `gene pool’ of pictures as well as copy, with the poster evaluating the level of success of an ad and if successful, a certain ad moves onto the next gene pool, being a part of the next generation. Those which tend to be unsuccessful are removed. Cox states that `it’s a Darwinian algorithm, it will evolve to be more and more effective and so we are hoping to see fewer outcomes emerging over time’.

Big Ideas for AI Posters – Future of Out-of-Home Advertising

Till July 20, 1540 ads were automatically generated over 70 generations and the initial outcome indicated that shorter copy was more popular, with heart images, which was a frequent incidence at the time of viewing. Poster using Kinect to work out and who’s standing in its vicinity, could assess 12 people at a time. At the time of taking into account the reactions, its audience does not see immediate alterations.

The main part of the concept is to capture movements that of the consumers. Initial trial runs over 42,000 interactions were tracked by the ad. Based on initial viewing, art directors as well as copywriters would be able to rest easy.

 Cox admits that it is not writing the best ad in the world, but there is a lot of weird copy though in 10 years, one may not know the outcome of it. CMO of Clear Channel, Sarah Speake, has big ideas for what AI posters could mean for the future of out-of-home advertising.

AI – Ability in Perceiving/Understand Meaning

Speake states that they could be pushing the boundaries of where creativity meets technology in a very scalable way with a level of engagement that has not been possible till now and this symbolizes where they are going and creating the future of the industry’.

The reason why AI has shown to be so controversial as well as elusive is due to the concept of intelligence which is difficult to define. A working definition could be difficult to make. Nevertheless, intelligence in the broadest sense could refer to the ability in perceiving and understand meaning.

According to David Chalmers, Australian National University philosopher, he states that intelligence is external performance, in a sense, it is about sophisticated behaviour’. Established on this definition, it is speculated whether computers would be anywhere near achieving an artificial version of such intelligence.

Smart Mirror Monitors Your Face For Tell-Tale Signs Of Disease

Mirror to Assess Health of Individual

The latest is a new mirror which can assess the health of an individual by simply looking into it, which analyses the facial expressions, fatty tissue and how pale or flush a person tends to be. The purpose of the gadget is to mark out cardiovascular diseases like stroke and heart disease which are the prevailing causes of death all across the globe.

Researchers are of the belief that getting to know the early signs of these conditions is the best medicine in reducing the burden of health care cost connected in the treatment of these chronic diseases. Wize Mirror seems to look like a mirror, though incorporated 3D scanners, multispectral cameras as well as gas sensors in order to assess the health of a person viewing into it.

It comprises of facial recognition software which looks for tell-tale signs of stress or anxiety. The device makes use of gas sensors in collecting samples of the user’s breath and checks for certain compounds and features a three dimensional scanner in analysing face shape for weight gain or loss, together with multispectral cameras in order to estimate the heart rate or the level of haemoglobin.

Technology Developed by Consortium of Researchers

The software needs about a minute in analysing the data and then it provides a score which informs the user how healthy they are and also tends to display personalised information on how to make improvements in their health.

The technology has been developed by a consortium of researchers as well as industry partners from seven European Union – EU countries, utilising EU funding. Sara Colantonio together with colleagues from the National Research Council of Italy will be coordinating with the project and would want to utilise Wize Mirror in addressing common long term health issue which are not easy to treat and intent viewing the device as a tool which could be helpful in addressing these health problems of heart diseases as well as diabetes.

The clinical trials of the device are arranged to begin next year at three sites in France and Italy, with focus to compare its readings with those from traditional medical devices. They have stated that `prevention is the most viable approach in reducing the socio-economic burden of chronic and widespread disease like cardiovascular and metabolic diseases’.

Accurate Health Assessment in Natural Setting - Challenging

Consumer technology which can interpret signals from the body to understand the underlying physical as well as mental health is on the point of being part of our daily life. For instance, Cardiio which was originally created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is an app that utilises a smartphone’s camera in order to monitor the blood levels in the face and expresses the heart rate.

At the MIT’s Media Lab, Javier Hernandez looked at utilising mirrors for the purpose of health monitoring and also developed a program known as SenseGlass wherein it uses Google Glass together with other wearable to measure a person’s mood thus enabling them to handle their emotions.

Hernandez has stated that though the mirrors are great for the purpose of health monitoring, since we use them daily, making use of them in this manner is complex than it seems to sound. According to him `accurate health assessment in natural settings are quite challenging due to several factors like the illumination change, occlusions and the excessive motion’.

Ban Killer Robots Before They Take Over, Stephen Hawking & Elon Musk Say

UN Urged to Ban AI Based Autonomous Weapons

A new report has urged the United Nation to ban the making of artificial intelligence based autonomous weapons, already accused as `killer robots’ and the development of such types of weapons by global arms. An open letter warning against the dangers of global arms race of artificial intelligence – AI technology,has been signed by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, physicist Stephen Hawking together with several other tech luminaries that the United Nation should support a ban on weapons which humans do not have any control over it.

The letter issued by the Future of Life organization was presented on July 27 during the International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Buenos Aires, Argentina – Super-Intelligent Machine: 7 Robotic Futures. Referring to the automatic weapons, the letter reads as follow, `the key question for humanity today is whether to start a global AI arms race or to prevent it from starting.

If any major military power pushes ahead with AI weapon development, a global arms race is virtually inevitable and the endpoint of this technological trajectory is obvious, autonomous weapons will become the Kalashnikovs of tomorrow’.

Risks Greater Than Modelled Nuclear Weapons

According to the signatories, the risks could be much greater than those modelled by nuclear weapons. From self-driving cars and much more, humanity’s main tasks are being taken over by robots. The unavoidable hike of the machine has urged both ideal as well as apocalyptic vision of the future.

 Artificial intelligence researchers have in fact voiced their concerns on how innovation in this field are developing and with autonomous AI weapons like the drone planes which seek and kill people using a face recognition algorithm.

 The writers of the letter debate that the technology would be here in a few years. According to the letter while the drone fighters’ limits to battlefield casualties, these autonomous bots could probably lower the edge in initiating clashes in the first place. In addition to this, these autonomous weapons could also possibly be in the hands of practically every military power in the world due to AI based killing machines that would not be much costly or difficult to obtain resources.

AI – Hold Great Dangers

It would also not be very long for assassins, terrorist as well as other bad characters to purchase them in the black market and utilise them for despicable purposes according to the scientists. The letter further states that `autonomous weapons are ideal for tasks like assassination, destabilizing nations, subduing populations as well as selectively killing any particular ethnic group and it is believed that a military AI arms race would not be beneficial for humanity’.

It is not the first time that science as well as tech luminaires have raised their concern against the dangers of artificial intelligence. Hawking had stated that in 2014, the development of full artificial intelligence could have influenced the end of the human race. He together with Musk had signed a letter by the same organization in January cautioning that the AI tends to hold great dangers unless humanity would assure that AI systems `will do what we want them to’.